Long May She Reign, page 4
“What are you doing?” Ishani chuckled when she realized that Marie was scrolling on her cell phone instead of laying her head down.
“I’m staying awake until I know you’re asleep,” Astrid kept aimlessly scrolling.
“You don’t have to-”
“I know,” Astrid finally glanced up and into the other woman’s deep eyes, “I know that I don’t have to. I’m doing this because I want to. So shut the hell up and go to sleep. Or I will smother you with a pillow.”
The last part was soaked in humor which made Ishani release a silent chuckle. She turned so her face was turned away from Marie and allowed the exhaustion that had been holding her body hostage to take over.
Astrid occasionally peaked from her screen to see Ishani’s body relax little by little. It only took the woman about ten minutes before she was breathing evenly and releasing barely there snores.
The woman stayed awake for nearly an hour after Ishani fell asleep, but the moment she nearly joined the woman in dreamland was the moment it went to hell.
The snores turned to groans and whimpers. Her relaxed body turned stiff and rigid. Switching between tossing and turning to contorting and struggling against an unseen entity.
*Depictions of relationship abuse below*
“You are the reason this happened! You made me jealous by talking to that guy! What did you expect?!”
“I didn’t mean to! I promise, I didn’t do anything!”
“Of course you did! If that was true, then we wouldn’t be here right now Ishani!”
The bottle he was holding flew out of his hand and into the wall behind her. In turn causing the sobbing sixteen-year-old girl to scream and duck with her hands protecting her head.
“You- you thought I would hit you?” His voice sounded so sincere. So soft, but also pained.
“Baby, I love you,” he crouched next to her and slowly pried her hands away from her tear-stricken face, “I would never hurt you. And you know how upset I get when I see you with another guy. I just love you so much.”
“I lo-love yo-you too, Dean,” Ishani forced a smile onto her lips as she stuttered out the words.
“Ishani, you need to wake up,” Astrid had leapt off the bed and rushed to the other side, sitting between Ishani and the edge of the mattress. Running a gentle hand ran down the side of Ishani’s contorted face as she continued soothing the haunted girl.
“You are not there anymore. You’re safe. You’re with me, not him. He can’t get you anymore. But you need to wake up.”
Astrid tried, and nearly failed, to keep her own tears at bay as she saw Ishani fighting her past demon. But knew her tears would do nothing to help the woman in front of her.
“Ishani, you listen to me,” Astrid kept a gentle voice, but it had taken an edge of tough love, “you are the strongest woman I know. You have fought him before and won. He is never going to touch you again. But I need you to wake up.”
Ishani’s eyes flew open as her body jumped from its previous horizontal position. Her hands frantically rubbed against her skin trying to rub and scratch off the phantom fingers of his sickening touch. All the while unknown, or unacknowledged, tears flowed in steady stream down her cheeks.
Astrid didn’t want to touch Ishani for fear of triggering an anxiety attack or worse, so she simply stayed and watched in painful silence.
Ishani finally looked up and realized Marie was sitting, watching her. With a broken sob, she launched into the woman’s warm embrace. A soft steady hand ran down the length of her head before repeating the process.
Quiet mutters filled the air. A mix of soft reassurances and sincere apologies. But for the rest of the evening, Astrid held Ishani close. Pressing a soothing kiss to the woman’s forehead as her free hand continued to run down Ishani’s soft hair.
“I will never leave you,” Astrid vowed. A vow she fully intended to keep.
Ishani’s breathing slowly even out and her heartbeat slowed. And somewhere between the exchange of the final forehead kiss and gentle caress down Ishani’s arm, the hearts of the two women began to beat in tandem.
Uniting both in the physical sense and in spirit.
02: One another
Ishani woke up with a throbbing head and blurry vision. She groaned as she sat up, allowing the covers to fall off of her shoulders and torso. Her hands reached up to move her unruly curls out of the way as she climbed out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom.
“Oh fuck,” she grimaced as she made eye contact with her reflection in the mirror.
Her hair was sticking up in every direction. One side of her face had the imprint of fabric but was overall blotchy from the intense crying session she had taken part in a few hours prior. Not to mention the blurry vision that was thanks to her glassy, bloodshot eyes.
Ishani managed to wrestle her hair into a braid so at least it was out of her swollen face. She ducked her head down to the faucet to splash cool water on her face in the hopes of removing some of the swelling.
The faint smell of cooking wafted through the apartment and into the bathroom driving Ishani to hurry her business.
As she walked out and back into the bedroom to make her side of the bed, a barely-there conversation could be heard from the kitchen.
“…now then when? She deserves to know,” it was definitely Marie’s voice, but who was she talking to. And who in the hell was she talking about? It almost sounded like… Mara?
“Morning,” Ishani greeted as she released an exaggerated yawn when she walked into the open concept kitchen.
Kuna alerted the entire downtown area that Ishani was awake when he saw her. Hobbling over before laying on his back and presenting his belly to the woman. She giggled before scooping him up.
“Morning,” Astrid immediately smiled the moment her eyes fell onto Ishani.
I have got to work on my poker face.
