"Do you always do that?" asked Nicola.
"Do what, fair maiden?"
"Just pay the guy what he asks!" Nicola exploded. "They never even expect to get that! You could cut that in half with a little bargaining!" The damsel was referring to the charge for the pair's modest room at the village inn.
"That would hardly befit a Dame" Alessa answered calmly "Or a noble lady."
Nicola stamped her foot in frustration. "I'm not a noble lady! Until this morning I wasn't even female!"
"What?!" Alessa was startled.
"Goddess knows where you got this idea I was some kind of princess! I was a street thief! I robbed a witch and she turned me into a woman! That's when you found me." Nicola burst into tears and sat down on the bed. She covered her eyes. She knew that when she uncovered them, Alessa would be gone.
Instead, she felt Alessa's arm around her shoulder. "Did you not return? Did not your kisses free me from this terrible curse? You are always a noble lady in my eyes."
Nicola burrowed deeper into the comforting warmth of Alessa's embrace. When she raised her head again her eyes were red and swollen, but she was smiling radiantly. "OK" said the street thief "But from now on, I do the negotiating for both of us."
++++++++++
By the time the two ate their frugal dinner, Nicola was feeling much better about herself, and even tingling a bit in anticipation of the night. She was puzzled to see Alessa laying out a pillow and blanket on the floor. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Preparing for sleep." answered Alessa.
"On the floor?"
"I would not violate your chastity."
Nicola laughed. "Chastity? This is a joke, right?" She slapped the bed she was sitting on. "Get up here now, Dame. Your noble lady commands it!" She gave an exaggerated frown. Then she noticed that Alessa was terrified, terrified in a way she had never been when facing a dragon. Nicola recognized that expression from women she had known as Nick. Suddenly it became clear. "Oh, wow, you're a virgin, aren't you? A lesbian virgin?"
"You mock me."
"Oh please, Dame, I'm not mocking you. Everybody starts out as a virgin. I was one myself." Nicola responded. So much for my fantasy of being initiated into womanly love by a wise and experienced instructress, she thought. "Do you find me desirable, Dame?"
"V-very much so." Alessa would not make eye contact.
Nicola reached out and took the Dame's hand in her own. "Look into my eyes, Alessa. There's nothing to be afraid of. We're just two people who love each other and want to make each other happy, aren't we?
"Y-yes."
"Now, why don't you take off your clothes so I can see all of you, and come join me in this nice, comfortable bed which is much better than that hard floor?"
Alessa's body was chunky, hard with the muscle she had built on the trail, and had a few conspicuous scars. Nicola thought that she had never seen anything as beautiful.