The first rays cast by the morning sun sneaked through the window and nded right on Kyra’s face. In any other morning she would have given a disappointed sigh before getting up and rushing to prepare for the day.

  But it wasn’t a typical day.

  She picked up a robe from the floor, haphazardly discarded the night before, and wrapped herself with it. With careful moves, trying to make as little noise as possible, she slowly rose from the bed.

  Just as she was about to step away, an arm gracefully wrapped itself around her waist and pulled her back to bed.

  "Mm? Where do you think you’re going?" chimed a voice like bells in the wind. A voice that brought a wide grin on Kyra’s face with a single sylble, a voice that to her was the most beautiful melody.

  She leaned down and swept away a stray strand of hair from Lin Xuen’s breathtaking face.

  "I have to go attend to my duties. You should sleep longer, it’s still very early," she whispered softly, as if she was afraid that the illusion would shatter if her voice was too loud.

  But it wasn’t an illusion. It wasn’t a dream or a magic trick. Lin Xuen was currently in her bed, where she spent the night by her side. Again.

  "I thought I’m your duty," Xuen teased, propping her head with her hand.

  What Kyra learned in the recent days is that the Imperial Princess, despite her elegant and proper demeanor, had quite the penchant for mischief and trouble-making.

  Just like st night, when she sneaked to her room, long after the whole Pace succumbed to the nd of dreams.

  "I missed you," she decred, as if the simplicity of that sentence was enough to justify and excuse breaking the established order of things that made their retionship impossible.

  Except, it was enough. It was enough for Kyra, to forget about her own rules, forget the logic which kept telling her that this can never work.

  She cast aside the worries, the reason, the sense of impropriety and for the first time in her life, she chose to be selfish.

  She chose to be lost in Xuen’s passionate kisses, and allowed herself to be intoxicated by her taste.

  Because the truth was, she missed her too. It didn’t matter that they’ve been spending every single moment together.

  It was enough that she stepped outside the door, once the day was over, to feel the overwhelming need to run back and see her again.

  Seeing that Kyra was lost in her thoughts and that a faint blush crept up her neck and dusted her face, the Dragon Princess pushed herself up on the bed.

  "Could it be," she purred, her face mere inches away from the girl, "that you’ve been thinking about st night?"

  Kyra gasped, overwhelmed by the sudden closeness.

  "Or perhaps…" Xuen continued, her eyes dropping to her lips, "your memory needs to be refreshed?" She didn’t wait for an answer. Her lips parted slightly, as the tip of her tongue traced the seam of Kyra’s mouth.

  A fire surged through the girls body. The unstoppable cataclysm that threatened to burn everything in its way unless it’s desire was satisfied. And there was nothing more that Kyra wanted but to let it take whatever it wants.

  However, while the emotions reveled in the mystery of the night. Reason triumphed in daylight.

  She leaned back unwillingly, forcing herself to get up and put a distance between Xuen and her.

  "I have to get ready. There’s plenty of work to do," she sighed.

  The Dragon Princess was clearly displeased with the reaction.

  "But I thought I’m your mistress for now," she pouted. "If I’m here then what else is there to attend to?"

  Seeing the usually composed Lin Xuen acting so spoiled made Kyra let out a soft giggle.

  "You are, but there are also other chores to take care of around the Pace. I have to see if my sister needs anything as well."

  Xuen rolled her eyes theatrically.

  "She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself."

  "She is, but I should still check up on her."

  There was a brief moment of silence between them, during which the Dragon Princess fell back on the pillow, lost in thought.

  "What if you stay here with me and then if anyone asks you can say I cast a spell on you to keep you in bed?" She asked suddenly, sparkles of mischief dancing in her bck eyes.

  Kyra smiled.

  "I’d rather you didn’t put any spells on me, Your Imperial Highness." She sat at the edge of the bed again and leaned over Xuen. "Otherwise I would have to call the guards on you. In case you have forgotten, Your Imperial Highness, magic… is… forbidden," she pressed her lips against Xuen’s, drawing an exasperated gasp.

  The Dragon Princess, finally able to have what what had been denied to her a moment ago, wrapped her arms around Kyra, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

  Each touch, each gesture filled with insatiable hunger that was driving her at the edge of madness.

  Xuen wasn’t a stranger to passion or desire. She felt them before. She indulged in them before. But never, not even once, she felt the way she did with Kyra.

  It was as if her body became addicted to her the first time they kissed. Once she tasted it, she couldn’t think about anything else except wanting more.

  She thought that satisfying the wants of her body would stifle the hunger burning inside. And yet, the moment she tasted it, it destroyed her, ruined her, broke her apart and made anew. For this new Lin Xuen the only thing that mattered was to be close to Kyra and never let her go.

  Because seeing her bend and break under her touch, unravel in her arms and show the raw, unguarded, true self only to her… It turned the hunger into a torrent of fire, ignited by the yearning of the heart itself.

  Once she was able to reluctantly set herself free from Lin Xuen’s embrace, Kyra went straight to Valeria.

  She knew the Dragon Princess was right, and that her sister would be perfectly fine without her help in the morning. It was, however, one of the very few moments they could spend together. The older they got the busier their lives became. Among the rush of every day chores, it was difficult to find a quiet moment for each other.

  Even though Valeria wasn’t her blood retive, in Kyra’s eyes she was always the only family she had. That being said, she was always preparing herself for the moment when her sister inevitably distanced herself to start her own family. Despite all of her adamant decrations that she has no pns or urge to do so.

  Nevertheless, Kyra wasn’t blind or naive. She could see the longing gazes, admiration, fascination that Valeria seemed to be so oblivious to. Maybe she would even believe that they would be always be together, just the two of them, if not for Oriana.

  Kyra noticed very fast that the Princess herself was interested in her sister, even if she didn’t realize it herself.

  From the very moment they started living in the Pace, Oriana kept following Valeria around. At first, she thought it was just the usual childish admiration. After all, her sister was very capable and impressive ever since she remembered.

  With time, however, what Kyra had written off as simple juvenile fascination turned into something much more. She saw the same longing, the same attraction in Oriana’s eyes as in all of the others.

  But this time it was different. This time, she saw the same fondness reflected by her sister.

  Kyra had to admit, though, that despite the mutual feelings between them, their retionship didn’t seem to progress at all. At least not in the way she was expecting.

  Maybe I was wrong, after all…, she thought, navigating through the Pace on the sheer power of muscle memory.

  Too preoccupied with her thoughts, Kyra didn’t even notice that she was standing in front of Valeria’s door and her body, driven by daily habits, nonchantly flung it wide open.

  "Don’t think that I’ll let you off the hook just because we slept together!"

  The scene before her eyes didn’t leave much room for interpretation.

  Oriana, wearing only her nightgown, nestled into Valeria chest and attempting to undress her… And her sister appeared to been enjoying it!

  Kyra felt the heat rise to her head. To think she committed such a faux pas and forgot to knock today of all of the days!

  "I’m so terribly sorry! I’ll come back ter! Please, forget I was here," the girl started withdrawing from the room, trying to not be incinerated from the shame, guilt and perhaps a pinch of excitement.

  "There’s no need," Valeria stopped her, "Oriana spent the night here."

  "Yes, so I have noticed."

  "We just slept together."

  "Please, I don’t need to know the details."

  Judging by the shade of red on her face, Oriana was dangerously close to detonation.

  "Just stop talking," she stepped between Valeria and Kyra, "Kyra, this is not what you’re thinking. I can expin!"

  DannyTheDaikon