Lenora made her way back to her room and just let herself fall into her soft bed. Lightly perfumed, and somewhat pleasant. At least for the first few minutes. But then the sweaty nauseating stench of the armor filled her nostrils and she wanted to hurl.
Why did I have to act to so stupid… she dug her face into a pillow and exhaled. And he… he likes big boobs now? She really wanted to punch him in the face for saying. After all, Lenora had always been a bit self-conscious about her chest or the lack thereof.
But her insecurities aside, she now had the mammoth task of stopping the invasion. She was tired, and she needed to get to work right away. A perfect excuse to stop overthinking.
"My lady," some knocks on the door.
Alberto had brought her change of clothes. A red uniform with a hat and pants. "Thank you but aren't these for men?"
"But I was informed you fancy these clothes," he eyed the girl before him.
Baggy armor. She'd still been in that same mess.
"You were informed incorrectly," she said with half a groan.
"Would you like me to bring another pair-" He'd also brought underwear, which luckily weren't for men.
"We don't have time for that. I'll change. Go fetch the elf, I think his name was Drifus? Go fetch him and tell him we're going to leave right away. Oh, and ready the portal."
"You'll use the portal my lady? You will be in enemy lands and-"
"I know what I'm doing."
"Very well."
Suspicion was always a problem. No matter how or what she explained, they would always suspect her. She expected as much. However, they were, or at least the butler was being rather cooperative which sort of made her feel odd. Rather odd.
But she didn't have time to worry about that. Right now, she had to stop an invasion no matter how sleep deprived she was.
Click- she locked the door.
Her armor and clothes dropped on the floor. Normally, she'd have taken a shower to get the icky feeling to stop. But there was little time for that.
Her face… her young face somewhat irked her. Back then she'd done so many stupid things, and just looking at her face reminded her of those cringey moments and those feelings and…. She sighed, wore her new dress, and took another look. Both fit her perfectly; even the underwear. When and how the butler got her measurements, she wasn't sure but the fit was undeniably perfect. I actually look, kind of good. Maybe I'll do some makeup too?
"You look wonderful, my lady," the elf said.
They stood before a room. A dark room. Some odd mumblings came out of there from time to time but nothing too serious, yet.
"Feel free to call me Lenora," she said. "I'll call you Drifus."
"Alright, Lenora."
"And you understand what we're doing, yes?"
"Yes."
"While I said I won't betray you, I'm sure you also understand that you're not allowed to betray me either. If you do, that stone on your neck-"
"Will explode, I'm aware my l- ahem- Lenora."
The elf wore his silky white dress and a stone necklace. A necklace that everyone else knew as a 'slave collar': he hid it beneath the neck sleeve but anyone could see the silver string. He wasn't bound by any contracts like typical slaves but he couldn't harbor ill will toward his master, Lenora.
"Why didn't you forge the contract with me?" Drifus asked.
As a matter of fact, Alberto had insisted on several occasions for her to forge a contract just to be safe. But she chose not to.
"You don't need to know. I just need you to work hard for me and if you refuse, you can die in a ditch." The dark room lit up with blue fire. "They're ready, let's go."
A group of mages were running around frantically. Some buried their faces in books, while others muttered feverously and almost crashed into each other. Circle upon magic circle crowded the whole floor. A similar feeling. Similar to when she got here. The same goosebumps and the same smell of sandalwood.
"The Portal connects to the outskirts of Crotchetown," the maid said. "While it is still within Droban's territory, Crotchetown operates independently."
"And the lord of Crochetown, Viscount Monsor, is known as the undead King, I recall."
The maid gave Lenora a funny glance. Funny in the sense that- what are you smoking? "No, it's ruled by Viscount Monbert. He's the kindest man alive."
"Huh?"
"It is ready. Prepare to evacuate!" One of the mages screamed and everyone ran out.
The maid too. "Good luck, and hopefully you won't come back with limbs or organs missing: Though if you do, I shall prepare a nice warm bath for you."
"Th-thanks," Lenora mumbled, before letting out a big sigh.
Fuck, I only went there after the fucking invasion. Of course, the current ruler is different.
As she kept on contemplating her stupidity, lights disappeared and the whole room ended up engulfed in blue fire, burning both of them to ashes. The fire disappeared, replaced by faint light.
Lenora groaned. "Still as painful and debilitating as ever," she yawned, pointing at the large wall before her. "Come let us get acquainted and go in. Oh and, from now on, you're my lover, Marx."
"Right… Wait-"