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Agnea had never seen such a luxurious bath before; it was almost as large as her suite. From the high, vaulted ceiling to the statues lining the edges of the water, she wondered if it were too large for just her and Throné. The water was pleasantly warm with a gentle steam, and as Agnea eased herself into the water, all the aches of traveling and dancing seemed to melt away. That she and Throné had such a bath all to themselves was still hard to believe.
"It's nice to enjoy luxury like this once in a while," Throné said as she slipped into the water beside Agnea, smiling at Agnea's wide-eyed expression.
"I'm glad Dolcinaea told us about this place," Agnea said, her cheeks flushing, "but I didn't expect a private bath like this…!"
Throné chuckled. "Being a star has its perks, it seems."
Agnea's blush deepened. Throné acted as Agnea's bodyguard as they traveled from town to town, and Agnea's fame meant they often had money for carriages. It was certainly a faster and safer way of traveling and easier on Agnea's feet, but sometimes they traveled by foot like when there had been eight of them. Every so often she received a letter from Partitio updating her on the progress of the steam engine, and she couldn't wait to travel by train.
Beside her Throné stretched her arms, and Agnea's eyes fell upon her bare throat. After the eight of them had gone their separate ways, Agnea and Throné had met again by chance in Gil's tavern in New Delsta, where she had been invited to dance.
"This city certainly has changed," Throné had said, running her finger along the rim of a glass, "but it feels smaller somehow."
"Then how about traveling with me again?" Agnea had suggested with a smile and racing heart. "You could be my bodyguard. I'd feel much safer with you!"
And thus the two of them had begun to travel together again, but because it was only the two of them, it felt different, and too often Agnea found that she couldn't take her gaze away from Throné.
For a while the only sounds were the splashing of water as the two of them bathed, and Agnea's eyes kept drifting toward Throné. Along with Castti and Ochette, they had often bathed together in the wild during their travels, and that had certainly taken some getting used to, but as such, it wasn't as if Agnea and Throné hadn't already seen each other nude. Maybe because of the time they had spent apart, Agnea had forgotten just how beautiful and elegant Throné was. The water just barely reached her large breasts, the steam leaving tantalizingly little to the imagination.
"Is something the matter, Agnea?" Throné asked, her shoulder brushing against Agnea's. "You're rather quiet right now."
"Oh, I just can't get over how luxurious this bath is!" Agnea let out a weak chuckle as she tried to pull her gaze away from Throné's breasts. "I still sound like a country mouse, don't I?"
"A bath like this would be rare even in New Delsta." Throné also laughed, that low sound like music to Agnea's ears. "Now, would you like to help wash my back?"
Agnea nodded, perhaps a bit too eagerly. "Of course!"
Throné turned from Agnea, and Agnea swallowed thickly as her eyes fell upon Throné's slender back, and her heart hammered against her ribs. Gently she pressed a soft washcloth to Throné's back, lathering the skin with a rose-scented soap. She could easily imagine Dolcinaea doing this with Veronica, and Dolcinaea had confided in Agnea that the relationship between them was more than that of simply dancer and her bodyguard…
Agnea bit her lip, and again noted the lack of a collar around Throné's neck. These days she often saw Throné touching her bare throat, as if to remind herself that poisoned collar was truly gone.
As Agnea washed Throné's back, she could see the tension visibly ease from Throné's shoulders. She rinsed some of the soap from the skin, and water droplets glistened on the pale scars. With a feather-light touch she ran her finger along the length of one of the scars, and Throné quivered beneath her touch.
Throné glanced at Agnea over her shoulder, a grim smile upon her lips. "I have a lot of scars, don't I?" she said softly.
"You really have been through a lot, haven't you…?" This wasn't the first time Agnea had seen Throné's scars, but she had never touched them like this before. More than once she had thought to ask about them, but never mustered the courage to do so. One scar, fresher than the others, was from when Father had stabbed Throné in Winterbloom. Other scars, much older, had perplexed Agnea until she had seen Mother's cruel whip in Wellgrove.
