ANGUIS

Chapter 42

Aria had surprisingly forgave her that night. She isn't aware of what had made her change her mind, however, when she had told her that it was stupid of her to be upset of what was now past, Aria had asked to put an end to their feud. Taylor had gladly accepted and before she could have gone away who knows where, the Queen had called out her name and asked her if she would have liked to work in the most famous and prestigious bakery of Anadea. Aria's eyes had visibly teared up at the proposition and without warning she had lunged forward and hugged the taller woman tightly. Although the blonde was surprised and confused by the small girl's actions, she had hugged her back nevertheless. Aria had told her she was more than grateful to work at that bakery, since it was one of her biggest dreams to work as a baker.

Taylor smiles at the memory, biting her lower lip as she sits at the head of the table beside the other members of the Assembly. She looks at her side, crossing her legs covered by her crimson dress as she notices that Karlie's seat is still empty. She frowns a little, hearing one of the members begin to talk about their situation. Of all the assemblies, Karlie had to be late to the most important one; the one where they would decide when to attack Damian's city. The last battle of this bloody war.

The man beside her begins, "We'd be stupid to attack right away, we're still too weak from their last attack. I think we should be more prepared. We need more soldiers and allies, what we have right now is still not enough,"

Taylor groans internally. Since the General of the Army, as known as Karlie, isn't here yet, she has to reply to this stubborn member for her. "Our army is not too weak. It needs time to heal, but the more we rest, the more Damian becomes more powerful. He killed Deris to tease us, so he expects us to attack right away. We won't do that, but we won't wait an eternity to attack either," her voice is cold and determined, almost authoritative.

"M'lady," the sergeant, the man below Karlie as of military mark, says, his tone calm and gentle. "I agree with you. We need time, but we need lots of that. We can't attack in three days, if anything the army needs at least three weeks to rest properly and to be back on track."

Taylor huffs lightly at his insinuation. "Three weeks is too long. Damian will be too powerful for us at that point, we can't let that happen,"

Just as she finishes talking, the door opens quickly, revealing a slightly out of breath Karlie. "Sorry for the delay," she says, sitting not too far from her lover. Taylor glares at her but the taller woman is too embarrassed to notice the deathly stare sent her way. "What are you talking about?"

"We were deciding when to attack Damian. The sergeant is determined and said that our troops need more time to rest because they're too weak apparently, so I think everybody here, apart from me, wants to attack Damian in three weeks. I think we could assault our enemy next week, giving our army one week to rest and to prepare properly for the attack," Taylor explains to the General. Karlie is left speechless as she stares neutrally at her lover, her lips slightly parted.

"Well," Karlie begins. "We can train our troops day and night, this way we can make it work. We can attack Damian in a week, that's possible,"

"You understand that this is the most important battle of the war, right?" a member of the Assembly says, sounding skeptical as he gazes with narrowed eyes at the General. "We could win this war if we win this battle. We need powerful troops in order to win. You don't agree with the Queen just because she's your mate, don't you?"

The question catches everyone off guard and Taylor finds it to be slightly mean. "Excuse me?" the Queen snaps. "You don't get to talk like that to your superior,"

Karlie clears her throat uncomfortably at her remark. "It's okay," she says quietly. "No, I don't agree with the Queen just because she's my mate. I agree with her because I'm the General of the Army and I know what's best for my troops. What she says is valid, so I agree because I genuinely think her idea is better than yours,"

Taylor has to bite the inside of her cheek so as to keep a proud smile off her face. "It's settled, then," the Queen says, getting up from her seat. All of the members do the same, although their expression is not too happy with the conclusion of this reunion. "We will attack Damian next Saturday. We will leave the day before so as to catch them off guard at night."

Everyone nods their heads as they exit the room quickly, quietly chattering about what had just happened. As soon as they're alone, Taylor swiftly strides across the room until her front touches her lover's and grabs the collar of her shirt so as to pull her down. She kisses her deeply as Karlie emits a surprised sound, not expecting this heated kiss from the Queen. When their mouthes part, the smaller blonde quickly chuckles as she breathes, "You turn me on when you talk like that. It makes you look more bossy,"

Karlie lightly pecks her lips once more. "Should I do something about this, then?" she asks her as her hands wonder lower Taylor's back. She cups her behind softly, squeezing it lightly as the Queen releases a surprised gasp. She smirks at the implication, and as much as she would like to go upstairs and spend the rest of the day with her lover in their bed, they have more important things to do.

"We need to go," she laughs quietly before dragging the both of them out of the chamber.