Out of the Ashes Ch. 03

Chapter 3: Blending in

(7,2k words, focus on humans, slight teasing, female muscle, futanari, character motivations and backstory, last build-up chapter - > I promise ;)

Day after day passed and slowly their unexpected stay turned into weeks - and the two dealt completely differently with it.

The blonde heir cherished the chance to let loose for a bit and loved the casual talks she had with her new friends and the customers, while Alexia mostly silently guarded over her and the place from the darkest corner of the inn - not interested in any conversation whatsoever.

By actually talking with people the younger hermaphrodite learned some interesting things about their new "home".

The whole city was completely independent at this point. Sure, there was technically a mayor installed to collect taxes for the crown, but he got bribed by the locals years ago. Mostly by organized gangs of militia in exchange for further privileges and to keep the new ruling class in the dark about their self-autonomy.

And so, the whole town earned a false reputation for being a complete and utter criminal mess, almost impossible and certainly impractical to rule over. This alone would cost the heads of the mayor and everyone else involved if the highking would ever find out, but their self-sufficiency - or treason, like Anastasia would put it - reached far deeper.

Many districts were ruled by sons or widows of the former rebellion leaders or well-known freedom fighters. These people earned the gratitude of the other citizens and even after their sacrifice their names still lived on and so did their legacy in form of their now respected families.

That was, odd, to say the least for the two hermaphrodites. Seeing the other side of the conflict and how the humans had to work with what little they had left ... was an admirable feat. Which made Margaret especially empathize with them, despite her mother's completely opposite teachings and world view. Alexia much less so.

Margaret's openminded attitude was surprisingly well received by the rowdy, mostly borderline wasted, but also towards her oftentimes very charming clientele.

They would often eagerly tell her from their adventures on sea or what distant places they travelled to regularly, places the princess only knew from books and tales. The new waitress - and especially her daily piano play - became a reason to come back to the "Sailor's mug" for many of its customers.

While this was certainly good for business, it wasn't always a good thing for her personally. Alexia was actually sometimes needed to jump in, kicking out the occasional scum that was getting to touchy for her and Margaret's liking, risking revealing the heir's true nature - or those who were too drunk to pay, which happened quite often.

Overall, living with the common people, and humans at that, was an unexpected but an enthralling experience - even with all its new challenges and downsides - well, atleast for the incognito heir.

Margaret's initial excitement was relatively short lived though and to her surprise the reason for it was mostly her closest friend.

While the visits at the tailor and the little tours through the district were fun and so was having the two blonde twins around her, she noticed Alexia being at times quite passive aggressive, almost even openly rude towards them - especially Remy.

There was something to his playful behaviour around Margaret, that enraged Alexia. Neither she nor the young princess really knew why, but it was obvious that the muscular hermaphrodite didn't appreciate his still clumsy advances towards the blonde princess. This wasn't the only source of anger for the former high ranked officer though.

Sure, Alexia fell at times victim to insults, especially from, mostly drunken, customers, but in Margaret's opinion it wasn't nearly as bad as her tall friend claimed it to be.

Obviously offended and at times enraged Alexia would regularly lament the world they found themselves in, but never in public - she didn't want to push her luck. She never really believed they were safe, still afraid the mob or Manuel would materialize their disdain for her or hand the two over.

The ongoing insults and this sense of uncertainty only worsened the former commander's already strained mood even further and turned her increasingly unfriendly towards almost everyone.

At first the young heir just tried to ignore how defensive Alexia was around their new colleagues, but soon it got clear that she was still taking her duties as a guard very seriously - too serious in fact. Making Margaret's security the top priority over anything else.

This behaviour wasn't going unnoticed by the blonde heir and the others as well. The twins were almost scared to be around Alexia and that after they slowly grew accustomed to having an 8'6" "behemoth" around - even with them genuinely trying to welcome the grumpy hermaphrodite into their shared home.

Manuel didn't care too much about her in the first place, but it felt like the two haven't spoken for days despite working together daily to bring in the shipments with beer, liquor and food.

