Amy

“W-well then,” I began, licking my lips nervously as I glanced at the door. Queen Katherine had walked out all on her own, opening it and letting it close behind her without even waiting for Clara’s assistance. Leaving me alone with a rather irritated looking maid, an exasperated princess, and a slightly pale Pauline.

“Is um… Is Bridgette in the kitchen?” I asked, after a moment of silence.

“I was!” Bridgette replied - except she wasn’t calling out from the kitchen, but rather from her seat besides me at the table. “Sorry for not coming out sooner, but Queen Katherine asked me not to interfere with anything.”

“Right,” I murmured, trying to quash the faint bitter feeling arising in my heart. The Queen had said outright that Bridgette’s loyalty to the crown was unquestionable, and I knew first hand just how true that was. For all that she claimed to have feelings for me, she’d still reported everything I did to the king. Not that I could really hold it against her - expecting her to betray the crown she’d spent her life serving over a girl she barely knew was asking a bit much, even without taking my own failings into account. I mean, even a proper girl - even one actually worthy of standing besides her - would struggle to win that fight.

“Is there perhaps a reason you were asking?” Clara asked after another moment of awkward silence, placing the plate of cookies at the center of the table and a cup of tea right in front of me. “Maybe you wanted to have a discussion with her, and the other girls seated her? About your relationships with one another?”

Pauline fidgetted a little at that, even as Bridgette turned her gaze somewhere to the side of me and Firanna grimaced at the maid.

“She’s right,” I said, with a sigh, causing all three of my would-be lovers to turn their eyes towards me. “We should talk. About… the feelings you all claim to have for me…”

“I’m not claiming anything,” Bridgette protested. “It’s fine if you don’t want to date me, but I think I’ve been pretty clear about wanting to date you!”

“M-Me too,” Pauline said, her voice wavering slightly at first before firming up. “I like you, Amy. I really do.”

“I don’t,” Firanna said, causing Clara to glare at her. “What? I think I’ve been pretty clear myself that she’s largely a means to an end to me, at the moment. That doesn’t mean I’m not willing to try though. I’d be happier than anyone if I managed to develop actual feelings for the person I’m supposed to marry.”

“It’s fine, Clara,” I interceded, causing the maid to turn her glare towards me. “I prefer honesty. Though, if I myself am to be honest, I must admit that I haven’t the slightest idea of where to begin with… any of this.”

“Perhaps a date?” Clara suggested, her gaze softening a little. “I would be happy to make all the arrangements for a picnic lunch in the academy gardens.”

“Between me and Firanna?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“For a start,” Clara replied. “I imagine Bridgette and Pauline will wish to make their own plans for romantic outings, but since the two of you are more or less starting from neutral, a simple lunch where you might talk to one another in private seems the most serviceable approach.”

“I’ll think of something!” Pauline volunteered immediately, raising her hand before sheepishly lowering it again when we all turned to look at her. “I-I mean, I’d like to go on a date with you, too, Amy. If you’re willing?”

“I’m still not entirely sure why you’d want to, but… I suppose I wouldn’t be opposed?”

“Me too!” Bridgette volunteered, speaking a bit louder than she normally would. “Assuming I can actually think of something you’d like, anyway… Hey, Pauline, if you’ve got any extra ideas could you send them my way?”

“M-Me?” Pauline asked. “You want me to help you… think of a way to woo Amy…?”

“Well, sure, why not?” Bridgette replied, crossing her arms. “We’re all in this together, aren’t we? I mean, the way I see it working out, Firanna’s going to be her lawful wife while we’ll both be her mistresses - so why shouldn’t we start putting our heads together and getting along now?”

“I… Well…” Pauline bit her lip, glancing between me and Bridgette for a moment before eventually nodding. “I guess I better get used to the idea of being a mistress, then…”

“Don’t forget that it’s you I’m trying to capture, first and foremost Bridgette,” Firanna said, frowning at the knight. “If you’re going to be bonding with Pauline, then I want in too! I’ll have free time since Clara already planned my date out, in any case.”

