Chapter 36 - An Encounter Reprised

Spring so kindly promised by nature has arrived as usual, bringing with them blooming flowers and growing leaves alongside waking hibernating animals. The remaining snow melted quickly, turning into dew, then evaporating to the air to go somewhere else once more.

The revolution has survived the worst winter the north has seen in the last decade, while their opponents and their lackluster attempts at counterinsurgency has suffered a grievous blow.

The crown prince, the direct heir to the throne of Adelheid has been assassinated by Quinn, whom the kingdom has captured and executed for her crime against the crown. An act that cures the royalist ache of vengeance, but it wasn't enough to slow down the infighting to come.

Adding insult to injury, the very same assassin also aided the Matriarch of the Temple of the Great Mother—a leading figure of the popular rebellion—in escaping the clutches of the enemy, a tale of a miracle that emboldens their cause even further.

There are still fighting to be done and war to be won, but for the international community, the dust has settled. One by one, they all vow their cause to the revolution, even the most opportunistic and selfish among them.

Which is why the need for Ana to collect herbs was long gone, with the closely guarded supplies coming from all around the continent. Yet, there she still was, picking up flowers she knew was best harvested when they're nothing but a bud.

Though, even Ana was forced to admit that gathering the bounty of nature was only half of the reason she was here. The other and far larger reason was how much her heart longs for Quinn, her ghost now haunts her dreams and every waking hour of her life.

And she's glad for it, even encouraging it by going to the places they frequent, and the place where they first meet.

There, she would stand and studies the trees, rustling and dancing with the wind. She wonders if they remember her as Ana does, how the suspicion turns into trust, how the trust turns into love.

Ana certainly hopes they do, the woman deserves that much after everything she has done for Ana, for each word that has escaped her lips in private, whispered into Ana's ears with such a deep longing that Ana can't help but repeat the question she asked her so long ago, a question Ana was now sure she has the answer to.

If she's somehow still alive, Ana would rush to her side and restates her reply as many times as the woman wants to hear it, because now all she has is a makeshift unmarked grave, placed in the place they first laid eyes upon each other.

To it. "I apologize for your surroundings, Quinn," she talks to ease her own suffering. "I promise I will find your remains and bury where you wanted to be." Ignoring the regret she has for not responding more actively to the woman's small talk. "I will mark my grave beside you, then. For truthfully, I do not wish to live in a world bereft of you." Teary-eyed as she said all the things she no longer has the chance to say to nothing but the gentle wind that kindly caress her cheek.

"Oh my, Ana!" Until a voice familiar to her ears travel through it, freezing Ana in fear of it being another phantom of her own grieve. Not privy to Ana's thought. "With all of this bereavement you seem to hold for me." The ghost continues. "Would you say you love me, then?" And Ana can hear the smile on its sentence as it repeats the question Quinn asked her so long ago.

Unwilling to let such an apparition deface her memory so, Ana turns back, only to find Quinn standing right in front of her with a charmingly sincere grin plastered on her face.

"Quinn …?" she pleaded, doubtful, eyes studying her body closely for any signs of trickery or illusions, only to discover clues to the opposite; with fresh scars marring her beautiful face and neck.

"The very same, sister!" The woman's smile widens under Ana's gaze as she dips her head a little in introduction, adding a playful wink at the end of her sentence.

"I am not your sister." Ana frowns.

"No? What would you call our relation—!"

Unable to bear their separating a moment longer, Ana pulls Quinn down by the collar and kiss her lips, the sensation was familiar and new at the same time. Ana can feel Quinn smirks to the kiss, allowing it to go deeper, to go far beyond the intimate.

The woman injects it with passion, letting relief flow from Ana to her as Ana breathes in her recognizable scent, that of petrichor and rain forest until her lungs force them away from each other.

To the question that Quinn posed by eyes and tongue. "I do," Ana answers her. "I love you, Quinn." With conviction in her words, fiery intensity in her orbs that dares Quinn to challenge her, to ask her to prove it to her.

