Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Twenty-Seven 🌑

"It feels different, now, doesn't it?" Accalia asked me and her eyes glanced thoughtfully over ym face. 

"I suppose so, but mostly better," I said, "No more secrets between us, promise?" I asked her. 

Accalia managed a sincere smile, as she gave a nod of her head in agreement. 

"No more secrets," she said, "I wanted to be honest with you from the beginning, but I hope that you can understand why I wasn't." 

"Of course," I said. 

I knew that Accalia had to do what she did in order to protect her family. It was clear that she couldn't go around telling people that she just so happened to be a wolf, if she was going to be successful in protecting them. 

I flashed a bright smile in her direction and went to pull my sketchbook out of my bag. 

"I'll draw you. Sit," I said. 

The corner of Accalia's lips twitched up a little, but she did as I had requested and sat down upon a tree stump nearby. 

I then went to sit a short distance away from her and grabbed some sketch pencils out of my bag. 

"You're a good model," I said. 

I could have simply been imagining it, of course, but I could have sworn that Accalia's cheeks grew slightly warmer in colour, at the statement. 

"Do I need to pose or something?" she asked, as she watched me sketch away. 

"Why? Do you want to?" I teased. 

Accalia rolled her eyes and observed a yellow butterfly fly up between the trees. 

I decided to include the butterfly in the sketch, thinking that it might make the overall piece look more alive. 

Once I was done after about half an hour or so, Accalia immediately rushed over to me. 

I clutched the sketchbook to my chest, protective over my work as always. 

"Let me see, Ophelia," she said, with a gentle smile, "Please?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes a little. 

How was I supposed to say no to her, ever? 

I gradually turned the sketchbook around in my hands, as I revealed the sketch of her to her. 

"That's beautiful," she said, visibly impressed, "I think it was a good idea to include the butterfly, too. Nice touch." 

"Thank you," I replied, as I felt my heart warm at her compliment. "Now I suppose you can understand why I wasn't doing great in maths at the start of the year. I spend so much of my time inside of my own head, planning my next piece of art- or thinking about something-" I was rambling at this point, but Accalia didn't seem to mind. 

She simply smiled back at me, and her eyes seemed to reflect her understanding. 

"It's not the best piece of art that I have ever done but-" 

"Stop that, Ophelia. It's beautiful. I want to keep it," she told me, with a genuine smile. 

I couldn't help but smile back. It was comforting to know that even in my times of self-doubt, Accalia was able to make me realise just how talented I truly was. 

"Really?" I asked her. 

"Really. Though I suppose..." she trailed off then. The colour returned to her cheeks. 

I watched her expectantly. 

"What?" I asked. 

"I was going to say that if I was going to have a drawing done by you, I would have loved to have one of you," she said. 

I felt my eyes widen in my own surprise. 

"Of me? I'm nothing special," I said. 

"Don't say that. You should draw your self portrait and put it up in the Louvre," she said. 

I smirked. Now she was just flattering me. I admired her sudden burst of confidence, though. 

My eyes continued to observe her expression, as she tried to hide her face behind her hair. 

She was nervous and it was easy for me to tell as much. 

"God, you're probably thinking how did this girl end up being the alpha female of the tribe," she said. 

I moved closer to her and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. 

"No, actually. I wasn't at all. I was thinking that you're a badass," I said. 

She chuckled at the comment. 

"Shush, Ophelia," she said. 

"I'm serious, though. You're my greatest friend. You're beautiful and smart and so many other things, you have no idea," I said. 

After I had said all of this, I realised that my hand was still close to Accalia's face. I felt her gentle breath upon it. 

All of a sudden, some stupid surge of confidence struck in my heart and I moved my face closer to hers and pressed my lips against her own. 

She seemed surprised at first, moving slowly, but she soon ended up kissing me back, while the birds of the forest fluttered by and into the trees around us. 

I began to comb my fingers through Accalia's hair and that was when she drew back from the kiss to catch her breath. 

"That was impulsive, I'm so-" I began to say, but Accalia shook her head. 

"Don't be," she cut me off. 

It was a short reply and I could only expect it to mean that we would talk more about all of this later on, but something had happened during that kiss. Something that I had never felt before. 

I felt my heart quicken in my own anxiety. I couldn't even imagine how she was feeling. 

"Honestly? I don't mind you kissing me." 

She said it so quietly that I almost could have simply imagined that she had said it. 

I knew, though, that enjoying a kiss and 'not minding' it were two very different things. 

At least, that's what I assumed. 

I felt as though I had perhaps rushed it, but I knew that if I never took a step forward then nothing would change, and I knew how much I wanted for things to change. 

I knew that I liked Accalia, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but think about what Luka had said, about soulmates, and wonder if Accalia was mine.