"Thank you," Aliana replied as she stood on her own two legs. Almost immediately she grabbed onto what Lorelei offered in order to steady herself. She didn't expect standing on a ship to be this different from standing on land. The tips of her ears were red as she looked up at Lori, "No I can not say I have. But I think I can stand long enough to get this. This. This stupid dress off! Oh, how I hate this stupid dress so very much!"
Lori laughed a little at how passionately she expressed her hatred of the dress. “Alright. You can lean on me as much as you need to.” she assured, holding out her arms enough for the Princess to turn around so she could start taking off the offending clothing. “Is there anything you want to save from this?” she smirked, almost teasing.
Aliana turned red as Lori laughed. It was truly an awful dress for Aliana! She held no fondness towards how tight it was against her body nor how much of her breast it showed. Aliana slowly turned around in Lori's arms though stayed close enough so she could use Lori to catch herself. She managed to successfully turn around when Lor asked her the question. Aliana let out a little huff as she grabbed back onto one of Lori's arms, but she could hear the tease in Lori's voice. She decided to attempt to tease Lori back, "Possibly. Just in case you want to see me in it again. Otherwise only the diamonds, they worth quite some gold."
Lori laughed again and nodded. “Honestly… I would rather see you without the dress but I’m sure we can salvage the jewels.” she said in a calm, nonchalant tone though she was smirking. “We know where to go for a good trade and how to get a good profit from treasures like that.” she continued before starting to unfasten the dress.
Aliana felt her face and the tips of her ears go aflame once more. She didn't understand how Lori could say such things so nonchalantly! Though as Lori unfastened the back of her dress, Aliana went to attempt to take off her gloves and some of the jewelry, namely the bracelets and tiara. Aliana was very quickly re-reminded of the string-like undergarments she was wearing as the dress began to fall away as it was unfastened and the corset and garments were slowly being revealed. She did her best not to react hoping Lorelei wouldn't notice, "That is good. And I have plenty of other jewels to sell with the diamonds too."
Lorelei bit her lip to hold back another laugh as Aliana became more flustered. “Yes. I saw the large sapphire around your neck. Your father really overdid it with showing off his wealth.” she sighed. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this.” she said sincerely, thinking it was very wrong for her to be treated this way. Ali deserved so much better.
"I, thank you," Aliana replied sincerely her eyes shutting slightly. She went to remove the earrings and then the necklace afterward. As she removed the earrings she decided to speak, "It was not my father showing off his wealth. All the jewelry is from the man my father was making me marry. And while none of it is to my tastes, I am fond of the earrings. Might as well keep something from the whole ordeal."
“Ah!” she nodded at the explanation. “Well, makes more sense. That spoiled prince had a very high opinion of himself.” she couldn't help but growl at the thought of him. She shook her head to push away those thoughts and focus on helping Ali out of the ridiculous dress. “You don't need my permission to keep whatever you want from this day.” Lori reminded her softly before raising a brow at the sight of the strange undergarments. “Though I doubt you’ll want to keep these. They look like they're trying to strangle you.”
"I know," Aliana huffed a bit of a laugh at Lorelei's growl but her voice was sincere in her response. She slipped off the heels before immediately blushing at Lori's comment. It seems that her lover had finally seen the horrid undergarments she had been forced to wear. She went to undo the bun holding her hair up as a distraction to the situation. Her voice was quiet and a bit shakey, "I, uh, do not want to keep them. Can you please get my corset off so I can properly change?"
“Of course.” Lori said gently, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. After being a sailor for so long, she was able to make short work of the strings and carefully removed the corset, her calloused fingers occasionally lightly brushing against Aliana’s soft exposed skin. It was exceedingly tempting for the raven-haired woman to turn her lover around and kiss her senseless… But somehow she managed to hold back for now. “Better?” she asked, almost whispering.
"Much," Aliana whispered back her cheeks were a flame and her body shuddered when Lori touched her. She had never been touched so gently by someone she loved there. The moment felt so soft, so intimate and Aliana was scared to ruin it. The final pin was removed from the bun and her curly golden locks cascaded down her back. She hesitated before slowly turning around to face Lori her whole demeanor being bashful, "Thank you, Lorelei."
“Good.” she nodded taking a small step back. “It's no problem, Aliana.” she smiled softly, reaching up to brush back a strand of her beautiful blonde hair. Lori swallowed a nervous lump that formed upon seeing the sweet shy expression on her face. It had been so long since they’d been alone together like this… It almost reminded Lorelei of the first time they snuck away to see each other. How young they had been… But no less in love with each other.
