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When Severa left Ylisse and became Selena, she told herself that she would not become too attached to the people in this new world, a feat which she figured wouldn’t be hard considering she was barely attached to anyone in her old world. She especially promised herself that she would not, absolutely would not, fall in love.
At the time, it seemed like a promise that would be easy to keep, but Selena hadn't counted on Camilla.
As a lover, Camilla is overwhelmingly generous and fiercely possessive, kissing and caressing every inch of Selena’s body to let her know that she is loved, and marking every inch after that to make sure that Selena knows with every fiber of her being that she is hers.
Camilla has made it clear, in word and deed, that Selena and Beruka belong to her, and her alone, and with that comes deep and absolute protection. If any hands seek to touch what is hers, Camilla will cut them off at the wrists, and if any hearts covet what is hers, she will cut them out, without hesitation.
Odin and Laslow still tread lightly around Camilla, wary of the threats implicit in her motherly demeanor, but Selena loves Camilla in all her intensity. Selena has loved people enough that she would die for them before, but she has never been loved this violently, has never been loved by someone who would kill for her without a second though, who would level a city to keep Selena by her side, and she cannot help but luxuriate in Camilla’s intense, unyielding love.
Beruka’s clinical, precise attentions are a surprising compliment to Camilla’s fiery affection. Beruka kisses like she learned about human displays of affection from a textbook, and is making up for her lack of natural instinct through determination and earnest practice, and Selena and Camilla’s lips are her favorite subjects. Camilla laughs into Beruka’s kisses, giggling at the way Beruka kisses like she trains, and helps guide her with her hands and mouth. Selena is vocal about both her criticism and her praise, peevish when she does not like something and even more so when she does. But Beruka works well when she is challenged; she does not give up and she does not give in and she loves the two of them like its her sworn duty.
Beruka is small, but she is solid, and if Camilla is the storm that threatens to shake Selena to pieces with her hands, lips, and tongue, Beruka’s arms as the anchor that keeps her safely in place.
They had not always been like this, but sometimes it seems like ever since she set foot in this world, every step she took had led her to Camilla. Once she mentioned this sense of inevitability to Beruka, expecting to be scoffed at, but Beruka had confided that she felt the same way.
“Lady Camilla chose me, and I think she's the only one who could. Her will is the only thing that I would obey over money, that I would break contracts for.” Beruka shrugs. “Either I’m a bad assassin or it’s destiny, and I know that I’m not a bad assassin.”
Lady Camilla had chosen Selena too. Odin and Laslow had been assigned to Leo and Xander by Garon, but Camilla had been having lunch with Elise and her father when the three of them were brought before the king. Camilla had taken one look at them, walked up to Selena and declared, “Father, I want this one.” with such authority that even Garon did not think to deny her.
Selena had never been one to pass up an opportunity for prestige, but she initially was hesitant, nervous about the way that Camilla looked at her like she could see straight through to the heart of Selena’s insecurities and deepest desires. But she soon found that Camilla appreciated both her strength and her beauty, her tenacity and her tenderness, and soon she found the idea of serving any other mistress or master unthinkable.
Perhaps it should have been embarrassing how little it took for Camilla to tie Selena to her, but Camilla praised her for her loyalty and the way her heart swelled left no room for shame.
Camilla calls her "Darling", calls her "My Lovely Retainer", sometimes simply calls her "Mine", and Selena is so unaccustomed to affection that she feels as if she might drown in it.
Beruka is harder to connect with; she talks too little and Selena talks too much, and they both are so starved for affection and afraid of being abandoned that they find it hard to trust the other person who Lady Camilla loves.
“Do you think that Lady Camilla had a penchant for broken people?” Beruka asks, voice devoid of emotion in the way that angers Selena most.
“You may be broken, but I’m not!” Selena snaps.
Beruka shrugs, yet another habit that Selena finds infuriating. “I don’t mind being broken if it means that she’ll put me back together.”
Selena hates Beruka for being right, but she works with her for Lady Camilla’s sake, and so slowly that she doesn’t notice it happening, she grows to love her for Lady Camilla’s sake.
