Summer Garden

Luna

Luna opened her eyes groggily and shrugged the blankets from around her shoulders, pausing as she realised she wasn't alone in the room.

Her cheeks flushed red and she grabbed the blankets quickly, glaring at her house guest, "What do you want, Claven?"

The Fae looked down in embarrassment, "I brought you some breakfast."

Luna pushed aside her emotions with difficulty and looked at the bronze tray being proffered, and struggled not to smile. It wasn't just some breakfast. It was an actual decent and nice breakfast. A warm cup of syrup, still steaming. A small brown cube of sugar crystals, sitting beside an arrangement of grasses, tucked with several purple flowers, centred around a white tulip.

She looked up, "Breakfast in bed, eh?"

Claven looked away from her, her jaw tightening, "I am your servant."

Luna wanted to kick herself. This was a peace offering. From a woman who certainly didn't need to offer it. She'd hurt the woman, and basically enslaved her, for something outside of her control. It had been death or treason. She couldn't blame her... Even if she was punishing her for it. Had to. She couldn't let something like this slide, not in the current political environment. Everyone had to believe that the Shadow Knight was an unbeatable cruel mistress. Had to believe that they would die if they went up against her.

Luna patted a hand from under the blanket on the bed beside her, and Claven sat down slowly, still facing away from her. Luna sighed heavily, and leaned her chin on her shoulder, "I'm sorry. Really."

Claven swallowed nervously, but didn't seem to find the words. Her aura was a shocking twist of colours that came and went. She really was just a tangled mess of emotions. Understandable, considering everything she was going through.

Luna smiled tiredly, "You know, I don't get to relax like this very often."

The Fae nodded timidly, and then turned, dislodging Luna, and held up the cup of nectar. The princess flashed through a series of thoughts, some involving not wanting to expand this whole mistress-servant relationship, others involving knowing it was cold, she was a naked, and she did kinda want to stay rugged up in bed.

She sipped from it slowly, letting the burning liquid ooze down the back of her throat slowly, obliterating anything in it's path. She breathed, feeling the cold air fill her lungs easily, and smiled, "That was fresh. Did you harvest it?"

Claven shrugged, "I may not be good at magic, but I know my way around the kitchen well enough."

The princess smiled, "Really? So what did the councillor used to do with her days?"

A tendril of grass was held up, and Claven spoke as Luna nibbled on the end of it, "Administration. Boring bureaucracy. Stuff like plumbing and housing planning. My realm doesn't have a lot of strong magic users, so we rely a lot more on the physical sciences. The largest city is powered by a water wheel, and maintaining that is a huge headache."

Luna slurped up the rest of the blade, "I don't think I've ever really visited your realm before, Madam Claven."

The Fae shrugged, holding up a flower, "The last time you were in Calvenus, that I know of, you were hunting Hero."

Luna froze, her mouth half-full of petals, and she swallowed awkwardly. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Claven rolled her eyes, "I'm as glad as anyone you stopped him. It has taken a while to recover the infrastructure, but we're getting there."

"I blew up a water wheel. A big one." Luna said slowly, "Is that the one that's creaking and groaning for you now?"

Claven covered her mouth to hide a smile, "Yes. It hasn't quite recovered from having the axle blown out of it."

Luna nodded at the nectar, revelling in her own laziness, "And no one has ever offered to help you fix it?"

"Minor realm." Claven shrugged, holding up the cup, "We're not important enough to be a concern for most people, and we don't have the rare resources to trade that others have. Not since the Arbiter requisitioned our mountains."

Luna winced, "I know the feeling. He requisitioned the light here."

Claven glanced up at the window, "It wasn't always dark?"

"Oh, dark." Luna laughed, swallowing a ball of nectar, "Just not this dark."