Mornings were chilly outside the cozy tent. The two bodies inside couldn't feel as much warmth, but that did not stop them from sleeping soundly. Isabelle was faintly smiling in her sleep. Whereas Arnacia unconsciously tried to move but was unable.
Earlier than usual, Arnacia's sleep brok because of the tangled position. She moved her hand around blindly and found Isabelle's hand. It felt warmer than usual. She opened her eyes, only to see the maiden's face. The proximity of it was close, but she didn't mind it as much as the leg between her own legs. It felt strangely comforting to her body, but her mind didn't accept it. She would've pulled her legs away if not for the small space inside the tent.
The unfortunate reality of it all was that her hands couldn't push Isabelle's body away. So, she pushed the ground instead and got up (or at least tried to sit up in a manageable position). Her eyes were still heavy because of all the work yesterday and, on top of it, she had skipped dinner.
With little options left, she reached for the space on the other side of Isabelle. The spot was empty, so she tried to push Isabelle again, but the maiden did not budge. It was still dark outside but with little choice left; she decided to wake Isabelle and searched for the maiden's cheeks.
Isabelle's face was resting on her arms. A hand tried to straighten her face, but gave up. To do it gently seemed pretty impossible. At the end, it invaded the space between her arm and face. The owner of the hand shifted and shook, finally laid at her side, moved her face forward, even employed her other hand to reach for the maiden's cheeks.
The two hands rested on Isabelle's cheeks and pressed a little. And at last, with much difficulty, Arnacia's lips reached their destination. She counted in her mind and pulled away exactly at the count of five.
"Isabelle," she whispered after pulling away. In the cramped space that Isabelle left for her, it seemed respectable.
"Arnacia.." was the lazily soft spoken reply.
The two maids were facing each other now, their eyes wanting to see, their legs still locked, and their hearts close enough to feel another throbbing. The heartbeats steadily increased, but one of the owners did not pull away, while the other had no space to pull away.
"You are acting differently. Did anything happen yesterday?" Arnacia asked.
Isabelle rubbed her leg against the warmth, only once, but her stance remained the same. Her open eyes longing to see Arnacia's expression.
"Nope," she whispered back. Memories of yesterday blinked in a flash - Eleanor's plan, Ester and Emma's support and, probably the most eventful piece, a pill that Cecelia gave in secret.
"If something happens, then tell me, okay?"
Isabelle nodded slowly in response. Her leg moved again a little. The warmth was extremely comforting. Tears formed in her eyes. She tried to suppress the sniff.
"Are you crying?" Arnacia asked. She heard a sniff again. "Don't worry, I am here." The sniffing only increased, and Isabelle wildly tried to wipe her tears with one hand.
Arnacia also extended her hand for help. But she did not wish to hurt Isabelle's eyes instead. So she put her hand on Isabelle's face. Then slowly, moved her thumb to wipe the tears. No words were spoken, but the actions eventually calmed Isabelle. Light sniffs still escaped, even after the tears settled down.
Arnacia sighed secretly in response. She was wide awake as an aftereffect and her legs were fully receptive. Thus, Isabelle's movements felt far more hot than earlier.
The two maids did not fall asleep until morning. Their bodies were sticking together and Arnacia's hand was still on Isabelle's face.
"Don't leave me today," Isabelle said after a long time.
"Were you worried because I left yesterday?"
Arancia's hand felt Isabelle's nod. She stoked the maiden's face in response.
"Don't worry, I will always come back for you. Isabelle, my love!" Arnacia loudly said as she detected approaching footsteps.
'The eavesdropper from yesterday?' Her hand stopped caressing the maiden's face. She listened carefully for any clues. But the footsteps stopped and retreated slowly.
"Arnacia," Isabelle called out slowly. She rubbed her leg again.
"Isabelle?"
Arnacia felt the maiden shaking her head. After some time, Isabelle called out her name again. But then shook her head. It repeated for a few times.
"Arnacia, did you meet Naomi yesterday?"
"No, I got busy," Arnacia replied. She felt the leg rub again, but for some reason, it felt less annoying than before. Yesterday, she did her best to avoid Naomi and was successful at the cost of dinner and bath. However, these two necessities were much needed than before. One, the training for control over this body left her mentally drained and extremely hungry. Two, the extra cozy tent had made her sweaty, and it killed her to imagine spending the next two days in this state if she missed the bath today.
"Will you come with me?" A vague idea formed her in her mind. "Stay with me, we will spend time together with Naomi. You can know her better and know me better.
Isabelle's body froze at the sudden proposal but soon her leg moved. The hand on her face felt warmer now, and she nodded in response. Till the morning, she stayed in the same position and occasionally moved her leg.
"Ester is here!" a voice resounded in the open.
"Emma will now open the tent."
"Don't," Eleanor said from the distance and luckily prevented the duo from opening Isabelle's tent. And incidentally, she became the new focal point of the conversation.
"Ester thinks you have a fever."
The duo forgot about Isabelle's tent until they fully disclosed Eleanor's condition, which was very quick. Yesterday, Cecelia had slipped into Eleanor's tent and was probably the reason for redder than usual face.
Arnacia quickly got out of the tent when she heard the conversation. The commotion causing maids did not notice her. She looked around to see if someone was watching, then she signaled Isabelle to come out.
The two maids walked toward Eleanor's group. But the sound of the zipper stopped them in their tracks. They looked back at the tent beside the ones they slept in. A green head popped out of the tent and looked at either side.
'What is she doing here?!' Arnacia stepped away from Isabelle after she saw the sight. Ester, Emma, Eleanor and Cecelia also looked in this direction, as if danger lurked here.
Naomi stopped the stealth act when she noticed the two maids who were looking at her. She dusted her clothes and ignored everyone's gaze. Her mood was awful, but it softened after she saw Arnacia's worried face.
"Ester saw her coming out of Isabelle's tent!" Emma immediately joined in to create a fuss about the situation.
Naomi snorted lightly on hearing the words. She walked straight towards her target. Her confidence, or call it arrogance, was as if she was not trespassing and, in fact, it was exactly the place she needed to be.
"Emma will report it to Miss Rosalia. You wanted to harm Isabelle." Emma and Ester pressed further. And this time managed to spark a reaction from Naomi.
"I would never step an inch into her tent!" Naomi gave them a venomous look, then turned her eyes to Arnacia, and her expression was normal again. "I thought it was my Arnacia's tent," she said, as if it was her very right to sleep at that place, causing all the listeners to be flabbergasted. "Arnacia, is that not your tent?" she asked.
"Ester told you, that was Isabelle's tent." The delightful morning (with a new topic to converse and a new relationship to support) was ruined and her voice made it very clear.
"I saw you working on it yesterday." Naomi ignored Ester and looked at Arnacia for an answer.
Arnacia shook her head and gave a light smile, but her hidden thoughts were chaotic. What was Naomi doing in the tent and was she there all night? A chill went down her spine, but she maintained the smile.
"Then which one is yours?" Naomi wrapped her arms around Arnacia's waist. The two faces were close and one tried to advance further, very slowly.