The chef Agatha was the only one who she held to some regards and actually treated respectfully, besides Margaret of course.

The two friends were still enjoying each other's company, but this attitude from Alexia slowly started to put a bit of a strain on their friendship, atleast in Margaret's opinion.

The blackhaired warrior tried to keep Margaret at some distance off their new colleagues, to keep her save and reduce the risk of her revealing herself. This wasn't what the adventurous princess was expecting though, nor did she like the feeling of getting treated like someone needing constant protection.

She wanted to meet people and learn about the history of this place and its citizens ... to understand them. Alexia on the other hand though seemed to destroy this opportunity for her. This was a problem that needed to be addressed by the young heir... rather sooner than later.

"So, Maggie. Heading back up again, already?" Agatha asked worriedly as the blonde was cleaning up the last desks after the inn closed.

The uncomfortable heir sighed and kept on wiping up the last few dried stains of beer as she turned to face her older human colleague.

"I... you know. We aren't really the talking types, so..." she didn't want to reveal how much she would enjoy hanging out with the older chef and her two apprentices for one of their late-night cooking sessions, but she already knew what Alexia would say.

"Maybe your friend, but not you." She rested a hand on Maggie's shoulder and smiled.

"If you want to come over, you are always welcome. You both are... I hope you know that," Agatha grinned, but it seemed like she already knew that the offer would only be tempting for Margaret, not Alexia, who already waited back in their room, just like after every work shift.

The blonde hermaphrodite just faked a smile and nodded slowly before hanging her apron up at the blackboard next to the bar and headed up the stairs - to Alexia.

On her way up she thought of a way to address this issue with her friend. Who still just tried to protect her as best as possible, which complicated it only further.

Margaret owed Alexia so much, her life in fact and she didn't want to sound ungrateful, but she couldn't stop feeling like she was held back by her friend.

She entered the room and was greeted by a very familiar sight - Alexia doing push-ups on the floor.

The taller hermaphrodite kept on working out on a daily basis to retain her stunning physique, just like she would back in the palace. What at first was arousing for the young princess started to get a bit boring soon and annoying shortly after - not even the sweaty and grunting warrior's outfit changed that anymore.

Margaret and Alexia followed their new bosses' advice and traded, with their new colleagues' help, two more rings in for clothes and some money. Only her birthday present from earlier - the ring with the pearl - remained on her finger which she refused to trade in for anything.

The black-haired soldier never openly mentioned how happy she was about that little deed, but she was more than delighted and grateful.

After that they had 2 outfits each, one for work and one for their off time. The blonde waitress chose a more formal outfit next to a cute blue dress, pretty much the closest she could get to the dresses she wore back in the palace.

While Alexia decided to go for a relatively modest, but still very strained and most of times revealing outfit for work and a much more comfortable training outfit. It was like her work outfit custom made, but still a very tight shirt and the pants, although quite elastic, were just barely enough to keep her huge curves and endowments in check.

That was especially necessary in the morning. With her massive size, in terms of height and endowments, came a more than healthy libido - showed by her daily raging morning wood.

At first Margaret was almost drooling at seeing the massive bulge and trying her best to act like she didn't care, but she was more than impressed by the sheer size of Alexia's member, by her estimation easily 2ft in length.

The teenage princess sure had her own needs to take care of, but having someone so... teasing around, surely wasn't helping to keep things less awkward, atleast for her - Alexia seemed unaware about her friend's slight discomfort.

Margaret slowly accepted how aroused she felt around Alexia and how the amazon-like soldier's involuntarily teases were leaving her speechless at times.

She often wondered about if she was feeling like that because she was out of the palace, her comfort zone and for once actively tried to open up to all the new things surrounding her - and maybe started to see her childhood friend in a different light - now since they were living together.

Margaret laid down in her bed, nervous that she still didn't figure out what words to use to speak to her friend. Technically Alexia didn't do anything wrong, she kinda acted like she was supposed to, as a guard and probably as a friend- she really was just unaware about the blonde's unmentioned wishes.