Again Throné touched her throat. "In a way, these scars are like a collar too, one I can never be rid of."
"Throné…" Agnea let her hands fall from Throné's back, unsure of what else to say.
"This freedom is an odd thing," Throné went on, letting out a low chuckle. "Even now I can still smell all that blood. I can't forget my sins, and yet I'm free to see a new dawn each day."
"Because we brought back the dawn together." Agnea wrapped her arms around Throné's shoulders from behind. "All of us did."
"That we did." Yet Throné's smile faded as she touched Agnea's arm, and Agnea was suddenly aware of how close they were. "But what about afterwards? Even though I was now 'free,' I didn't know the answer. That's why I admired you, Agnea."
Agnea worried that Throné would feel her racing heartbeat against her back, but still Agnea didn't want to let her go. "What do you mean?"
Throné raised her other hand from the bath, letting water spill from her palm. "For so long I only desired freedom, but once I removed that collar, I realized I didn't have anything beyond that. All the blood I had shed, and now what? But you kept looking toward the future, despite all the horrible things you saw on this journey." A faint smile came upon her lips, and yearning filled Agnea's heart like a flame. "You shined brighter than anyone at the Grand Gala, and still you strive for your dream. When we met again in New Delsta and you invited me to travel with you, I was so happy."
"I-I'm not really as grand as you think…" Agnea stammered, and her eyes fell upon Throné's bright lips. "I just want to make people happy like Mama did, so as long as I draw breath, that's my dream." She giggled, her arms tightening around Throné's shoulders. "But I'm happy too, traveling with you like this, I really am."
"It's because of that beautiful dream of yours I can look toward the dawn." Throné reached behind herself to lay her hand on Agnea's hair, a gentle, tender caress, and craned her neck to press her lips against Agnea's.
With that kiss, that yearning flame within Agnea's heart flared. To Agnea, Throné was the most beautiful woman she had ever met. Elegant and refined, she was the kind of city woman Agnea had always looked up to. As they had traveled together, more and more Agnea saw the kind heart that no darkness could tarnish, and the strength of that kindness. Her past couldn't be erased any more than the scars on her body, but they had brought back the dawn so that she could start anew. "You really are strong, Throné," Agnea whispered as her lips fell from Throné's.
Throné chuckled, a sound both dark and warm. "If you can love me so much, maybe I can start to forgive myself."
Agnea kissed the back of Throné's neck, where that dark collar used to lay. She danced to bring hope and smiles to all those who watched her, and these days the hope in Throné's smile was truly a sight to behold. "I couldn't have gotten this far without you," she said with a faint laugh.
"And since we're alone together like this…" Throné let out a low, heated murmur as she guided Agnea's hands under her arms and towards her breasts. "Why don't we have a little fun now?"
Agnea's mouth went dry, her body warm from more than just the hot bath. Carefully she cupped Throné's breasts, the ample flesh soft against her palms. "They really are big…" she said without thinking.
"Don't think I haven't noticed the way you stare at them." Throné gave Agnea a flirty wink as she pressed her back more against Agnea's breasts. "And your breasts are rather cute as well."
Her cheeks flushing, Agnea gave Throné's breasts a gentle yet firm squeeze, eliciting a sharp gasp from Throné. Encouraged, she began to fondle Throné's breasts even more, feeling the bounce of that soft flesh in her fingers. How often she had imagined doing just this, pleasuring herself late at night to such private fantasies, and she had scarcely dared to hope that it would someday be reality.
"My, you're certainly bold, aren't you?" Throné said with a breathless laugh.
"For you, anything," Agnea murmured as she planted a kiss on Throné's shoulder.
