"Tia wait!" With the secret spilt into the open, the princess felt betrayed and rushed right back to the castle. However, even there she was being followed by the girl who'd disguised herself as a boy for as long as Tia could remember. "My parents forced me to lie! I didn't wanna do this but!"
"Shut up, Robin!" Stopping in her tracks, Tia turned around, frowning. Moving closer to the girl, she pushed her with her hand, shoving Robin by the chest. "You've been lying to me all this time! I thought you were a boy, and I–"
Looking frantically around in worry, Robin heaved a sigh as she realized that nobody had heard Tia. But as her eyes turned back to her fiance, and the pained expression in her teary eyes, she felt like scum for caring more about her secret being out than the feeling of a friend.
Clutching her fist against her chest, Tia was hunched over forward. Her knees bent from weakness, she felt moments away from breaking down then and there. She loved Robin–at least a version of her. A version that was playful, fickle, and always smiling with a mischievous grin.
But that version was no more than an illusion, a lie that had carried for years and would've only ever come out after the week was over and they'd gotten married.
"I-I'm sorry..." Said Robin, her hand gently resting on Tia's shoulders. But shrugging them off, she let out a cry, neither too loud for she still cared deep down for her friend nor forgiving as she wanted her to see the damage she'd done. "My parent they–"
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"Shut up about your parents!" Lifting her head with a jerking motion, Tia glared at Robin, her eyes red with contempt. "You did this! Don't act like you couldn't have told me like you had nothing to do in breaking my heart!"
Attempting to comfort Tia once again, Robin tried to reach for her arms, but before her hand could even get close, Tia stepped away with a disgruntled grunt. Curling her fingers at the rejection, Robin grabbed her own wrist and pulled it away from her fiance.
"I–" Her lips parted to downplay her part in the deception once more, but realizing how it would end, she sealed them without another word.
'A friend?' The word pricked Tia like a thorn, but as much as she loved the male Robin, she had no romantic interest in a female version of him.
"I'm a priestess you know, and I would've been wedded to a girl, my magic would've been stripped along with the rest of my blessing," though childish at times, Tia was an astute priestess of Aphrodite. Her dogma was her life and blood, and tying the knot with another girl would've burned that bridge between her and her goddess.
While the priestess was lost in her worries, Robin wrapped her hands around her and pulled her into a hug. Pressing her head against her heart, she allowed her to calm to the melody it sang.
"Tweety...?" Hearing the bird-turned coin singing in Robin's breast pocket, a weak smile appeared on Tia's lips, although it didn't last long. "That's enough, I should really go tell Mother."
Pulling herself away from Robin, Tia squeezed a fist against her heart. Closing her eyes with a deep breath, she tried getting herself ready to have the difficult conversation. Although Robin wasn't looking forward to it, she decided to tag along and face the consequences of her actions head-on.
However, as they closed on Maria's room, the queen's squealing voice stopped them in their tracks. Their goosebump stood on end as the voices became clear and turned out to be sultry moans. A mix of pleasure and pain was leaking through her room, and the guards were also nowhere to be seen.
"Wh-what's that?" Tia muttered, hesitant about moving closer.
"Um...you sure your mom didn't get a new lover?" Robin asked, smiling awkwardly.
But as their curiosity got the better of them, the two decided to move in with heavy hearts and uncover the mystery of this alleged lover of the queen.