The layout outside the castle was disappointingly simple, as if the architecture itself wanted to emphasise that any attempts to find a way out would be unsuccessful. No matter where you turned or where you wandered, you always returned to the starting point. The castle breathed, felt and remembered your footsteps. Even the walls here seemed to whisper your thoughts to those who knew how to listen. For Omega, walking with Serak was more than just moving in a closed circle. It was an opportunity to show himself in a different way.
He didn't know how to hold his hands, how fast to walk, whether to look at his feet or at his Alpha. He walked beside him, slightly behind, quietly. He didn't know how to hold his hands, how fast to walk, whether to look at his feet or glance sideways at his Alpha. He walked beside him, slightly behind, quietly, almost invisibly, trying to be part of the shadow that stretched from Serak's tall form. And in this position, Omega felt... safe.
His height allowed him not to be intrusive. And his silence helped him not to disturb his companion's thoughts.
Serak moved slowly, but there was no laziness or fatigue in his every step. He surveyed the territory with particular attention and tenderness.
"I wasn't born in this place," Serak said suddenly.
His voice was not loud, but in the complete silence of the garden, it sounded like thunder. Omega stilled, his heart pounding wildly. Serak had spoken... first. He did not know what to do with this honour. His head was ringing with emptiness, his body felt foreign.
Omega froze a step behind, not even realising immediately that he had stopped. It took effort to start moving again.
"It must have been difficult for you to learn the language?" he breathed cautiously, trying not to offend the man.
Serak seemed not to hear him. Or perhaps he heard and ignored him. Instead of answering, he pointed into the distance, to a section of the garden where tall trees made thick shadows.
"Where each of these trees stands, there used to be nothing but ash. So thick and deep that it took two months of carting to remove it all. Can you imagine?" He touched the rough bark of an oak tree, running his fingers over it. "And now I can't let all this disappear... because of the damn drought."
His words were heavy. There was no anger in them, only despair.
Omega looked up at the spreading tree crowns. Huge and mighty, they really did look as if they had been growing here for centuries. And so his question was almost childish:
"But can such large trees grow even in a hundred years?"
Silence. At first, Omega thought he had said something wrong again.
"That's the second time you've asked the wrong question, lad," Serak said, almost with a smile. A light, fleeting sound escaped his lips, as if he had cleared his throat, but there was a strange... weariness in it.
He turned to him, and at that moment the wind blew the hem of his light cloak aside, revealing Alpha's body — beautiful, strong, wiry, every muscle as if carved from stone rather than flesh. And not a single scar.
For the first time during their walk, Serak looked Omega straight in the eye.
And that was enough.
The darkness in his pupils was viscous. There was no warmth or even malice in it. Only silence, easy to drown in...
Omega lowered his gaze. He couldn't take it. His throat was dry.
"Then..." he exhaled almost silently, his words fragile, "can I... help in any way?"
He didn't know why he said it. He had no confidence, no strength, only the desire to be needed, even for a second. To become not an empty space, not an object, not a duty. Help.
Serak didn't answer right away. His hand was still resting on the branch. He was carefully examining the leaf, hiding his face.
"I don't know," he finally said hoarsely. "Maybe... Let's keep going."
They walked slowly. For several minutes, perhaps ten or a little more. No words, no casual glances, just steady breathing and footsteps softly touching the tiled path that wound between the trees.
The silence no longer seemed oppressive to Omega. No, now it resembled fragile glass that he was afraid to break even with his breath. Serak no longer spoke. His broad back was still ahead of him, like an impenetrable wall. But now there was something... different about that wall. His shadow no longer seemed ominous. It was heavy, but not frightening. Omega didn't know how it happened, but with every passing minute he felt a little lighter.
He had almost forgotten how, a week ago, those very shoulders had held him over the balcony.
Maybe it was the wind or the soft light filtering through the leaves, or the fact that for the first time in a long time, no one was shouting or grabbing his hair.
Each of them was thinking about something else.
Serak remembered the smell of ash that had permeated his childhood. The one that had eaten into his skin like a brand. He wasn't going to share this with Omega, not because he thought he was unworthy, but because he himself didn't yet know if he wanted someone breathing the same air next to him again.
When they reached the fork between the courtyard and the east wing leading to the living quarters, Serak suddenly slowed down. He didn't turn around, just turned his head slightly, and that was enough for Omega to feel that same tremor again, just like on the first day.
"I'll walk you there," he said.
Omega didn't answer. He only nodded cautiously, almost imperceptibly.
They moved on. Now Alpha's steps slowed, as if he were adjusting to Omega's pace. And although there was still no contact between them, no accidental touch of fingers, no exchanged glances, Omega felt as if someone were holding his hand.
They stopped at the door to his bedroom. For a few seconds, Serak just stood there, staring at the massive wooden door. Then he looked at Omega. He didn't look him in the eyes, but lower. At his lips.
"Tomorrow we'll go for another walk," he said slowly.
His voice sounded quieter than usual. Not threatening, not cold... more detached. As if he had only just decided to do it.
Then he nodded slightly towards the door.
"Go."
And he turned away without waiting for Omega to disappear inside.
When Serak's footsteps faded in the corridor, Omega stood in the doorway for a long time. His palms were trembling, and something inside him felt like it was melting. He didn't know exactly what had happened that day, but one thing was clear: something had changed.
He felt a chill run down his spine.
It was unusual.
He carefully closed the door behind him, pressed his forehead against the cool wood, and for the first time in a long time, allowed himself to breathe quietly.