"C-calm down," she said tremulously.
Morgan remembered everything that had happened in detail. From when he grabbed her hand roughly, to how she tried to flirt with him as a joke wanting to see him nervous, and especially how he comforted her and they ended up embracing.
The comfort she had found in his embrace was a calm she hadn't experienced in a long, long time.
She grabbed her face, wanting to hide from the world despite already being alone, leaned back, and began to writhe on the bed. Morgan swayed from side to side like a worm that had been sprinkled with salt.
She heard a thundering sound at every instant; it resonated in her ears with such force that it sounded like a war drum. She quickly identified where it was coming from: it was inside her, in her chest.
Her face, covered by her hands, was contorted in a radiant shame as bright as the color of her face.
'Why!? Why did I do that and act like that?'
Nervousness and regret began to crush her. Her normally dignified and quite intimidating face was deeply flushed. If Morgan had been able to see herself in a mirror, she wouldn't have been able to tell herself apart from a tomato.
Her hands shivered the more she remembered what had happened; in her life, she had tasted shame more than once. Each of those times was a before and after in her life, but she had never felt so agitated as in this instant. So full of helplessness and shame…
'What am I going to do now? I started whimpering on his chest! Me! And… he embraced me! He… he… what does he think of me? Why do I care what he thinks of me?'
"Ah, ah! Dammit!" she growled, clenching her teeth and sinking deeper into the shame.
Morgan breathed and tried to calm down; her heart and mind were in a chaotic state, appearing to battle in a dance of emotions and feelings to see which could torment her more.
She inhaled and exhaled deeply. Morgan understood that she had to steady herself; nothing good would come from being in perpetual nervousness now. She closed her eyes, seeking to calm her mind.
For a few moments, everything went well; the thundering coming from her chest began to be less intense and the tremors subsided.
Then, with her eyes closed, being in complete darkness, a pair of compassionate eyes and a reassuring smile manifested before her eyes as if the figure were being seared into her retina. The figure observed her with gentleness and spoke to her:
"Princess Morgan," whispered the figure of the handsome shopkeeper.
"Noooo, no, no, no!"
Morgan shrieked and writhed again before the wave of shame. And then she stopped and sat up abruptly on the bed.
'Enough! Calm down. This is unsightly of you; just imagine if they were watching you… if Master Sunless were looking at me…'
"Noooo!" she shrieked, falling back onto the bed.
She was in a sort of loop for an inestimable amount of time, trying to recover from the nervous breakdown, only to fall back onto the bed writhing. She stayed like that until, at some point, the nerves and the embarrassment became tolerable.
Her face was still flushed, her hair was messy, and her gaze was insecure. She stared at the ceiling as if it were the most entertaining thing she could do.
She had recently realized that the night had risen. Time had passed in a blink, and she had done nothing but be in her room. It was when the moonlight bathed her with its glow through her window that Morgan finally came to her senses.
With a somewhat cooler head, Morgan sat on the bed, crossing her legs. She sighed deeply and looked at her hands, which were covered by gloves.
She had dismissed her armor a while ago, remaining only in light and more comfortable clothes.
There, Morgan reviewed the events of the day with more serenity.
Things had not gone well at all… she wanted to avoid thinking about the incident she caused, but it was impossible not to; it slipped into her thoughts and imposed itself on her mind like a flash in the dark.
This event was something she had to face, perhaps.
Morgan already knew how fast the Council of Elders acted when it came to delicate matters. They should have already suppressed the news before it began to circulate. In case they couldn't suppress it, they would simply manipulate the information, flipping the story around. There were all kinds of schemes to cover up what happened. But none of that changed what had truly happened.
She let out a tired sigh. 'A big one is going to hit me, isn't it?'
She could already hear the irritating, dry voice of the elders lecturing her about her behavior; despite how irritating and annoying those elders were, she didn't think she could feel irritated this time, and normally she would. But as strange as it seemed, the idea of receiving a reprimand caused her an unexplainable sense of comfort.
The expression on her face fell. 'I just hope the little one is okay.'
After a moment of calm came a rising tide of unease, thinking about the little girl she had hurt; there was no way to eliminate those memories from her mind, nor would she allow herself to.
