While Siffia was off being pampered by the maids, Eris also snuck away to a nearby bathroom. She managed to finish her bedtime preparations quite quickly and efficiently despite the lack of aid from the maids, and sat down on her bed just a few minutes before Siffia made her way out of the connected bathroom. It was quite easy to tell that Siffia must have felt terribly awkward; Her face, her body language, the way she kept shuffling in the doorway, and even the way she repeatedly tugged at the silken sleeping robe that she was wearing, all practically screamed it.
Taking note of it all, Eris let out a small, huff-like sigh. She wasn’t made for comforting others; She’d practically used up all of the empathy she had in her body earlier, during their talks at dinner. Unsure what to say or do to ease Siffia’s nerves, Eris simply decided to act as if she’d never noticed them in the first place.
“Quit standing there and come to bed. You’re making me uncomfortable.”
Siffia almost squeaked, closing her eyes and quickly scampering over to the opposite side of the bed, like Eris had gestured. However, for some reason, instead of getting under the covers as had been expected, Siffia just stood there, awkwardly tugging on her hair as if to shield herself from her own nerves. The way she wriggled and shifted from foot to foot as she did so was somehow quite annoying to Eris. It was such a foreign action, something she’d almost never witnessed a person doing in front of her before, so used to formal and mature interactions.
“...What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting in such a-”
“Lady Eris! Um… I-I-! I, er… Uh…”
Eris immediately shut her mouth and furrowed her eyebrows, both from being so rudely interrupted which rarely occurred for her, and from surprise at the way that the usually quiet Siffia had suddenly shouted. Still, with how much Siffia was stammering and stuttering without getting to her point, Eris was begrudgingly forced to speak up to speed up the conversation.
“...Get to your point already, Lady Siffia.”
“Ah! Um, well… I just… I simply… I-I wanted to ask why, why you’ve... been so kind to me today.”
Eris paused upon hearing the unexpected question. The thought that such a question didn’t make sense with how rudely she’d just spoken to her flew through her mind, but Eris quickly swatted the nonsensical thought away, easily understanding what Siffia had meant. It was true that she had done everything she could to take care of Siffia since yesterday. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that this was the nicest that the typically aloof Eris had ever treated anybody in her entire life.
However, she couldn’t simply admit the true motives behind all the kindness and attention that she’d been showering down upon her. And so, Eris was forced to come up with something that she believed would be appropriately appeasing instead.
“Well... As fellow war veterans from the same platoon, and having spent the past two days interacting with each other, I think we’ve spent far too much time together to not consider the two of us as having become quite close, don’t you agree? I believe it’s only natural to be kind to someone in this sort of situation.”
Though it was a completely halfhearted and dragged out response, Eris felt quite pleased with herself at having come up with such an acceptable answer out of the blue. She even let a small smile grace her lips from how proud she was, until the steadily growing twinkling of Siffia’s expression caught in her eye.
“So, you mean… You mean to say, Lady Eris, that… Do you mean to say that we’ve become… friends?”
It was obvious for anyone to see how overflowing with joy and hope that Siffia was as she clasped her hands together and hesitantly spoke.
Eris almost felt the need to grimace in disgust at such childish feeling words, but managed to hold herself back and keep her face neutral so as not to ruin the situation. She’d never had a true friend before, nor had she ever felt the need to have one. But even Eris, usually uncaring as she was, was aware of the power that such a label could have over someone who so obviously desired it. And so, though it felt as uncomfortable as spitting out a mouthful of sand, Eris said what she needed to to keep Siffia ensnared.
“...Yes, of course. It only makes sense that the two of us have become... friends... at this stage.”
Insincere though her words were, they clearly seemed to work on Siffia. It was as if the usually gloomy-seeming woman had suddenly blossomed. The smile that bloomed across her face was almost brighter and more lovely than any sunrise or sunset that Eris had ever seen.
