KUMANDRA (Short Story)

Chapter 4

"And I hate it when you call me Princess Undercut." Namaari hissed. She only wished they were sort of enemies again so that she could take out her blades and fight Raya to death or something. Literally anything else would've been better than this. The Princess of Fang angrily put her hands in her pockets so those hands wouldn't accidentally become conscious and hit Raya on their own.

Namaari's fingers suddenly touched the cold metal that she messily hid in one of the pockets not so long ago. She then remembered the main reason the Princess came to see Raya today. "I'm leaving to Fang tomorrow." She whispered and took out the golden ring. "I believe it's yours." Namaari turned around and gently threw it to Raya. "Take it." The Princess of Heart caught the ring mid-air, not taking her eyes off Namaari. "I don't want to be blamed for more things than I'm already being blamed for." She added with a hint of sadness in her voice that the Princess had been trying too hard to hide. Namaari quietly nodded and opened the door shortly after.

"Wait." Raya mumbled under her breath. Namaari immediately froze. Was the Princess of Heart going to say even meaner things this time? Namaari wasn't sure that she could have handled listening to any of that anymore. Raya hurt the Princess enough already. But against her better judgement, Namaari turned around once again, now facing her. "I- Uh... Umm. It's nothing."

"You think this treatment is you, punishing me, for everything I've done, Raya?" Namaari almost shouted. The Princess of Heart was caught off guard, blinking a few times to adjust to this new kind of reality. "I've gained your trust, only to betray it. Because of me the Dragon Gem was broken, the world thrown into chaos. Most of Kumandra was turned into stone. I had been chasing you for years, trying to bring you to Fang when the hero that is you had been trying to find Sisu to banish the Druun. Not only had I been interfering with your noble intentions but I've involuntarily but still pretty much killed the last Dragon, dooming the world over again. Oh, let's not forget the time when you trusted me even after everything I've done, and the first instinct I had in me, was to run away. You think you're actually punishing me? Well, I think I deserve it. And I accept it." Namaari walked towards Raya. The Princess took several steps back momentarily. "You want to hit me? Okay. You want to do more than that? Okay. But don't you dare think for a moment that I'm not aware what kind of a binturi I am."

Raya nervously stared at Namaari who was standing only a few inches away. "I... Umm..."

"I'm sorry, Raya. And I know that an apology isn't what you want. It's not what you need. It's not a universal custom that can magically fix everything. But I really want to fix this, fix us... I don't know what else to do. So do anything you deem necessary in order to forgive me." Namaari now whispered with tears in her eyes. "I'm willing to pay any cost. Please."

"Namaari, you did what you thought was best for Fang. You were a child. You couldn't have known better." Raya whispered back, her voice cracking. "We were both children." Namaari glanced at the Princess who was already staring at her. "You think of me as a hero? I've been trying to bring my Ba back this whole time. I couldn't care less about Kumandra... But you did care for Fang. Everything you did was for Fang." Raya's eyes carefully explored Namaari's face who was going through a bunch of conflicting emotions at once. "If nothing more, I'm jealous." The Princess then smiled lightly. "You are a kind-hearted leader."

"But I'm not a kind-hearted person... I've hurt you, Raya." Namaari avoided the Princess's gaze.

"It's true." She slowly nodded and started to get closer to Namaari. "We've hurt each other... A lot." Raya then added, gently grabbing the Princess's chin and made her look at her. Namaari's cheeks immediately flushed. She messily ran her hand through her hair, brushing the unruly hair stands behind her right ear. "I don't want us to keep hurting each other anymore."

"Me neither." Namaari whispered, her gaze falling down on Raya's beautiful lips. The sudden change didn't go unnoticed by the Princess. She bit her bottom lip, visible smirk spreading across her entire face. Namaari's breath hitched at the sight.

"What's drippin', Dep La?" Raya moved her head a bit closer, her thumb still caressing Namaari's cheek. The Princess was taken aback by Raya's strange actions once again and nervously glanced at her, only to see Raya intensely stare her down. Namaari instinctively moved her head closer too, softly brushing her lips against Raya's. The Princess's eyes widened in shock not at all expecting the kiss. But Raya's grip unconsciously loosened, her hand gradually moving down Namaari's neck.

Namaari immediately wrapped her toned arms around the Princess and pulled her closer, causing their bodies to clash. Raya let out a short muffled moan which left Namaari desperately crave for more. She ran her fingers up Raya's back to notice the Princess lean in even closer. She didn't want any distance between her and Namaari. Namaari smirked, pressing her body firmer against Raya's. She then felt the Princess slide her hand under her white shirt and instantly moved away. "Wait. Hold on, Raya." She gasped, trying to catch her breath. Raya raised her brow, now staring in Namaari's eyes. "Are you sure about this, Princess?" Reality check, Namaari.

"Of course, I am."