Warrior Nun: The aftermath

Chapter 27

"Ouch!"

Camila winced at the burning sensation caused by Yasmine's strange ointment.

"Hold still. My family has been using the ointment for centuries and it has always worked wonders."

"Yes, that's exactly what it smells like. As if it were centuries old."

Camila grimaced and added some emphasis to her joke. It evoked exactly what she wanted: Yasmine smiled. Nothing in the world could beat the sparkle in her eyes and her beautiful smile. Camila could spend hours like this. Just her and Yasmine. Then, suddenly, she destroyed the moment by coughing extremely. Again and again Camila gasped for air and tried to cough the smoky feeling out of her lungs.

"Camila? Are you okay?" Yasmine asked, alarmed.

It took a few minutes before she could breathe properly again. As she calmed down, Yasmine took her in her arms. A tight hug that meant so much more. Camila felt the burden of Yasmine fall off and the relief came out. Her arms and pleasant body warmth in which she felt safe and at home. Camila's heart had found a home in Yasmine.

"Hopefully you know how glad I am that nothing happened to you."

"Well, my nose says otherwise."

"I'm serious. Something else could have happened to you, or worse, the same as Vincent."

She had to think about it all the time. What would have happened if Lilith had chosen Vincent instead of her? Or if she, too, was killed. The moment when the glass roof had collapsed over them, or Beatrice remained motionless on the ground. Images of those hours have been playing over and over again in Camila's head since her return. Thoughts of what could have happened.

"We were very lucky. If Beatrice hadn't come, we probably wouldn't have made it out of there."

She noticed Yasmine's crookedness. As much as she tried to hide. She avoided her gaze and broke away from the embrace.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I was so scared for you. If even Lilith and Beatrice just came out with everything they had, what would it have been like for you? Don't get me wrong, you're so talented with technology, but not really in combat."

It had been a tough day and everyone was worn out and exhausted, but Camila wanted to be honest with her.

"In that situation, I didn't care about any of that because I was mostly just thinking about you. I wonder if I'll get a chance to tell you some things."

"T-things? What kind of things?"

"For example, that I like you Yasmine. A lot. But I have no idea how to behave, or what to say. I've always been afraid to admit it, but today I realized that I can't take an infinite amount of time. So that I can think about how I should proceed. I want to be honest with you. I owe it to you and to myself."

Nothing. No look from which anything could be concluded. Not a word. No eyelash twitching.

"Could you please say something about that?"

Still no reaction. Just stare. Caution, Camila waved in front of Yasmine's eyes before she flinched.

"Sorry," she finally mumbled. "I don't know what to say right now."

Great, she thought to herself. Now she had completely overwhelmed Yasmine and messed it up. Camila, of course, always had to fall into the house with the door. Damage limitation was now the motto.

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. I couldn't have hidden it any longer."

"But I'm sure you're expecting something from me."

"I don't," Camila said curtly. "I just want to be honest with you and not lie to you. No matter what you do with it, or how you decide in the end, I will accept it."

Yasmine looked at her so relieved and happy that she just couldn't see her again and just had to wipe the tear from her cheek. All this was also new territory for Camila and she had to learn to deal with it first. Feelings and thoughts she had never had before. Like right now. She had never noticed how beautiful lips could be. Yasmine probably had the most beautiful in all the worlds. Camila would love to just lean forward and test if they were as soft as they looked. Fortunately, she was able to control herself and knew better. Now was not the time to do so. Before anything like that happened, Yasmine first had to be clear about what she wanted and what she felt.

"It's so strange to me and also very confusing. When I stood there with Ava and we both couldn't do anything for the people we cared about, I was so sick with fear. The fear of losing yourself. I know I'm not easy and it means so much to me that I have you Camila."

Now, with tears in their eyes, they embraced each other. Each time, her body's reaction seemed to become more violent when she got so close to Yasmine. Safety and also something else that she herself could not properly classify. Countless times Camila had downloaded and read books on the Internet that she was not allowed to look at as a nun. In it, the feeling was called lust. But was it that? It was difficult and a bit frightening to learn so much new about yourself and her own body in such a short time. Whatever it was, it felt right with Yasmine.

"What do you think happened to Ava over there and why she woke up now?"

Camila couldn't help but smile. In every situation, Yasmine managed to address things that had nothing to do with the situation.

"I don't know. What I do know, however, is that it wasn't easy. Ava never had it easy. We could all decide somehow, or have the opportunity to turn our backs on the OCS and the fight at any time. She doesn't. As tempting as it may be to be a halo bearer, I wouldn't want to trade places with her. Whatever Ava does, she's going to do it right. We may not be able to understand and comprehend all of it, but we can be there for her and support her when she needs us."

It was still difficult for her to talk for a long time and Camila had to cough again. If only she hadn't walked through the smoke.

"Wait here. I'll get you a glass of water quickly. Then you should really go to bed."

"I'm already in bed."

With far too much joy, she teased Yasmine and was left in the room with a mock eye roll. Still, she was right. It was a tough day and just lying down and sleeping was the only thing Camila wanted to do today. She slowly let herself sink back and enjoyed the comfortable bed until her eyes finally closed.