She would remember that every day as a punishment; that way, she wouldn't make a mistake again.
It wasn't the only thing she constantly remembered; she used her failures as fuel to keep going, but lately, she felt more and more tired remembering them, day after day.
Morgan stopped to look at herself in bewilderment; she had remembered something she had been ignoring.
Why had her Transformation spiraled out of control?
She didn't know what had happened; those parts of her memory were somewhat blurry. In any case, it wasn't pleasant to try to relive them, but it wasn't something she could ignore.
Morgan grabbed her right arm and pulled back the enchanted fabric of her long sleeve.
Faint, pink scars greeted her. Almost completely healed.
'What happened to me? Dammit, it's hard to remember, it's like a mental blackout, but the second time…'
Again, a pinkish flash crossed Morgan's cheeks.
'Before Master Sunless… embraced me… my arm was transforming.'
Morgan stared into the void, trying to evaluate what happened, but in trying to do so, she froze and returned to the same starting point.
It was disconcerting; she knew something wasn't right, but she didn't know what it was or why she felt the way she did.
The uncertainty grew, and the room began to seem smaller and smaller while, for some reason, the temperature became lower and lower.
Morgan hugged herself; her once soft face was contorting into an anguished expression.
But then, a memory rose, vivid and dazzling.
Her expression softened, and her cheeks flushed once more in a soft pink.
She remembered a warm embrace, devoid of any other purpose than to take care of her, and in it… she felt safe in a different way. Incomparable to the calm offered by a weapon against a nightmare creature; it was something more intimate, like the peace of her own room.
She had felt protected. For the first time in many years, perhaps for the first time in her entire life, she experienced what a selfless embrace was.
In that moment, she had shown fragility like never before in her life; she had cried inconsolably on his chest until she fell asleep.
The cold of the night began to fade before a radiant warmth that enveloped her.
Morgan let herself fall back on the bed, but this time not to writhe. She lay looking at the ceiling and let the warmth envelop her completely.
Quickly, her discomforts ceased to be so present; they were still there, but she could ignore them; something more pleasant deserved her attention.
'I understand what's going on'—she narrowed her eyes, looking to the sides.
She closed her eyes and let out a deep exhale.
'I'm not a lost teenager not to understand it; I'm old enough, I suppose.'
Morgan brought both hands to her chest, letting herself be enveloped even more by the warm sensation of the memory.
She half-opened her eyes, which had a peculiar dancing glow in her vermilion irises.
'It's pretty obvious, I think I like him…'
Morgan swallowed hard; just thinking about it made her throat dry. Her heart beat again like a drum, only this time not wildly. She turned her body, lying on her side in bed, and thought selfishly:
'But just a little bit, nothing more.'
After deciphering her feelings about Master Sunless, contrary as it might seem, Morgan did not feel nervous about her resolution; it was what it was, and she couldn't change it for the moment, nor did she feel like doing so.
Even so, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. Was what she felt reciprocal in some way? It probably wasn't, and she was fine with that. In retrospect, she had only seen him on two occasions; two times were enough to lead her to where she was now, lying in bed thinking about her feelings.
She doubted that anything similar happened to him; at the end of the day, he had only known "Moira" and "Morgan" as two different people. There was no similarity between her disguise and who she was herself; she was completely sure there was no possibility of having been recognized; it was simply impossible.
Then the question appeared. 'Now what?'
She had admitted it, she liked him. But she couldn't just show up as Morgan, the princess of the Valor Clan, at his door demanding a date… or could she?
She was certainly capable of doing it; however, there was another way to do things that would be less drastic, or at least avoid the possibility of scaring Master Sunless away.
There were also other issues that Morgan was overlooking at that moment, such as her status, her own time, and her disposition. She wasn't exactly a person with too much free time; she had to resolve issues that she preferred to forget every time she was free of them.
She had tons of things to think about before a hypothetical romance, which she wasn't very sure was feasible.
But her mind wasn't focused on that now.
'Yes, I'm going to see him tomorrow… I have to think of a plan, but to do it, I have to know more about him. What do I actually know? He's handsome, he's kind… his arms are warm… his chest is toned, I felt it through his clothes. Was it enchanted clothing? It must be, otherwise I would have torn him to pieces.'