“Good morning, Ishani,” Mara greeted from her perch on one of the stools in front of the island.
“Are you hungry? I made waffles, hash browns, and eggs with those vegetarian sausages.”
“Thanks,” Ishani walked next Marie, who was now facing away from the stove so that she could bend to kiss Kuna, who was still in Ishani’s arms, on the head.
Ishani gently set Kuna on the floor before she slid behind Marie. Placing a gentle hand on Marie’s waist so she knew where the other woman was.
Astrid felt her body tense around where Ishani’s hand had landed on her waist. The sensation itself was pleasant, but old insecurities bubbled to the surface. Not in the regard of her body, but rather the scars that littered it.
“So, Mara,” Ishani turned back to face the woman who was presently sipping a cup of straight, black coffee, “what did you think of your first dish and dish?”
“My first what?!” A shocked laugh spilled out of Mara’s mouth at the absurdly suitable name.
“Dish and dish.” Astrid’s own laugh came out as she saw Mara’s eyes light up with humor, “it’s when we have food and gossip. I’ll admit the name is a bit on the nose, but Carter came up with it when they were wasted and it’s kind of stuck.”
“That is honestly brilliant,” Mara wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, still chuckling at the ridiculousness.
“So, plan for today?” Astrid called over her shoulder as she loaded two plates up with the delicious food.
Ishani glanced down at her wrist where her watch was reflecting the time.
Seven a.m.
“I have to teach a class in a little over an hour,” it was at that moment she realized that Aishwarya was no longer asleep on the couch.
“Where’s Aish?”
“She left around six this morning,” Astrid passed a plate to Ishani. “She had to get back home so that she could get ready for work. And I’m pretty sure that she mentioned something about having to check on a duck?”
Ishani only nodded as she dug into her breakfast. Releasing a happy moan when the taste hit her tongue.
Astrid chuckled before digging into her own meal.
“I need to change,” Ishani cleared her plate of anything edible in record time before cleaning it in the sink and placing it into the dishwasher.
“Hey, can I use your shower?” Ishani called over her shoulder.
“Mi casa es tu casa,” Astrid intentionally butchered the pronunciation jokingly, but it still caused her to wince in pain when Ishani headed back into the bathroom.
Mara raised an eyebrow as she took a long sip of her coffee, maintaining eye contact with the princess.
“Shut up,” Astrid groaned, placing her face in her hands.
“I didn’t say anything,” Mara replied innocently.
“Your face said it all for you.”
Both women took a drink as the shower turned on and the sound of rushing water filled the apartment.
* * *
“…As King, my destiny is tied to my country and has been since my birth. In serving my people to the full extent of my abilities. Our forebears understood the true power of this great country, and I am certain that they are looking down upon us as we continue to propel our nation into what will be its greatest years-”
The video of King Henrick’s coronation was paused with a mere thirty seconds remaining.
“Alright, now who can tell me who that man is,” the velvety voice of the brown-skinned woman commanded the attention of the entire classroom as she rose up from her chair.
Clad in black high-waisted jeans, a slightly cropped cream button-up with short sleeves, and shiny black platformed loafers. Her eyes were alight with a deep love of knowledge and a slight glimmer of mischief.
While the very sight of her made an unconscious smile spread across the mouth of the semi-hidden brunette woman who was seated in the back corner of the room.
Almost every hand rose from around the lecture hall, while the few that didn’t were either preoccupied with their phones or catching a few more minutes of sleep that the nine-a.m. class had interrupted.
“Yes, Lana,” Ishani tipped her head at an eager young girl wearing a navy-blue jumper with the school’s name on it and comically large tortoise-shell glasses.
“King Henrick of Varune during his inauguration ceremony when he was seventeen,” Lana chirped, “the youngest monarch in the country’s history.”
The amount of confidence and excitement in Lana’s voice caused the woman in the back to let out an amused chuckle at the adorable first year. But the sound in the near silent room caused the professor to look back and the two women to lock eyes.
“Yes,” the professor narrowed her eyes at the sight of the figure as nearly every head turned around to look, “in the back.”
Why is she so beautiful even when she calls me out?
“I didn’t raise my hand,” Astrid retorted, humor still in her voice as eyes snapped between her and Ishani.
“And yet,” Ishani smirked, “I called on you.”
Well, if you want to play that game then let’s play, gorgeous.
“Alright. King Henrick is actually the third youngest monarch in the nation’s history.”
I am so going to regret this.
Ishani made a motion with her hand for the woman in the back to continue.
“The youngest being King Philippe Andres the Second, who was crowned when he was just thirteen years old after the untimely death of his father King Philippe Andres the First,” Ishani’s full lips pursed at Astrid’s matter of fact tone causing the latter woman to smile a bit wider before continuing.
“The second was King Fredrick the Fourth, who was also the shortest reigning king after his assassination at the age of fifteen during the French Invasion in 1863.”
All the students began whispering amongst each other. From what Astrid could hear, it was a mixture of, “how does she know this much about a country six thousand miles away,” and, “she has an English accent!”
