A short man scurried down the corridor, his raven hair pulled back in a low ponytail as his emerald green eyes scanned the portraits on the walls. Just as he zipped around the corner a tall woman with ginger hair and a round face decorated with ice-blue eyes walked through the door softly closing it behind her as she hurried towards the man.

“How scandalous for the two of us to meet up alone Jeffrey,” the woman said, levity colouring her tone.

“Please don't call me that, Anne” he whined, his pained expression betrayed by the joy in his eyes at seeing her.

“Ok ok Kathrin,” Anne said, putting extra focus on her lover's name.

“Why did you insist on having this meeting? I thought we both agreed that it was too risky to talk in the king's castle” the raven-haired girl asked, hoping to get some answers as her lover could dance around the point for hours on end.

Anne bit her lip looking off at one of the portraits hanging on the wall of this room as she began “his majesty king Henry is getting restless and well since his second wife has yet to give him a son.” she took a breath looking the other woman in the eyes “he started trying to court me”

Kathrin took a gasp of breath as the gravity of the situation hit her. They both had their fair share of relationships with mortals but a king? That was bound to get them in a world of trouble. 

She knew this was going to happen sooner or later. That one of those stupid humans was going to try to ruin the life they built together like they always do. She just wasn't expecting it to happen so fast.

Her lover's reassurances that they just needed to lay low for a while washed over her as she thought about what they should do next.

“Don’t you remember how the king acquired his current wife?” Kathrin asked, trying her hardest to keep her temper in check. The look in Anne’s eyes told her that she knew exactly what point Kathrin was trying to make and just didn't want to acknowledge she was right.

“I do but I'm sure if we just ignore him” Kathrin interrupted the redhead with a shout as she realised she would need to force Anne to open her eyes to the truth for her to even begin to acknowledge the severity of their situation “THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THE BOLEYN GIRL DID AND LOOK WHAT GOOD THAT DID HER !”

Kathrin took a breath looking at the blue-eyed girl's face now painted with her trademark stubbornness “we need to get away from here ideal away from all humans so they can’t ever ruin our peaceful life again” 

Kathrin realised that might have been the wrong thing to say the second the words left her lips as she watched the redhead's face morph into shock.

“You never stopped thinking they are just animals, did you?” Her starlight asked betrayal clear in her all too expressive eyes

“You’re jumping to conclusions again, starlight.” she choked out through gritted teeth taking a deep breath to try to calm herself while trying to stop the conflict before it got out of hand “I never said that I just, don’t want to go through this ha cha dance again of moving town establishing a new life thinking up new names only for some stupid mortal to come and destroy it again. Let’s just spend the rest of our eternities together alone away from them”

“What kind of life would that be? I love you, Kat. I do but I can't abandon them just because of one power-crazed man” the redhead said, reaching out to her lover only for her to recoil as if the tall girl's touch burned her.

“If you loved me you would choose me above those mortals” She spat the last word out with so much disdain and venom this time Anna was the one to recoil.

“Those ‘mortals’ are our friends and if you knew me you would know I can’t choose between you and them.”

“Then I will choose for you” the raven-haired girl shouted as she fled the room, tears welling up in her eyes.

---

“So why are you telling me your entire life story Riri? You said you wanted to ask something and then never did” the boy tried to joke looking at his companion with thoughtful eyes.

“I just need your opinion on this. I know Kat is doing alright. I saw a glimpse of her a few times through the years but... I’m just worried that I destroyed things beyond repair this time” Her eyes were filled with melancholy as she choked out those words like she was scared that if she said them out loud it would make them true.

The boy stopped for a second thinking his next words through “Well she came back to you after the cheese incident so I don't think anything could destroy your marriage” he joked trying to make his friend feel better. “You two just need to actually talk things out instead of this whole game of hide and seek you have going on at the moment”

Riri choked out a sad laugh looking over at the brunette “We aren't married. We are betrothed” she stated choosing to focus on the first part of what her friend said.

“Tomato Potato from what you told me you have been betrothed for fucking millennia, at that point you’re married,” he said lightheartedly 

Riri looked at her friend “It is a bit more complicated than that” she slowly exhaled a warm smile playing on her lips as she thought about her lover. 

“OK this might be a bit confusing,” she said turning back to the city as she continued “the two of us never had a normal human relationship since well we aren’t human” 

Riri sighed trying to figure out the best words to explain “Your life is very limited” she stated.

“Wow gee thanks a lot I know I'm gonna die in what a blink of an eye to you no need for the reminder” he intoned a mischievous grin spread on his face

“You misunderstand me,” she said while a breathless chuckle escaped her lips “Time passes the same for me as it does for you the only difference is while you humans have a lifespan of 150 to 200 years” “Actually the average lifespan is around 230 years now” her friend chimed in.

“Really? Doesn't matter my point is that you have a limited amount of time on this earth”

She once again took a breath collecting her thoughts “When you meet someone who you know you love you want to spend as much of that precious time you have with them as you can after all your marriage vows are ‘till death do us part”

“But for us, death isn't a factor,” she said, a small amount of sadness painting her voice “I have lived for an eternity before you were even born and after you die I will live for an eternity more, just like my betrothed. So for us the word marriage just doesn't feel right. We haven't promised to spend every moment of our lives with each other in sickness and in health, we can’t do that but we still promised our lives to each other so betrothal.” 