Lady Camilla does love broken things, but she also loves strength, and Selena and Beruka are forces of nature. Selena is fire, burning everything that she touches and falling in love with the things that she cannot destroy, and Beruka is earth, the mountain that cannot be moved by a thousand men and the field that weathers windstorms, floods and wildfires, letting them wash over her, destruction nourishing the seeds within.
And Camilla, Camilla is the air they breathe and the water they drink, the wind and water that wears down mountains and creates deep, clear lakes and fertile valleys, the water that quenches the fire before it burns itself out and the air that breathes life into the embers on the verge of going cold.
The relationship between the three of them is intimate from the start, and it slips naturally into sexual.
The shift happens after a battle, far in the South of Nohr where Garon has sent Camilla to quash a rebellion of surprisingly well organized and well-armed veterans turned farmers who have roused the local youths to fight against Garon and his exploitation of the rural poor of Nohr.
If Selena thought too hard about it, she might feel bad for the rebels, who were morally in the right. But it was not her place to think; it was her place to obey Lady Camilla’s orders, and in this case, Lady Camilla’s orders are to destroy them all.
As always, Selena obeys.
Camilla and Beruka on the battlefield are a wonder to behold and pleasure to fight alongside. It is a hard-won battle, and Selena nearly dies on a peasant’s lance as she races too far ahead to cut down an archer who is aiming at Camilla.
Luckily, the lance barely has a chance to graze her ribs before she feels arms around her waist and is swept up onto the back of Beruka’s wyvern and carried away from danger. Unable to do anything but stay out of the way, Selena clenches her arms tightly around Beruka’s waist and looks down. The battlefield is full of clashing swords and screams and blood and in the center of it all is Camilla, axe in one hand as the other crackles with magic, looking joyful and radiant as her wyvern swoops and dives, carving out a path of fallen bodies.
Beruka dives into the fray, seeking out any archers that might target Camilla, and from behind, Selena yells out directions and warnings, guiding Beruka like a targeted missile.
Just moments ago Selena was on the edge of death, but she’s never felt more alive.
They eventually resolve the issue, which is the diplomatic way of saying that peace will be returning to the land because everyone who disturbed the peace is resting in pieces.
They return to Garon’s summer castle to spend the night before returning to the capitol, and as always, Beruka and Selena go straight to Camilla’s chambers after cleaning and putting away their weapons and in Beruka’s case, stabling her wyvern. After a battle, Camilla does not like to be alone, and Beruka and Selena are happy to oblige her any need, from listening to her stories of her childhood to brushing out her hair to simply sitting in silence as she polishes her blade.
Usually Camilla is already in her room when they arrive, but this time they beat her there. Neither of them have quite come down from the adrenaline high of the battle, and Selena paces the room as Beruka’s fingers tap restlessly against her leg.
Then Camilla sweeps into the room, still wearing the leather armor that she wears beneath her metal armor. Her hair is tangled and wild, her arms and chest spattered with blood that is not her own, and the fingers of her left hand are covered in scorch marks. She is a mess, but she is stunning in her dishevelment and she absolutely crackles with energy.
“My darlings,” Camilla says, voice somewhere in the space between seductive and triumphant. “Let me show you how much I appreciate you.”
She flings her arms wide, gesturing for them to come closer, and Selena does, compelled as if by an invisible force to obey. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees that Beruka is doing the same.
Camilla is just as soft as Selena ever could have imagined, all pillowy bosom and silky skin and firm caresses; Beruka is the opposite, her body lean and hard with muscle but her touches soft and almost shy.
Somewhere between the hard and the soft, Selena forgets her own name until she hears it dripping from Camilla’s lips, murmured softly across her collarbone, down her side, across her hips and further still. Camilla’s touches anchor her new name and chase away her old one, until Selena has no recollection that she has ever had any name other than the one that Camilla knows her by.
When Selena, Odin and Laslow left Ylisse, they agreed not to fall in love with anyone in their new universe. But Camilla is like a tidal wave, and Selena cannot help but be swept away.