Zine was completely distraught as she and her partner sat on a small hill outside the manor of the late Lord Astor of Gestern. The sun had recently set and the last vestiges of twilight were faintly visible against the southeastern horizon. Stars were coming out one by one, completely oblivious to the carnage she had wrought when she found out exactly how deep the corruption of the slain lord and his cronies went.
They had arrived four hours prior, shortly after finishing lunch and touring a bit more of the town. Under the guise of a couple of townsfolk seeking an audience regarding joining the uprising, the two made their way to the lord’s manor to do a little research and collect some evidence on what was transpiring. But what she found defied all expectation.
In contrast to the poverty that Zine remembered from her youth, that, even decades later was still visible just underneath the placid veneer of the town’s lively marketplace, the manorial estate of the former lord was opulent to the extreme. Rich and lavish artwork of the lord himself, elaborate statues, dangling chandeliers with rich imported crystals in every color of the rainbow. Statues of marble adorned with jade and emerald, griffin-fur carpets, and the stench of so much imported tobacco being smoked.
Every bit of the lavish estate was an affront to all the hardship that Zine had gone through over her formative decades. All the nights of huddling in broken, abandoned houses that let the chilled ocean drafts in. The days of going without food, of getting sick and hoping someone would give her charity care, for she couldn’t afford to hire a cleric or mage to treat her. Of wearing little more than discarded rags perpetually held together by the saltwater used to attempt to wash them, the grating sensation of dried salt crystals against her skin a fact of over a decade of her life.
It was suffering that, in hindsight, Zine was grateful for, at least as far as she herself was concerned. It had hardened her body, mind, and will alike, allowing her to tap into her innate magical abilities. But it was suffering that was not borne by her alone. The entire town had struggled, scraped by, survived by the barest of margins. And many others were not as fortunate as she, succumbing to the decades of impoverishment.
Despite her burning rage just beneath the surface, Thalliya’s touch, even without her magic, was more than enough to calm Zine, at least for long enough to probe around and find the source of the vast wealth held by the lord and his retainers. A little asking around and the occasional threat proved quite effective at getting the accounting staff to fess up what they knew, and a quick Charm spell used on one of the lord’s butlers got the two access to the manor’s records to confirm it.
The lord, like his predecessor, had, over the decades, been skimming relief aid and other money that had been earmarked for infrastructure. And of those monies, the lion’s share came after a major coastal tsunami a quarter century ago. Zine fumed, realizing the implications. All the hardships she endured over those decades weren’t the result of a lack of resources or His Highness the late Duke Lequain Loriae’s malfeasance or indifference, but were the direct consequence of the disgusting pig who grew fat and happy while his subjects withered, struggling to rebuild their lives, homes, and families.
Even Thalliya couldn’t staunch the burning rage Zine exuded once she finally laid eyes on the impudent, portly, piggish lord, the source of so much grief and death for her and the people she’d grown up around. He stammered, muttering words that did not matter. And then he died by Zine’s hand, along with a few fools who tried in vain to take up arms and spells in his defense. Such was the right and responsibility of the Seven Stars when on official duties: to act as an extension of His Highness’s will, to dispense justice as they saw fit against any enemies, foreign or domestic.
He got the mercy of a quick death. A mercy which he did not deserve in retrospect, thinking about the townsfolk that slowly withered away over the years and decades of famine that followed his rule. At least with the source of the town’s suffering finally snuffed out, the town could finally truly begin to heal.
And finally, for the first time in three decades, a sense of relief befell Zine, one she didn’t know she needed. A sense of inner peace, the knowledge that she could move past the scars and grief that had long gnawed at her heart.
Zine smiled as she gazed into the spectacled green eyes of the woman sitting beside her, and that most gorgeous sight melted those lingering fears and worries away.
For a long while, the two sat in silence, lying down and looking up at the stars glistening high above. Thalliya’s hand grazed her own, giving it a gentle squeeze that said more than a thousand words ever could. She didn’t know if it was some magic Thalliya used or if it was just a mutual unspoken understanding, but she could perceive the intent of her comrade’s action perfectly clear. ‘As long as I draw breath, you will never truly be alone.’
“Are you okay, Zine?” Thalliya asked. “I know that wasn’t easy on you.”
“It wasn’t. But you were there beside me the whole time. That on its own helped more than I could ever convey in words.”
“I know. Your thoughts and emotions are practically oozing off you. I think it’s a manifestation of your own Will magic. You want me to perceive how you feel, and so I do.”
Zine blushed and looked away, trying to suppress her feelings toward the woman lying just beside her. “I– I’m sorry, Thalliya. I’m sure this makes you uncomfortable. I just hope that you don’t feel less of me because of… because of what I’m sure you’re sensing.”
