Both women slept through the night, the small redheaded goddess never shifting out of her girlfriend’s embrace. Sunlight peeked in through the cracks in the flap of their tent, and Drusilia blinked her eyes several times and yawned softly. Her goddess looked up at her with love on her face and smiled warmly.

“Thar noresh sal’en ne’thira.”

Drusilia blushed profusely at the smaller woman calling her the equivalent of “soulmate.” She blushed even harder as she realized that the way she had said it could also have been translated as… wife.

“Good morning, Erin.”

The goddess shook her head.

“Aerynica?”

She nodded.

“It happened a few hours ago… you were sleeping so peacefully that I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Are you OK?”

“Yes. I’m… complete? It’s strange. I have both Erin’s and Eronica’s memories; But when I look back on them in my mind, I only see myself as I am now.”

Drusilia shifted her head slightly upwards and kissed her girlfriend’s forehead. As she rested back against the pillows, the blonde wore a concerned expression on her face. Aerynica reached up and stroked the muscular woman's cheek.

“I know that look, ne’thira. Don’t worry… It’s still me. I’m still the insatiable, nerdy, loving woman from Earth that you fell in love with.”

The redhead ran her fingertips softly down the length of her girlfriend’s incredibly muscular body, until her hand rested on the half-elf's lower abdomen.

“I’m also the goddess who made a divine child with you.”

Drusilia wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that. She studied Aerynica’s face and grinned at the goddess as the smaller let out a soft happy sigh and rested her head back on her girlfriend’s chest. She certainly seemed like Erin. The somewhat bubbly personality, the informal familiar way she spoke. But there was something… different about her. A particular wisdom behind her eyes and a confidence in her voice that she didn’t used to have. To say nothing about her being able to speak perfect elven; likely even better than Drusilia herself, given it wasn’t her first language. Thoughts of her mother surfaced as she recalled the nights spent reading a primer for elven children. The half-elf did her best to push away the grief that was darkening her mood, but she saw Aerynica’s brows knit as the redhead looked up at her.

“Ne’thira… Dru. Are you alright?”

Drusilia wiped away a tear that had formed at the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and nodded. She wasn’t sure why she felt this overwhelming sadness worming its way into her brain, but the more she tried to push past it, the worse it got. It wasn’t long before the tears ran steadily down her face and she turned away from her very concerned girlfriend. 

Drusilia felt movement on the bed and then felt her head being lifted slightly as Aerynica lifted the blonde’s head off the pillow and into her lap. The grief-struck woman leaned into her girlfriend’s hand as she stroked her face. Both women said nothing for several minutes, just letting the tears and pain of loss flow freely. The goddess continued to run her hand through the taller woman’s hair and stroke her cheek, and Drusilia found comfort in the familiar scent of her lover’s skin. When she had finally calmed down enough for the tears to stop, Aerynica kissed her on the top of the head and spoke softly.

“It is OK to grieve the loss of Erin, Drusilia. I understand that although she is part of me, I am not her. I will do and say things that she never would have. I know things she could not have known. You may never feel the same way about me that you did for her, and that's OK! I still love you with all of my being, Drusilia. That will never change, no matter what form I take.”

The blonde leaned into her girlfriend and let out a small contented sigh. She kissed the smaller woman's palm and looked up into her eyes. Aerynica beamed down at the love of her life. 

“Your mother. Do you mind telling me about her?”

“I was just thinking about her a moment ago… How did you know?”

“Another gift of this merge. I don’t have full control of it yet, but I can read some of your thoughts pretty clearly. I was going to wait to tell you about it, but I felt this was far more important than my original plan.”

The look on the redhead’s face communicated exactly what her plan had been, and Drusilia chuckled softly. She thought about what Aerynica had said and did her best to describe the ethereal beauty that was her mother.

