415 Harvest Festival (5)

"Well, I think we decided then, right? The exclusive plush would be a fluffy Unicorn, based on the old folktales about the embodiment of purity and good? We could do it in enchanted white fabrics too... to keep it clean? Would cost a little more, but not that much."

Annie looked towards her sister and I for confirmation, getting nods from us both as we agreed with the idea - after much deliberation and debate, of course, since Annie was adamant we should try to keep it simple, whilst the Duchess and I were more of the mind to make it special, though that was also to varying degrees.

It took a few minutes, but we settled on the idea of a Unicorn and agreed that would symbolize one of the older folktales in Birchan, something that was still told to this day; apparently, there used to be a Unicorn - a horse of the purest white with a silver and gold horn sprouting from its skull - that lived in this area, and when the first citizens of Birchan moved down to this area, they found the Unicorn and began to take care of it, worshipping it alongside the Goddesses and living amicably beside it.

However, good needed to be balanced with evil no matter what, and a terrible scorpion monster came from Susahan Desert - off to the north east - and rampaged in the forests, killing the Unicorn after finding the people.

It was a sad tale, and no one knew if it was true or not - or at least, what parts of it were true - but ever since the people here have held a belief that the Unicorn would eventually return, and they were immensely thankful to it for sacrificing itself to ward away the scorpion all those years ago.

Many had figures, statues, or masks of the Unicorn for the second Harvest Festival of the year, in Autumn, when they celebrated not the food they harvested, but the Goddesses and the people around them for yet another year reaching its end; after all, when Winter rolled around, no one was doing much besides hunkering down and waiting for Spring.

"Since that's all, and I'm now here, how about you two go check out the other stores, hm? Get there before the crowds get too big. Take Shelur too, just in case. Urzoth will be here in a few minutes, and if need be..."

Annie just grinned as she flexed her arm, showing off the muscle that hid beneath and almost making me say 'Wow' out loud at how defined her arms were when she flexed, only for it to disappear afterwards, hidden away once more.

The Duchess nodded, heading towards the back door and peaking her head through as she got the attention of the Orc guard she had employed, which...

"Hey Astra~! I dunno if maybe you're just dense, scared, or unsure, but uh..."

Annie leaned closer to me and glanced towards her sister, before smirking back at me as she whispered "Renna has a bit of a thing for you, and considering the things I've heard from her, and the things I looked into on my own, well..."

Winking, Annie fell silent and picked up the papers again, looking natural and acting as if she hadn't just dropped something heavy and serious on my lap when the Duchess returned with Shelur, the Orc standing silently behind the Duchess and awaiting further orders.

My cheeks were slightly flushed as I went over that very short 'chat' Annie and I had, my eyes seeking out the sky blue eyes of the woman who was the topic of said 'chat' as I wondered if it was truly alright, before firming my resolve...

Only to have it crumple a bit as she looked at me and smiled, those plump lips and shining, brilliant eyes making my heart skip a beat and make me wonder if I was in over my head, if I was ready for something like this...

But, I took a deep breath and nodded, much to the Duchess' confusion and to Annie's amusement, the two sisters staring at me for their own reasons; meanwhile, Shelur was just idle behind the Duchess, her emerald eyes unreadable as she just stood there, handsomely.

"Where to next, Duchess? The clothing store, perhaps the clinic?"

Smoothing out my shirt, I waited for an answer, withstanding the confused look before silently breathing a sigh of relief as she answered "The clothing store... it's a few streets over, after all."

Narrowing those eyes, she looked at me for a moment before turning to look at her sister, who was reading the papers and nodding to herself, only to raise a brow as she asked "Is there something on my face, Renna?"

The Duchess stared at her for another second, shaking her head and eventually making her way to the door, gesturing for me to follow; Shelur walked behind me, the Orc keeping the Duchess and myself in her sight as she trailed behind us both.

Admittedly, I was curious about the Orc, especially now that she had two curvaceous women walking in front of her, so I peeked back at her, only to chuckle wryly as I saw her eyes were not sneaking glances at our butts, but instead focused on the road ahead and the street around us.

"Shelur is a devoted guard, Astra. She might be an Orc, but I'd wager her middle name was 'Discipline' with how she acts."

"It's similar enough, Duchess; it's Lohaya, which means 'loyal'."

The deep, yet elegant voice behind us made the Duchess nod, turning to me as she added "Shelur is proud of her status and position, so she tends to stick to her job as seriously as she can. That's why she's my personal guard... on top of the fact that she is one of the strongest warriors I have ever met. Frighteningly so, sometimes."

"My apologies, Duchess."

Chuckling, the Duchess smirked at me before glancing back at Shelur, amused by the Orc and saying "And that's why I am happy to have found her and hired her. I gave her the chance that others wouldn't, and it paid off. Sometimes, Astra, there is benefits to be had, striking into the unknown. Doing things that aren't assured. Risk is balanced with profits, it's just up to the one taking the risks to determine what the profit is."

I nodded, before stiffening slightly as the Duchess took a deep breath and asked me in an uncertain voice "I know what the profit would be, but the risk... do you think it is worth it, Astra..?"

As she asked that, she reached over and brushed her hand against mine, staring at where my eyes were located beneath the veil and pinning me to my spot, my mind running in a million different directions all at the same time as those dazzling blue eyes looked at me expectantly.