ANGUIS

Chapter 41

Author's Notes: Hello! I just wanted to thank all the people who are still here reading this story, thank you so much. There are still three chapters left before the end, so I hope you enjoy these last few adventures our girls decide to embark on. I love you guys and again, thank you all so much for reading ♡

The woman in front of her might seem composed, confident even, but the woman within her is nervous, agitated and afraid. The Queen stares at her own reflection on the mirror, the more time passes, the more she regrets her decisions. After that horrible dream about Karlie's death, she couldn't risk it. Even though she didn't like admitting it, Aria intimidated her. Her words, her voice, her threat. She thought that if someone had to spill her secret affair she was having with Karlie, it might as well be her who tells her people about her and Karlie's relationship. She decided it would be smart to do it as soon as possible, therefore here she is, preparing to hold a speech in front of thousands of people. Words have always been her thing, she didn't need to arrange a discourse; it will come to her as soon as she will see the expectant faces in front of her.

With a sigh, she moves away from the mirror and pads towards the window of her bedroom, looking out at the growing crowd below the castle. She touches the glass with her slightly trembling fingertips, not knowing how to approach this situation. When she narrows her eyes, she thinks she saw Aria making her way through the crowd, her face unreadable since she was too far from her.

A light knock echoes throughout the walls. "Taylor?" She turns around just in time, as Karlie opens the door with a confused scowl on her face. "I just heard about the speech you will hold right now," she says, as she approaches her lover with a careful step. "What is going on?"

Taylor sighs, averting her eyes from the former brunette. Of course she didn't tell Karlie about Aria's threats, so this thing she was about to do was completely out of the blue and confusing for her lover. "I want to tell everyone about us," her words are slow and timid, as they soon reach Karlie's alerted ears.

"What?"

The smaller blonde sighs again, moving towards the taller girl and placing her arms against her forearms, needing some sort of contact to ground herself and her racing mind. "I need to tell Anadea about us," she begins, meeting Karlie's gaze readily. "We're united so that means we'll spend the rest of our lives together, and I don't want to keep our love a secret. I love this, me and you together, and I want everyone to appreciate our relationship, since you're not going anywhere. Maybe they will be against us since your lineage is technically our enemy, but I don't care about that. All I need is to be with you, the rest of the world doesn't matter if you're by my side,"

Karlie smiles faintly at her words, circling her waist with both of her arms. "Are you sure about this?"

"About me and you or about the speech I'm about to hold?"

"Everything,"

"I'm kind of losing my shit about the speech, but the consequences will be rewarding, so that's all that matters to me. If you promise me your love for all eternity, then I'll be invincible, because nothing is more powerful than the love that I feel for you,"

The taller girl uses her right hand to tilt her chin upwards so as to kiss her deeply, her top lip trapped between Taylor's lips. "I'm yours. Forever," she whispers, biting the smaller blonde's lip gently. The Queen wraps her arms around her back, bringing her in the tightes hug they've ever shared. She nuzzles her head beneath Karlie's chin, kissing lightly the glowing skin of her collarbone as her lover pecks her forehead. "Ego te amo."

Taylor smiles against her neck, never getting tired of hearing Karlie speak in latin. The smaller blonde lifts her head, her lips brushing her lover's as they gaze into each other's eyes. "Ego te amo," Taylor says, kissing her softly and keeping her eyes closed even when their mouthes part gently.

When the blonde is finally ready to face the awaiting crowd outside, she descends the stairs with a strangely calm step, her lover by her side but their fingers not intertwined. Agust follows them outside, standing a few meters away from the Queen as she moves closer to the edge of the Big Balcony. As soon as the people beneath them catch sight of the blonde, they cheer and scream, waving whatever they have in their hands and a smile plastered on their face to show their love and gratitude for their sovereign. Taylor's lips twitch upwards as she lifts her right hand, moving it slightly to greet her people brightly.

"What a great view of an incredible city," she begins, the words flowing out of her mouth naturally. "There are so many of you, I didn't expect to see so much people reunited today," she admits, chuckling slightly as silence falls upon them. "Anyway, there's a reason if you are all here today," she pauses for a moment, wanting to get the perfect words out of her mouth. "As you all are aware, Anguis are near a bright and warm victory. It's not far, but it's not too near either. It's a victory that holds peace, happiness and prosperity. A victory that will put an end to the bloody war between us and Daark Anguis. In order to obtain that victory, we need to fight. All of us need to. But still, we are not ready to go against Damian's army yet. In order to win this fight, we need to be strong, therefore we will need exercise, practice. I will know when this lineage will be ready to face that cruel King, and when that day will come, I will reunite all of Anadea. However, this discourse is for another day, not today. Today I want to tell you about me, about what happened to me in the past months,"

She lets the comfortable silence linger, looking for a moment towards her side, meeting Karlie's soft gaze with her determined one. "I want to begin by saying that love is unexpected. It comes when you least expect it and it will overwhelm you with the best yet worst feelings and emotions of your life. One thing I learned about love is that it doesn't matter who you fall in love with. It doesn't matter if you're a woman or a man, all it matters is the love that I feel for that person. That's enough for me," she pauses, looking once again at Karlie for support. This time, however, she keeps her stare trained on her lover. "Almost a year ago, I met someone incredible. Someone who is passionate, driven and is the definition of my happiness. Someone who puts others before herself. Someone who would do anything in order to protect the people she loves," a small smile turns her lips upwards. "Yes, that's right. One year ago I fell in love with a woman. Despite her being a Daark Anguis, I truly believe that Damian's lineage's blood doesn't flow in her veins, because she's the sweetest and most caring person I've ever met. I fell deeply and I don't regret it one bit. If I had to turn back time, I would fall for her twice as hard nevertheless. She's the love of my life and I will never let go of her. Please, ladies and gentlemen, welcome your new sovereign, Karlie, my one, my soulmate and my lifeline,"

Everyone cheers, some throw their hats in the air so as to celebrate the couple, others turn towards their loved ones and hug tightly. Karlie moves closer to her lover, taking her hand in hers before lifting their intertwined hands in the air, showing them to their people. Everyone claps and without thinking about it, Taylor leans in and pecks her lips quickly. "I love you," she whispers.

"I love you, too," Karlie replies, kissing her once more. Taylor turns towards the crowd once again, loving the fact that everyone's reaction is a positive one. The emotions overwhelm her and she slightly tears up at all the love she feels.

She leans her head against her lover's shoulder, admiring the view below her; she never knew happiness could feel quite this good, but she's glad she found out soon rather than later.