Morgan's eyes opened subtly and the twinkle in her eyes diminished.
'That's right… my failure.'
She had completely forgotten it; upon realizing it, it was as if she had been slapped. She went blank for a moment, staring into space.
But then the twinkle in her gaze became as intense as before.
'I'll take care of those matters later. Ah, does he have a girlfriend? That wouldn't be good, but… that's the least of it, I'll solve it. What does he like? What size does he wear? What…?'
Questions began to come and go. Everything else that wasn't the figure of the short shopkeeper lacked value.
Time took its course. She didn't manage to sleep that night; for the second time, she let time pass thinking about the figure of Master Sunless, and that was fine with her. What was a day without sleep?
'Ah. In fact, I did sleep.'
The memory of taking a tiny nap on Master Sunless's chest crossed her brain like an enchanting flash. Upon doing so, a new resolution arose within her.
'I want to feel his arms again… I'm sorry Master Sunless, I know what I want clearly, you're not going to get away from me.'
"We'll see each other tomorrow," she whispered with contained emotion.
A mischievous smile crossed her red lips.
XXX
Morgan's smile had become a forced grimace, trying to contain the urge to tear through the shop's interior, specifically the young and not-so-young girls who looked and whispered things about Master Sunless.
They didn't have the decency to keep their rude comments to themselves. Not one bit.
"Look, look. She's sitting with him. Did you see how she looks at him?" asked one of the girls in the back in a whisper to her seemingly friend beside her.
"I see, I see. She's devouring him with her eyes; she probably wants to sleep with him, what a slut. Besides, she's ugly."
"Yeah, yeah. Very ugly."
Morgan could feel a vein throbbing in her forehead.
The comments were maddening. But she could bear them. After all, the one they desired was in front of her with a tense smile.
After the peculiar girl who worked taking orders let her into the kitchen, she dragged Sunless out to have a coffee.
They had much to talk about.
"So… you're quite popular, it seems, don't you think?"
Morgan shot him a teasing look while taking a sip of her coffee.
"Popular? I don't think so; I'm quite forgettable, I think, Lady Moira."
"Stop right there," Morgan said as soon as Sunless finished. "Stop calling me 'Lady,' just call me Moira like last time, remember?"
"Yes…" Sunless's face became tense. "Moira."
Morgan's smile recovered. She took a sip of her steaming coffee, savoring the exquisite taste, and then said:
"I like that better, Sunless." She put special emphasis on his name.
Morgan hoped the shopkeeper would look visibly uncomfortable; she liked seeing him nervous. Something inside her fluttered when that happened.
But that didn't happen; instead, Master Sunless looked her in the eyes, with sincerity.
He stared at her for a few seconds, clearly thoughtful, until he finally spoke:
"Call me Sunny, please. It would be more comfortable for me."
She was stunned for a second, as if something valuable had been thrown at her out of nowhere.
'A nickname? Is he giving me his nickname? Good! But let's go slowly first, don't scare him, let's test the waters first.'
Morgan's plan was simple; however, it was quite far from her usual methodology. Normally she would simply go and take Master Sunless and that's it, but she decided to do something more… normal.
She wanted to get to know him, and in a way be able to see him again as soon as possible, but she wouldn't admit that for now.
To execute her plan, it was indispensable to use her other identity, Moira. Otherwise, it would be impossible for everything not to end in a complete and absolute disaster. It could still end that way, but as long as he didn't suspect who she was, everything was fine.
"Sunny…" she whispered before breaking into a smile. "I like it, I find it funny. It's quite a drastic change, Sunless to Sunny."
Sunny chuckled and looked away.
"I think it is, but this one has more charm."
Now it was Morgan's turn to let out a chuckle. "I think the same."
With her elbow on the table, Morgan rested her face in her hand and admired Sunny with growing emotion; the smile on her face wouldn't go away no matter how much she wanted it to. Even so, she wasn't going to waste the moment by staying in a staring contest.
"Tell me then, Sunny, did you like the way I paid you back what I owed you? I hope that money was enough."
Morgan saw how the hand with which Sunless grabbed his coffee cup trembled slightly.
"It was quite… exaggerated form of compensation if you ask me, but it was certainly enough. Too sufficient; it would be enough for me to live about three lives if I manage it well."
