Chapter Text
“I knew someone was sneaking around back here.”
Elaine stood up quickly, whipping around, away from the castle wall. Once she realized who it was that had happened upon her, an easy smile grew on her face, and her hand immediately found the wall to lean against.
“Alcina.”
The tall countess observed the woman skeptically as she walked closer. Her eyes went to the ground where small budding flowers were just growing. She looked back to the woman who was not so subtly attempting to cover them with her legs and failing.
Elaine sighed, realizing it was no use. “Well I planted the bloody things. I should take care of them.”
Alcina gave a blank stare. “I’ll have one of the gardeners tend to them.”
“You won’t.” Elaine narrowed her eyes. “No, I think you’d be happy to seem them wilt.”
Alcina raised a perfect brow. “I assure you. I have nothing against your tulips.”
“Lilies. They’re lilies, not tul—you know what?” Elaine pressed her hands together and held them in front of her face. “It’s fine. I will take care of them.” She pointed her hands outward like a double handed karate chop. “If I won’t, then who will?”
The countess gave an unimpressed look, like she couldn’t believe she was spending a second of her precious time on this interaction. “As I said—I will have someone look after them. Now if you please,” She gestured toward the woods where she assumed the woman had trekked her way in from. “Get off of my property.”
Without giving Elaine a chance to explain herself, Alcina turned and walked back to the castle doors.
The woman sighed as she watched her walk away, standing alone in the silent outdoors. She looked down at her small bundle of lilies and bent down, gently touching the un-bloomed heads.
“She used to appreciate you guys, you know. But that was a long time ago.” She tutted. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get enough love and care. Just ignore the fact that I forgot my watering can today.”
*—*—*—*—*
5 years ago…
The pair lie in bed together. Alcina's bed is more than accomodating for such things—as if it was made just for the two of them. Elaine reads a book before bed as she does every night. It's the fifth book in the series and she's stoked. Alcina looks over her notes with her reading glasses on because obviously there's nothing better to do in bed than to keep working.
“You’re not masturbating under the covers right now, are you?”
Elaine frowned, turning toward Alcina. “No?”
“Oh.” Alcina turned back to her ledgers, her eyes running down the page. “You’re just breathing really loudly.”
Elaine lowered her book and shifted her shoulders to face Alcina more. “No I’m not. I’m breathing normally.” She took a couple example breaths. “See, this is how I breathe.”
Without looking up from her notes, Alcina responded. “Then you’ve always breathed loudly and I never noticed till now.”
Seemingly offended by the criticism of noises she made to live, Elaine shut her book and gave full attention. “Listen right now. Am I breathing weird?”
“I said you were breathing loudly, not weirdly—”
“Okay, whatever. Weirdly, loudly—am I breathing loud right now?” Elaine inhaled and exhaled quickly to show.
Alcina flipped the page. “If you speed up your breathing, then of course it’s going to be louder.”
“Okay, now. What about now?” She tried to breathe normally and there was just breathing noises for about thirty seconds. “I feel like,” She shifted her body around. “My diaphragm is like contracting and it’s affecting my breathing. I think I have to be straight.” She kept her body perfectly straight on the bed and proceeded to breathe in silence once more.
Alcina flipped another page.
“Alcina?”
“Hm?”
“Are you listening?”
“You haven’t said anything.”
“To my breathing. Are you listening to my breathing?”
Alcina looked up, taking off her glasses. “Yes, dear. I think you are breathing normally. It sounds normal and fine and there’s nothing wrong with it.” She slid her glasses back on and turned back.
“That’s what I was saying.” Elaine nodded, satisfied that her tests had proven her findings correct.
Alcina grunted. “You still breathe like a hog, though.”
“Babe.” Elaine slammed her book back down after having just picked it back up. “I was reading an intense scene before, that’s it. I was getting a little too excited, my heart rate picked up, I thought my favorite character was about to fall off a cliff. That’s all.”
“Mmm.” She tilted her head. “It still sounds like that when you’re not reading.”
“So are you saying that I sound like a hog when I’m masturbating?”
“No.”
Elaine sighed, grabbing her book again. “Okay good. That’s all that matters then.”
“You do sound like that when I go down.”
“Please. For the love of Miranda—”
“Don’t bring my mother into this.”
“For the love of the gods.” Elaine gripped her book tightly. “Just stop talking. And turn your ears off or something. Your hearing’s too sensitive anyways.”
Alcina put down her ledger. “Turn my ears off? How am I supposed to turn my ears off?”
Elaine just shook her head, opening her book and turning onto her side to face away from Alcina.
The next morning, bright and early, Elaine stood in front of Alcina at breakfast, holding a bouquet of lilies and other flowers out to her. Alcina looked up from plate surprised.
“Where’d you get this?”
“Outside.” Elaine breathed. She had run quickly to grab them and tie the bow around and everything. “I grew them.”
Alcina’s brows raised even more as she took the flowers, examining them like she was half-expecting to find plastic and styrofoam parts. “So that’s what you’ve been doing… I thought you were and the girls were pulling pranks on the maids.”
“Oh no, we are,” Elaine clarified. “But I’ve also been watering these everyday and I made sure they had the right soil and the right amount of sunlight.”
Alcina took a sniff and was pleasantly surprised by the realness. She slowly looked up from the petals. “You do know our anniversary isn’t for another four months, right?”
Elaine gave her a look. “I know that. This is just because I wanted to. I love you more than anything in the world and I feel like that doesn’t come across as much as I would like so…” She gestured to the bouquet again. “Flowers.” She smiled and Alcina’s heart fluttered at the slight nervousness that showed on the woman’s face. “Oh, and I guess also for breathing too loudly.”
Alcina stood up from her seat, but only to kneel down before the woman and take her hands into her own. “No. Thank you draga. I love you so much and I promise, your feelings come through just as much as they need to. I have never questioned your love for me, and I hope you don’t feel bad about anything like that.”
Elaine took a big breath, her cheeks turning pink. “Okay.” She smiled.
She took Alcina’s face into her hands and brought their lips together in an affectionate kiss.
“Ewww. It’s too early for this.”
They separated as the girls came into the dining room, rubbing the sleepiness from their eyes. Cassandra looked grossed out by the display, while Daniela looked mostly confused.
“Did you tell her about the vase?” Bela asked as she walked in behind her sisters.
Elaine froze as Alcina stood up.
“What vase?” Alcina turned to her daughter, the smile still on her face as her hand caressed Elaine’s shoulder.
Elaine coughed like her guilt had turned frog-shaped and was attempting to climb out her throat.
Bela shook her head. “Oh. I guess you haven’t told her then.”
Alcina turned to Elaine with a confused smile, holding the flowers in her other hand. “What’s she talking about, draga? What vase?”
“Oh!” Daniela dropped her fist into her other hand and they both looked at her. “You mean the vase that Elaine broke yesterday? Oh that was funny.”
The grip on her shoulder tightened and Elaine laughed nervously as she attempted to pull out of the grip.
“I want you to remember, Alcina,” She rushed. “I love you. A lot.”
Elaine was forced to sleep in the maid quarters that night and for many nights after.