During the quiet moments of their journeys together, Agnea had often allowed her gaze to be drawn to Throné's beauty. How tightly the dark cloth of her dress was drawn over the swell of her heavy breasts, the dangerously tantalizing amount of skin the deep neckline exposed, the gentle bounce of that generous cleavage if she moved too quickly - none of it escaped Agnea's notice. At some point, she might've realized she couldn't hide that longing from Throné, and just as often did she notice Throné watching her.
Throné pressed her hands to the edge of the bath to steady herself, her entire body squirming as Agnea continued to fondle her breasts. Those beautiful breasts of hers were almost too large for Agnea's hands to hold, and breathless moans fell from her lips as Agnea dug her fingers more into the tender flesh. She rubbed her own breasts against Throné's back, and Throné turned her head to catch Agnea's lips in another kiss, and Agnea parted her lips for Throné's eager tongue.
Water splashed around them, with Throné growing more unraveled the harder Agnea squeezed her breasts. She nearly doubled over when Agnea pinched her pert nipples, forcing her to lean against the edge of the bath for support. Agnea rather liked seeing Throné lose her composure, and rolled Throné's nipples between her fingers, feeling how Throné's body quivered against hers. "Your breasts are really sensitive, aren't they?" she whispered into Throné's ear, a mischievous arousal building deep within her.
Throné tried to speak, perhaps with another witty remark, but she could only let out a sharp, airy gasp as Agnea rubbed her thumbs over her nipples, and Agnea had never seen such an alluring sight as the smile Throné wore now.
Agnea's gaze fell upon Throné's throat, slender and bare, and she kissed the crook of Throné's neck and shoulder. So easily could she picture all the scars over Throné's skin; she loved all of Throné, and because those scars were part of Throné, she loved them too. Sheltered as she was, she knew she could never understand all of Throné's pain, but if she could at least bring a smile to Throné's face, then she had done her mother's legacy proud.
Their lips found one another again, and Agnea held Throné even closer. With hope came love, and more than anything Agnea was grateful to share her heart with Throné.
The two of them eventually became almost as one, hands and lips exploring each other's bodies, an intimacy Agnea had scarcely allowed herself to imagine sharing with Throné. She felt ecstasy shudder throughout Throné's body, and soon enough Throné's deft fingers gave her that same kind of ecstasy.
When they finally finished their bath, Agnea and Throné returned to their private suite, and a gentle silence lingered over the two of them. As with the bath, the suite itself was also rather luxurious, nearly as large as Agnea's home back in Cropdale. She could see why Dolcinaea and Veronica had suggested this place, and Agnea appreciated it, she really did, but she still found herself overwhelmed by the opulence of it all. "It really is all so lavish, isn't it…?" she said aloud.
"As I said earlier, you're a star now, so indulge yourself every now and then," Throné replied with a faint smile.
They sat together on the large bed, and Agnea held Throné's arm and rested her head against Throné's shoulder; even after that intimacy in the bath, she still wanted to feel Throné so close to her. She didn't want to take any of this for granted, not after that starless night. There were many they hadn't been able to save - Tanzy's screams reflected in Alpates' mirror still haunted her nightmares - but that was all the more reason to keep striving for the dawn, just as her mother had. "Mama was a star too," she said in a soft voice. "She wanted people to remember how important dreams are."
"The night brings dreams, and if we can dream, we can look forward to the dawn," Throné said, her voice equally quiet.
Agnea giggled. "That's really poetic of you, Throné!"
"Your hopefulness is infectious." Throné tucked a strand of Agnea's hair behind her ear, and her touch sent a shiver down Agnea's spine. "I'm still not sure what my dream is now, but because I'm free, I want to stay with you and find a dream of my own."
Gently Agnea raised her hand to Throné's throat, tracing her fingers along the soft skin now free of that collar. "Whatever dream you find, I'm sure it'll be beautiful."
Throné smiled as she closed her hand around Agnea's, her fingers protective and warm, and she lowered her lips to Agnea's for another kiss.
With Throné, Agnea no longer feared the night, and she loved nothing more than greeting the dawn together.