He paused, grimaced, then walked to the window and back again, eyes darting over the lines of his book as if it might hold the answer.
"Is it absurd that I liked the kiss?" he asked the room, his voice barely above a whisper but tinged with distress. "It wasn't supposed to feel like that."
He stopped mid-step and stared at nothing in particular.
"But he's just a child..." he said, voice cracking at the end. "He's just—why does it feel like this?"
Then came the softest admission, barely a breath.
"He's so beautiful…"
Anore's eyes widened slightly, but before he could react, Evan glanced at him with a smirk. Their eyes met, and the shared absurdity of what they were witnessing settled over them like a blanket.
They both burst into quiet laughter.
"He's really spiraling.." Anore whispered.
"Indeed. This master is like this when it comes to matter of the heart. It's the one thing he can't plan.." Evan murmured back, chuckling.
With a final glance at the distressed figure in the room, Evan quietly shut the door and turned fully to Anore. "See what I meant now?"
Anore nodded slowly. "Yes. You're saying he's trying to understand me."
"He is. So give him some time. That notebook is his good friend, helps him think.."
Anore gave a modest shrug, but his ears were pink. Evan noticed and didn't comment. Instead, he handed him a small stack of books he'd been carrying under his arm the whole time.
"Now.." he said with a return to his usual seriousness, "on that note. These are for you."
Anore accepted them, brows furrowing. "Books?"
Evan nodded " Your education is very important and since the day is drawing nearer to nighttime. It would be shifted to tomorrow morning, exactly after breakfast..."
-_-
"Study well, so you can best master Eiden. If you want to stand next to him. You must have knowledge of your own.."
Anore carried the books back to his room, the weight of them unfamiliar in his arms. He placed them carefully on the desk, running his fingers over the covers.
The titles were sharp and foreign to him, but not entirely indecipherable. He could make out some words, enough to know these were reading and writing books. Not too advanced. Evan had chosen them intentionally.
He pulled one open, flipping through pages slowly. The lines danced a little, but he could catch the gist. Letters. Patterns. Structure.
Something inside him stirred—half fear, half curiosity.
He closed the book and stood.
Changing out of his soft nightclothes, he tugged on a casual tunic, cream-colored,loose and a pair of dark pants.
They bunched just slightly at the ankle, no doubt not tailored for his size. Then came the shoes.
He glared at them.
Lace-on flats. Sturdy, comfortable… and unfortunately from the women's section.
He tied the laces a little too tightly in protest. "Still humiliating.." he muttered under his breath.
Then, without another thought, he left his room and walked toward Eiden's.
He didn't knock gently. He knocked once, then let himself in without waiting.
Eiden sat on a chair near the window, hunched forward with elbows on knees, fingers raking through his hair.
The book laid open on his lap—useless, clearly. His eyes were red at the corners, not from tears, but from overthinking.
He looked like a man who had attempted calculus to solve the feeling of a heartbeat.
Anore stood in the doorway and crossed his arms.
"I want to go for a walk."
Eiden looked up, blinking. "What?"
"I said I want to go for a walk..." Anore repeated, stepping further into the room. "Take me on one. I want to see the estate."
Eiden stared like the words hadn't quite registered. Then his gaze flicked down to Anore's laced flats and slightly-too-short pants. His lips parted, then closed again.
Anore raised an eyebrow. "Don't say anything."
"I wasn't going to..." Eiden said too quickly, eyes narrowing at the lie in his own voice.
"You were going to say something."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"Fine.." Eiden relented, setting the book down with a sigh. "But only because I'm deeply afraid you'll drag me out anyway."
Anore smirked faintly. "You should be."
Eiden stood, smoothing out his coat. "Give me a moment to grab my gloves."
"You're bringing gloves?" Anore asked, folding his arms again.
"In case it gets cold."
"It's summer."
"In case your hands get cold."
Anore stared at him. "Are you going to offer to hold them?"
Eiden's ears turned pink.
"No."
"...Liar."
Eiden turned away swiftly and picked up the gloves with excessive focus.
They walked side by side through the corridor, quiet at first.
The hush of early evening was settling over the estate. Golden light poured through the windows, casting long shadows over stone and silk.
The air smelled of something fresh, lavender and paper.
Outside, the path curved gently past gardens Anore had only seen from the window.
Up close, they were more alive.
Bees drifted lazily through wildflowers. Marble statues stood watch, ivy climbing their ankles like worship.
Eiden glanced sideways. "You haven't said much."
"I'm walking.." Anore said simply. "You said I needed rest. This is restful."
Eiden looked at him again. "You're angry."
"I'm not."
"Disappointed?"
Anore didn't answer.
Instead, he walked ahead a few steps, tilting his face to the sunlight.
"I didn't know you planted lavender.." he said.
Eiden's hands were behind his back. "My mother did. Said the smell helped her think."
Anore nodded.
They walked a little more. Past the stables. The training yard. The quiet reflecting pool where the sky folded perfectly into the water's surface.
"I've never walked just to walk before.." Anore murmured.
"No one ever let you."
Anore glanced at him. "And now you will?"
Eiden's mouth pressed into a line. "I'll do more than that. You just have to let me."
Anore stopped walking.
He turned slowly. "Why? Do.you do this much for your 'family' ."
Eiden stopped too. The space between them felt stretched thin, filled with all the things they hadn't said.
"I—" Eiden said finally. "I'll try not to make it any harder."
They stood like that for a long moment, until a breeze passed between them and stole the tension away.
Anore looked down, then to the side, then—almost shyly—back at Eiden.
"Did you really write in your notebook that I'm beautiful?"
Eiden's ears flushed crimson.
"How did you know about that?" he muttered.