“Do I get to have a say in any of this?” I asked, mildly annoyed that nobody had thought to even ask for my opinion thus far.

“Of course not,” Clara said, before any of the other three could respond. “These girls are trying to prove their love to not only you, but also to each other and themselves. Barging in with the answers would be crass - and besides, you hardly seem to know your own heart to begin with. Rather than thinking about what these girls can do to make you happy, perhaps you should focus on what you need to do to be happy with yourself?”

“Myself…?” I asked, blinking at her uncertainly. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean that two girls have professed their affection for you, a woman who just got a pep talk from the Queen about her lack of self-confidence, and yet you’re still sitting here wondering what anyone could possibly see in you. I don’t think these girls are going to have any luck in proving their feelings for you - with or without your help - if you don’t first accept that you’re someone worth having feelings for.”

“She’s right, you know,” Firanna chimed in. “And really, when you think about it, you thinking so little of yourself is a rather poor reflection on me as your fiancee… So… Perhaps we could think of a way to combat those negative thoughts on this upcoming date of ours?”

I might have lost my temper, if not for the noticeable shade of pink on Firanna’s cheeks as she neared the end of her suggestion. It was clear that she was trying to extend an olive branch, of sorts, even if I didn’t quite appreciate the way she’d worded things.

“Fine,” I said with a sigh, finally reaching for my cup of tea, and a cookie. “We might as well get all this over with, so that you can see for yourself why I’m not worth dating.”

“Wonderful,” Clara declared. “In that case, may I suggest that my Lady retire to her bedroom until dinner time? You can nap, if you’d like - assuming you don’t want to stay up with your thoughts and have a proper think about things.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” I asked, frowning at her.

“Of course,” she replied, looking me right in the eyes. “Otherwise the girls won’t be able to properly discuss their plans to bring my Lady to her knees and force her to admit that she is loved.”

“You…” I glared at my maid for a moment longer, before finally letting out a sigh. “Fine,” I muttered, grabbing a few cookies with my tentacles while carefully lifting up my tea. “If that’s what you want, then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“As you say, my Lady,” Clara replied, curtsying to me.

A snort was my only reply, as I stood from the table and prepared to walk past her. Before I could exit the room, however, one of my tentacles suddenly shot out and wrapped itself about Clara’s wrist.

“You…” I glared at the offending tentacle. “What are you doing? First Pauline, and now this? Don’t tell me I have some secret desire to have Clara come with me, as well?”

“Maybe it just thinks you’re forgetting something?” Pauline suggested. “Like maybe asking Clara for some jars, to store all that excess mana in? I’m pretty sure it’ll dissipate when you dismiss the tentacles, if you don’t.”

“Perhaps,” I murmured, wondering why I hadn’t thought of that myself. “Do you think you could handle that, Clara?”

Clara didn’t reply. She just stood there, frozen for a moment, before blinking at me. “I’m sorry, my Lady. What was that?”

“Jars,” I repeated. “I need some to store the liquid mana I have stored in these things.”

“Of course, my Lady,” Clara replied, curtsying again. “I’ll bring them to your room right away.”

“Wonderful,” I replied, focusing on the wayward tentacle that had grabbed her. Doing so seemed to give me more direct control of it, as I was able to detach it from Clara’s wrist before storming off towards my room.

To be honest, I did have a lot I needed to think upon - but I really wasn’t feeling up to that, so probably I’d just end up napping instead.

After I’d finished milking all my tentacles.

***

Pauline

***

I watched Amy leave, wishing I had the words to make her feel better - to make her believe that she really was worthy of affection. I’d never been the best at putting my feelings into words, though, and so I ended up just watching until she rounded a corner and left my sight.

I’d sort of expected Clara to take charge, once Amy had left earshot, but when I turned towards her I realized she was still staring after Amy. After a moment she seemed to shake herself out of that, though, and headed towards the kitchen without saying a word.

“I don’t think we’ll be getting any help out of her, tonight,” Firanna remarked, frowning.

“What do you think’s wrong with her?” Bridgette asked. She sounded worried - though whether that was for Clara or about her I couldn’t say.

