The Darkness Within

35 - Girls' Day Out

Lucienne had been practically worried sick since her mate announced that she was going shopping the evening before. Shopping in the city, no less. The city- Berlin- that was far enough away that if anything bad happened, Lucienne would be unable to get there in time to help even when riding on the back of her Champion.

She was utterly terrified that something would happen to her mate while they were separated. Lucienne would have joined Ciara if she could, but to continue their timeline to leave and meet the witches tomorrow, she needed to stay and finish planning with the vampire king. Domina Evelyn was traveling with her twin to go shopping; that particular fact both annoyed and reassured Lucienne, but mainly annoyed her. What annoyed Lucienne the most was that the werewolf would be able to go with Lucienne's mate on this outing while Lucienne herself was left behind. On the flip side, Lucienne was reassured that the powerful and well-trained werewolf (despite being young) would be there to protect Ciara if the need arose.

But, ultimately, Lucienne was worried beyond belief through the night and into the morning, as Ciara got ready, that something horrible would happen. It was mainly a worry that came from her instincts as a mate- one that hadn't claimed their mate yet making it worse- to have the female so far away from her. Especially with Ciara being blind, and recently blind too. But it also came from the horrible events that took Ciara away from her last time, and in more than one way. The female was affectionate with Lucienne, she knew that, but she was still hurt emotionally beyond belief. She had already been hurting before the demons took her, and Lucienne didn't want her mate getting hurt further. Further, again.

As she helped to pick out a warm outfit for Ciara that morning, Lucienne couldn't help but fuss over the beautiful dark-haired Goddess. It was still basically winter: Lucienne fussed over making sure Ciara had a warm enough coat. Ciara would be walking a lot, at best: Lucienne fussed over whether the female's shoes would or wouldn't hurt her feet. There was a good amount of wind out according to the predicted weather: Lucienne fussed over making sure that nothing of Ciara's would fly away in addition to elegantly braiding her mate's hair to keep it orderly.

When she was done, she stood before Ciara double-checking that the outfit was perfect. It was, and Lucienne paused for a moment to appreciate the beauty of her mate: she was truly blessed. The soft smile Ciara was sporting thanks to Lucienne's constant fussing had Lucienne wanting to gently kiss the female; that was a thought she pushed away quickly so as not to give Ciara any hints on where her thoughts had drifted through their emotional bond. All in all, the goddess before her dressed in an elegant pair of black pants- that Lucienne had made sure would keep her warm- with a cream white sweater and a warm navy blue overcoat. She had wanted to add a hat but apparently, Ciara very much disliked hats.

"You do know that I survived harsher weather for longer periods of time when my body was still human, right?" Ciara asked as Lucienne looked around for her finishing touch she had the seamstress make a few days ago.

"The last time we were separated it was by force and horrible things happened. You can't blame me for worrying."

Ciara hummed in response, not necessarily agreeing but also not disagreeing. That was enough for Lucienne; Ciara had woken up from a nightmare that morning, the scream dying in Ciara's throat as she sat up from fear, and had been quieter than usual that morning regardless of Lucienne's valiant efforts to improve the younger goddess's mood.

"Voilà!" Lucienne said as she held up a strip of soft black silk with metallic silver embroidery on it.

"That's the fifth time you've said that this morning," Ciara said, obviously amused with Lucienne's fussing. "What is it this time?"

Lucienne smiled widely, knowing thanks to the female's emotions that Ciara loved hearing her accent. "This is the last thing, c'est promis."

Ciara just nodded and Lucienne grabbed Ciara's right hand and placed the blindfold in the female's tiny hand. Her skin was shockingly pale against the rich darkness of the fabric and Lucienne both noted and appreciated the contrast.