Lady Lioness

Flower from another garden (complete)

Lady Lioness (updated every monday)

But you can read it on my Tumblr blogs too!

All the info on my carrd.

I also like videogames and historical fashion.

My comics are published in Spain by Arechimanga.

This time, her hair was covered by a modest black veil of fine lace, though a few strands, still damp, escaped framing her face, also pale and tired, but with the soft, shy smile that had captivated Álvar the moment he met her upon disembarking.

"I am Calista de Messina," she had told him back then. "It is an honor to meet you, Don Álvar."

But this time, she had only called him "Sir." It felt like a stab in the heart.

Álvar rose, displaying all his courtesy, but he couldn't bring himself to lift his gaze from the ground. He bowed gently before her.

"Good morning, Doña Calista. I hope you had a good night... that you slept well. That you rested, I mean."

Still smiling, the gentle lady, carrying a basket in her hands, offered it to him.

"Thank you. I didn't sleep for long, but I feel well. I came specifically to return your belongings." Álvar looked at the basket the lady was holding. It contained his shoes, his jacket, and his waistcoat, which, in his hasty escape from the previous night's scene, he had completely forgotten to pick up, leaving the garments scattered here and there along the path toward the house. Álvar picked them up slowly, afraid he might explode with embarrassment. He still didn't dare look at her directly. At least she didn't seem angry.

The lady glanced around, checking if they had any company. There was no one around but the two of them.

"I also wanted to express my sincere gratitude," she said softly. "Even if it was by mistake, it was very brave of you to come to my aid."

Álvar felt his heart pounding. He was almost breathless, and his nerves made him tremble. If he'd been able, he would have thrown himself off the terrace.

"You're...you're welcome. It's...my duty as a gentleman."

"I hope, then, that I can appeal to the chivalry you undoubtedly possess," she replied amiably, but with a clear hint of concern. "Because... you haven't said anything to anyone... have you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Álvar pretended, knowing it was impossible for her to fall for something like that.

"Please, I beg you, don't tell anyone," she pleaded. "I didn't know anyone could see me. I don't want you to think badly of me. I wasn't looking for anyone, nor was I seeking anyone's attention. It's not something I do often, really."

Álvar finally looked her in the eyes. There was clearly great concern in his gaze. His smile was gentle, but nervous. She was trying to manage the situation with her demeanor and impeccable ladylike behavior, but he could tell she was just as embarrassed as he was.

In the same way that he had feared her scorn, she feared his.

What a charming soul, so like his own! He wanted to protect her forever!

"You needn't worry," Álvar replied, with all the kindness he could muster, eager to show the sweet young woman that she could trust him. "I haven't told anyone, and I never will. I give you my word as Third Lord ofSuazo."

A great expression of relief spread across the lady's face, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes and her obvious weariness. She, too, had been unable to sleep. Her gaze fell to the floor.

"Thank you so much, sir. I am indebted to you. You didn't save my life, but... you now save my honor."

Álvar could detect a hint of sadness and resignation in her voice as she spoke of "her honor," knowing how important it was for a lady seeking her place in a new family to have an impeccable presence and reputation. Clearly, she was a romantic and sensitive young woman, just like him. He could read her mind, and therefore understand her actions. He couldn't judge her. But he knew that different things were expected of a lady, especially a foreign lady. Strange behavior and insubordination were reprehensible and grounds for rejection. And to be rejected by a suitor and his family was a social condemnation for a lady. A punishment that lasted a lifetime. Poor girl! That was her struggle against the world. To fit in at all costs, to marry a man she didn't love, and to renounce her entire being to fulfill a duty imposed by birth!

¡Viva España!

AND FREE PALESTINE!!

AND MIKU IS SPANISH!!

Hello! I've finally managed to finish these pages, which should have been ready on Monday. Summer is hectic for me because my son is home all day, and I try to spend as much time with him as possible. I have less time to draw, and if the pages I have to do are as elaborate as this one, it's a monumental task. So for now, until I'm able to get back into a regular schedule, I'll post updates as soon as I finish them.

¡Hola! He podido al fin terminar estas páginas, que deberían haber estado listas el lunes. El verano es frenético para mí, porque mi hijo está en casa todo el día, y me procuro pasar con él el mayor tiempo posible. Me queda menos tiempo para dibujar, y si además las páginas que debo hacer son tan elaboradas como esta, es un trabajo titánico. De modo que de momento, hasta que sea capaz de recuperar un ritmo estable, iré publicando las actualizaciones tan pronto como las acabe.

When he finally reached his chamber, still drenched, he slid to the floor as if the bones in his legs had turned to cartilage. He was shivering, but not from the cold of his soaked clothes. Álvar brushed his hair away from his face, thought about taking off his shirt, but didn't dare. Not with the image of his brother's betrothed, naked, bathed in moonlight, still etched in his mind. With her long, flowing hair, like a mermaid's—no, like a newborn Venus's—falling over her shoulders, and her…

Álvar slapped himself with his right hand. "For heaven's sake, Álvar!" he thought, almost shouting to himself. "Decency! Decorum! Sanity!"

A servant knocked at the door.

"My lord, are you alright?"

"Yes! Yes! I'm fine. I don't need anything."

But he did need something. He needed her. More than he was willing to admit.

---

Álvar couldn't sleep a wink all night. Even in the morning, he was still wearing the same clothes, still damp, looking at the ceiling. The servant who expected to wake him up, finding him like this, helped him undress and wash, feeling like he was dressing a doll.

It wasn't just the lack of sleep that had left Álvar in that dazed state, but the realization of a terrible fact.

