TBATE: A Hero's Return

Couldn't Help But Like Her

There was great tension in the air as Arthur and Tessia, followed closely after by dignitaries from Darv, Sapin, and Elenoir, left the portal and entered Central Dominion. They were greeted by Caera as she was flanked by Alacryan dignitaries. Neither side had said a word yet to each other as the group from Dicathen walked up to the group from Alacrya waiting for them, tension filling the air. While Arthur and Caera were close to each other, both sides were not currently meeting in a casual manner, and they were resolved to maintain a professional decorum befitting their current roles.

...At least, that was the intended plan.

A blur of brown hair that was supposed to be acting in a professional manner akin to her duty as ambassador instead greeted her brother the only way she seemed to know how: by pouncing on him as if she was still 4 years old. The powerful lance was too weak to defend against this surprise attack and fell to the floor with an "oof."

The tense atmosphere was dispelled almost immediately as people from both sides laughed and smiled brightly at the humorous and adorable sight.

"Ellie, not now! We are on duty, you know?" Arthur told his sister in a harsh whisper. But while his voice seemed to indicate displeasure, his actions contradicted him. He immediately wrapped his arms around his little sister, holding her tight as tears fell from his face. Duty be damned. He missed her too much to not hug her back.

Caera smirked as she walked up to her partner-in-crime. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. From Godkiller to this!" This caused everyone to roar in laughter once again. She then pulled Arthur to his feet.

Arthur didn't say anything, just rolling his eyes before taking Caera into a hug. "Hey, Caera."

Caera smiled as they broke the hug. "Nice to see you too, Art. Your sister here had been missing you for some time. You should have seen her face when she learned you were coming."

Ellie, red-faced, shouted, "Caera!"

Arthur ruffled his little sister's hair, much to her chagrin. "Haha, likewise. I missed you too, Ellie." He then pulled her into another hug, which seemed to act like a mood reset for the embarrassed ambassador.

Tessia was shocked at the way Arthur and Caera interacted with one another despite not seeing each other for months. Sure, Arthur had many female friends like Lilia and Claire. But for some reason, Tessia got the feeling the duo had a much stronger bond between them. Much closer to the type of bond she herself had with Arthur. Her insecurities began to flare. Subconsciously, Tessia began to compare herself to Caera as Arthur and Caera continued to tease Ellie.

Caera was very beautiful and quite confident in herself. More than that, she was very relaxed with Arthur in a way even Tessia couldn't see herself being. She also seemed to have a more womanly figure than Tessia. Did Arthur like his women ample in the front?

Tessia realized that despite spending so much time with Arthur, she didn't actually know what his preferred type of woman is. What she did know was that Arthur and Caera were extremely close to each other, even more so than she thought they were from the stories Arthur told her. And despite telling herself that she was fine with just remaining friends with him, she started to feel threatened by Caera.

Caera clapped her hands together. "Ok! I guess we should get back to it then." She turned towards the rest of the group from Dicathen, walking up to Tessia as she held a hand out in introduction. "Hello, you must be Princess Tessia. My name is Caera Denoir, the current leader of Alacrya. Art has told me a lot about you! I hope we can get along and share all sorts of stories about this idiot."

She pointed a thumb in Arthur's direction, which was quickly responded to with a "Hey!" by the targeted man. He was promptly ignored.

Tessia did her best to hide how she felt at the moment. She was on duty right now, and as much as she loved Arthur, she needed to fulfill her role first. And that meant projecting confidence despite how insecure she really felt. "Likewise, Regent Caera. I look forward to talking with you further. And please, for someone like you that helped keep Art safe during his time here, Tessia is just fine."