A Princess's Confession

Fatima stood a few feet away from the confession booth, tail swaying as her face flashed with multiple emotions, brows furrowed in thought.
‘I wonder if this is a good idea. It has to be, right? I was told that confessions don’t have to be anything bad, they can be things you use to get things off your chest. But, do I need that right now? I think I do, yes. These are supposed to be a secret conversation between you and the priest after all…’

Fatima’s ears twitched when she heard the doors of the confessional booths open, seeing another pride succubun leaving after telling Oleander thank you, her brown eyes transfixed on them until a voice broke her out of her stupor.
“Fatima? Are you alright? You look rather nervous-”
“Father Oleander, may I have a moment of your time? I would like-I have a confession to make.”
‘Was that the right way to phrase that?’
Oleander stared at the young succubun for a moment, a soft smile forming on his face as he reached out and gently touched her shoulder.
“Of course. Everyone is welcome to a confession.” He says, leading her towards the booth.

Fatima steps into the booth then takes a seat, closing the door behind her, looking around the small space. She knew it was small when she had to clean it but she didn’t know it was this small. She was far more amazed that the wood was actually kind of comfortable to sit on. At the moment anyway.
“Take your time and you may begin when you’re ready.”
‘When I bring them up, will he know who I’m talking about? If he does, would he say their name? Should I mention them? No. Maybe? Ugh, I don’t know! Perhaps I shouldn’t mention their name. Perhaps I can be vague? Yes, I believe it would be better to be vague. Murmur I hope I don’t sound silly for this.’
Fatima takes a deep breath then exhales, placing her hand to her chest and closing her eyes as she begins to speak, her other hand clutching onto her dress.

“There is… someone that I may… have a crush on. I don’t know how it happened but I have. It all started with wanting to befriend them because they seemed lonely… to me. So, we began to hang out.”
“Do you regret hanging out with this person?” Oleander chimed in, somehow catching Fatima off guard with the question, her eyes widening for a moment as she lightly giggled and shook her head.
“No. Not at all. I’m glad I did. They’re very sweet and very kind and very relaxing to be around, which kind of surprised me. I thought they were going to be secretly awful.” She chuckled softly.
“I’m even more surprised that they even agreed to let me befriend them to begin with, truthfully.”
“And why is that?”
“It’s because…” She thought for a moment, trying to find the right words as not to give away the identity of the succubun she was talking about.
‘If I even mention that, would it give them away regardless?’
“It’s because I was a part of a group of people who admire them greatly and they seem to… wish to distance themselves from those types of people. Well unless it’s for an autograph. So, I expected them to turn me away as well. Which I would’ve understood perfectly. I don’t understand why they allowed me the chance but I’m happy they did.” A broad smile forms across her face.
Oleander’s brows furrowed in thought, “Maybe it’s because this person saw something different in you. You’ve been working here for a few months and I’ve seen how sweet and caring you are to the others here. You do give me the time of day, even though I pester you for… favors every now and then.” He chuckles softly.
Fatima’s cheeks flushed. “I-it’s only because I don’t mind the favors!” She exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth as Oleander burst out laughing.
“Ugh, you’re so cruel!” She huffed, crossing her arms and leaning against the booth.
“Forgive me, forgive me. I couldn’t help but tease you a little. However, I am glad you don’t mind the favors. Sometimes I worry if I’m too needy when it comes to those. But, this isn’t about me. Please, continue with your confession.”

