CH 56: Panic

Jasmine showed her the shield she found, she handed it to Claire as it vaguely glowed white. Claire grasped it and felt its weight. It was heavier than her previous shield, the wood replaced with solid metal. She put it on her left arm and waved it around.

“It’s heavier… but, not too bad.” Claire said as Jasmine watched on. Claire was standing in the field while the sun broke through the horizon. As the light hit her face, she looked more mature to Jasmine. “You said it had reflection on it?”

“Yeah. Lily was able to discern the enchantments.” Jasmine replied. Her heart skipped a beat when Claire looked her way. The horizon behind her as shadows cast across her face. She cursed herself for never learning to paint.

“Wonder how they got ahold of it…” Claire said solemnly. She thought of its previous owner, probably an adventurer that the troll had killed. A pit formed in her stomach as she thought about it.

“I’d rather not think about that…” Jasmine said as she squirmed in her seat. She thought back on Claire’s injury and how close she was.

“Fuck that troll.” Claire said with anger. Its smile was ingrained in her mind as she looked at the shield. Anger built up as she thought about how many other adventurers it’d taken out. “But… what about that wild woman? Did we get any word about her?”

Jasmine shook her head. She had asked around about the woman and none of the villagers had seen her. “I’ll have to thank her if we see her again…” Claire said as she walked up to the driver’s seat. Jasmine extended her hand and hoisted Claire up beside her.

“I don’t know… she also blew our cover.” Jasmine said, tightening her grip on Claire’s hand. “We could have retreated if she hadn’t shown up.”

Claire sighed and nodded. “But she didn’t know that. She came to slay the trolls as well. I can’t even imagine why she’d go alone, but she didn’t expect us to be there…”

“Sure but she still nearly got you ki-” Jasmine tried to say.

Claire nearly crushed her hand in hers. She felt pain shoot through her as she looked at Claire. She had a stern look before her face softened. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to harm you.” Claire whispered as she rubbed Jasmine’s hand. “I blame the troll and my own naivety. Not her.”

Jasmine sighed as she let Claire kiss her hand. Her strength surprised her for a moment but she also softened. She rested her head on Claire’s shoulder and whispered back to her. “It’s okay… we’ll deal with it if we ever meet her again.”

Claire nodded before looking back at the shield. It had a solid metal frame with the main color being silver. The bolts and decals had red coloring. It matched her own armor perfectly. She smiled at her reflection in the shield before looking back to the horizon.

Both sat basking in the rising sun as the morning finally came. Claire had Jasmine under her arm as they watched the sun slowly rise. It felt nice to have a moment just between them with such a beautiful view.

“Aww… I missed waking up to you.” Elsie called from the window. Her smug smile widened as she looked at the happy couple. “Could have woken up like after the rats…”

Jasmine rolled her eyes as Claire giggled softly. “Mmm… maybe tomorrow. My body’s still quite sore from healing.” She cooed back.

“Gods… Elsie I said I was sorry for before. I thought we talked about this.” Jasmine said from under Claire’s arm.

“We did. But I needed to get even first.” Elsie said as she climbed through the driver’s window. “Now… we are even.” Elsie said before leaning in to kiss Jasmine’s cheek.

She gave her a sly smile before moving back to the window. “I’ll wake the others… but I’ll give you a couple more minutes.” She said before closing the window.

Jasmine let out a sigh before shifting to get more comfortable. “Elsie… I swear I’ll suck her dry again…” She whispered to Claire. Claire giggled as she rested her arm around Jasmine again.

“Let her be… she lightens the mood, which we desperately need…” Claire whispered back.

“Sometimes. But other times… I don’t know. I wish she was more serious.” Jasmine said.

“Nah… I like that about her.” Claire retorted. Jasmine furrowed her brow but let it go. She let Elsie ruin her little moment for far too long. She closed her eyes and let Claire take over her watch as she basked in her warmth.

True to her word, Elsie let the two have twenty minutes of peace and serenity. They had one last kiss before the morning sun. Their chests burning as they had one last romantic moment. It was cut off with Elsie waking the sleeping duo. Judging by the noises coming from the carriage, Elsie awoke the two the way she wanted to do to Claire. Claire smiled as she looked into Jasmine’s eyes. “Fuck… maybe I’m not too tired…” She whispered huskily.

With a delayed departure, they headed towards the next village. It was another four days of travel as they headed for the next village, so Jasmine made sure they kept on schedule. Elsie had become a lot more tame around Jasmine after her last experience. Claire was still shaken up, but she was able to calm herself down.