Thalliya smiled and spun toward her, leaning her neck in and planting a kiss on Zine’s cheek.
“Not at all, Zine. I– I feel the same way about you. I have for a while now.
“When we first met shortly after you were promoted, I began to feel something toward you. I thought at first that it was just the camaraderie that came with wanting to support a new member of the Seven Stars, of wanting to see you succeed despite, well, everything that you’ve told me about, everything I can still feel in the air all around me.
“I wondered, for a time, if I loved you like a sister I never had. That, as your senior colleague in both age and tenure, I felt a sort of responsibility to look after you, to watch over you, and to ensure your success. But I was a fool.
“I did love you, of course. I still do, so much so. But, definitely not as a sister!”
“Then, may I have another, Liya? One more properly administered?”
“Liya? Is that what you’re going to call me now?”
“Only when it’s just the two of us. You also didn’t answer my question.”
Thalliya spun further, rolling her way up Zine’s sides and landing her stomach on top of her love’s. The two gazed for a good while longer, savoring the moment as Zine’s blue eyes met Thalliya’s green, as warm breaths reflected back and forth. Heartbeats synchronized and the outside world melted away, leaving only the two nascent lovers as Zine’s arms wrapped around them both, pulling Thalliya closer and closer.
The two were so close that neither could focus their vision, their lips separated only by the infinite vastness of mere millimeters. Time stopped, an eternity passing in the blink of an eye. And then their lips touched. Thalliya’s were soft, trepid, nearly shivering. Whether from nerves, anticipation, cold, or sheer delight, Zine did not know, but she knew that those same lips were sweet and luscious and more beautiful than anything she’d before had the honor of experiencing.
Zine experienced a cathartic bliss far greater than the one she’d had hours earlier while staining her hands with a corrupt lord’s blood. The first kiss became a second and then a third, long, drawn-out kiss lasting over a minute until Thalliya finally pulled back, gasping for air. For what could have been hours or seconds or anywhere in-between, the two stared in each other’s eyes while holding each other in a mutual embrace, neither wanting to leave the other even for a moment.
“Liya, are you sure you want to do this?”
“I am, Zi.”
“Is that what you’re going to call me now?”
Thalliya placed another quick kiss on Zine’s lips. “I can’t let you call me a nickname and not do the same to you.
“But yes, I am sure. I know what it means, for both of us to be among the Seven Stars. The knowledge that we can both be dispatched at any time, to any part of the planet to carry out His Highness’s will. And the knowledge that either of us could be caught in action and imprisoned as a foreign spy or–”
Thalliya didn’t finish the thought, instead burying herself in Zine’s chest for a few moments. As they sat and Thalliya sniffled into Zine’s robes, a chill evening wind blew past, sending a few leaves scattered about. But despite the sudden cold gale, there was nothing but warmth between the two of them as they huddled against one another.
A few moments later, Zine sat up, setting her new girlfriend on the ground just beside her. “Then, we both have to survive and make it through whatever His Highness expects of us, Liya. That’s all there is to it.”
Thalliya laughed. “That’s such a simple way to think about things, Zi! But that’s good. It’s one of the many things I like about you.”
“I like your charming voice, Liya. When you start using your magic, there’s something about those words of power that sends shivers down my spine.”
Thalliya sat up next to Zine and held her palm out in front of her. “Rotarii Ignitiatio.” she said, in as low and sultry a voice she could manage.
As she did, a small blue flame formed in said palm, flickering for a bit before it began to spiral around, forming the shape of a donut. It spun faster and faster, eventually splitting into two smaller flames that danced around each other like a couple in one of those fancy ballroom dances she’d sometimes seen during state events. Eventually, the two flames drifted apart, one getting a little too close to Zine’s face for comfort, before the two came back together and merged into one.
Thalliya closed her palm and extinguished the flame, turning back to her new partner. “That’s us, Zi. Even when His Highness sends us apart to do our various assignments, we’ll always find our way back to one another.”
“I like that, Liya. I know that we’ll have to report to His Highness soon about everything that’s happened and ensure that the capital sends in forces to handle the administrative handover, but, do you think we can stay here a little longer?”
Thalliya kissed Zine on the cheek, then on the lips. “As efficient as you were today, dear, I’d say we can stay here all night.”
Zine sighed. “You’re not upset with me, are you?”
“No. That’s just the nature of the position we’re in. I’ve had to kill more than a few people before you joined our ranks. I’m just glad you were able to restrain yourself before you did anything you’d regret.”
Zine kissed Thalliya again. “I can think of a few more things I’d like to do with you before we head back. And I won’t regret those either.”
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