"Oh, in that case, why haven't you closed this shop then? You could already live peacefully if you so desired."
Sunny shot her a look again as if he were studying her, which made her feel a little nervous, but she managed to hide it well.
"It's true, I could simply close and live squandering the money without much else, but there are a few problems that I can't ignore… So I think I've barely taken out a handful of the coins; in fact, I haven't even spent them. Actually, I'd appreciate it if you took that money with you. I'm not rejecting your gesture, it's just that so much money…"—Sunny glanced at the girl attending the tables—"can bring unwanted problems, you understand me? Even if it doesn't look like it, I have many problems…"
Morgan took a while to respond; she blinked a couple of times. Suddenly Sunny started talking to her as if he had several charges against him and was someone extremely wanted, contrasting with his nervous, even timid appearance.
"I understand…" she said, disconcerted. "But I won't take the money back, and I won't discuss it."
Sunny didn't bother to look at her properly; he was looking toward his cup when he replied:
"Alright."
Morgan looked strangely at Sunny, who had his gaze fixed on his cup.
Morgan noticed how Sunny's gaze tried to evade her; she narrowed her eyes, giving him a curious look.
'Alright?'
She was disconcerted again; despite what she had stated a moment ago, she did plan to discuss it and incidentally entertain herself by making him nervous. Also, to learn more about his character. She wanted to know him more and more after all; she wanted to know who the person who made her evoke so much emotion was.
In general, everything was going as she had speculated; they would simply talk and little more. she wasn't going to make any hasty decisions for now; however, who knew what she could do next time. But for now, as long as it was limited to a chat…
'What could go wrong?'
Morgan looked at her steaming cup of coffee; it was excellent just like last time. He had prepared it for her, so she noticed the slight change in flavor.
There was something strange, not only in the coffee, but in Sunny himself.
"Excuse me, Sunny." Morgan looked up and narrowed her eyes slightly, and with a subtle voice said:
"I notice you're acting strange. Is something wrong?"
At the question, Sunny's cup, which was going toward his own lips, stopped. He stared into the inside of the cup and after a couple of breaths answered.
"Things always happen to one," he replied dryly.
Clearly, his answer tried to be evasive; it was evident to Morgan, who without any hesitation could insist again with the question; seeing him try to divert the subject could be very entertaining for her.
But for this once she gave in; she would find out what was happening later.
She had more interesting questions to ask him.
She took a quick breath, preparing to land her first key question. Which could change the dynamic of things and her plans quite a bit. Whatever the answer, Morgan was very anxious to hear it.
"Tell me, Sunny… do you have a girlf—"
When she was about to ask her question, suddenly a huge shadow was projected over her and a lively voice spoke.
"Long time no see, precious comrade! How have you been, Master Sunless?"
Morgan turned around, from whom the sudden presence came; upon seeing who it was, her expression couldn't help but break into one of complete surprise.
'Raised by Wolves!?'
Effie broke into an even bigger smile when she noticed Morgan. "Oh, I see you have a new little friend," she added in a playful tone.
'Where did she come from? What is she doing here?...'—she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply—'Enough, there could be many reasons, we are in a shop; evaluate the situation and then react appropriately.'
When she opened her eyes, the shadow that was projected over her had disappeared and Effie's figure had moved to Sunny's side, with her face close to his ear. Sunny hadn't said a single word yet; by his expression, it could be said that he had equally been caught by surprise.
Effie made a gesture to whisper to him, placing her hand between her mouth and Sunny's ear.
"Have you slept with her yet?" she whispered in a volume that didn't resemble a whisper.
Sunny's expression became one between surprise and primal horror.
"AH!?"—he turned sharply to look at Effie with his eyes about to pop out of their sockets; there he met Effie's proud expression.
"No! Of course not! Not yet!—"
Effie's smile became completely mocking.
"Not yet? Such bold words!"—then she let out a loud laugh that made the floor shake.
Sunny's eyes trembled; apparently, it was then that he realized the clumsy words he said without thinking.
Then the sound of something fragile breaking sounded in front of him. He immediately turned toward Morgan.
The porcelain cup lay completely shattered on the table and all its contents spilled, dripping toward the floor.
