#barbelyse

           There’s no way all Elyse’s staring would amount to anything other than another dumb crush on a straight girl. But boy, boy was she gonna crush till she knew for sure.

           It felt like months, and then it was actually months, and then this girl wasn’t in her class, and Elyse had to go back home still crushing on her and hating that she might never see her again. She spent a whole month at home, trying to figure out just what film studies courses to take so that she might see this girl again.

           She felt silly, but there was nothing silly in the pursuit of love. That’s what she told herself.

           (It was really silly.)

           So she went back to school, trying to be hopeful but also realistic. And class by class went by, nothing… nothing until her last class.

           And there she was. Just as cute as ever, with her hair all curly and bouncy, and shiny lip gloss and oh her name was Barbara. Elyse was in love. Still a little hopeless, but very much in love. After Barbara didn’t recognize her (but why would she) Elyse slung her backpack over her shoulder dejectedly and headed out of class.

           Not before she could overhear something that would change her life. Kind of. Maybe. Yeah, it would.

           “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not.” Barbara said to a friend with a little pleased giggle, and Elyse did her best to not just up and stop walking.

           Did she… did she have a chance?

           Maybe she did?

           This meant one thing, and one thing only. She had to ask Barb out, no matter what. She vowed then and there to do it… at some point.

           Next class came and went, and Elyse said nothing, because she was a dumb gay baby who couldn’t talk to pretty girls. Which was what she said to herself as she stalked off, going to get herself a big cup of coffee and a bigger cup of regret with it.

           Another class went by, and Barb even made another joke about the fact that she was very much into girls. Elyse felt emboldened to say something, but Barb had to go quickly and Elyse lost her chance again.

           Next week. Next week had to be it. No matter what. She’d track Barbara down if it meant getting to talk to her. She couldn’t think about anything but that during class, and she was obviously staring every time Barbara talked. Class couldn’t go by fast enough, and when it did, Elyse packed up faster than she ever had in her life to get over to Barb.

           “H-Hey, Barb.” Elyse said, her voice shaking a bit.

           “Hey, Elyse!” Barb chirped, bouncing a little on her heels. Dear God, she was cute.

           “I… um, I was, maybe, um, wondering if you’d like to, like, go out for some, uh… coffee? Cause you’re cute and into girls, I think, and also Canadian, which, like, is cool, cause I’m Canadian too, and… yeah.” Elyse knew she was red, but damnit, she did it. She asked a cute girl out.

           “Are you asking me out because I’m Canadian?” Barb giggled a little, and looked down at her feet. “Because I’m down for that, but I want you to know that I’m saying yes because I think you’re also cute. It is cool you’re Canadian though.” Barb tacked on with a smile.

           “You do?” Elyse said, sounding as small as she felt. “I mean, it is? Wait…”

           “I do think you’re cute, and I do think it’s cool you’re Canadian, because you know, like a cute little piece of home right here, and I can go get coffee with her. Or, you know, I do know a pretty good place to get our most delicious of our national foods.” Barb grinned knowingly, and Elyse felt a lot better about herself for being a gay disaster if it led to this.

           Because as she knew from the many balls had had to attend, being a prince was awesome. You got to ride horses, and learn how to fight, and do things other than sit around and look pretty. Not that she didn’t like looking pretty, because that was actually one of the upsides was constantly looking good, it was just tiring to have it be all she did.

           Luckily for her, she wasn’t at all the type of girl to just sit back and let come what may.

           “Elyse, sir, can we… talk?” Barbara asked cautiously, looking warily around the hall and pulling the knight to the side.

           “Of course, my lady, what is it that you need?” Elyse kept her voice low, following the body language of the princess as they ducked into a corner.

           “Can… could you teach me how to fight?” Barbara hissed, and Elyse laughed softly, a pretty little sound, especially coming from such a pretty knight, Barbara thought.

           She absolutely picked Elyse over any other guard for a reason. A very specific reason, which was that she was absolutely the cutest girl Barbara had ever seen. Once, when she saw Elyse’s hair down while she was tending to her armor, Barbara knew she was well smitten with this girl.

           It just so happened Barbara had devised a plan for them to spend a lot more time together.

           “I… suppose I could, yes.” Elyse seemed a little taken back by the request, but wanted to please her lady as best she could. “Shall I get a training outfit for you? Wouldn’t want to ruin your lovely dresses.” Elyse smiled as she spoke, just the faintest amusement pulling at her lips.

           “That would be preferable, yes.” Barbara blushed a little, smoothing out said lovely dress.

           “Then I’ll see you on the training field at dawn, my lady.” Elyse bowed a little and started to saunter away.

           “Dawn?!” Barbara hissed incredulously.

           “It’s when I get up. Any later, and you’re just wasting time.” Elyse tipped her head and went back to her duties, leaving Barbara feeling very suddenly exhausted.

***

           “Push back, my lady! Come for me!” Elyse shouted as they circled around each other, her hair falling from her tight braid into her face. “Drop low and move quick if yo want to hit me.”

           “How am I meant to hit you?!” Barbara said, panting under the sun beating at her back.

           “The simple answer, my lady, is to surprise me.” Elyse said, bouncing a little and laughing. She barely seemed to be exerting herself, and Barbara screwed up her face in frustration. She rushed Elyse, but she parried it neatly, moving out of her way and letting Barbara stumble to her knees. She offered her hand to help Barbara get up and she shook her head, pushing herself up.

           “I can do some things for myself.” She grumbled, picking up her sword and brandishing it.

           “You mustn’t show me your attack before you make it.” Elyse said, making Barbara groan.

           “I don’t know what you mean by that.” Barbara whined, letting herself sound a touch petulant. Instead of a response, Elyse swiftly swiped Barbara’s legs out from under her, sending her crashing to the ground and pointing the tip of her sword at the princess’ throat.

           “Strike quickly, do what they cannot see. You didn’t see that coming, did you not?” Elyse stuck out her hand again, and this time Barbara took it, groaning in pain as she rose to her feet slowly.

           “You want me to surprise you, yes?” Barbara asked, and Elyse nodded, looking at her lady curiously. Barbara bit her lip, unsure if she actually wanted to—

           She leaned in, pressing her lips against Elyse’s, ignoring the sweat and how chapped her own lips were. Elyse made a little startled noise, almost jumping until she dropped her sword and laid her hands very delicately on Barbara’s waist.

           “Surprise.” Barbara whispered as she pulled back, breathless even for the chaste kiss. She pressed her nose against Elyse’s cheek, who just laughed and was just as breathless.

           “I… I am very surprised.” Elyse murmured back, “Do that with a sword in your hand and you might just win.” She joked, watching as a grin split Barbara’s face.

           “I never dropped my sword.” Barbara said, taking a swift step back and landing a solid strike to Elyse’s chest and sending her down to the dirt, coughing and spluttering with laughter.

           “Well, my lady, you have beaten me, and I believe that calls for a bit of shade and a cool drink.” She took Barbara’s extended hand gratefully, smiling widely.

           “I agree, because it’s far too hot to be doing this anymore.”

           “Ah, if you truly want to fight, you must learn to suffer.” Elyse said musically, gathering the supplies and walking off.

           “If you’d like to spend more time with me, you better learn to relax sometimes.” Barbara sighed, popping a couple buttons on the jacket of her practice outfit.

           “And… will I be spending more time with you, my lady?” Elyse asked cautiously, turning back to Barbara and watching her.

           “I would hope so. You’re very lovely to have around, for all sorts of different reasons.” All Elyse could do with that was smile, and hope that one of those reasons was kissing.