"Yet I'm also grateful to you because I'm still alive, Nalrond." Friya said. "I'm still made of flesh and bones and can get as far from Faluel as she allows .
"My life has changed, but not so much that I have to abandon all my dreams and resign to a life of servitude. What I'm trying to say is: thank you, Nalrond. You never stopped fighting for , even when I was lost in despair.
"You found a solution to a problem I deed unsolvable. Even though I've beco a Harbinger sooner than I wanted, this was my path from the beginning. You just gave the final push.
"Nonetheless, nothing will ever be the sa, and I don't know if-" She walked out of the bathroom and was taken aback by the romantic atmosphere of the room. "Why did you set up all this? What did you think was going to happen?"
Only then did Nalrond notice that Friya was in her Harbinger form. She had bathed as a Quasi-Hydra to get used to her extra heads, tail, and newfound aversion to cold temperatures.
Her body was covered by smooth, deep forest-green scales, and the only hair she had left was the one on her human head.
"You were talking about your future not belonging only to you anymore, and pointed out I'm the only Agni on Mogar." Nalrond swallowed hard as he noticed that Friya wasn't impressed by his preparations and showed none of her telltale signs of desire for intimacy.
"I assud that since we are about to get married and after Jirni gave you the speech about children, you wanted to start working on our firstborn."
"After a near-death experience and a life-changing event?" She couldn't help but giggle, and the extra heads joining her made Nalrond feel even worse. "I ant that now I'm under Faluel's authority and not as free as before.
"Many important decisions that were supposed to be made just by the two of us are going to need her permission. As for the only Agni on Mogar part, I was trying to say that I can't keep you tied to , and I won't resent you if you choose to walk away."
Friya's smile disappeared and she lowered her gaze, staring at her clawed hands and scaled skin with mixed emotions.
"I'm not the woman to whom you proposed in both mind and body." She raised her arms to the side and gave him a twirl. "Friya Ernas is dead. Now I'm Friya the Harbinger, and no matter how far I am from Faluel, I can feel her presence in a corner of my mind.
"The door will always be there and open from my side. She can cross it any ti she wants, and no matter how much I try, I can't stop her. Every mont we share and every secret you entrust , she can pry it from my mind."
Friya took a deep breath before untying her bathrobe and letting it fall to the ground.
"This is who I really am now. My human appearance is just a mask and it's not up to deciding when it cos off. You deserve a full life, Nalrond, and soone who can spend it with you.
"Please, look at and honestly tell if you can still see our future together because I'm not sure of anything right now." She raised her eyes to et his and saw her worst fears co true.
He looked surprised, confused, and most of all, disappointed.
'I knew this would happen, but it still hurts.' Friya thought as her eyes turned wet. 'I've fully accepted his Rezar side, but I had years to get gradually accustod to his other self, whereas I'm throwing this in his face right when we're about to get married.
'Even I don't know what to make of this snake thing I've beco.'
"I'm sorry." Nalrond sighed. "I didn't realize how much pain you still were in and thought only about what I wanted. Still, I can't believe you dislike this so much." He waved at the room.
"It may be silly, but I've put a lot of thought into it, and I only wanted to make you happy."
"I love it!" Friya said in confusion. "The mont I saw my favourite flowers and the candlelight, I thought you still saw the old Friya in and were attracted to . I felt flattered and reassured of your feelings.
"I said all those things because I needed to make sure you weren't forcing yourself to do this out of pity and that you fully realize the implications of my new condition."
"Friya, we've discussed your 'new' condition since we started dating." Nalrond looked no less puzzled. "I knew this would happen for years and made peace with it a long ti ago. Nothing has changed to , and I think the state of the room proves it."
"Maybe that's what you tell yourself, but your face tells a different story." Friya's voice almost cracked.
"What face?" Nalrond went from confused to utterly lost.
"This face!" She conjured an ice mirror in front of him. "You are disappointed and don't like what you see."
"Of course I don't!" He conjured an ice mirror in front of her. "I an, really? No problem in front of Protector and Lith, but now that we are alone, I get the scaled shoulder? You might as well have kept the bathrobe on."
"What do you- Son of a bitch!" The mirror showed the reflection of a humanoid Hydra.
A perfectly presentable humanoid Hydra whose private parts were hidden under a layer of thick scales that blended with the rest to perfection, giving her body a smooth, featureless appearance.
Even her voluptuous breasts looked like scaly bumps on her chest.
"Why? How? I swear I wasn't like this during my bath. I'm not doing this on purpose." Friya moved her eyes from the mirror to Nalrond in disbelief. "Do you really think I would show my naked body to Lith and Protector and hide it from you?"
"Maybe that's what you tell yourself, but your body tells a different story." Nalrond threw her words in her face, making her faces turn to a shade of purple.
"Then my body is lying!" She stomped her foot in anger and imdiately saw Nalrond's expression steel. "I'm sorry for my outburst. I know I sound crazy, and I shouldn't have doubted you, but I need you to believe . I'm not doing this on purpose."
"I believe you." He pointed his finger at her now exposed private areas. "This is the sa thing that happened to Tista when she first beca a Hekate and tried to open her face mask.
"Just like she exposed herself by contracting all her muscles, you were so stressed after the Harbinger ritual that you kept all the muscles controlling the scales taut until a while ago."
"And after seeing the romantic setting you created, I relaxed enough to finally cover myself up until my rage flexed them again." She said as understanding dawned on her. "Wait a minute, like Tista? Did you see her naked?"
"No." Nalrond could see the storm brewing on her face.
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