“Are you absolutely certain you’re not coming, Aki?” Bridget yammered.

    “I’m sure, my Terabyte. I’d just be scared shitless the entire time we’re down there, even though we’ll be in an air-bubble,” Akita said while embracing her clockwork lover in a hug. “Besides, somebody has to keep an eye out on the church.”

    “But…” Bridget tried to protest but her words were pacified by a kiss that Akita planted on her mouth.

    After a few seconds of kissing, Akita released her grip again. “No more protests from you now,” she whispered.

    Bridget couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, fiiiine,” she yammered again.

    “Are YOU sure you’re going to be fine with, you know, them?” Akita asked.

    Bridget sighed. “They really haven’t been as annoying as they used to be,” she spoke. “Besides, Lavini and Estella are there as well at least”

    “I know…” Akita nodded. “You think you’re ready then…?”

    “Maybe…This is a good opportunity for it,” Bridget said.

    Akita nodded. There was a twinge in her eye that suggested she wasn’t entirely on board with this but… it had been long enough now and she understood that as well. “Then you must do what you gotta do, my Terabyte,” she said.

    Now it was Bridget’s turn to give Akita a passionate kiss on the mouth. “We’ll get you there eventually,” she said.

    “I know… I know,” Akita said softly.

    The lovers lingered for a few moments longer in each other’s embrace. They had truly discovered how much they meant for one another after their half year break-up and each time they had to be apart, they truly felt it in their hearts.

    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, finally disturbing the moment.

    “A-ah! Yes?” Bridget asked a bit too loudly.

    “The carriage has arrived. Everyone is waiting for you, Bridget,” came Cassie’s voice.

    “R-right… I’ll be right there!” Bridget said.

    Akita chuckled and finally let go of her embrace. “You’d better hurry,” she said.

    “Yes, yes, I know,” Bridget huffed and she scurried over to the mirror to make sure her hair was done right again.

    “And again, don’t worry. Cassie and I will make sure we won’t accidentally burn down the church,” Akita added.

Bridget gasped and looked at her lover with wide eyes. “You’d better not!” she cried out.

Bridget and Akita came rushing out of the church where the two lovers shared one last kiss and an “I’ll miss you so much!” before Bridget stepped onto the horse drawn carriage, causing the whole thing to sag down under her heavy metal body. 

    “I’m very sorry… We had to… Well...” she stammered but she was just met with giggles and chuckles from all of her traveling companions.

    “We know what,” “it’s like to have to,” “part with your lover,” “for a little while,” Zexa and Xeza said in their unusual combined manner of speaking. At first, it had annoyed Bridget to no end. They must have been doing it on purpose or so she thought. However, they had assured her that it was an involuntary part of their transformation and that they were working on it. Their staff, with Sol at the top, was actually a little blinding to Bridget but she could get used to it quite quickly.

    “Which is why we try not to do it at all,” Julia laughed. She sat nestled between the twins and she had altered her appearance quite a bit! Aside from the little representations of both twins she already had, like the differing length of hair between on either side, she had even applied make-up to one half of her face that gave her a pale complexion that looked a lot like that of the moon, while sporting a nice tan on her other half. One half of her body was fully covered in clothes while on the other half, her leg and arm were exposed. All of these differences she kept up for the sake of her twin lovers and their own little preferences.

    “I believe we are ready, sir,” Lavini called over to the driver, who took the moment to spring his horses into action and to start their journey towards the harbor. It was only the second time that Bridget had ridden one of these and it was a very different experience. They could go a lot faster here when compared to the desert sands but the cobbled streets made the ride a lot jankier. So much so that she could hear her inner gears rumbling.

    Bridget looked behind herself again towards the entrance of the church where Akita and Cassie stood. Next to her, Lavini and Estella looked back as well.

    Akita appeared to be typing something on a virtual screen, which gave Bridget cause to ponder why she wasn’t waving back, only to be surprised when her lover expanded her screen above her head. “I <3 you” it read in big letters. All Bridget could really do in return was to shout the same line back. Goddess, she loved this woman…

    “It’s so weird… this is my first vacation without mom…” Estella said after they had rounded a corner and vanished from view of the church.

    “At least you,” “have all of us?” Zexa and Xeza proposed.

    “True!” Estella nodded.

    “I will miss her too, Estella dear, but it is only for three weeks. Plus, this is an important journey,” Lavini said. Of course, pretty much everyone on board could see that she was merely putting on a strong impression.

    “So how long is the boat ride going to be? Not too long, I hope...” Julia asked.

    “What, you get seasick?” Estella said with a devious grin.

    “No! I’m just not looking forward to sitting on the same boat for hours on end with nothing but water all around us…” Julia sighed.

    Lavini chuckled. “Times such as these are when you have to make your own fun, Julia dear,” she said.

    “Besides,” “we’re here,” Zexa Xeza said resolutely.

    “I know, I know, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Julia said, wrapping her arms around both girls and pulling them a little closer.

    “I just can’t wait to see Dawnyte again!” Estella cheered.

    “Ah yes, of course. We have yet to meet her,” Lavini said.

    “We’ve been writing to each other since we met. You’ll love her, mother,” Estella said.