"78...79...80...81..." Alexia grunted on the ground, while some drops of sweat were dripping down her nose and to the ground.

"Lexi... can... I talk to you about ... something?" the princess asked now looking at her buff and already slightly pumped friend.

"Just ... a few... more," the now winded fighter grunted and slowly started to struggle to finish her set of 100 pushups - it wasn't her first set to be fair.

"Now!" Margaret hissed, with herself a bit shocked how angry she sounded. "I... uhm ... mean ... please now, Lexi," she muttered.

This made Alexia snap out of her training and raise and wonder, she rarely ever heard her friend's voice so demanding.

"Is everything alright?" she asked under breath and got up, unintentionally showing off her now bulging arms and abs showing through the tight fabric, while walking towards the distressed princess.

Margaret sat up and looked at her friend, almost blushing again as she took in the sight and a bit ashamed, she made Alexia sound so concerned - and for feeling a bit aroused once more.

"Lexi, look, I was thinking of... maybe, I could..." she muttered and got angry about herself for not finding the right words she was looking for.

"You know you can always speak to me Maggie; I am always there for you," a little pause followed "So what's on your mind?" Alexia asked and kneeled down before the strangely conflicted looking blonde and laid both her hands on top of Margaret's to comfort her.

This made the princess feel a bit better ... and worse, but she genuinely started to believe she could speak to Alexia about everything, so she took a deep breath and just let it all out.

"Please, don't get mad, but I want to spend more time with the others. Nothing against you, quite the opposite, but ... but, I don't want to spend all my spare time here," she said with a wavering voice, observing how her friend reacted up close ... and noticing the black-haired hermaphrodite's confusion.

"Sorry if I bore you," Alexia replied drily and felt a bit hurt.

"No, no, no, that's not it, it's just, there is just not much we can do here and I... want to see more of this town. This is so exciting and I feel here a bit like you are trying to isolate us from ... everything really," her blue eyes were focused, trying to take in the most minor of reactions, but Alexia had quite a good poker face - most of times.

"Maggie, I... am just trying to protect you. And it's just less dangerous when we don't get too close to..." she was interrupted by the young heir. Alexia let herself get cut off, but her gaze gave away that she felt a bit disappointed.

"They are good people Lexi. Look, we are now here for more than two months and literally nothing happened. You said it yourself, this is like a whole different world here, no newspapers, nothing from the outer world beyond the city gates. Lexi, I wanted this to be our little adventure, not an ... exile," she hastily said, feeling a bit angered by her own impulsiveness this time.

Margaret was right though, atleast with one thing that even the dutiful commander couldn't deny.

Alexia didn't make any progress on finding any clues about their pursuers or even getting any information about their former home and the ruling class, despite seeing the palace on the hill by literally just looking out her window.

The town, maybe the humans in general, seemed very isolated and unaware about the ongoings of the queens. Atleast they wouldn't be found soon... or maybe even at all? An equally encouraging and disheartening thought for the professional soldier.

Alexia was still kneeling before her friend, her hands still trying to calm the princess down, but she really didn't know what to say.

She understood where Maggie was coming from, but that meant she would need to ... "share" the young heir with their new friends and colleagues and just the thought of that subconsciously upset the buff fighter.

"Is there anything I can do? It sounds like you want to get some distance between us ... I mean, if you really think you need that, I won't hold you back, but ... I liked our little talks here".

The former commander for the first time showed a more vulnerable side to her friend. Alexia always had this aura of pure determination surrounding her and never struggled to express herself in a very dominant and confident way, but now she sounded ... cautious, maybe even a bit emotional.

Unaware that they were still holding hands Margaret leaned in towards Alexia as she noticed the change in attitude and tried to be a bit more sensitive.

"I really like them too, Lexi. There is nobody else I wanted to be on this... let's call it' trip', with... besides you. You are my best friend..." she cut herself off as she eventually noticed how close they were - their eyes almost level and only separated by a few inches.

