Be it the exhaustion finally catching up with her, or the comforting warmth of the wolf’s fur, Oriana fell asleep shortly after they took off.

The calming forest breeze coddled her senses, painting beautiful vistas where she ran free like never before in her life. She crossed vast open fields and dense enchanted woods. She crossed rivers, which meandered like a snake, and lakes stretching so far that they were touching the skies. Sometimes she was a human, other times she was a small, agile, white fox.

Oriana was so engrossed in her dreams that by the time she woke up, they were just a few steps away from the Palace.

Valeria stopped at the border of the forest, using the dense Lucettan flora to shield them from prying eyes.

Still in her wolf form, the Commander let the Princess down, and then looked at her expectantly.

— What? — Oriana rubbed her sleepy eyes. Being partially asleep wasn’t helpful when trying to understand an over-sized wolf that also happened to be the Bastard Commander.

Valeria waved her head again, attempting to communicate something to the Princess. Seeing how there was still no reaction on her part, she rolled her eyes while making a dissatisfied grunt.

In the next second, the shape of the wolf distorted and began to change.

That was enough for Oriana to finally connect the dots and turn around in panic, just mere moments before Valeria’s transformation was complete.

— Couldn’t you tell me to look away first?! Do you enjoy being stared at while naked?! — a bright red blush bloomed on the Princess’ pale cheeks.

— I was telling you. You just didn’t get it.

— Well, I’m sorry for not being fluent in animal speech.

— It’s okay. I forgive you.

Hearing this shocking level of impertinence, Oriana turned around, vigorously prepared to continue the argument.

— Wha-… — The words never came out. They froze in her throat the moment her eyes met Valeria’s right in front of her face.

Flustered, she immediately took a step back.

— Why are you sneaking behind me?!

— I wasn’t sneaking. I was trying to let you know that I’m done, but you decided to turn around.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, Oriana decided to change the topic.

— You never told me why you had… no clothes on. — The Princess’ attempts failed, as even a mention of seeing Valeria in her full glory caused her heart to go on a rampage in her chest, making her face even redder than before.

The Commander was buttoning up her shirt while looking curiously at the rapid changes in Oriana’s complexion.

— Why is this bothering you so much?

— B-because it makes no sense! Why are your clothes gone, yet your pendant and earring stay?! Do you simply enjoy parading exposed like that or what?

Valeria sighed, defeated. She couldn’t blame Oriana for not knowing.

— Shape-shifting is grounded in magic. Secular items that have no magical qualities can’t respond to it. The clothes that we’re wearing are made out of ordinary textiles, so they don’t respond to my transformation. The pendant and the earring are both made out of Moonstone, which is a magical stone, so they can follow along.

The Princess glanced at the uniform Valeria changed into when she wasn’t looking.

It was the standard dark blue uniform of the Royal Guards that was assigned to the Commander upon her promotion. Oriana always thought that it looked way better on Valeria than it should. Seeing it in a slightly disheveled state and with the snow-white strands of her hair loosely cascading down her shoulders, the Princess felt a wave of sudden heat flowing through her body.

— What about your warriors then? — she asked, seemingly incidentally.

— What about them?

— Did they… you know… fight naked too, because of that?

The Commander couldn’t hold back a laugh. It was the first time she saw the Princess so bothered by something so trivial.

— No — she answered, trying to calm herself — No, all of Faolán’s arms and armor were made out of magical materials, so the warriors could keep them on, even during and after transformation.

— Why not get yourself a uniform made out of them then?

— The process of creating items like that wasn’t easy, and it was one of the most guarded secrets of my kingdom, so the knowledge of how to do it was lost alongside Faolán.

The Princess gave only a disappointed “oh”, and then cast her eyes down, recalling everything she just learned, but before she could fully engross herself in her thoughts, she was swooped off of her feet and into Valeria’s arms.

— Huh?! What, what are you doing?! Put me down!

— There are still quite a few steps to the Palace. There are a lot of sharp stones on the ground and, as far as I can tell, I’m the only one wearing shoes. But I can put you down if you insist on doing so, Your Highness.

Oriana’s face flushed red again.

— F-fine! Carry me to the Palace… — she wrapped her arms around Valeria’s neck and hid her embarrassed face in her shoulder.

You Bastard. I’ll end up permanently looking like a lobster because of you.

Out of the Princess’ sight, a smug smile rose on Valeria’s face.

She was indeed worried about Her Highness getting injured on the rough road, but more than anything, she just wanted to hold her close and drive away the anxiety from her heart.

Feeling calm for the first time that night, Valeria stepped out of the forest and carried Oriana to the main gate of the Palace, bringing them both back home safely.

DannyTheDaikon

Guess who managed to finally dig herself out of the mess that had befallen her in the last month?

Yep, it's me!ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪

We're going back to the proper releases, following the same schedule as before, so: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Thank you for your patience! I will do my best to catch up!