[Edited]

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Fotula was currently inside the meeting hall. She, the other princess candidates and the queen have had a meeting not too much ago, but she, Mrs. Jenny and queen Rin were the only ones left in the large room.

"Your highness, I've been meaning to ask you something, if I am permitted to do so." The raven haired female said, walking somewhat closer to the young woman sitting on her throne. The curly haired female nodded and listened to the younger.

"Hypothetically speaking, if one of us princess candidates were to win this contest, wouldn't that mean that you would need to step down from your position as royal?" Fotula questioned and stared at the queen with no particular expression on her face. The other nodded. "That is correct."

"But why? You are still very young..." The ravenette knew this was actually a somewhat personal matter, but she couldn't help but wonder. It just didn't sound logical to her, that someone would pass her position to a complete stranger who isn't even related to her. "A-Actually, no, it isn't my place to ask such a thing. Please forgive me for being rude-..."

"No, not at all. This is actually the first time someone has asked me this." The olive green eyed young woman replied. She played with one of her golden locks before continuing. "I admit that this is actually a bit personal, but since you asked, and in case you do not mind, I will gladly fill you in on the matter."

"I'd feel honored." Fotula replied and paid close attention after that. Queen Rin cleared her throat before starting to tell the younger: "You might already know that the queens and kings of the past seven generations have been of the Momoko family."

"All of my predecessors have led the kingdom flawlessly in my opinion, and have all taken great responsibility for their every action." The blonde woman continued and her maid soon joined the two as she stood next to the queen. "You are right; I am quite young to be wanting to get rid of my title, and I do hope I can find a suited new princess among you four contestants."

"You see, I have been born into this family. There was nothing for me to decide, I had to be the next ruler of this kingdom." Queen Rin then looked down at her own lap for a moment or two before locking eyes with the other female again. "Of course, you might be asking yourself why I am complaining like this. I mean, am I not lucky to have been born destined to be a royal?"

"Well, unlike my mother, grandmother or any of my great grandmothers, I do not feel suited for this job." The olive green eyed young woman took a deep breath before confessing that. Just like it sounded, it was something difficult to admit for her. "I feel like I am being tied down like this. I simply wish to live my life freely and make my own choices."

"That was quite the rant... Are you disappointed?" Queen Rin smiled sheepishly as she asked the younger that question, only to gain a shake of the head from the raven haired princess contestant. "Not at all, your majesty. I respect your opinion completely. Thank you for having shared this information with me. I will keep quiet about it."

"It is not something I intend to hide, but you have my gratitude." The curly haired young woman smiled heartwarmingly this time, making Fotula a bit hesitant. She wanted to ask another thing, but she didn't know how to approach the topic. "Your majesty, is it too rude of me to ask you about another thing?"

"Please go ahead." The young woman replied, not paying much attention as her maid left the hall to go tidy up other rooms. The raven haired female cleared her throat and spoke while wearing her usual expression. "I have a question concerning same-sex relationships."

"If I am not mistaken, Rota is the only kingdom in the Kanto region that disapproves of romantic relationships between two people of the same gender, is there a particular reason to that?" Fotula said, her cold purple eyes locked with the queen's olive green ones. "I don't mean to pose another, too personal question, but do you dislike homosexuals, your highness?"

"There sure is more to you than meets the eye." Queen Rin commented and couldn't hold back a small chuckle. "I personally do not have anything against those relationships, but I cannot say I am particularly fond of them. I suppose you could call it neutrality."

"You must be wondering why I am not removing this rule if it does not mean much to me, am I right?" The curly haired woman asked, gaining a nod from the younger. "It is simply not my place to do so. My predecessors have made and kept this law for generations, so I do not wish to be the one to get rid of it."

"Does that answer your question?" Queen Rin asked and once again, Fotula had nothing to disagree to. "It does, thank you very much." The blonde stood up and bowed her head as the two females exchanged their goodbyes.

Fotula exited the meeting hall and stood in front of the big, now closed doors for a moment, thinking. She didn't expect the queen to have such motives, so she was a bit surprised, but she was more relieved than anything. Relieved that she didn't seem to be the only one who tried escaping her destiny.

Even though she had introduced herself as a native of the Kanto region, Kinola kingdom to be more precise, Fotula wasn't actually being completely honest with queen Rin, the other contestants and the knights she had all met here at the Cameran palace. She was too afraid to tell everyone the real truth, so she kept the reality hidden.