    As the conversation carried on, Bridget felt herself drifting elsewhere momentarily. She thought about how much she was going to miss Akita. She thought about what this mermaid festival was going to be like. Seeing as direct communications between them and the mermaids was almost impossible over long distances, they had to get all of their information via third parties. She thought about the ‘six’ that had come before her. Who were they? What were they like? All she had really been able to piece together so far, thanks to Estella’s help, were a pendulum, stars, some kind of stream, bells, four quarters, and what she thought could be the ocean.

    But by far, the biggest thing that was on Bridget’s mind was sitting across from her. She was contemplating how she was going to go about this while staring off at the various different churches they passed in the church district of New Stepolis.

    The opportunity, however, presented itself.

    “Helloooo, earth to Bridget?” Estella said, waving her hand in front of Bridget’s eyes.

    “Huh? What?” the clockwork elemental asked confused. Her rose gold metal skin turned a little redder in her face.

    Estella just started giggling to herself in response.

    “We have been trying to get your attention back for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, Bridget dear,” Lavini said.

    “R-really? I’m sorry…” Bridget sighed.

    “Is it…” “about us?” Zexa and Xeza asked.

    Bridget’s first instinct was to deny the accusation but… well, she had to be honest. She sighed and closed her eyes. “Yeah…” she admitted.

    The twins exchanged glances and looked pretty worried. They were not looking forward to three weeks of receiving accusatory glances from Bridget… An awkward silence fell on the carriage with the only sounds being the clopping hooves of the horses and the chatter of people on the street.

    “A-ah… no, you got it wrong! I’m… I think that… hmm… how do I…” Bridget blurted out, finding it very hard to find the right words to use. Could this have been what Akita went through on a daily basis with, well, everything?

    “Start from the beginning, Bridget dear,” Lavini said with a gentle smile, placing a hand on her knee.

    Bridget nodded and looked down to the floor of the carriage for a moment. The fact that all eyes were upon her now wasn’t making this any easier. Heck, she wouldn’t be surprised if the carriage driver was also peeking behind himself to look at her. It was quite odd actually, considering she was used to having all eyes on her for when she was holding mass or performing a dance. Maybe pretending that this was a performance might actually help…?

    “I think I’m… I’m ready,” she finally managed to say.

    “Ready?” “For what?” the twins asked.

    “To… well… to forgive you two,” Bridget said. Speaking those words out loud felt like quite a relief actually. It was out in the open now. A weight was lifted off her shoulders.

    The twins exchanged glances again, this time filled with a mix of surprise and joy.

    “Really?” Julia asked excitedly.

    Bridget let out a sigh that she realized she’d been holding in for a while. “Yeah. I’ve been mulling this all over since you two transformed. I can see how much you have changed and that you’ve really been making a big effort to become full-fledged priestesses with us. I don’t see a reason to still treat you with scorn so… yeah,” she explained.

    A broad smile appeared on the faces of both twins. “So…” “peace?” they asked.

    Bridget nodded, for the first time in years giving them a smile back. “Yeah, peace,” she said.

    Xeza carefully stood up from her seat and gave the clockwork woman a hug. “Thank you,” she said.

    Moments later, Zexa mimicked what her sister did. “... so much,” she said. Even now, they could not separate their sentences from each other it seemed.

    “I am proud of you, Bridget dear,” Lavini said with a warm smile on her face before turning her attention back to the twins. “I did say, time is one of the greatest healers,” she said.

    “Whew… I’m glad that’s out of the way,” Bridget said.

    “I think that goes for all of us,” Julia said with a smile.

    “Wait…” “what about,” “Akita?” Zexa and Xeza asked suddenly after they had managed to seat themselves again.

    “I’m sorry. She’s just not ready yet,” Bridget said.

    “Does she know that you were going to forgive Zexa and Xeza?” Lavini asked.

    “Yeah, she does. We’ve talked about all of this extensively for so long,” Bridget nodded. She frowned and looked down to the floor again. “I don’t think time alone will make Akita change her mind though.”

    “Is it really that difficult for her?” Estella asked.

    “Akita holds grudges and does not change her mind as easily as you or I. Her mind just works a little differently. At least, it does right now. I think she’s going to need help to get her there,” Bridget explained. She felt one of the gears in her clockwork heart twitch a little bit as memories of their temporary break-up resurfaced. A time she never wants to experience again. “Besides, for Akita, actions speak louder than words,” she added.

    “Actions, huh?” Julia mused.

    “What do you suppose,” “that we should do,” “then?” Zexa and Xeza asked, hopeful.

    “That I can’t say, I’m afraid,” Bridget said apologetically. The twins looked down with disappointment in response.

    “Hmm… something tells me that an opportunity for that will arise on its own eventually,” Lavini said, placing a hand on her chin, deep in thought.

    “Is this another one of your premonitions, mother?” Estella asked.

    Lavini chuckled. “No. This is merely my intuition,” she said.

    “Well… I guess we’ll,” “just have to wait,” “and see then,” the twins told each-other.

    “Just don’t try too hard, alright you two?” Julia chuckled jokingly as she was simply met with a bop and a poke.

    The clockwork elemental just smiled as they left the church district behind and the smell of the ocean started filling their nostrils. “For now, though, let’s just enjoy this trip, shall we?”