“Her name was Valanthe. She was beautiful. She had long blonde hair, like me… but she wore it in a braid that was often interlaced with pretty colored string. She had the most gorgeous amber eyes that reminded me of the colors of leaves in the harvest months. Her smile had a way to light up the entire room, and I saw her use it more than once to talk a particularly stubborn shopkeeper to sell her something for slightly cheaper. The way she moved was like watching a beautiful dance. She had so much grace and a natural dexterity that I wasn’t fortunate enough to inherit. She was smart… Very smart. It seemed like she had the answer to every question I asked as a child. She taught me so much as I grew up, more than I can ever remember.”

The half-elf paused to let her mind get lost in a warm memory of her mother studying a massive tome in the dim candlelight, a much smaller Drusilia, no more than 5 or 6 years old, perched in her lap and listening excitedly as her mother read aloud. 

“I got my love of books from her. It was the one thing she always made sure we had enough money for. There was a merchant who specialized in books of all kinds. He used to travel from town to town, taking with him a cart filled with so many books that it would have taken me three lifetimes to read them all. He didn’t just sell them though… No. I remember being able to ask him any question I could think of about any of the stories, and he was able to answer without any difficulty. Every time he came he would always have a new book I hadn’t read before. And he always made sure to save a copy for me and my mother.”

She paused for a moment, smiling faintly at one of her happier memories. Suddenly a memory from her girlfriend’s mind popped into her head. She saw Erin doing something with a strange glowing object, making words appear on it. She didn’t recognize any of the strange symbols, but she knew without a doubt she was seeing a memory of the other woman composing one of her stories.

“Erin… Sorry…. Aerynica, I just saw a memory of you writing something on a strange glowing thing. What was that?”

“Did it look like a small square object slightly bigger than my hand, or was it much bigger than that?”

“Bigger. Definitely bigger. And I even heard a clicking noise every time you touched the symbols on the lower part. This is the first time one of your thoughts has been so clear and detailed.”

“I had been thinking about what it would be like to write a story about a traveling book salesman with a magic library full of books. Then my thoughts drifted to a memory of a story I was writing. The thing you saw was called a computer. It's a… you know,  I have no idea how to even start explaining what it is. I apologize for interrupting you, though. It seems I still don’t have full control over my divine spark yet.”

“No! It’s quite alright. I love seeing memories of things like that. Your world seems so magical despite having… no magic.”

Drusilia gushed about some of the various things she had learned about from Erin. After enough gentle proddings, she finally circled back to telling her goddess everything she could think of about her mother. Where she had grown up. How she became pregnant with a human’s child. Being exiled from her homeland and settling near a human village. The life she had had with her daughter, and finally… how she died. After the goddess’s anger calmed down, she shared in the half-elf’s sorrow and they both cried softly again. After all they cried all the tears their bodies could produce, Drusilia felt… lighter; like a great burden had been lifted off of her shoulders. She was about to say something to the smaller women when a voice spoke from outside the tent.

“Braidat, I must speak with you urgently. May I come in?”

Aerynica briefly considered covering up the both of them, but thought better of it. She was the goddess of love and femininity, showing a little skin wasn’t out of character for her. Especially among people who openly worshiped her.

“You may.”

A taller woman, probably around 5’11 lifted the flap of the tent and stepped inside. Both women on the bed looked up at their visitor and drank in her tall beauty. She had the complexion of sun-baked sand, and dusky purple eyes. Her dark brown hair was woven in an intricate pattern and went down nearly to the small of her back. She had a slim and toned physique, and her clothing accentuated her elegant figure. She wore the typical flowy silken clothing of the Abdat’acra. Her robes were a beautiful golden yellow color with small dark blue highlights. Upon seeing the pair of naked women on the bed, the gorgeous woman blushed profusely and started to turn away.

“A thousand pardons, Braidat! I did not mean to interrupt anything! I can turn around if-”

“That isn’t necessary. You are permitted to look upon me and my betrothed without shame or fear, ici’shie. Now what did you need?”

