3

#

He landed behind her. The dress she was wearing hid nothing of her curves, neither did the warrior leathers she wore a few days ago. She looked gods damned breath-taking, and he wondered if she had looked like that when they were friends all those years ago. Her hair shifted a little in the wind, revealing another tattoo on her spine, the dress cut low enough to reveal it. He tried to find anything in his memories of her dark auburn hair, those striking green eyes, but nothing came up. If it was true what his mother had said... If it was true, that she meant so much to him. He didn't know what to do with that information.

"Are you just going to stand there like a creep?" She asked, not turning around.

He rolled his eyes but sat down next to her. Her legs hung off the ledge, swaying slightly high above the ground. He took the same position. He leaned back on his hands, his gaze on the darkening sky.

"Did you Winnow up here?"

"No, I climbed the tree in this dress." She said sarcastically. "Why are you up here?"

"I wish I knew."

"Your mother talked to you, didn't she?" She finally turned to look at him and he almost immediately drowned in the green of her eyes.

He swallowed. "She did."

"Well, you don't need to be here. It doesn't matter. We should let the past be in the past. We've both moved on from the whole ordeal and you've now lived longer not knowing me, than you did knowing me. You shouldn't want to know me because your mother said so." She looked back to the foliage before her.

"What if I want to know you?"

She snorted very un-lady like. "Then you just want to know me because of how I look. And I have enough of that sort of attention. So, no thank you."

"Don't flatter yourself." He said. "You're not my type." A complete lie.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Maybe you're right, nothing ever happened between us. So, what is your type now then?"

He shrugged. "What was my type back then?"

"Back then you never had a real relationship. Hook-ups, yes. And honestly?" She arched an eyebrow. "That included almost everything that moved."

"Except you."

"Except me." She said simply. He couldn't figure out the tone in her voice.

"Did you and Lucien..."

"Do you really want an answer to that?"

His nails curled on the rotten wood beneath them, the tree house creaked with the wind. "I guess that answers that." He said with a neutral tone.

"It was long after you forgot about me." She waved her hand dismissively.

They sat in silence for a while. Watching the sky darken, the sun disappearing behind the trees until it was pitch black outside. Behind them you could see light shine through the windows of the house, but in front of them, the only light was from the thin crescent moon.

"Do you miss it?" He asked. "What we had. Our friendship."

She didn't take her eyes off the darkness in front of her. The moon reflected in her green eyes, making it look like they gave light in the dark. He wanted to tear his gaze off her but was unable to do so. When he thought she wouldn't answer his question, she said,

"Every day." Those two words were barely audible above the wind.

"Then let me try to break the curse."

"It doesn't matter. Not anymore." She shook her head and clambered up. He looked up at her, following her bare leg that showed through the split of her dress, up to her voluminous curves, her full breasts and that beautiful face. He stood up and towered over her, even in her heels. She looked him straight in the eyes, looking for something. Then cast her eyes down, shaking her head slightly. "You are not the same man as before. Just like I'm not the same woman. It's been too long, Eris."

The way she said his name, shot a shiver through his body. Fuck, he wanted to know her name. He needed to know. But he said. "Alright, I understand." She looked up to him in surprise. "What are you doing after this?"

"I'll be travelling to the Night Court tomorrow. My carriage should be here in the morning."

"Why not winnow?"

"I like riding in a carriage, seeing the sights. I'm planning on visiting a few Courts on my way up there."

"At least stay the night in the house. We have enough guest rooms." She bit her bottom lip, and he couldn't help the dip his eyes did. She was about to say no, so he said, "Where else were you going to stay?"

"In the Inn in the village."

He scowled. "No, that place is disgusting."

She shrugged, looking up at the moon. "I've stayed in worse."

What the hell was her job? "If this is about Tark, I'll make sure-" Her eyes flashed with hurt, and she took a step back.

"That you'll what? Point him in the right direction?" He couldn't speak. Not with that look on her face. The hurt, the betrayal that still lingered there. Maybe somethings are impossible to move on from.

"N-no, of course not." He managed to say. Gods, he never had trouble to talk to anyone. Then there is her. "We don't need to tell him that you're here."

She snorted again. "Tark is like a bloodhound, he smells females from five miles away."

He took a step closer, and she only took a small step back. The distance between them smaller than before. "I'll keep watch outside your door if I'll have to."

She looked up at him again with her unwavering eyes. They weren't filled with hate, or pity or anything he's used to when people looked at him. Even his own family. She was assessing him, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. It was hard but he held her gaze. Then, oh so slowly, she nodded.

"Where is your old room? I can-

"No." She said quickly. "Just -" She took in a deep breath. "Just give me a room on the second floor."

"Alright." He said. She nodded before she winnowed away. He glanced behind him and saw her waiting at the garden doors. A second later, he was next to her.

#

They walked in silence to the second floor. She said a quick goodnight before she slipped inside the room. He watched the closed door for a long moment. His eyes scanned the ceiling, where he knew Tark slept. Eris slept a floor below and he didn't trust Tark to keep away. He had noticed how he had looked at her. The lust and wanting in his eyes, the predatory look when he figured out, they 'knew' each other. He walked to one of the guest bedrooms, grabbed a soft plush armchair and put it in front of her room. He would make sure he'd be gone before she emerged from her room. But she never mentioned when her carriage would arrive. He winnowed to his room to get his book before coming back. He sat down in the armchair and flipped open his book.

He had fallen asleep, but sensed when Tark indeed came to the second floor. He placed the armchair in the room and pretended to read as he walked through the hallway.

"Oh, you." Tark snarled.

