cheated

[mute_pen]

The castle is livable indefinitely. Etty flies over the space around it, but she's not as fast as the Baron was in his owl form, and she can't fly for very long if she's hungry and can pack nothing if she travels as a swan; she doesn't range farther than she can travel in a half-day, and she doesn't find Astgabels or anyone who knows where it is. (Not many people are willing to talk to a girl in a feather dress from out of nowhere, but a few are.) She flies home to Nona after each failed journey. They feast on what appears on the dining table. They snuggle. They pick through the library. Etty writes her thoughts. They sleep, curled up together in Nona's bed.

One morning they wake up together and are lying there in comfortable silence when Etty scoots up and kisses Nona.

Comments

[mute_pen]

Etty scrunches in towards herself.

"I know I'm being," she murmurs, "slow."

[growcrooked]

"What?" says Nona, mystified again.

[subtly_artistic]

"She thinks you got fed up with waiting for her to have sex with you," translates Bella.

[growcrooked]

"What," says Nona. "No! What? I just - he offered, and I like him. I didn't know it would upset you! I didn't know you'd even have an opinion on it at all, you don't on what I do by myself! I didn't mean to upset you," she sniffles.

[mute_pen]

"When it's yourself it's just - you," murmurs Etty. "Not you and somebody else. I - I guess you didn't know."

[growcrooked]

"I didn't know at all," she says. "I'm sorry."

[mute_pen]

Sigh.

[subtly_artistic]

"...And now I'm wondering to what extent Celo acting like a nymph is because he's actually a nymph. Is monogamy something you could even do?"

[growcrooked]

"I do it really easily when I'm in a castle in the middle of nowhere!" she says, hugging herself.

[pythbox]

She'd have a seriously hard time with it, says Celo. Like maybe dealbreakingly hard. We're a lot alike that way.

[subtly_artistic]

Bella reports this assessment.

[mute_pen]

Etty looks at her knees.

[growcrooked]

Nona hugs herself some more.

[mute_pen]

"I love you," Etty murmurs.

[growcrooked]

"I love you too," she says. "I'm sorry. Is it - will we be okay?"

[mute_pen]

"I need to think."

[subtly_artistic]

Bella has a notebook on her. She flips it to a clean page, hands it over with a pen.

[mute_pen]

Etty takes a moment to figure out the unfamiliar writing utensils, but eventually she's scratching away.

[growcrooked]

Nona curls up on the ground and doesn't say anything.

[subtly_artistic]

"You going to be okay, Nona?"

[growcrooked]

"I don't know," she mumbles.

[mute_pen]

"You didn't know it would hurt me," murmurs Etty, reaching out to touch Nona's hand.

[growcrooked]

"Well, now I don't know if you're going to love me anymore," she says, sniffling.

[mute_pen]

Etty squeezes her hand.

She writes faster.

[subtly_artistic]

Remind me not to even think about ever being a sex therapist.