It had been so long since Aliana had felt this bashful or loved. She was so glad to be back with Lori and the fact it felt like almost no time had passed felt like a miracle. Her head leaned into Lori's hand which had brushed back her hair. Aliana really hoped she wasn't reading the room wrong, "No really. Thank you for. For coming back and rescuing me."
Lori let out a soft sigh and smiled at the gentle encouragement, moving to cup the side of Aliana’s face. “Saving you was a pleasure. And I may be a pirate now, but I will never break a promise to you.” she swore as she took a couple steps closer to the escaped bride. “I love you, Aliana. Just as much as I did when I was forced to leave, if not more.”
Aliana took a hesitant step toward Lori still getting used to standing on a ship. She had a very small smile and a dusting of blush across her nose and cheeks. Her voice was soft and hesitant, "And I love you, Lorelei. There was not a day that passed where I did not think about you. You were the only thing I thought about for years, my love."
Lori’s free arm was at Aliana’s side in an instant when she moved close. But the words she spoke soothed the Captain's heart and made her bolder as she leaned forward and gently captured her lips in a long overdue kiss, full love and the longing of all the years spent away from each other.
Aliana melted against Lori as the other kissed her. Her arms wrapped themselves around Lori's waist and she returned the kiss her eyes closing. She put every ounce of love and longing from all the years away from Lori into the kiss.
Lori smiled softly into the kiss as her eyes closed and pulled Aliana closer. She didn't want to be away from her for another minute. Of course, if Aliana wanted her to stop, she would. Though a part of her hoped she wouldn't want to…
Lorelei was sure that the whole crew knew how much she loved this woman, thanks to several nights of her ranting after having a few bottles of rum. And since she had been willing to risk everything for her, so she believed that the chances of them being interrupted was minimal.
Aliana had no intentions of stopping anytime soon. She had had so many thoughts and dreams about what might happen when the pair were finally reunited. The only thing she had worried about was being interrupted or Lorelei pushing her away. Clearly, Lorelei was not going to push her away but instead actively pulled Aliana closer. And while she had no idea if any of the crew would interfere, she assumed they wouldn't unless there was an emergency. So Aliana let herself get lost in her feelings and the moment and pushed herself as close as she could against Lorelei.
Lori’s smile grew as Aliana met her just as eagerly, her kiss growing more fervent as she gently ran her fingers down her bare back. Not going too far, more like asking permission. As much as she wanted to, she didn't want to make Aliana uncomfortable. The dress was only held up by how close they were holding each other.
Aliana shuddered at Lori's touch and matched Lori's energy in the kiss. She moved one of her hands and looked for Lori's arm. Once she found the arm she grabbed Lori's hand and moved it further down along Aliana's back. Aliana hoped Lori would understand what she was getting at and wasn't pushing Lori too far.
Lori hummed softly at the encouragement and pulled Aliana closer, gently cupping her hip under her dress.
Before either of them could go any further, there was a knock at the door. “Captain?” Tommy’s young voice called out softly and politely.
Lorelei turned to the door, without letting go of Aliana. “How long have you been at that door?” she asked, both annoyed and shocked. As well as a little embarrassed.
“I just arrived, Captain.” he answered. “Mama Charlie sent me with some food for you and the Princess. Something about brides not eating before the wedding and needing energy…”
“Thank you, Tommy!” Lori interrupted as her face turned bright red. “Just leave it at the door. I’ll get it in a minute.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Aliana let out a squeak when she heard the knock. She buried her bright red face into Lori as she listened to the conversation going on. Though she began to wonder who was Mama Charlie and why was she called mama? She said nothing until she was sure Tommy was gone. At that point Aliana said very softly, "I suppose I should get changed into your clothes shouldn't I?"
“Only if you want to.” Lori sighed, gently stroking Aliana’s hair. “I’m sorry about that. Charlie should have known better than to send the boy.” she grumbled in embarrassment. “I’ll get the food. Is it true you didn't get to eat before you were forced into that farce of a marriage?”
"I do not know, I liked where we were going. But I also really want to get out of this dress," Aliana responded with a hum in her voice from Lori stroking her hair. Aliana's eyes glanced down when Lori asked her second question. Aliana hadn't had a chance to eat anything, but she rarely was given food to eat in the mornings anymore. And her lunches and dinner were smaller portions on the order of her father since he did not want her to get fat. She eventually admitted, "Yes, it is true. But not because of the marriage, at least I do not think so. I hardly ever get served food in the morning anymore."