Two Chickens (That were of Human Variety)
Mia finally made it to the island and onto dry land with the help of the two princes. Once she was on her feet again, she walked around and looked at the ivory beach. The sound of the sand moving under her feet made her laugh out loud.
“Wow, what a beautiful sight…”
The tiny grains easily rolled over each other and sparkled like gems. Looking at them more closely, they were even shaped like stars. She walked along the beach, which was white and clean like fresh snow. She felt like she had stumbled into a magical land.
Behind her, soft summer clouds floated in the sky over an emerald sea. The rhythmic splashing of the waves as they hit the shore was calm and peaceful.
“This is really heaven.”
“Mmhm, I’m glad you like the island.”
She turned to look for Esmeralda, who had just arrived. Her long hair still dripped with water. She had her hands on her hips and didn’t try to hide how proud she was of herself.
“Every summer I come here, and I always have a great time.”
“Do you now… Also, Esmeralda, what do you think we’ll do at night?”
“I’ll set up some tents a short distance from here. They aren’t anything special, but they’ll do for a short stay. Have the sounds of nature ever put you to sleep? Have you heard the soft music of evening animals? It’s quite an adventure.”
Some people might be surprised to learn that Esmeralda was very good at being outside. The average noble girl couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping anywhere but in a room with a door, but Esmeralda wasn’t like other noble girls.
She was an Etoile, so she had much better taste than most people. She knew how to enjoy the best things in life. Just so happened, Mia was also used to being outside.
A nature’s setting, huh… Hearing the sounds of insects… Staring up at the stars… Maybe cuddling up with Prince Abel around a campfire and telling each other how much we love each other… Mmm… I agree with this. It sounds like a great love story. Ah, but maybe that last part is still a little too soon…
Mia’s mind had been set on romance ever since she stepped onto the yacht.
She had spent most of the cruise thinking of sweet things that could happen between Abel and her and squirming in embarrassment at how silly her thoughts were.
For anyone who happened to be there, it was a pretty unsettling thing to see.
“Okay, then. I’ve heard that the tents are up, so we can go there and put on our swimsuits. Miss Mia, come with me. I made sure to bring one for you, too, because I’m a good friend.”
“…Huh?”
The comment broke her romantic daydream and brought her back to the real world.
“Wait, you brought me a swimming suit?”
I don’t like how I feel about this.
A few temporary tents had been set up quickly a little ways from the beach. Mia and Esmeralda, along with their maids Anne and Nina, were at the camp.
Even though Mia had a bad feeling when she heard Esmeralda had brought her a swimsuit, she decided to try it on anyway, thinking it couldn’t hurt…
“Sweet moons!” She was horrified when she looked in the mirror and saw herself in the dress. “This swimsuit doesn’t cover my middle!”
It turned out that the swimsuit Esmeralda had picked out for her was made of two separate pieces, one for the top and one for the bottom. This meant that her soft, peachy skin and cute little belly button were completely exposed!
Now, for those who want to know more about the F.A.T. issue… Mia had, in fact, been able to stop it from getting worse, putting her body back where it was at the start of spring. Her hard work had not let her down.
All of her hard work of watering (with a nutrient-rich solution of 90% sweat and 10% tears) had paid off, and she now had a reasonably flat midsection.
The swimsuit Mia brought herself came to just above her knees, but the one Esmeralda gave her went to the middle of her thighs. This was a terrible thing to do!
“How can you expect me to wear something so embarrassing? Even a skirt isn’t included!”
In fact, Mia’s swimsuit had a short skirt with frills around the waist. Esmeralda’s gift, on the other hand, looked like a pair of shorts.
To be fair, the shorts weren’t much more revealing than the skirt, and they weren’t very different from what Mia would wear when she went outside to play. But how she felt was much more important than how she looked. And she thought Esmeralda’s choice was very rude.
To Mia, a swimsuit was like waterproof lingerie. They were underwear for water. It was unthinkable to walk around in them without a skirt.
“It’s obscene!”
She was angry, “I won’t wear these!”
Esmeralda looked at her with suspicion. “Really? And you’d rather swim with that skirt flapping around you? I think it will make it really hard to swim.”
When it came to swimming, it was clear that the less resistance there was, the better. The swimsuit Esmeralda brought was made with performance in mind. It was made to fit like a second skin and had fish skin on the outside to reduce drag.
She took “swimming lessons” pretty seriously, and she wanted to give her student every advantage she could. She had chosen the best swimsuit she could find for Mia, of course.
And made sure it had the same colors as hers, which wasn’t so much a teaching choice as a personal thing.
“Well, even so, I can’t wear something so immodest with the two princes watching. At least for today, I’ll swim in my own swimming suit!”
Esmeralda got a little bit weak.
She said, “If you say so…” with a hint of sadness. “Well, then I guess I’ll put on the ones I usually wear.”
She then wore a swimsuit that…was just the right amount of modest! There was enough fabric to cover the whole midriff, and the skirt was frilly like Mia’s.
Basically, she didn’t have the guts to wear a revealing one by herself, and when she saw that Mia was going with a conservative design, she immediately gave up as well.
They were, in fact, two birds of the same feather.
“I mean, no one told me that there would be two princes. Not that it bothers me to show them a little more skin or anything. That would be silly. But, well, you should never rush things like this. Might as well take a little extra time and prepare your mind. Right, Ni— Ahem. Don’t you think so, maid?”
Nina looked at her from head to toe and back when she asked her question.
The maid’s eyes then started to look away, and she slowly nodded and said, “Yes, I think that would be smart.”
