For the first ti in a while, Arwin spent the night in his own room. Lillia had been fast asleep when he’d gotten back and it sounded like she was actually resting peacefully. He didn’t want to wake her up on accident, so he’d crept up the stairs and into his bed.
It was a strange feeling in multiple ways. At first, it felt strange to be sleeping alone in his bed again. Then it felt even stranger due to the realization that he felt more comfortable in Lillia’s bed than his.
So miracle let Arwin drift off, but when he woke the following morning to bright light streaming through his window and straight into his eyes, he was promptly reminded of the previous night’s thoughts.
His features twisted in annoyance. Arwin held a hand up, blocking the sun as he rolled out of bed and let out a huff.
This is seriously getting out of hand. I can’t let myself keep dwelling on her like this. It’s… just not right.
That probably ant the logical move would have been to sohow crush the feelings so they’d stop interfering with him. But, then again, they weren’t exactly interfering either. They were just kind of… there.
Perhaps I’m just trying to convince myself of things again.
The alternative would have been ntioning his thoughts to Lillia, but the thought sent a shudder down his spine. There was too much relying on their continued partnership. He couldn’t afford to sour anything when the stakes were so much bigger than just him and Lillia.
Arwin shook his head to force the thoughts from them. This wasn’t the ti or the place. He’d just have to do sothing to make his room sohow beco more appealing than Lillia’s – starting with so bloody curtains.
A quick trip brought him downstairs, where he could hear Lillia preparing for the day in the kitchen. He nearly tripped over an imp that was busy polishing the bottom stair with a cloth. He stumbled, cursing to himself and barely avoiding accidentally squishing the monster.
Who polishes stairs first thing in the morning?
Lillia poked her head out of the kitchen. “You okay?”
“There was a hazard on the stairs,” Arwin said, sending a cross look at the imp. It stared back at him blankly, holding the rag in one hand.
“Oh, was there?” Lillia sent him a blank stare. Sothing about her tone felt off, but he couldn’t quite place what it was. Her gaze flicked from him to the imp. “Don’t do that. It can be dangerous.”
The imp blinked, then looked from its rag to Lillia. It tilted its head to the side as if to ask a question. Lillia quickly stepped back into the kitchen, leaving Arwin even more befuddled than before.
What’s up with her?
Arwin stepped into the kitchen after Lillia. “I think I missed sothing.”
“What?” Lillia looked over her shoulder, her cheeks slightly redder than normal. “What do you an?”
“I’m not sure. That’s the problem,” Arwin said, his brow furrowed. “Did I say sothing wrong?”
“No,” Lillia said with an embarrassed cough. “You didn’t say anything wrong. It’s fine. I was just talking to the imp.”
“About cleaning the stairs?”
“Oh, drop it. Please.” Lillia massaged her brow. “It’s nothing. Did you sleep well?”
“Fine, I suppose,” Arwin said after a mont of hesitation. “Brighter than I was used to.”
“It was,” Lillia agreed. They both fell silent for a few seconds. Arwin typically didn’t mind the silence, but sothing about it felt considerably more awkward than he was used to. rcifully, Lillia broke it.
“Why’d you go to your room?” Lillia asked.
“Last night?” The back of Arwin’s neck heated. He wasn’t even sure why he was embarrassed – it was a perfectly reasonable question. “You were already asleep. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Oh,” Lillia said. Neither of them said anything else for a little while longer. Lillia turned back to the board of vegetables she’d been chopping. “Next ti, wake up.”
Arwin blinked. “Are you sure? I–”
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“Don’t make repeat myself, please,” Lillia said, not looking back at him. “Just wake up next ti.”
A warm feeling wrapped around Arwin’s chest. He tried to push it back, but it was like trying to scoop the ocean away with a bucket full of holes. All he could do was intently study the wall.
“If you’re sure. I get back pretty late sotis.”
Lillia’s knife smacked into the vegetables and she let out a snort. “I know. Just… wake up.”
“I’ll do that,” Arwin promised. His best attempts to keep his voice even definitely didn’t do nearly as much as he’d hoped. Lillia didn’t seem to take notice of it, which he was grateful for.
She must be too focused on her cooking. I get that.
He stood in the doorway of the kitchen for a few seconds, then cleared his throat. “I’m going to go work. I’ve got the bottom half of a set made for Rodrick, but I’m going to try to make him the top as well and finish the whole thing today before giving it to him. Do you think you could keep an eye on it?”
