The Monster's Stratagem (Lesbian Story)

53: The Guilt of the Dead

The poor citizens of Zyire had quite a fright when they witnessed their new Crown Princess and Commander stumble through the front gates bloodied and bruised, a harrowing look in their eyes. They had walked from sunrise till sunset in order to make it back to Zyire, with only a brief delay to ensure that they arrived home under the cover of nightfall. It would have been quite the spectacle had they paraded around main street covered in gore in broad daylight. That was something they both wanted to avoid, especially given the fact that they wanted to remain undetected until after they had rested.

"Can we go to your room?" Dawn asked as they took to the stairs of the castle, having walked in silence for the entire way; neither girl knew what to say to the other. For some reason, Syrena's room brought a great sense of comfort to her, much more so than her own. It also felt more private, and they both needed some time to process what they had seen away from the rest of the castle.

Syrena nodded her agreement before leading them both to the floor where she resided, pushing open the door and immediately stripping herself of the soiled top as she made her way to the bathroom. Dawn also felt grimy, but she didn't mind waiting for Syrena to finish up while she sat on the floor and pondered what to do next. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt at such a loss. She was supposed to be the one who could find clues, the one who could piece together a puzzle from nothing, and she was failing miserably.

Unable to think of anything useful for their situation, Dawn instead chose to ignore it for the time being, listening to the sounds of water slosh in the bathroom. It sounded as though Syrena was viciously scrubbing the dry blood from her person, not that she could blame her. She was fairly sure that she would do the same the second she had the chance.

The door clicked open and out stepped a newly clean Syrena, although her demeanour had not changed. She was still visibly upset, and Dawn did not know what to do.

"I'm sorry." Syrena uttered after a moment of silence, scooping up her bloodied clothing from the floor and moving it to a more appropriate place until it could be cleaned.

Dawn frowned. "What for?"

"For ruining your clothes, and I should've asked if you wanted to use the bathroom first."

"As if that's anything to be sorry for." Dawn scoffed as she stood, excited to get the chance to wash herself before she collapsed.

Syrena had already drawn her a new bath, something which Dawn felt immensely grateful for. The water was deliciously hot, making her feel clean and new the more she scrubbed at her skin and hair, ridding it of the forest's horrors.

Once she was finished, she found that Syrena had left her some clothes outside the door. Dawn froze in the doorway, the action bringing up memories that she had not thought of in a while. It was all too familiar, and yet the thought caused nothing but pain.

Taking a few moments to collect herself, Dawn picked up the clothes and quickly changed before she could think too much on it. She had too many worries to add another one to the list, one that was old and had already been addressed. That period of her life was gone, never to return. She would have to move on, at least for the night. Dawn was clean, her hair was detangled, and she was tired. She would worry about nothing else until the following morning.

Syrena was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring into space. Dawn sat beside her, staring at her side profile as she wondered what to do about the Commander's guilt. Was there anything she could say that might alleviate some of it?

As if sensing that Dawn was preparing to speak, Syrena beat her to it. "Don't try to comfort me, it won't work."

"I figured as much." She sighed, looking down to stare at her hands. She could still see some dried blood beneath her fingernails that stubbornly refused to wash away. "Then, in that case, I have another suggestion."