Leta woke up at midnight... No, it was already past 1 AM.
Her first instinct was to grab the metal, tube-like weapon that was 3.5 centimeters in diameter and 19.8 centimeters long—her lightsaber.
She had been awaken by a bang on the window. Probably did not involve any kind of magic, or the witch's defense would have noticed.
Astarte Igvar buttoned the lightsaber on the pants of her pajamas, at the waist, and went downstairs, her bare foot pressing softly on the wooden floor, as her hand guided her on the cold gray walls, looking around to see if someone had invaded.
"Irene is still sleeping, as always." She murmured to herself, opening the wooden door to the outside world.
It was unlikely that the attackers from yesterday would give her a warning, it could also be just a bird or a cat that had hit the window accidentally. But her instincts told her to check, just to be sure.
"..." Leta looked through the small crack in the door, her eyes didn't let her see much beyond the street dimly lit by lamps.
"Ah, yes..." The girl closed her eyes, focusing on the area near the magic potions and items store.
A man was thinking about doing perverted things with his wife when he'd get home, a preschool boy who had a crush on his teacher, and...
'What should I say when I see her? I can't just come and say that I was the one who tried to kill her, right?? It'll be better if I pretend I don't know her, yes, it will work. Go on, Groso. You're that guy! You are the man! You can do this!'
A wide grin spread across her face as she read the man's mind.
One of the people who tried to kill her was now trying to strike up a conversation right in front of her house. How cute.
(I'll play along.) She chuckled deviously to herself as she went out in the cold of the night.
Leta stood there, staring at the stars for a while.
The man, just about thirty meters away, next to a light pole watched her in dazzling. He was psyching himself up, and Astarte couldn't help but find it cute.
The man had a considerably strong build, of course, he was a soldier. His short hair was a bit messy, Leta doubted that he was the type to look after his appearance. His fair skin had some scars here and there, but they seemed to be perfectly placed just to make his face more attractive.
After a few more minutes, he finally walked up to her.
"Hm? O-oh, ah...! Hmm." (Play it cool, play it cool!) "Oh, hi Gro—I mean, mister... Whose name I don't know. Hello, stranger."
(Fuck, I almost said his fucking name! Will he think I'm weird now???????) Princess Leta could barely hold her fake smile.
'Does she think I'm weird!? I bet she does! Who the fuck would just walk up to a girl in the middle of the night! Morning?! What time is it?!'
(He's just as bad at this as I am, huh.)
"S-so, what's your name?" He asked.
Leta could see that he already knew, though. Probably because she's his target.
"It's... Leticia."
His eyes darted around. "Leticia, yeah, okay. Pretty name, Leticia. Yes."
"And yours... Mister?"
"Uhh, mine... Mine is... Gro... ggy. Groggy is my name, yes. Haha. Hi, Letícia, I'm Groggy."
"Hahahaha..."
"Hahahaha..."
They both kept at it for a while, it had already become awkward but they didn't know how to break the tension.
'Leticia's' eyes darted around, and she remembered that there was a bar a few blocks from Elmo Street but she REALLY couldn't go there with 'Groggy' or they'd think he was going to bang her in the bathroom.
(Guh... And the owner prohibited me from having sex there unless I gave him a 'free trial'... Damn opportunist.)
"Hey... Mister Gro... ggy. Do you want to go for a walk with me?"
"Y-yeah... Sure." He nodded frantically.
Leticia was staring down at the ground of a street paved with gravel and stones, four ants were passing by and entered a small crack in a house. They were soon eaten by a fire lizard that was hiding inside.
After a few minutes, they stopped by a stone bridge, Groggy rested his elbows on the railing and watched the river below them.
The lights of the stars beautifully illuminating the bridge, and the girl's face now seemed more pretty than before.
Groggy looked down as he forced himself to keep the conversation going.
"Hmm, hey. How old are you, Leticia?"
"Me? I'm seventeen." She played with her hair. "And you?"
"Twenty-one."
"Haha. So we're not that far apart. For a while, I thought you were much older than me." The girl put a hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter.
"Do you have any friends, Groggy?" She asked.
"Friends? Uhh... I... guess? They're more like teammates." He said, his voice cracking a little.
That amused the girl and she leaned forward. "Oh? Teammates? What, do you play sports?"
"Ah... Hahahaha, yes! Yes, I play sports. They're my... My football teammates. We're just a small team though... Ha ha..." Groggy's eyes widened a little, his forehead sweating visibly.
"Eh, that's cool. I have just two friends. I like them, though. Even though one scares me a lot and the other one is a pervert." She muttered the last part to herself, in a slightly annoyed tone.
That made Groggy raise an eyebrow, but Leticia decided to not hand him further information or it might come back to bite her later.
"Anyway..." She leaned back again, getting out of his personal space.
He had finally noticed something, though. So he hadn't commented on whatever she had said.
Groggy was quiet, "..." His gaze was fitting Leticia's waist. He was staring at the metal piece clipped to the bar of her pajamas.
She noticed it and decided to ignore it. Groggy had no intention of stealing it from her.
"This was a present... My mother's last gift." She took the tube with one hand and pressed the button on it.
At the same moment, a source of red plasma came out, lighting up the stone bridge and the couple's faces a little.
The hot plasma was contained by a field, keeping the heat from affecting the wielder and its surroundings. The energy blade emitted was one meter long.
She stared at the red energy blade, without making a single noise or taking her eyes away from it.
Groggy could see very clearly, even if he barely knew her.
"Do you miss your mom?"
"Un..." That was all that the girl could have said.
Somehow, he could understand her. Now that he could see her from up close, they weren't much different from each other at all.
Kingdom Rosé, Kingdom Ciliegia... It didn't matter where one would be born, they were all the same in one way or another.
Scratching his neck, Groggy sighed and looked up at the girl staring at the red energy blade.
"Hey, so... I have to go now, it's getting late and my friends might get worried. It was nice... Talking to you... And all." He said as he gave her a small smile.
Without saying anything else, he turned to walk off the stone bridge.
In nothing but two beats, the girl turned off the red energy blade, grabbed the man's arm, and pulled him down to her height...
"Mmm!??" Groggy moaned as he was caught by surprise.
She kissed him.
Maybe she wanted to give him a little gift for spending some time with her; in all those five years she had been living outside of the castle, he was the first one aside from the witch and the knight.
Or maybe she was just using him as an atonement.
But that didn't matter.
Those two were man and woman now.
They both shared that intimate moment for what seemed to be an eternity.
His hands ran around her small, frail frame, as her hands grasped on his muscular physique. Without breaking the kiss, the two explored each other's bodies as they held each other tightly in a warm arm.
The couple took the opportunity to touch each other as much as they could.
But not erotically. No, they wouldn't dare.
The thought of tarnishing the purity of this beautiful moment did not even cross their minds.
The man and woman just wanted to feel human warmth.
Something they hadn't felt in a long time, and finally they had what they wanted so much.
Love.