“Sure,” Lillia said, still not turning from her work. “I’ll send an imp up.”
Arwin nodded, then rembered she couldn’t see him because she was facing the wrong way. The urge to smack his forehead against the wall gripped him. He managed to ignore it and let out a huff, striding out of the kitchen and setting course for the forge.
His mind needed to be focused. There was no ti for this. Fortunately, the forge was calling his na.
***
Lillia stared at the knife embedded into her makeshift cutting board, her cheeks burning so red that she feared they were going to pop off and run away on their own. She could barely believe the words that had co out of her own mouth.
What is wrong with ? Did I really just tell him to wake up if I fall asleep before he gets back?
She yanked the knife out of the cutting board and brought it down again. It struck the board too hard and embedded itself in the wood. Lillia repressed a curse. She’d never been more grateful to have rembered to tuck her tail into her pants that morning. If she hadn’t, it would have been swaying around like mad. It was already doing its best to defy her orders and escape its containnt. If it had been free, the results would have been catastrophic to her ego.
I will not let my tail wag like so stupid little schoolgirl.
She yanked the knife out of the cutting board again. Sothing had been seriously wrong with her. Lillia pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, making sure it wasn’t hotter than it should have been.
Forget not being able to get sick. I have to have co down with sothing. This sounds exactly like the stories I was told of what happens to humans when they co near a miniscule monster that enters their body and corrupts them from within for a short period of ti.
Lillia brought the knife down once more, this ti managing to avoid embedding it in the wood. She pushed so of the vegetables to the side and pressed her lips together. Her body felt like it had been fighting her for days now.
The way she was acting around Arwin made absolutely no sense. He had no reason to have to lull her to sleep like a doting father. Arwin already had enough to worry about, and he’d done more than he’d needed to. If he wanted to get so rest in his own, considerably more comfortable bed, she had no right to interfere.
Even wanting to interfere was childish. Lillia’s cheeks started to redden again and a mory of his hands running up her face and covering her eyes flickered through her mind again.
The knife fell, splitting the cutting board in two. Lillia cursed and set it to the side, pulling at her hair as she repressed a groan. Sothing was seriously wrong with her. This wasn’t the way that the demon queen was ant to act.
Even if she wasn’t truly the demon queen anymore, that didn’t an she should be reduced to a sniveling child longing for comfort the mont she got an iota of it. She was more capable than that.
I need to go tell him that he doesn’t actually have to co wake up. We’ve all got our own roles to play and he can’t spend his ti babying . Besides, I have work to do. Wasting ti thinking about this is just going to hinder .
Lillia nodded to herself. She pushed her broken cutting board to the side and turned toward the entrance to the common room to follow after Arwin. It hadn’t been long enough for him to actually get started on his work, so she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be interrupting anything.
Her legs wouldn’t move.
Lillia couldn’t bring herself to step out of the kitchen and take back her words. The idea made the back of her spine prickle and her stomach clench with the sa sickly, painful feeling that had been haunting her for the past few days.
I don’t want to tell him to stop and sleep in his own bed. It’s more comfortable when he’s there.
Lillia stared at the wall, her hands twitching at her sides. There had to be a logical reason she was so confused. She turned back to the kitchen, shaking her head. It was a bad idea to go looking for Arwin when she didn’t even know what she wanted to say.
I wonder if he was having similar problems. He can’t have, because he went to bed without . Gah. I’m so annoyed.
Why am I annoyed? What is wrong with ?
Lillia pulled at her hair again. She nearly put her head through the wall in an attempt to clear it, but the idea of damaging her inn was so vile that she couldn’t even fathom it. The chopped cutting board had already been enough.
It just makes no sense. The way I’m acting is completely illogical. For the sake of our entire guild, I need to figure out what my problem is and fix it before it impacts my effectiveness. What is it with him that’s causing so much trouble?
Lillia drumd her fingers on her thigh as she thought. It wasn’t just soone in general. She’d tried calling her imps to her last night. Their presence, while welco, hadn’t done the slightest bit to make her feel differently.
She considered asking Reya to spend the night but dismissed the idea. Reya was a nice girl, but she wasn’t exactly comforting. No, this had sothing to do with Arwin in particular. Lillia chewed her lower lip, her brow furrowing. It felt like she wasn’t that far off. There was no reason for this to be as difficult as it was. There had to be–
And then, like a hamr blow, it hit her.
Godspit.
I have romantic feelings for Arwin.
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