Fatima shook her head.
“You’re not too needy. You’re only following the words of Indulgence, Father Oleander. As is everyone else who works at the church.” She reassures, laying her head against the window, her cheeks warm.
Oleander smiled, “Thank you, Fatima. So tell me more about this crush. Are you worried about something?”
‘Oh! Right. The crush…’
“Well, yes, in a way. I’m worried about it becoming something more.”
“Oh? Whatever for?”
“I’m just… worried about the possible outcomes of falling in love with them.” She sighs heavily then leans her head back against the wall, gently wringing her hands.
“What do I do when that happens? I know there are couples here in Burrowgatory but… if I fall in love with them, will we still… be able to somehow stay friends?
Should I tell them if it happens? Should I keep it a secret and just… never bring it up?
We-we have been giving each other signals that don’t seem very mixed.
They… there were no actions taken but they’ve started to become bold which I don’t mind, as I’ve become just as bold myself. But-- I--” A loud, muffled scream escaped the young woman’s mouth as she covered her face and shook her head.
Oleander listened as a flurry of worries seemed to pour out of Fatima’s mouth, taking time to process everything she said, his brows furrowed in thought.
‘What would be a good way to approach this?’
“Love truly is an unpredictable emotion, isn’t it? It can cloud our judgment and it’s terrifying. It makes us feel extremely vulnerable with the one we care about or it can break us if we’re to get rejected and that rejection can last far longer than people believe it can.
Especially when you believed that you had found “the one meant for you”.
Sometimes it could be better to keep your feelings concealed or to let them out but, that depends on the individual and sometimes the circumstances.” Oleander began, tail tip flicking as it rested against his side.
“When the time comes, if you were to fall for this person, what do you think would be the best option for you? Will you tell them or are you going to wait for them to tell you?”

Fatima’s eyes widened for a moment, that was a really tough question.
“I… I don’t know.”
“If this person you’re infatuated with never tells you they love you, what are you going to do then? Would you still want to be their friend?”
“I… well yes of course I still want to be their friend! That would be cruel if I just suddenly stopped because they rejected me. At least, that’s what I believe…”
“And if they no longer want to be friends with you to spare your feelings?”
Fatima frowned deeply, clutching her dress before her eyes dropped to her lap.
‘They… they wouldn’t do that… would they? J-just because I’d be upset that we couldn’t…’

“I… would perhaps try to come up with a compromise. I-I mean if it didn’t make me seem desperate.” She laughed nervously.
‘Murmur I would never want to seem desperate for something like that. That’d be pathetic wouldn’t it?’
“M-maybe we could become friends with benefits?” Her cheeks began to quickly warm just thinking about such a thing!
“It… wouldn’t be better persay but it would be something. But does that make me seem selfish?”
“We were taught by the demons above to be selfish so I would see no problem with that being an option you chose. As for seeming desperate, I don’t think anyone can seem desperate down here.
Everyone is a willing participant in the debauchery we bring forth so, I believe it wouldn’t be looked at in such a way. I believe it would be a sign of devotion to that person whom you seem to treasure dearly. A form of your own type of love, if you will.”
“My own type of love?” Fatima blinks at the window a few times, head slightly tilted.
‘I’ve never thought of it that way.’
“Wait, if it would be another form of devotion then, wouldn’t the demons above and Lord Murmur be upset?”
Oleander chuckled, “Devotion and worship are two different things, Fatima. Even though they can indeed go hand in hand. I believe that Lord Murmur would be proud of you.”
‘Lord Murmur would be proud of me?’
Fatima giggled as her eyes sparkled and shone at the thought of Murmur being proud of her for something like that. It made her feel warm inside.

After sitting in silence for a while to let everything she had just discussed sink in, “Thank you Father Oleander. I feel better now.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Is there anything else that you’d like to confess to while you’re here?”
Fatima’s brows furrowed for a moment, was there anything else she wanted to discuss?
“Not at the moment. At least, nothing I can think of right now.”
“Very well. I hope you have a wonderful day, Fatima. Remember, you have kitchen duty this afternoon.”
Fatima smiled and rolled her eyes.
“Yes, I remember. Thank you Father. I should get going now, I believe I have a class beginning soon.” She says, opening the door and stepping out, Oleander doing the same.
However, once he was fully out of the booth, she quickly ran over and stole a kiss while hugging him, before she ran off towards the classroom, completely catching Oleander off guard and making him blush furiously.
“See you later Father! If you would like another favor, I’ll be here all day!” She called, winking at him and giggling as she waved goodbye.
Oleander chuckled, a smirk forming upon his face.
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”