The Princess and The Bandit

TWENTY FOUR

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Dinah pulled off her longsword from the serpentina bandit's stomach. This one looks a lot younger and very much inexperienced.

"It seems like the lord of serpents has lowered his standards in recruiting members," Normani commented as she wiped off the blood from the tip of her spear, a couple of much younger bandits lay dead a few feet from her.

"Let's keep going. We need to find the others,"

Very early the day before, serpentina bandits attacked their group. A retaliation for what Camila did in their main base camp. It was a surprisingly quick response, something they have to be wary of.

As they flew their way to escape, the two of them followed Ally and Simona who went towards the direction of the small city of Esmeralda while Camila and Laura disappeared through the clouds very quickly before everyone else. It's no surprise really, Camila's griffin, Shadow, is one crazy fast winged creature.

But then, big gusts of wind from an incoming storm clouds sent Normani and Dinah off course.

They have lost sight of Ally and Simona as well, along with their sense of direction. Their griffins needed the rest, they had no better option other than continuing on the ground.

Eventually, Normani and Dinah ended up in a forest, but of which territory, they both couldn't tell for sure. What they're certain of at that moment was that they were soaked in rain and battling with a strong wind. Seeing giant redwoods everywhere, they were most likely very far away from their rendezvous point as well.

Normani followed Dinah's lead. The tall brooding blonde led her to a redwood tree with an open cavernous hollow. It seemed cozy enough and wasn't as damp as everywhere else. They both squeezed in, taking shelter from the sweltering rain after securing Buck and Eddy, their loyal griffins, in a nearby shade of tree leaves. Both of them tugging on their cloaks for extra warmth.

Dinah tried making fire to lessen the cold for the other girl, but for the life of her, she couldn't conjure up fire the way Camila can. It seems like the fire faerie side of her lay dormant since the day she was born. Not to mention that everything else was wet, from leaves to twigs, tree barks and branches that lay around.

Normani was shivering and hugging herself for a while by then, and the sight was pulling something inside Dinah's chest. If it was just her, Dinah was okay with the cold. But she could not bear the sight of the other girl's discomfort.

She summoned up some confidence to offer her own body warmth. She may not be able to set fire like Camila, but her body temperature should be able to help.

It's just that, she can't help but feel a little bit awkward. Even though this isn't the first time she held Normani in her arms, the lack of space between their bodies makes her feel things.

She may never admit it, but in more ways than one, she finds Normani very attractive.

And it really does feel nice to have the beautiful ebony skinned girl in her arms, it felt so natural, so easy, as if they're supposed to be like that. And she isn't blind to not notice Normani. But once she starts to allow herself to enjoy the feeling of comfort with her, to further examine the things Normani has been making her feel, that spark of attraction between them, memories of Zara starts to blur like pages of a book in her mind.

That doesn't sit well with her. Holding someone close with thoughts of someone else playing in her head.

It's not fair and just downright very wrong.

And for the longest time Dinah held on to Zara's memories. It's almost as if she can never allow herself to forget the faerie who made her see the good in all of the world when everything else failed her. That one faerie who showed her the beauty and magic of her ancestry. The faerie who introduced her to what love and being loved in return is.