Duties and Choices

Chapter 3

The Queen sits back on her throne after her daughter and her personal guards leave, letting out a breath. She rests an elbow on the arm of her throne and leans to one side, her lips brushing against her propped-up hand.

"We're doing the right thing. Right, Horace?" She looks to her husband with furrowed brows.

"Beauregard wouldn't agree if she didn't know it was the right thing, Geila." He lets out a breath and sits next to her on his own chair, much less magnificent and ornate than hers. "Though I'm not certain about her traveling. I see much of Lucretia in her as well. Beauregard is headstrong enough to rival her and I fear she'll run towards danger without regard for her own safety."

"We can't keep her from seeing the world. We have to let her experience Dreyos and Thaydor, to see the continent. She needs to see our people to learn how to better lead them in the future. And she may be headstrong, but Beauregard is smart. She will have, at the very least, Fjord and Jester to balance her out, if not more people. She'll be okay." Queen Geila says, using her years of training and years of experience as being Queen to infuse confidence into her tone. "She has to be."

***

The day swiftly comes when Queen Magdalena and Yasha are supposed to arrive and the castle gets busier as the day nears with preparations for a royal arrival.

Beau can feel her nervousness increase as it gets closer and closer, ramping up her training with Fjord and Jester, pushing her body further with every day until she collapses with exhaustion on her bed that last night.

Jester quietly walks in after her and sighs at her friend, already snoring softly. She helps Beau out of her boots and socks. Jester presses a hand against Beau's sweaty back and murmurs a quick incantation, feeling her healing magic warm her hand briefly. Beau's breathing evens out, no longer quick and labored from working herself so hard. She pats her affectionately and whispers a soft "goodnight" before walking out to where Fjord is waiting outside.

Fjord nods to the guard who is assigned to be outside Beau's bedroom door for the night and then leads Jester to their room next to Beau's.

"I've never seen her like that," Jester says softly as she holds open the door for Fjord.

"Neither have I. I guess this was her way of dealing with all that stress she's been carrying around. It should be over soon, they're arriving tomorrow." Fjord gives her a smile he hopes is comforting.

***

A woman sits regally on a chair made of fine metals with designs carved with such fine detail it almost looks like it must have been magic that made such intricacies. Her face is a natural deep brown, a few shades darker than Beau's skin. Her chiseled features and strong jaw are framed by wavy hair that falls perfectly in place, the end at her jaw. She has warm brown eyes but there's a steel to them that leaves no doubt of her intellect or compassion. She is lithe but there is strength to her form, and an inherent grace to every movement. The dress she wears is gold in color with black detail, the hem brushing her ankles. There is a slit that goes up to her knee, showing off beautiful skin whenever she moves. Sitting atop her head is a simple crown that's rarely worn but looks like it belongs there. It's silver in color and slopes lazily upward to a single point, in which a blue sapphire inlaid. She looks like a regal goddess sitting atop her throne, but this is no god. This is Queen Geila.

Sitting next to her is a thicker man with a stern impression. His skin is fairer, a few shades lighter than his daughter's. His hair is short and black, the end onto a few inches from his head. He has a piercing gaze that seems to look into the soul. His arms are lightly crossed in front of him. He wears a long-sleeved tan button-up that looks immaculate, no matter how much he shifts impatiently, that are tucked into black pants.

Pacing in front of them is their daughter Beauregard, who despite her father's protests and best efforts, wears her usual blue robes. Jester stands nearby, happily pulling a donut from a pocket of her favorite dress and offering it to Fjord, who smiles and shakes his head at her. He's wearing his usual armor, but he cleaned them to the best of his ability.

The door opens behind them and Beau freezes in her pacing, her arms behind her back. She spins and watches as a woman enters.

The first woman cannot be Yasha. This woman has tan skin from years of exposure to the sun and wiry but strong arms from years of hard labor. She has dark brown hair pulled back into an intricate braid, showing off her beautiful features. She wears a kind smile that shows the wrinkles on her face. She has a nose that's pointed but slightly crooked like it's been broken before. She's about a head shorter than Beau and she strides in with confidence. She wears a nicer red button-up with short sleeves that show off her tattooed arms. She has it tucked into dark gray pants.

Just as Beau is about to look closer at this woman she realizes has to be Queen Magdalen, another woman walks in and Beau's mind screeches to a halt.

Yasha is tall, taller than pretty much anyone Beau has ever met. More than that, she's muscular. Which honestly, Beau was expecting. She just wasn't expecting her to have biceps that rival the size of Beau's head. Her skin is remarkably pale, a stark contrast to the slightly tattered black clothes she wears. Her hair is long, falling past her shoulders. It's black, fading to white, almost reminiscent of the contrast between her skin and clothing. It looks almost matted, and there are braids woven into it as well. It's utter chaos, but it works. Her eyes meet Beau's and her heart skips a beat. One of her eyes is a greenish-blue while the other is violet. And to top it all off, she has a tattoo, just a line that starts on her lower lip down to her chin until it vanishes. Her ears are pierced in multiple places.

Beau never thought that she might have a type. But with this, she's reconsidering because she's checking every box that Beau never knew she wanted.

She can hear the Queens talking in the background, but she's only focused on the woman in front of her, because holy shit. Beau tries to find some of her cool and shamelessly checks her out, noticing that Yasha is doing the same, just a bit shier than Beau is. She tries to think of something cool to say, but the only thing rushing through her mind is "Fuck, I'm so gay" over and over.

"Beau," Jester whispers pointedly. "Introduce yourself."

"Right, uh. Sup? I'm Beau."

Beauhears a familiar soft slapping sound of Fjord face palming behind her.

I hope you guys enjoyed me actually describing major characters lol. And I hope you enjoyed Beau drooling over Yasha as much as I did! I love my Disaster Lesbian, she's such a mood Maybe next chapter will be from Yasha's POV? We'll see how it works out...  And guys, I'm addicted to Pillars of Eternity 2 now and I'm flirting so hard with Marisha's character... Whenever she speaks I swear, I like swoon I love the character and I love her. Anywho! Thank you all for reading and for your wonderful comments! Stay awesome!