A glowing smile lighted up her face as she looked up at the night sky “to us it doesn't matter where or with whom either of us spends the night the year the decade because at the end of the day, we have promised to be each others eternity and that's a promise neither one of us is willing to break” she looked back down at the city as her smile fell remembering why her lover wasn't with her right now.

“Or at least I hope she still isn’t.” 

Her friend looked at her, deep in thought before patting her on the shoulder and leaving the balcony as he spoke “I already told ya what I think, find her and talk it out like the two, billions of years old adults you are”

---

A short fair-skinned woman with raven hair cut in a bob and cat-like emerald green eyes softly cursed, as she hit her hand while boarding up the windows. So focused on her work that she didn't even notice when a dark-skinned redhead with ice blue eyes entered the decrepit building until she heard her clear her throat.

The raven-haired girl looked at her old friend in shock, not comprehending that the red-head was actually standing in front of her “Where have you been? I missed you so much” the redhead whispered hope filling her eyes.

 “Well look who it is crawling back to me now that those mortals aren’t an option” she spat out the second surprise left her face as she glared at the other girl eyes filled with defiance.

“We both know that's not what this is-”” Don't play dumb Anna or should I say Riri?” The cat-eyed woman cut her off standing up, almost shaking with barely contained rage.

”You never missed me, you just ran back to those mortals like I never existed, new name, new life” she spat out those last words almost as if they burned her tongue.

Riri’s eyes filled with hurt as she reached out to the blackhead “Kat we both kno-” “DON'T CALL ME THAT!” she shouted tears filling her eyes as she jumped back taking a deep breath to recollect herself ”You don’t get to call me that''

Riri took a deep breath too mirroring Kathrin as she looked her in the eyes “Kathrin, I did miss you, I missed you so much I tried to find you I tried to speak to you to explain but you always disappeared”

“You’re the one who drove me away-”” AND YOU'RE THE ONE WHO RAN!” This time it was the redhead interrupting Kathrin as Kathrin’s eyes once again filled with shock.

 “You didn't allow me to explain you didn't give me time to choose you just ran away like a coward” Riri realised that was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left her mouth but it was too late.

Kathrin’s eyes hardened once again as she widened her stance and looked her lover in the eyes once more “If I'm a coward because you chose them over me and I respected that choice then let's settle this in your language” her hands came up in a boxing stance as she lowered her core and growled out her next words 

“Fight me”

Riri looked at her lover momentarily frozen in place as Kathrin took advantage of her hesitance and swung at the redhead's face.

The blue-eyed girl reacted immediately instinctively crouching to avoid the blow and swiping at the green-eyed girl's legs.

“Kathrin please listen to me” the redhead cried out as the other girl narrowly avoided losing her footing by jumping up and taking a swing at Riri’s exposed torso

“WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU WHEN YOU DIDN’T LISTEN TO ME” she screamed out taking another swing at Riri’s chest as she quickly moved to the side avoiding the first one “WE COULD HAVE JUST BEEN HAPPY TOGETHER ALONE WITHOUT THOSE ANIMALS TO DESTROY THINGS”

Riri caught her arm quickly bringing the raven-haired girl closer to her “That wouldn’t have been living.” she said as she kicked her in the gut “Kat I love you but I could never give up on all my friends”

The raven-haired girl gasped out a breath as she slumped over before she attacked again her strikes more desperate as tears escaped her eyes while she attacked “IF YOU LOVED ME YOU WOULDN’T ASK ME TO FORGIVE THEM FOR RUINING EVERYTHING AGAIN”

“I DIDN’T ASK YOU TO FORGIVE HENRY, I ASKED YOU NOT TO GIVE UP ON EVERYONE BECAUSE OF HIM!” The redhead shouted kicking her lover behind the knees watching as she collapsed on the floor weeping.

Bangs sounded from the door as they both struggled to catch their breaths. 

Riri didn’t spare a glance to the door as she crouched down in front of her lover “It’s not fair, that we have to walk on eggshells around them, but while I couldn’t imagine a life without you, I couldn’t imagine a life without them either and even though most of them could never understand us or accept us I met many who were willing to learn many humans whom you would have loved, like me”

Kat latched onto her lover as she cried into her shoulder “But why should it be our job to teach them, why can’t we just be allowed to live in peace alongside them” she cried out her voice breaking

“It shouldn’t I know it shouldn’t but unfortunately it is and right now if we are all that’s left and if we give up on them there will be no one else to save them”

Both of them stayed there, sitting long after the green-eyed girl's tears had dried. Just drinking in each other's presence as the loud sound of dozens of hands slamming on the door reverberated through the small room.

“After we are done with this we will have a very long conversation” Kathrin muttered into her lover's chest still holding on.

The redhead chuckled “Sure thing my love” she said as she leaned down kissing the top of her head as the door slowly broke down.

Things weren’t perfect and they would never be both of them knew that but right now they had each other once more and that was enough.