Ouroboros slowly fell asleep in Strax’s arms. Her breathing grew calr and deeper, her body relaxing completely against his as the silence of the room returned with that gentle tranquility of the late morning. The light streaming through the windows had already changed tone, now paler, gliding along the walls and illuminating their skin with a discreet glow. Strax remained motionless for a few minutes, observing her face as she slept. Ouroboros, even at rest, maintained that slightly satisfied, almost possessive expression, as if she were still convinced that he wouldn’t leave her side anyti soon.
He ran his hand through her dark hair one last ti, a slow and almost overly careful gesture for soone known for his own brutality. Then, careful not to wake her, he slid his arm out from under her and got out of bed. Ouroboros stirred slightly as his warmth faded, murmuring sothing incomprehensible as she turned to her side, hugging one of the pillows as a substitute. Strax pulled the blanket back gently, partially covering her body before looking once more at the forr dragon’s tranquil face. For a mont, he simply stood there, as if registering that silent scene in his mory.
Then he turned his back and walked to the door.
The hallway outside was quiet, illuminated by soft lamps embedded in the light stone walls. The air was cooler outside, bringing back a sense of reality after the comfortable warmth of the room. Strax carefully closed the door behind him, avoiding any louder sounds, and began to walk down the hallway with calm steps, his hands in his pockets as if he were simply wandering without haste.
He hadn’t taken more than three steps.
A presence suddenly appeared before him.
Before he could react, a firm hand grabbed his shirt and pushed him against the wall with a sharp impact. The sound echoed briefly through the silent hallway.
Strax blinked once.
Beatrice was there.
Her pink hair fell impeccably over her shoulders as always, but the expression on her face was far from its usual composure. Her clear eyes, normally calculating and calm, were clearly irritated. More than irritated.
Strax blinked once.
Beatrice was there.
Her golden hair fell impeccably over her shoulders as always, but the expression on her face was far from its usual composure. Her blue eyes, normally calculating and calm, were clearly irritated. More than irritated.
She was nervous.
Her hand continued to grip his shirt against the wall as she leaned slightly forward, reducing the space between them. Strax looked at her for a full mont, assessing the situation with the almost lazy calm of soone who clearly didn’t feel threatened.
Beatrice gripped the fabric of his shirt even tighter.
"Are you finished?"
Her voice ca out low, but there was a clear tension hidden in the words.
Strax tilted his head slightly, observing her face with genuine curiosity.
"Finished what?"
Beatrice’s eyes narrowed imdiately.
"Don’t play dumb."
She gave his shirt a small tug against the wall, as if needing to emphasize her words with physical movent.
"I know exactly what you were doing in that room."
Strax let out a small sigh through his nose, as if dealing with sothing too predictable.
"You always knew."
Beatrice remained silent for a few seconds, still holding him against the wall. Her gaze moved across his face, as if analyzing every detail before finally speaking again.
"I’m jealous."
The sentence ca out directly.
Without beating around the bush.
Strax raised an eyebrow.
Beatrice rarely said things so directly.
She seed to sense his reaction, because her gaze beca even more intense.
"Yes."
She confird, her voice firm now.
"Jealous."
Silence filled the hallway again for a few monts.
Strax watched her intently.
Beatrice took a deep breath before continuing, like soone who had decided she had gone beyond the point of feigning indifference.
"You spend hours with Ouroboros." She tugged at his shirt again. "And Scarlet." Another light tug. "And my mother." Her eyes narrowed. "And you still find ti for others."
Strax seed almost amused now.
Beatrice noticed this imdiately.
"Don’t laugh."
He really wasn’t laughing.
But the corner of his mouth was definitely trying to turn up.
Beatrice let out a small, irritated sigh, partially unbuttoning his shirt only to cross her arms imdiately afterward. Even so, she continued to block his path in the hallway.
"I want equal treatnt."
Strax blinked slowly.
"Equal treatnt."
He repeated the words calmly, as if testing their weight.
Beatrice nodded imdiately.
"Yes."
She pointed a finger at his chest.
"If you’re going to distribute your attention like that..."
Her finger pressed lightly against his shirt.
"Then I want my share too."
Silence fell between them again.