Astrid lifted a thickly stapled paper stack off the table and held it in the air, “all of which can be found in the information packets that Miss Singh has graciously provided for you.”
There were a few beats of silence, and page flipping, before Ishani drew the attention of everyone back to the front of the room.
“Okay,” she clapped, “so what are some of the more well-known facts about this monarchy in particular? Yes, Morris!”
“They have only ever had male monarchs and heads of state.”
Ishani continued to call on people until nearly all of her students answered.
“Very good! Now, what are some of the main subjects he uses in that speech and how are they different from the ones we have already heard today? Yes, Tanya?”
After another fifteen minutes of the annoyingly charismatic woman tying the speech back to the lessons the class had been learning, it was ten thirty and time to dismiss the students.
“Please, please, and please, remember that your assignments on the political structures of a modern-day country of your choosing are due on my desk and on the class forum in two weeks. If you are having trouble, email me or come to office hours, which happen when?”
She held her hands out, palms up, to the students. A sign for them to answer her question aloud.
“Every Thursday from nine thirty to eleven thirty,” every student replied in an equally dull tone as they packed their bags.
“Awesome, now get out of here.”
The students created a small trickle out the door for a few minutes until everyone had exited except for Ishani and Astrid, who had remained in the back of the room until this moment.
Once Astrid was positive everyone was gone, she made her way down the steps towards the front of the room. Taking note of how the North Indian woman’s dark eyes ran over her full figure with attempted subtly.
I love her eyes on me. I have got to stop thinking like that!
A long-sleeved cream dress that went to the knee would have been shapeless and unflattering if not for the black corset harness with thin straps that went over her shoulders. Matching cream knee-high boots and a purse made of faux leather were balanced with hints of gold in the jewelry that she wore.
Astrid had kept her makeup minimal, mostly due to the fact that she didn’t want to wear a full face that day. It was only really there to highlight the soft planes of her jaw, high cheekbones, and eyes. Complete with a deep nude lipstick shade that emphasized the fullness of her mouth.
“Great lesson, Ishani.”
“It was until you interrupted,” Ishani snipped at the other woman with faux venom, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.
Ishani was acting as if she didn’t start the whole thing when she called Astrid out, “did you really have to do that?”
“Do what? Correct a girl who said something in a class she is required to pass in order to graduate, might I add, without fact-checking? And knowing you, that would end up being a question on a test. I thought you knew me better than to ask a thing like that.”
Astrid leaned on the desk until she was eye-level with Ishani. She couldn’t help the smirk that appeared at the faint darkening of Ishani’s cheeks, a direct effect of the prolonged eye contact.
“Marie,” Astrid’s playful mood and expression dropped at the sound of the false name.
It was getting harder for her to live in this lie.
“Okay! I’m sorry for interrupting your incredibly captivating lesson about patriarchal, misogynistic assholes who prance about in crowns thinking they are above everything and everyone.”
The ‘apology’ finally got Ishani to crack a small smile before it grew into a chuckle that was followed by an exaggerated eye roll. She began shoving her laptop and loose papers into her satchel when she asked a question Astrid wished she didn’t.
“Why are you here anyways? Your summer classes ended already and fall classes haven’t started yet.”
“I wanted to see you,” Astrid smiled sweetly, but her innocent facade was shot down with a raised eyebrow.
Astrid could practically smell the suspicion coming from the woman in front of her, but before she could produce a regimental answer, the doors of the lecture hall opened. A small group of students walked in, completely oblivious to the tension clouding the room, as they sat down and prepared for whatever class was about to take place.
“I just wanted to see if you were hungry or wanted to get a coffee or some lunch before your next class. You usually forget to eat when its a teaching day.”
The women finally made their way out of the lecture hall and into the bustling hallway. Filled to the brim with first-year kids trying to run to their next summer class and returning students downing large cups of coffee or energy drinks that would inevitably give them one hell of an energy crash.
It was the perfect day in the making for Astrid. A perfectly mundane day.
As they made their way up the staircase and out of the building, Ishani remembered there was a coffee house across the street. Known mostly by word of mouth between students due to its calm ambiance in the bustling city and cheap but delicious selection of drinks and pastries.
“Good morning, ladies. What can I get started for you?”
“Morning,” Astrid smiled politely before reciting both of the women’s usual orders to the young, and incredibly chipper, barista, “could I get a medium, iced caramel macchiato, and a small, iced black coffee? Thank you.”
Astrid paid quickly before Ishani had a chance to even reach for her own card. Causing the slightly woman to shoot her an unimpressed look from the side. Which in turn caused Astrid to shoot her a smug smile.
As another barista handed the drinks to Astrid, Ishani found two seats in the back so that the duo could have sight over the entire café. A trait they bonded over when they first met.
“Hi,” a soft voice whispered from the empty seat to Astrid’s right, causing her to snap her head to the side.
Shit! Does she recognize me?
“I’m Ishani,” she held out her hand, the soft chime of her gold and pink bangles filling the nearly empty classroom.
“I’m A- Marie,” the women joined hands and relished in the small currents of electricity running through their veins while a calm feeling simultaneously went through their bodies.