The woman moved her hand away from her face and looked back towards the goddess and the muscular half-elf. Her deep purple eyes lingered on both of their bodies for much longer than what would normally be considered proper, before she finally met Aerynica’s gaze. The goddess felt a surge of power as the Abdati woman openly worshiped her beautiful body. She saw a look of intense lust written across the woman’s face, and did her best to dampen the overwhelming aura that was so obviously affecting this poor woman. Blinking her purple eyes rapidly several times, the fog seemed to lift from the woman’s brain and she spoke in a concerned tone.

“Braidat, it is not safe for you here. The guards are saying that you killed several men and even bribed your way into the city. Sapphira is doing her best to convince them that you are not who they think you are, but they seem quite determined. She suggested you take your leave as quickly as possible before the guards force their way inside the camp, but she would never presume to choose your course of action for you. Should you choose to leave, Sapphira instructed me to escort you and your ngo’shie out of the city through a secret passageway. Otherwise I am more than happy to assist you in any way I can.

“Sapphira is right, leaving would probably be the best idea. I would never forgive myself if I was the cause for any hardships for your people. Give us a moment to dress and pack and we’ll be ready.”

“One moment please, Braidat.”

The tall woman stepped outside the tent and then returned with a large wooden crate. She set it in front of the goddess and pulled the lid back so Aerynica could see inside.

“In here you will find several sets of clothing that will fit both of you, along with some provisions and a small tribute from my people. At the bottom there is also a weapon for each of you, should you need them. Finally, As a parting gift, Sapphira has also placed me in your service. From this point forward, my life is yours, Braidat Ngo’gei.”

Drusilia and Aerynica sat silently in shock for a few seconds before they both burst off the bed. The muscular woman began quickly packing their belongings while the redheaded goddess chatted with the Abdati woman.

“Thank you for coming so quickly, ici’shie. I am honored to have you at my side. Tell me, what is your name?”

“I am Zolara of Clan Brai’mej, Braidat.”

“You don't have to call me goddess all the time. Especially if we're going to be traveling together. You may call me by my name, Aerynica.”

“I would never presume to speak so informally to one such as yourself, Braidat. Is there some other honorific I may call you instead?”

Aerynica forced away the urge to roll her eyes and sighed softly. She glanced over at her girlfriend, who had already dressed in some of the clothing Zolara had brought, and was beginning to pack things as neatly and quickly as she could manage. The redhead looked back at the tan-skinned woman and gave her a small grin.

“I’m assuming there is nothing I can do to change your mind about this?”

“There is not, Braidat.”

“Then you may continue to call me that until you feel comfortable enough to call me by my name. Although, at least for the sake of Drusilia, we should probably stick to the common-tongue.”

“Very well, Goddess. Do you require any assistance with dressing yourself?”

Aerynica blushed slightly as she realized she was still standing naked in front of this beautiful woman, who was doing her absolute best to not look anywhere but at her face. The redhead wanted so very badly to accept the woman’s offer to help. Not because she needed it, but because she sensed just how much the tall woman wanted to help. Unfortunately, time was not on their side.

“Normally I would say yes, Zolara. But given the urgency of everything, I think it would be best if I did it myself.”

The Abdati woman shook her head several times as if to clear her mind and she bowed slightly in understanding.

“If it is alright, Goddess, I would take my leave… At least just to stand outside the tent. I am having trouble thinking clearly for some reason.”

Aerynica nodded once and smiled at her.

“I’ll let you know once we’re ready to go. Thank you again, Zolara.”

Drusilia watched the beautiful woman push open the flap to their tent and step outside into the light. The half-elf turned to Aerynica and cocked a single eyebrow and gave her a playful grin.

“If I didn’t know any better, she looked seconds away from begging you to pin her down and fuck her.”

“Oh? And how would you know that?”

“Because it’s the same look you give me, my insatiable goddess.”

Aerynica’s jaw opened slightly in surprise and she scoffed loudly at how brazen her girlfriend had become. After she recovered, she kissed the tall half-elf deeply and then moved to get ready as quickly as she could manage.