Yet, the woman merely smiles; the biggest and brightest smile Ana has ever seen and pulls Ana into a bear hug. "I love you, too, Ana." Whispering her reply sweetly into her hair.

***

Quinn still doesn't believe how lucky she was to have her in her arms, holding her so tightly as if she was worthy of it. No, Quinn quickly interrupts herself. I am worthy of it. Insisting on a lesson learned as she pulls Ana even closer.

A movement that colors the woman's face in concern as she asks: "Is something wrong, Quinn?" A trait of her that Quinn truly adores.

"No." She kisses Ana lightly as she answers honestly.

For indeed, there's nothing wrong anymore with Quinn's life, not as she finds herself hear beside the woman she has worshiped, whose body is worth far more than the very moon, whose heart is the water from which all other spring forth.

She was more than kind to her, insisting on bringing her back to the battlement and defends her from all questions and scrutiny by employing her good name and rising star status.

Even now, as they find themselves alone, Ana has done nothing but hug her as she read through some report that truthfully would be unable to hold Quinn's interest, especially not with Ana in the room.

And Quinn's sure Ana is feeling the same, with the manner her gaze would sometimes lazily wander towards Quinn, full of desire and concerns that she doesn't want to impose on Quinn, who for some reason she believes has just gone through something traumatic.

An assumption that Quinn must correct.

Changing her smile to something more seductive. "Do you want to do it tonight, Ana?" Quinn leans forward to place herself in between the paper and Ana, making sure her posture was just right to display the allure of her body.

Something that's obviously working with the way Ana's breath hitches, forced to take a stabilizing one before she can respond with a question of her own. "Are you sure?" she asked, searching Quinn's face for any sign of doubt.

When Quinn nods and she finds none, Ana swiftly corrects their position, pushing Quinn down to the bed before she gave chase to her lips and let it melt in kisses.

Ana was hungry, and so was Quinn. Both of their hands travel the contours of each other's body, expertly undressing them as they touch with familiarity, eliciting a whimper of pleasure from each other that grew more and more intense as their hands travel further down.

Quinn doesn't know how, but as the night grew darker; she has found herself beneath Ana, moaning the woman's name in between the heavy breaths she takes, and she has never before felt so right in her life.

"Quinn…." Ana does the same in a painful frustration, pulling Quinn's own hand to her own intimate area, giving Quinn's dexterous fingers to work her wonder in tandem with Ana's tempo.

The both of them grew desperate now, climbing the mount of ecstasy with great need of release from each other. Their voices grew louder, only dampened when they kiss each other, seeking comfort from the warmth of the other until pleasure explodes and sends shivers to the whole of their being.

Ana collapses into Quinn's chest, breathing heavily in her bosom, both of them spent. There. "Your promise," Ana whispers straight to her heart. "Is it sincere? Will you truly always return to my side?" With bedroom eyes pleading for honestly.

Something that Quinn instantly gives. "Yes," with a nod and a soft smile, only meant for Ana. There's no doubt in Quinn's soul of her decision, of her capability to fulfill the oath she has taken.

Even without them, the gravity of Ana celestial body will forever pull Quinn towards her. "I will always return to you, Ana," she repeats. "Without rhyme or reason, ignoring time and place: I will always find my way back to you. I promise." Hoping Ana would believe her.

And she does. "Then, I promise to always be there for you." Pledging the same thing to Quinn as she climbs closer to her face. "To always wait for you." And deliver a kiss alongside her oath.

When their mouths are separated, there's mirth written into the woman's countenance, angelic as it was; it is also mortal. She was mortal, the best among them, yes, but still mortal.

So, when she nods and Quinn touch her again, she does so gently; as an act of worship to the most celestial of body.

Outside, the stars light up their bodies in a gleam soft and tender, marking them for happiness for the rest of their days; promising forever to the snake and the moon, entwined in eternity everlasting.