Daughter of the Naga | Lesbian Story|

Chapter 59

On the thyme-scented, bird-hatching morning in early spring the next day, Amarisa came to my chamber. She looked relieved to see me again.

"I thought Mother Jayara would not let you return," she said as she held me. "I heard from the palace maids that she took you to our sacred temple. I thought she was going to ask the gods to take you away from me."

I laughed and stroked her hair then kissed her bare shoulder.

"You worried over nothing," I said. "We were just talking about the war."

"And that was all?" she said. "Did she say something about telling my parents of us?"

"No, our secret is safe with her," I told the princess then pulled away to look at her. "She knew of our special bond and is not against it. You can stop worrying now."

"Good lord, I'm so relieved," she said. I smiled back.

Later, we went on a dragon gondola ride, floating along the city moat to the West Baray, which was the largest of its kind and sprawling over hectares of square land like a small ocean in itself. Several guards' boats also trailed behind us, but they didn't dare to interrupt our privacy.

Amarisa still questioned me all the details of the previous night with her mother, but I tried my best to sidetrack her from the truth. Amarisa didn't know that I was Queen Jayara's daughter from the future.

"The Queen didn't do anything unpleasant or threaten me to leave you," I reassured her as I busied myself with a pencil sketch on my drawing pad. My hand became a bit stiff, but it didn't take long to breathe life onto the paper. Amarisa possessed the epitome of beauty and simplicity—a rare quality that no one had. I hadn't drawn anything quite like this.

"I know of Mother Jayara's kindness and loving nature, but I worry that my parents don't feel the same," Amarisa spoke from the other end of the gondola. The splattering noises could be heard from the bottom of the boat as an oarsman moved his oar at the stern

I looked up from my sketch. Her face depicted her state of mind, and her posture accorded with her less elevated mood. I put my drawing pad down and moved over to the distressed princess and gathered her in my arms. She welcomed my affection.

"There is nothing to worry about, Amarisa," I said as I smoothed her dark silky hair that caught in the gentle breeze. "No matter what happens, I will never leave you."

"Tomorrow, King Father will come back to the city," she said in a soft voice as she wiped off a black smudge from my fingertips with her handkerchief.

"Will you be able to see me then?" I asked and she nodded.

"Of course," she said. "As long as the sun still rises and the flowers still bloom, I shall come to you."

I smiled back and kissed her cheek. The boat crawled slowly through a field of pink lotuses and leaves that rose above the water. The fragrant scent brushed deliciously against our noses.

"Let us enjoy today and think no more of tomorrow," I said, tipping Amarisa's chin to look at me. She nodded again with a small smile. I gave her a soft light kiss on the lips and moved back to my earlier place.

I picked my drawing pad from the seat and began my work again. Amarisa plucked a young lotus and began folding its petals into her own design.

'Time is like a lotus flower.' Queen Jayara had said to me. 'You visualized the flower opening at dawn, the way the outer petals peel away to reveal the inner ones. An inner petal would never know the older, outer ones, though it was also shaped by them. Only the viewer who plucks the flower can see how each petal is connected to the others.'

I knew I should live through the mysteries that were teeming around me, but for the first time, I wanted to find the viewer and ask him or her what lay ahead of me.

Should I blame the gods who brought me here? Or Vishnu, the Lord of Destiny? Or Shiva, the Destroyer? Who am I besides being the daughter of the chaste Queen? Who should I blame for my fate? Who was responsible for the life I was leading?

Meanwhile, I was pondering my life's universal questions, Amarisa came to me again. She put her palm on my cheek when she noticed the looks on my face.

"Tell me what is troubling you," she said in concern.

"Nothing," I said with a shake of my head. "Do you like the drawing?"

I had finished the portrait. The princess let out an adorable gasp. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Nikita, it's so beautiful!" she said.

"You're beautiful." I smiled.

"Why did you draw me as the Apsara?" she said, sounding impressed.

"In my eyes, you're still that celestial maiden the night we first met. The princess who makes my blood sing and my heart dance," I said and grabbed her body, pulling her onto my lap. The gondola gave a slight swing under us. Amarisa gasped, which caused me to giggle.

"And you must be the reason why the flowers grow and rainbows arch," she teased me back. I laughed. Then she handed me her elegantly folded lotus. I took it from her hand and brought the scented flower to my nose.

"I love you very much, Amarisa," I told her.

"I know," she said. The princess wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the lips, causing the same tingling sensation in my body.

Maybe, I should let the future arrive at its own pace, unfurl its secrets at its will. I should let the past go like the outer lotus petals.

Here and now was all that mattered.