“Maybe I should go talk to her?” I suggested. “Even if it’s nothing I can help with, she might still appreciate a listening ear.”

“Feel free,” Firanna replied, gesturing for me to get up. “Bridgette and I will be discussing how best to win Amy’s heart while you’re away.”

I bit my lip at that, glancing between the kitchen and the dining room door that Amy had left through, feeling torn. I wanted to help Clara. I really did… but I was also afraid of losing Amy. It was bad enough that the best I could ever hope for was being her mistress, if I ended up second in her heart as well…

At the same time, though, would I really be worthy of her if I didn’t at least try to help? Amy certainly would have tried, if she’d noticed that something was wrong. Even if she was annoyed at Clara, she’d still have wanted to ensure that her maid was happy and healthy. It was hard to call that purely a good thing, when it definitely stemmed in part from her treating her own feelings as secondary, but… her commitment to the happiness of those around her was also one of the things I liked most about her.

“You needn’t worry on my account,” Clara said, emerging from the kitchen with five jars carefully balanced upon a circular tray. “I suspect I’ll be too busy attending to my Lady’s needs to have any form of conversation, anyway.”

“Attending to her needs?” Bridgette asked, narrowing her eyes at Clara. “Weren’t you going to give her some alone time?”

“I have no intention of disturbing her, if that’s your fear,” Clara replied. “She’s free to think, pass out, or even write her thoughts down in peace if that’s what she wishes. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t keep myself on call, however. After I’m done delivering the jars, I’ll be standing outside her door to guard against intrusions, ready to present myself should she be in need of anything.”

“You needn’t look at her with such suspicion,” Firanna remarked. “I know you’re jealous of your job guarding Amy, but if there’s anyone in this house we can trust to live by Amy’s wishes I imagine it’s the maid who’s stayed by her side for no pay this entire time.”

“I’m not suspicious or jealous!” Bridgette protested. “And I’m starting to think I liked you better when you could hardly string two words together around me.”

“Well too bad,” Firanna replied. “This is the real me, and it’s about time we got familiar - seeing as how I have every intention of making you fall for me, at least as hard as you’ve fallen for Amy.”

“I’m not sure charging forward with force is really the best way to woo people,” I pointed out, only to flinch when Firanna wheeled upon me.

“And what would you know about that?” she asked. “Daphne fell in love with you at first sight, without you even doing anything - and yet the girl you actually like can’t even bring herself to believe your feelings are real. Perhaps if you worked harder at making your feelings known, you wouldn’t be in either mess.”

I flinched at Firanna’s words, before balling my hands into fists and gritting my teeth. She wasn’t entirely wrong about me, but that was also exactly why I couldn’t afford to just stand down and take her abuse - the first step towards fixing my problems was standing up for myself, and my feelings.

“Uh, girls?” Bridgette interjected, before I could say anything. “Can we maybe agree on a middle path here? I don’t think being forceful is wrong per se - hell, it’s probably the only way to get anything through Amy’s thick skull - but speaking for myself, here, I for one wouldn’t want to feel like I was being bullied into a relationship.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Firanna conceded, giving Bridgette a bright and fawning smile before scowling at me. “Truce, then? Seeing as how we’re all in this together?”

“...Truce, then,” I agreed, somewhat reluctantly. “But don’t think I’m going to let you bully me around either.”

“Of course not,” Firanna flippantly replied, before glancing at the exit of the dining room door. Clara had left through it at some point during our discussion, no doubt off to Amy’s room. “Now, while the maid is busy, I suggest we get down to our first order of business - namely how we intend to handle it if she, or any other girls, start taking interest in our woman?”

~~~Author's Notes

This chapter took a bit longer than I would have liked to complete - partly because of timing (Saturday is traditionally my day off), partly because I was honesty trying to finish a chapter of NM before I even started this one (that failed, but it's hopefully up next?) and partly because the normal mental health issues are kicking my ass. (And unfortunately trying to push myself to write when I'm not actively excited to do so has a high chance of causing burn out, so I was forced to sorta peck away at it as the mood struck. >,>)

Still, I hope it was worth the wait?