Eris glanced up from his book, pretending to be surprised by his presence. "Why are you up, little brother?"

He saw him glance at the room a little behind him. "I was - I was thirsty."

"Ah." He said. "You know the kitchen is on the ground floor, right."

"Yes." He said through gritted teeth. "Why are you up?"

Before he could answer, the door to her room opened and she poked her head out. Her green eyes reflecting in the hallway lights. There wasn't an ounce of sleep in her eyes, she must've been awake the whole time and probably aware of his presence just outside her room.

"Eris, -" She purred. "Come back in."

He heard Tark growl and knew what she was doing. She wanted him to think they would be going at it, to get him to back the fuck off. Smart. Eris threw her a flirty smile, one he used to charm other females. Not that it would ever work on her, he was sure of that. "Here I thought you would be exhausted from the last time."

"It takes a lot to get me exhausted and satisfied, Vanserra." Her voice caressed over him, and he knew that it was probably the truth. "Want to rise up to the challenge?"

"I never back down from a challenge." He grinned, snapping his book shut. He didn't look back at his brother as he slipped in the room and closed the door. She snapped her fingers and a privacy spell formed around the room.

"Where you really going to sleep in the hallway all night?" She asked, already returning to the bed. She must've winnowed to wherever her clothes were, because she was wearing a faded blue, silk night gown that left nothing to the imagination.

"I trust my brothers as far as a child can throw them." He huffed. He watched how she settled in the bed, her head against the headboard and a book in her lap. "What are you reading?" He asked, keeping his place in front of the door.

"Norts and Lewiski. The Great Undoing. You?"

"Marks and Hits from Grotesik."

She rolled her bright green eyes. "Of course, you would read a book about tactics and politics."

"Don't judge my book. Go to sleep, Green."

"Green?" She raised her brows. "Very original, Red."

"I need to call you something." He said. He really wanted to call her something.

"Why? I will be leaving in the morning." She said.

He didn't answer. Yes, she was leaving tomorrow, but what she didn't know was, that he would hop on the carriage just as it was about to leave and go with her. His mother's words still echoed in his head. She was your world. She grabbed the edge of her blanket and tossed it aside.

"Either get in here or go sleep in your room."

He wanted to open his mouth to ask if she was sure, but her look said it all. He toed off his boots and climbed in the bed next to her, keeping a respectful distance. He leaned against the headboard just like her and opened his book again. They read together in silence for a large part of the night before they both drifted off to sleep.

#

The next morning, he woke up with his arm slung around her waist as he spooned her, his nose nuzzling her neck. If he was smart, he would pull away. But she smelled so divine, and those soft curves felt amazing against him. How was it possible they never became anything more than friends? Even if she wasn't a long-lost forgotten friend, the woman intrigued him. The way she slipped in and out of the house, how she easily overpowered him. For the first time in centuries, a spark ignited in him.

The book she was reading and the ones on the nightstand showed him how smart she was, because they weren't easy books to read. One of them, he still hadn't been able to finish.

He needed to step away from her quickly, even though he wanted to break the curse. He needed to set boundaries for himself. His mother said she was a free spirit. It wouldn't be smart on any level to go that way. Especially, since he didn't even know her. With everything in him, he pulled back and rolled on his back. He looked at her sleeping form, at her bare shoulder. Another tattoo grazed her skin, just behind her ear. It was a red leave, half coloured, half dead. He wondered if that had something to do with him, with what happened all those centuries ago. He was just about to reach out and trace his finger over the tattoo when she stirred. As she stretched out on the bed, her book fell to the ground with a thump. Her little night gown rode up as she stretched her arms above her head, her thighs becoming visible as the blanket had moved away from her legs. She didn't say anything to him, and she grabbed her bag and disappeared in the adjoining bathroom. When he heard the shower running, he winnowed to his own room and started to pack.

#

The whole house was still asleep when he finished packing. He wrote a quick note for his parents before he slung the bag over his shoulder. He glanced out of the window and saw a carriage pull up to the front gates. The woman, now dressed in dark fitted trousers, a white blouse that even from afar, he could see it was see-through. She would leave without telling anyone goodbye. Not his mother, not him. He winnowed out of the room and stepped into place next to her.

"Leaving so early?"

"I told you I would be leaving in the morning." She said, her steps unfaltering.

"I'm an early riser but this is a bit much, even for me."

She adjusted the bag on her shoulder. He glanced at the bag. It was made of fine, expensive material. It was silver-blue, golden threat formed symbols on front. "I never asked you to be here. Go back to sleep, little High Lord."

He huffed at the nickname. Infuriating woman. But despite himself, the corner of his mouth tugged upward. "The carriage seems big enough." He stated as they arrived in front of it. An elder male sat at the reigns.

"Big enough for-" She opened the door and tossed her bag in, looking over her shoulder to him. "For my things? Yes. I don't carry that much." She turned to him, her green eyes fixed on his. "Well, I guess this is it. I'll see you whe-" She stopped, her eyes narrowing on the bag on his back. "Are you going somewhere?"

He smirked, pulling the bag over his head and tossed it over her head, right into the carriage. "It just so happens that I have business in the Night Court myself."

"Well, if that's the case." She turned around and stepped in the carriage. Eris made to take a step towards the carriage. Surprised she didn't argue with him. But then his bag flung out of the carriage, right into his face. "You can winnow there." She closed the carriage door. "I'm ready, Walt."

The driver whipped the reigns and the carriage rolled away from him. Damn, that woman. Eris grabbed the bag from the ground and winnowed away. Right into her carriage.