He would never see the beautiful lady again.

Seeing her again would be catastrophic. No matter the circumstances, seeing her would be to relive that awkward yet wonderful vision, and unleash all his emotions like a Catherine wheel. Seeing her would perhaps awaken her contempt for him, for daring to look at her, perhaps thinking it had been with ill intent. Seeing her would be endless suffering, an insane torture for his young heart, which had finally recognized love as the strange feeling that gripped him whenever he thought of her.

But at the same time, knowing he couldn't see her anymore destroyed him just the same, and all he could think about was the silver path, about truly immersing himself in it and letting himself be carried away, to the bottom of the sea.

"I'll announce you for breakfast, sir?"

"Huh? No," Álvar replied, head bowed and monotonous tone. "No, I'll have breakfast outside on the terrace, by myself." Just knowing that she would surely be in the grand dining room, surely sitting next to his older brother, made him feel miserable.

---

The white tablecloth fluttered in the wind. The east wind was returning again. Maybe it was a premonition, Álvar thought, as the east wind which brought the lady was blowing to keep her away from him. He stared at the horizon, looking, but seeing nothing. The breakfast lay untouched on the tablecloth.

"What was she doing there? So late, at night, bathing... without clothes... in the sea. What was her purpose?"

Perhaps she was a mythological creature. Perhaps she wasn't who she said she was. But he shook his head. "The lack of sleep is affecting you."

"Good morning, sir."

Álvar whirled his neck around at the sound of the voice calling him. His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard. He had come to this place precisely to escape this situation, yet here she was.

The stone balustrade was cold to the touch, but the air was warm, and the sea was absolutely calm, allowing the full moon, shining brightly, to trace a path across the water, a silver path leading to the distant horizon.

"She has come by that path," thought young Álvar.

That morning she had arrived. On a ship that came from the east, like the sun itself, disembarked a lady unlike any he had ever seen. She wasn't only beautiful; the soft tone of her voice conveyed peace, and the shyness of her movements made one want to protect her at all costs. Álvar had spoken with her for few minutes only, but it had been enough to make him unable to get her out of his mind.

He rested his arms on the balustrade and gazed at the silver path of the moon.

He felt a great turmoil in his mind, in his chest, and he suffered trying to think of how to rid himself of these feelings. He had to, for the good of everything and everyone. He was aware of his position, his hierarchy, and his duties. He couldn't disrupt the family order, nor could he allow his heart to suffer eternally if he didn't want his life to be a living hell.

No, he had to forget her. He had to erase her from his mind and shut himself off completely from any emotion that the appearance of that lady might provoke.

Because she wasn't destined for him, but for his brother.

She had come to formalize a negotiated engagement between the two families, and for her to see what would be her new home and meet her new relatives. Before being severed from her former life, she had the opportunity to experience what would be her new one. Therefore, Álvar had no authority over his dealings with her. An invisible aura of sacramental reverence surrounded her. She had been welcomed, received with respect and ceremony. He had to banish whatever he felt. She was his older brother's fiancée!

Álvar buried his face in his hands, elbows resting on the balustrade. He looked up and saw the silver path across the sea.

"I wish I could take that path, walk on the sea, far away, toward the horizon, and disappear..."

But as he watched the silvery glimmer twinkling among the gentle waves, he felt them stir. A dark figure moved, sinuous and restless, along the moonlit path.

"It's a dolphin," Álvar thought.

But the figure twisted and turned, this way and the other, disappearing and reappearing. Álvar began to get confused. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a dolphin around there, so he knew how they swam. No, that wasn't a dolphin. It was...

"My God! It's a person!" Álvar looked around, but there was no one nearby. He was far from the house, and it was dark. It was a person, and they were in trouble! “Please, hang on, I’m coming!” Álvar ran, taking off and throwing his jacket, shoes, and vest down the path. “I’m coming to your aid, don’t despair!”

Álvar sped down to the beach, plunged to the shore, and began to swim frantically toward where he thought the human figure was struggling to stay afloat. He had to rescue them before it was too late. But as he searched, he realized the tide was low, and the shore wasn’t deep. He could stand perfectly well, and there wasn’t a single wave. He stopped swimming and searched, turning his head in every direction. And then he saw her.

Before him, very close, a woman watched him, illuminated by the light of the full moon, which reflected in her dripping hair and the water that trickled down her bare skin.

Because yes, it was a completely naked woman.

And not just any woman.

It was her. Álvar paled, but at the same time, he felt his face burn, then his whole body, and he wanted to stop looking, but he couldn't. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, though he didn't know if it was from shame or his nerves.

She watched him, completely paralyzed, with an expression on her face that he couldn't decipher. Surprise? Fury? He couldn't look at her face anymore. His gaze shifted elsewhere, to another part he had to look away from as soon as he could, and he started swimming again, this time backward.

"I... I'm sorry, I... I thought you were drowning, I thought... That you were in danger and I... I thought you were a dolphin but... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!"

@zeldadiarist sent me this art trend and asked to be done with Kurt and I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO

Hello! I'm writing to you from the past, as I'm currently on a family vacation in the Mediterranean. Although I don't particularly like using double-page spreads for simple updates (I consider it a bit of cheating), it's the only thing I've been able to finish before leaving. I hope you like it <3

¡Hola! Os escribo desde el pasado, pues en estos momentos estoy pasando unas vacaciones familiares en el mar Mediterraneo. Aunque no me gusta demasiado usar páginas dobles como actualizaciones simples (lo considero un poco hacer trampa) es lo único que he podido terminar antes de marcharme. Espero que os guste <3