At this moment she started to feel the warmth of the older hermaphrodite's hands still touching hers.

Margaret's cheeks reddened but she wouldn't move her hands out of the way, quite the opposite, she liked how soft her friend's hands felt, especially for someone so formidable.

The blonde heir looked into her childhood friend's grey eyes and smiled warmly, her mind slowly trying to process what she was feeling in this moment - but one thing was certain, she liked it.

"Lexi, I am so glad to have you here and I am thankful, but ..." Margaret looked away for a second. "Please explore this new world with me. Not... lock us away from it".

These kind words obviously had some effect on the now less timid hermaphrodite. Alexia usually kept her emotions in check perfectly, like it was required for any member of the royal guard, but she always had a soft spot for Margaret, far beyond her sense of duty.

Still, this behaviour by both was more than unusual, even Alexia noticed that.

She knew exactly why she was reacting like she did though, especially around humans. The 8'6" hermaphrodite felt like she was behind enemy lines, just a wrong move or word away from danger, but this wasn't the only reason.

She acted more irrational around Remy for trying to get closer to Margaret and with seeing the blue eyes of her long-time friend up close she finally realized why. She was jealous.

Margaret's reaction on the other hand was a mystery to her. The way the young princess was trying to look away in the morning or after her training.

Why Margaret dressed almost prudishly despite being so beautiful, especially with all the humans seemingly adoring her anyway? But more importantly why did she look increasingly often a bit ashamed for some reason? All questions for later, but now, she had to be a friend first, a bodyguard second.

Alexia blushed herself while looking at the questioning, no, almost begging eyes of her princess and felt her hands starting to get a bit sweaty again.

"Is it getting hotter in here?" she thought and wanted to speak up as she was interrupted by the sound of distant laughter - coming from below.

It seemed like the twins managed to get on Agatha's nerves again and the sound of rattling pots and their cheeky laughs indicated that this was intended.

Both were snapped out of this almost intimate moment and Margaret eventually pulled her hands away, which left Alexia craving for Margaret's touch again and the pleasant feeling it brought with it.

"Sounds like they are having fun," Margaret muttered, her cheeks still red from earlier.

The moment was gone, Alexia had to accept it, but that wouldn't mean she wasn't aware of what her friend wanted and what would make her happy.

"I... How about we join them?" Alexia asked smirking at the instant reaction of her friend.

"You mean it?! You as well?" the blonde was obviously overjoyed and made Alexia immediately forget her initial reluctance.

"This is the only way I can keep an eye on you, remember?" she playfully smirked and regained some composure, until Margaret hugged her out of nowhere.

"Thank you. I knew you would understand!" Margaret smiled happily and noticed the same feeling from earlier as she wrapped her arms around her friend's strong neck.

"Just... be cautious ... for me. And... I will try my best to... somehow blend in," Alexia gasped, her voice sounding weaker than even before while she softly rested a hand on Margaret's back.

There it was again. This feeling. Almost overshadowing that she begrudgingly gave in Margaret's demand and forgot about her duty for a moment.

The enthralled princess pulled away to face the unusually timid hermaphrodite and knew she demanded a lot from Alexia. This was utterly defying their knowledge on the human kind, the "constant threat looming over the kingdom" and all the prejudices they got taught since their early childhoods.

While Margaret had reason to reject teachings from a society that only brought her pain and humiliation for many years and made her feel more of an outcast than the humans she was meant to avoid at all cost, the same couldn't be said about Alexia.

The former commander struggled to come to terms with all this, the insults and what she was taught to believe in, but she would give it an objective try, if not for herself ... for Margaret.

"Thank you, Lexi. For everything," Margaret said, her voice soft, almost intimately so.

"No, I need to thank you," Alexia responded and felt a strong pull towards the almost comically smaller hermaphrodite. She wasn't fully sure what was going on, was she maybe ...

Another laughter echoed through the room and made both chuckle as Agatha loudly screamed at her two young apprentices, seemingly wreaking havoc in the kitchen down below. Once more their moment was cut short.