Focusing on whittling sticks for practice and a form of meditation. It helped calm her thoughts about the fight, but her dreams were filled with nightmares. Nightmares of the troll’s smile or the attack. She’d wake up in a cold sweat some nights and screaming. While she could think straight during the day, her dreams were out of her control.

Thankfully, her lovers were there to comfort her. They’d all wake up and help in calming her down. Their calming words and comforting bodies helped calm Claire down. It helped soothe her back to sleep, but they all knew something had to be done to help her.

Lily worked on creating a soothing sleep potion meant to keep her asleep for a full eight hours. They dispersed her watch between the four of them and made sure Claire got a lot of rest. Thankfully, Lily and Jasmine had experience with this issue as it was common for newer adventurers.

They kept a close eye on her as they traveled to the next quest. Elsie and Ana were a lot more hesitant around her in the beginning, not knowing how best to comfort her. They did come to the conclusion to keep one twin by her at all times. Claire loved physical touch. So when she wasn’t whittling or driving, they’d sit in her lap or lay next to her.

Claire felt coddled in the beginning, irritated that they were walking on eggshells around her. She understood why they were like this, but she also wanted normalcy. She truly missed Elsie’s little teasings or Ana’s lustful gaze as she moved. But, their comforting touches and concerned glances did make her feel loved. She resolved to get through this trauma and move on. She’d have to deal with even worse situations. Especially when they started on the bandits.

That was where her mind ended up on the last day of traveling. She saw the requests for the bandits attacking caravans. She knew what came after they finished with these monsters. She’d have to confront people she might have to kill. Could she inflict the fear she felt against the troll on another woman? She didn’t know.

It added to her own stress as they arrived at their destination. Another village needing protection from monsters readying themselves for winter. The cockatrices were stealing crops and sheep. Crucial resources for winter that would keep the village from going hungry. She gripped her new shield tightly as she’d have to go into combat again.

As they arrived in the next village, her nerves came back with a vengeance. She felt a pit form in her stomach as she sat in the driver’s seat. Her heart racing, her palms sweating as she gripped the reins tightly. Her mouth was dry and she could hardly sit still. Had it not been for Ana sleeping in her lap, she might have stood up to run.

Her lover’s soft breaths and the little bit of drool coming out of her mouth helped calm her down. She focused on Ana as she slept. Watching her chest rise and fall as she tried to center herself. It helped her ignore the panic, ignore the fear. She just prayed to her Goddess for strength to overcome this.

She parked the carriage next to the mayoral building and knocked on the window. Jasmine opened the back door of the carriage and walked towards the building. She stopped upon seeing Claire’s face. “Shit… you look…” She tried to say.

Claire could tell she looked bad. Her forehead was damp with sweat and her outstretched hand was the same. Jasmine took her hand and joined the duo in the front. She embraced Claire and felt her heart racing as she did. “Claire… it’ll be okay.” She said softly as she pressed Claire’s head into her chest.

“I-I know… I just keep thinking about it.” Claire said, her voice cracking as she spoke. “This fear…”

“Shhhh. Relax. Take a moment and breathe.” Jasmine said gently. Ana awoke from her nap and was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She looked up at the two’s embrace and gently tugged on Claire’s shirt.

“Y-you okay?” She whispered softly.

“Yeah… just panicking.” Claire responded after Jasmine released her. She gently caressed Ana’s cheek as she focused on breathing. She let out a long exhale as she felt the pit in her stomach ease slightly. “Thank you.” She whispered before leaning down and kissing Ana’s cheek.

Ana rubbed her cheek idly as she looked up at Claire. “Y-your welcome.” She said with a slight blush. She looked up at Claire lovingly as she idly rubbed the spot Claire kissed. It made Claire smile to watch. She looked up for Jasmine, but Jasmine had already entered the building.

“S-she left a moment ago… sorry your kiss distracted me.” Ana said softly. Claire gave her a smile and nodded.

“It’s okay. I just wanted to thank her too.” Claire said as she watched the door for Jasmine’s return. “I hope my Goddess aids me if I ever freeze in battle like this…”

“She will… probably.” Elsie said after opening the window panel. “If not, then we’ll cover for you.”

Claire jumped slightly, forgetting that they could communicate nonverbally. Both twins let out a laugh that eased Claire’s tension. Just hearing it softened her nerves. She gave Elsie a smile before taking another deep breath.

“Goddess. Thank you for giving me such wonderful lovers.” She silently prayed.