In her trembling hand covered by a glove were the remains of the cup.
Morgan stood up suddenly from her chair.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
She didn't even give them a look; she simply passed at a hurried pace beside them.
The sound of her footsteps was the only thing that resonated in the place. Everyone present stopped their individual chats to look at the small spectacle of noise that was being presented to them.
XXX
The fixed stares on Sunny only made him even more nervous.
It had already been difficult talking to Morgan and giving the appropriate appearance of cordiality; it was extremely difficult not only because his mind was already a mess, but because of Morgan's clear attempts at approaching him—he wasn't an idiot. He knew something was happening; after knowing the hearts of three… four women, even if the last one was in a questionable situation, he began to understand women a little, just a little.
He was not prepared for Morgan's surprise arrival, much less Effie's.
'Effie…'
That name resonated in his head like a curse.
A few moments ago he was struggling so that his face wouldn't explode into an intense red. But now that crushing shame he was experiencing had vanished; he had a sudden change of emotions.
He slowly turned toward his right side, exactly where Effie was with her mocking face, which faltered immediately when she saw the expression with which she was received. Her smile faltered and a particularly large drop of sweat began to fall from her forehead.
Sunny had a big smile on his face, but contrary as it might be, this smile was not friendly at all. He fixed his gaze on Effie's eyes and inadvertently poured out intense killing intent.
Through gritted teeth he spoke.
"Saint Athena, it's a pleasure to see you."
The smile disappeared definitively from Effie's face and more drops of sweat ran down her now tense face.
"Oh, Master Sunless, I see my joke was not to your liking… right?"
Sunny resisted the urge to scream or respond aloud; of course, she had no idea who his companion was and how his whole life in Bastion could hang by a thread with her; however, whoever she was, her joke was not pleasant under any context.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply; after calming down enough not to want to rip her head off, the annoyance in his gaze was reduced considerably. He looked at Effie again; this time he was calmer but the message in them was clear; he didn't have to say a single word.
Effie nodded and slowly rose from her chair. "I'll go apologize." She took a few steps toward the interior of the emporium, stopped, and looked back. "Could you make me a coffee?"
Sunny's eyelid trembled again; his unfriendly smile became larger.
"I understand, I'm going…" Effie said in a low voice, turning around.
XXX
Morgan walked with desperate haste; inside, her whole being was writhing and screaming.
She opened a random door and entered it, closing it behind her. Conveniently, it was the bathroom. But she didn't care in the least where she was; she only had one thing resonating in her head.
'Have you slept with her yet?'
'Not yet…'
'Not yet.'
'Not yet…'
A terrible wave of anxiety and nerves hit her like a mountain.
Her face burned. She clenched her fists and tensed her jaw, making her teeth crunch. She couldn't scream, otherwise, everyone would hear her, but somehow she had to release everything she was feeling, so then…
Her arms flailed through the air; her brown hair, which had been altered by the memory, moved with every brusque movement she made.
While delivering punches to the air, she began to jump and let out short shrieks, barely being contained.
Her outburst led her to continue making erratic movements that no one in the whole world should witness.
After a while longer, the intense emotions calmed down, but her face was still as red as a ripe tomato.
She brought one hand to her face and with the other leaned against the wall.
'Well… it wasn't subtle, but at least I settled one of my doubts; he finds me attractive… that's something.'
As if everything were calculated, just as she finished that thought, the bathroom door opened and the light turned on.
"Woah! What a great bathroom!" Effie said.
She appreciated the luxurious-looking bathroom for a second before noticing Morgan.
"Ah, yes… I'm very sorry for my behavior and all that, Lady…"
Morgan turned around and introduced herself tiredly:
"Morgan."
A second later her eyes went wide after realizing her error.
"Moira! Moira. My name is Moira."
She immediately corrected her mistake, but… the damage was already done.
Effie took a look behind the door, as if making sure no one was there, and closed the door behind her. She stayed in silence while looking at the girl in front of her; on her face, there was no longer mockery or an air of apology. She was analyzing her from top to bottom.
Effie's eyes sparkled in recognition.
"By the dead gods. It's impossible," she said with incredulity.
Morgan made a face of disgust and some sweet words escaped her lips.
"Shit."