Morning sunlight arrived on time, laying a blade of gold across Lian’s eyes. Warmth nudged her awake like a gentle tide.

She blinked, fog clinging like mist on a lake. She tried to move, then froze; her right hand was caught, like ivy had wrapped it.

She turned. A spill of fire-red hair filled her view, bright as a burning maple—Alicia. Why wasn’t she at training today?

Pain lanced her temple like a sudden thunderclap. Last night’s memory surged back like a river breaching a dam.

Right. Last night, this girl made me pass out in the bath.

—Time rolled back to last night—

“Ling! Let me scrub your back!” Alicia’s voice landed like a pebble in still water.

Her hands were already lathered, soap gleaming like frost. No room left to refuse.

Splat.

Cold body wash kissed Lian’s back, a chill spark skittering like ice across skin. Alicia’s hands slid like slick little snakes. Shame rose in Lian like steam from a kettle.

Why is she so damn skilled!

In minutes, her small back was spotless, like a river stone rinsed clean. Lian started to rise.

Alicia pressed her down, firm as a lid on a pot. Confusion flitted through Lian like startled swallows.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Alicia didn’t answer. Her hands shifted to the front, a tide changing direction without warning.

The slick palm grazed Lian’s belly, then climbed like a creeping vine.

Dread pricked first, sharp as pine needles. Lian grabbed for the brakes.

“Hey! Stop. I can finish on my own!”

Alicia didn’t stop. Her hand slid higher, smooth as water on stone, and reached Lian’s neck. Two fingers pressed the Y-shaped hollow beneath her throat, gentle as a moth’s touch.

It wasn’t some fabled weak point, yet a spark snapped through her like lightning through a summer tree. The body’s unrest flared, and a shameful sound slipped like a startled bird.

Strength poured out of her limbs like water from a cracked jar. She couldn’t fight. Frustration burned through her like a dry wind.

Damn it, is this body that sensitive? One touch and this? You’ve got to be kidding!

Alicia didn’t see Lian’s shame. Her own mind went white as fog over a river. She wanted more—more of Ling—like a moth craving flame.

Instinct took the reins like a wild horse biting the bit. One arm caged Lian to her chest, a net drawing tight. The other drifted down, painfully slow, toward the small feet resting on the tile, where nerves branch like fine roots. A little prod there and anyone might topple.

By now Lian knew exactly what Alicia meant to do. Panic beat in her chest like a trapped bird. Her body, gone soft as wet clay, wouldn’t answer. Only whimpers slipped free.

“No… ngh… don’t… stop… don’t… ngh… any further!”

On normal days, one word from Ling would snap Alicia awake like a bell in fog. Not now. Her hand wouldn’t obey, fingers pulled by instinct like tides by the moon.

No… absolutely no… I can’t let this happen…

Every part of Lian recoiled, a field of grass flattened by a sudden gust. Fear crept cold as dawn dew. She knew if she were Ling, she wouldn’t fight. But she wasn’t Ling. She didn’t want this. Yet the body stayed useless, heavy as rain-soaked cloth.

So… is this really how it ends…?

She flinched, a fish flicking once in a net. The motion faded like ebbing waves. At last, she stopped resisting.

It wasn’t surrender. Darkness took her like a curtain falling.

The quiet in her arms hit Alicia like a bucket of ice. Control snapped back, clear as a bell. She looked—and saw Lian fainted against her chest, pale as moonlight. Her own hands held those soft little feet, working them in a way she couldn’t even name, like a tune she shouldn’t hum.

She stared, stunned, a heartbeat long as winter. The limp weight in her arms spelled her folly in bold strokes.

She let go in a rush, regret flooding her like a spring tide. She’d messed up—did what she shouldn’t to Ling. Mindless or not, done was done.

She scooped Lian up and ran to the bathroom door, fists pounding like hail.

On any other day the door would splinter like dry bark. But Flan had reinforced it—an iron root beneath wood.

Outside, Remi heard the frantic pounding and understood like a hawk catching a flash. She had Flan dispel the magic.

The moment the spell lifted, Alicia smashed through, face a storm of panic.

“Remi! Remi! Get a towel, now!”

Remi wrapped both Alicia and Lian in towels, warm as fresh bread. Then she looked at Alicia, who was crying like rain finally breaking a drought.

“Miss Alicia, can you tell me what happened?”

Alicia clutched Remi and buried her face in that smooth chest, like a child hiding under an umbrella.

“Remi… ngh… Remi, I—I’m awful. I almost lost control and pushed Ling down…”

Remi stroked her hair, a steady breeze over choppy water.

“So what exactly happened? By rights, Miss Ling wouldn’t refuse you.”

“No… That’s just it. She fainted, and that snapped me out of it. She must hate this. Tell me—after what I did, even if nothing went all the way, will she hate me?”

“First, breathe. Miss Alicia, walk me through it, from the start.”

Alicia told everything, start to finish, words tumbling like pebbles down a slope.

When she finished, Remi couldn’t help but smile, a lantern easing the dark.

“Miss Alicia, if Miss Ling truly hated you, she wouldn’t bathe with you. To me, she was just startled by what you did. If you touch someone without a word, even I’d jump.”

“So… you’re saying Ling doesn’t hate me?”

“Emmm… I think so.”

Relief washed over Alicia like warm rain. At least nothing was beyond repair. A small mercy in a rough sea.

“Then… Miss Alicia, are we just leaving Miss Ling like this?”

She nodded behind her—Lian curled on the sofa, wrapped in a towel like a white cocoon.

Alicia went quiet, a beat as long as a held breath. In the end, she chose to give up her little slice of pleasure time, a blossom set gently back on the branch.

“Emmm… Remi, you help Ling finish the bath. I’m afraid I’ll lose control and get handsy again.”

“All right.”

With that, Remi lifted Lian and carried her back into the steam, like a careful ferry crossing a misty river.

Left alone, Alicia sat on the sofa, eyes unfocused, a lantern with its flame turned low.

Really… is that how it is…