Strax crossed his arms slowly, now observing Beatrice as if analyzing an interesting problem.
She kept her gaze steady.
There was no hesitation there.
Beatrice could be rational, calculating, analytical.
But at that mont she was being completely honest.
Strax finally spoke.
"And what exactly do you consider equal treatnt?"
Beatrice was silent for a second.
Then she took a small step forward again, bringing her face closer to his until they were just inches apart.
Her blue eyes shone with a strange mixture of nervousness and determination.
"Ti."
She replied.
The word ca out simply.
Directly.
"I want ti with you."
The hallway fell silent again.
Strax observed her face for a few seconds, as if assessing sothing much deeper than just those words.
Then, slowly, the small smile returned to the corner of his mouth.
Strax watched Beatrice for a few seconds after she finished speaking. The hallway remained silent, illuminated by the soft light of the recessed lamps in the walls. Her gaze did not waver. There was sothing unusual there, an almost uncomfortable honesty for soone so used to controlling every word and gesture.
He was still leaning against the wall where she had pinned him, his arms crossed, analyzing every little detail of her expression. Beatrice also had her arms crossed, but her fingers were lightly squeezing her own arm, a small sign of tension that soone less attentive probably wouldn’t notice.
Strax noticed.
The corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
Beatrice frowned imdiately upon noticing it.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice a little drier now, as if she were expecting so provocative comnt.
Strax didn’t respond imdiately.
Instead, he uncrossed his arms.
The next second, everything happened too fast for Beatrice to react with her usual composure.
He leaned forward suddenly, putting one arm behind her back and the other under her legs, lifting her off the ground with an easy, firm movent. The gesture was so natural that for a mont Beatrice only blinked, clearly surprised by the sudden change of position.
She was being carried.
Like a princess.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Strax—"
He didn’t stop.
Beatrice instinctively placed a hand on his shoulder for balance as he began to walk down the aisle with calm steps, as if the situation were completely normal.
"You said you wanted ti." His voice sounded calm, almost amused.
Beatrice still seed to be trying to process what had just happened.
"I didn’t tell you to carry all the way down the hall."
Strax shrugged as he continued walking.
"Details."
Beatrice let out a small sigh, but made no real effort to get out of his arms. In fact, after a few seconds, she ended up relaxing a little in that position, still observing his face with a curious mixture of irritation and poorly disguised satisfaction.
"You’re impossible."
Strax just kept walking.
The hallway seed long, with several doors lining the light stone walls. The silence of the place was almost absolute, broken only by the light sound of his footsteps.
Beatrice tilted her head slightly to observe his face as she was carried.
"Where exactly do you think you’re taking ?"
Strax finally glanced at her sideways.
"You asked for equal treatnt."
Beatrice raised an eyebrow.
"I asked for ti."
"Sa thing."
She opened her mouth to reply, but closed it again when she realized that discussing it at that mont would probably lead nowhere.
A few seconds later, Strax stopped in front of one of the hallway doors.
Without letting go of Beatrice, he pushed the door open with his shoulder.
The room on the other side was spacious, simple, and quiet, illuminated by a soft light streaming through the tall windows. A large bed occupied the center of the room, surrounded by dark wood furniture and so discreet tapestries on the walls.
Strax entered the room without hesitation.
Beatrice observed the place in silence, clearly recognizing that this was one of the empty rooms reserved for guests or for quick rests between battles or etings.
He walked to the bed.
Then, without any ceremony, he released Beatrice.
She fell onto the soft mattress with a slight impact, her golden hair spreading across the pillow as she looked at him with a surprised expression.
"You could have warned ."
Strax was already walking to the side of the bed.
He began to take off his own shirt with calm movents, as if simply ending a natural routine.
Beatrice propped herself up on her elbows on the mattress, watching him with narrowed eyes.
The initial irritation was still there.
But now there was sothing else too.
Curiosity.
Perhaps even anticipation.
Strax finished removing his shirt and let it fall onto a nearby chair, turning his gaze back to her.
Beatrice remained seated on the bed, her golden hair falling over her shoulders as she watched him in silence.
For a mont, neither of them said anything.
Then Strax gave a small smile.
"Let’s spend so quality ti together."
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