All those rather unnecessary thoughts made her sigh, almost sounding exhausted. The ravenette shook her head to clear her mind and started walking down the corridor. She was going to head to her room in the castle, since the queen had announced at their meeting that she had something very important to say tomorrow, so Fotula wanted to get as much rest as possible.

She felt that something was odd or slightly different once she had arrived in front of her room, and she soon discovered the reason behind that once she entered it: There was someone wrapped in her covers lying on her bed like a spring roll, and she knew perfectly well who that shy someone was.

"Oh, you're here?" The purple eyed female said monotonously after closing the door and walking to her closet. The person buried in blankets raised their head, revealing silver hair and teary eyes. "Did something happen again?"

"I... I am pretty useless, aren't I?" Liliana mumbled softly, looking down to the floor first before moving her gaze over to Fotula who had pulled a nightgown the queen had laid out in her room once out of the closet. The dark haired girl gave the other a short glance before sighing and slipping out of her clothes. "You are not. What happened this time?"

Liliana would always come to her when she had something weighing on her mind, so talks about insecurities weren't anything new for the purple eyed female. She also had her methods of how to deal with the younger at times like these.

The silver haired girl stayed silent, wanting to talk after Fotula would be done changing and ended up staring at the ravenette who had stripped down until she was left in only her underwear. Liliana's face got redder by instinct, but she didn't look away.

Fotula had put her night clothes on and walked over to the bed where she sat at the edge, looking down at the younger as she rested her hand on her head, soon playing with her sliver strands of hair. "I'm all ears, Liliana."

"I was just trying to be n-nice... L-Lady Loraine dropped her necklace in the hall earlier today, and didn't seem to notice, s-so I picked it up." The blue eyed female still stuttered as she spoke even though she felt most comfortable around Fotula. "I-I lost sight of her, so I went to her room. S-Sir Myron saw me enter and misunderstood... t-then..."

"I-I know he only grabbed m-my hand, and that he was doing t-that because he thought I had foul intentions... b-but I still..." Liliana was at the verge of breaking down at the bare memory of it. Fotula noticed that and pulled the younger up, freeing her from the covers as she wrapped her own arms around her fragile body. "I-I was so afraid from only his touch! I-I don't know what would have happened i-if Lady Y/N hadn't shown up when she did!"

"A-About that... It was awful of me to r-run away without thanking her... after she saved me..." Liliana said softly and buried her face into the crook of the raven haired girl's neck. Fotula patted her head and ensured her. "Don't worry about that. You know that Y/N's very understanding, and that she wouldn't get upset over something like that. Actually, knowing her, I'm pretty sure she's mad at Myron right about now."

"Are you sure?" The silver haired female had finally stopped sobbing. She pulled way to face the older, looking her straight in the eyes with her still puffy ones. Fotula wiped the remaining tears away with her thumb carefully and nodded softly. "Yes. Now please don't cry anymore."

The raven haired female traced her thumb from Liliana's eye down to her cheek until it reached her lips. Even though her face seemed stoic, Fotula gave the younger a rather suggestive look before she leaned forward a bit. Just before their lips touched, Liliana pushed the ravenette away by her shoulders, looking to the side.

"W-We mustn't!" She exclaimed, her face ablaze with heat as she avoided the older's gaze. Fotula pulled her hand away as well and placed it on top of the silver haired girl's, giving it a light squeeze. "Because this is a sacred place?"

"T-That too, but... we... what we were about to do... is considered a s-sin here, so we mustn't." Liliana said, feeling rather guilty as she found the courage to meet the other's purple eyes again. Fotula understood completely. After all, she had just talked about this topic with the queen, she should have known better. "Alright, let's not."

"Are you staying over tonight? Or are you returning to your room?" The raven haired female then asked, observing how the younger's face slowly turned darker. "I-Is it alright if I stay?"

Fotula didn't answer with words, but wrapped her arms around Liliana again and pulled her down with her as she lied on the bed. The younger covered both of them with the now rather warm blankets and closed her eyes.

This was also nothing new for the two: Liliana spending nights over in Fotula's room and they both sleeping in the same bed without having any sexual contact or performing erotic activities. They would just lie there, embracing each other lovingly.

Even though a relationship like theirs wasn't going to be approved by the current queen, Fotula was going to try everything to change that once the new princess would be chosen. She herself had given up on that position, and she was certain Liliana had too. But there was still one promising candidate she had complete faith in: Camilla.

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A/N: I don't know about you, but I sort of enjoyed writing this chapter ^-^

Fotula _______:

Liliana Kranjćar:

Thank you for Reading!