“Good morning,” I respond, keeping my tone even as I move to sit down across from her.
A young servant girl appears with a coffee pot, pouring for both of us before disappearing back into the kitchen.
We start eating, for the first time like civilized people.
“So, how did you sleep last night?” she asks out of the blue.
I stare at her. Why the hell would she ask such a question? The inquiry feels loaded, though I can’t figure out her angle.
I slept terribly last night, and it was my own choice. Often, when I’m restless and I’ve had a really bad day, instead of sleeping in my chambers, where everything is soft, and plush, and comfortable, I go and sleep in the old room where Tressa and Brandon used to sleep when their parents worked at the palace.
The room is small, with only two beds. I don’t even allow myself to sleep on one of the beds, because I don’t deserve it. So, I sleep on the cold stone floor, reveling in the way it breaks my back.
I huff and look away from her penetrating gaze.
“I slept fine. How did you sleep?”
“I haven’t slept much,” she says, stirring sugar into her coffee. “I was busy thinking.”
“About what?”
“I’ve decided to stay.”
I freeze with my fork and knife suspended in the air. I look at her with what must be naked shock on my face.
“Why?”
She meets my eyes without flinching.
“Because you bought me. You spent a good penny on me, and it’s only fair. I’m not a scammer. I’m going to keep my end of the bargain.”
Her reasoning should satisfy me, but instead, it leaves me confused.
“Does this mean that you accept to be my wife?”
She frowns and looks away, then shrugs, the gesture noncommittal and frustrating.
I scowl at her.
“That is a non-answer.”
She snaps at me, her eyes flashing with irritation.
“Maybe give me some time, Altair. I might not have an answer for you now, but who knows? Maybe I will someday.”
“What does that even mean?” I press, leaning forward. “That you are considering my proposal?”
Tressa huffs and then laughs.
“If that’s what you call a proposal...”
I smile despite myself and return my attention to my breakfast. As we eat together in silence, I realize that she’s more amenable to me today, which is strange and disorienting.
I’ve always wanted this. To talk to her like this, and be in her presence without us fighting, without cruelty and anger poisoning every interaction. But at the same time, it feels so unnatural that I don’t know how to behave or how to be. I don’t know what to do with my hands, where to look, how to sit. The normalcy is more terrifying than the hostility ever was.
I can tell that she’s looking at me differently, and it baffles me. What changed between last night and this morning?
As we’re both drinking our coffee, she looks up at me and gives me a smile.