In fact, it was almost even more radiant than the smile that had all but captivated Eris earlier.
Eris had no clue what to say, or even how to react. All she could do was stare, unable to tear her eyes away. If Siffia hadn’t giggled and babbled on to her while finally slipping into the covers, then perhaps Eris would have stared for so long that her eyes would have dried out.
“Aha, that’s great then! This is my first ever sleepover with a friend! Actually, I think this is my first sleepover at all... Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever once shared a bed with anyone before either. Huh.”
Eris blinked repeatedly, attempting to regain her mind as her view of Siffia’s face was slightly broken by the waving of her long, dark, curtain-like hair as she maneuvered into the bed. Eris's words still came out in a dazed mutter however, much to her belated displeasure.
“Ah, is that so...? This is certainly my first sleepover as well.”
She’d never wanted a friend in the first place, so of course it would be. Her brothers had often slept in the same bed as her when they were both little however, so she wasn’t particularly surprised that she didn’t feel much aversion to the idea of having someone else in the bed with her.
“That’s amazing… To think that I was able to have one of the firsts of the amazing Lady Eris!”
Siffia let out several more giggles, clearly overjoyed, but soon enough the giggles died down, replaced only with smooth, steady breathing. Eris, who still hadn’t moved from her sitting position on top of the bed, was surprised to find that Siffia had already managed to slide her way into sleep. She leaned over the dozing woman and looked down upon her, studying her slowly, lightly holding her breath so as not to possibly disturb her.
Eris couldn’t help but think the day she’d had over as she studied Siffia’s face. It was true that she’d sadly been unable to find the answer that she’d wanted, even after all the time that she’d invested, but for some reason it didn’t feel like it had all been a waste. She’d still learned a lot about Siffia throughout the day, more than she’d managed to gleam from afar during the war… including the fact that she could smile so dazzlingly.
For some reason, the memory of that smile made Eris’s usually calm and unmoving heart beat uncomfortably, in a way that it had never done before.
Life had always seemed so boring and tedious for Eris, and yet for some reason… today felt different. It was surprising to realize that studying Siffia in this way had actually been quite enjoyable, even if it had its equally exhausting moments.
Eris slowly slipped her way under the covers, finally taking her gaze away from Siffia as she closed her eyes. And yet there, in her mind’s eye, she could still see a slideshow of Siffia, happily enjoying her day. Eris smiled wryly and opened her eyes again, turning onto her side and lifting herself up comfortably on an arm to gaze down upon her unknowing target once more. Her free hand came up unbidden, gently fondling a lock of Siffia’s hair that had managed to drift in her direction.
Truly, it was silly that anyone had possibly called such a person ‘ugly’.
Having seen plenty of substandard and boring looking betas working in various places, so average that they’d never catch someone’s eye with their looks alone, Eris couldn't help but think that Siffia was actually quite pretty. Perhaps it was in a dark and subtle way that wouldn’t immediately catch the looker’s eye, but once you stared at it, once you fully took it in… there was no way that anyone wouldn’t notice her beauty.
***
The time until noon the next day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, leaving Siffia feeling as if she'd just emerged from an impossibly sweet dream.
It was as if she'd been thrown from heaven and dropped into harsh reality when she'd returned home in the morning to the cold, unloving embrace of her family. Her mother barely paid attention to her, simply shooting her a disapproving look after seeing her come in after staying out all night, before making her way out of the house without a word. Her brother, on the other hand, showed up in the early evening to sneer at her.
“I heard from the servants that you didn't come home last night?”
Siffia had to resist rolling her eyes at him. It was certainly true that she’d stayed out at a friend’s house without a word, but hearing such a thing from her brother who routinely came home at whatever sporadic and irresponsible hour that he pleased was terribly hypocritical.
“Yes… I was out later than I'd planned, so I ended up staying over with a friend.”
“...A 'friend'? What friend?”
The scrutinizing smile that spread across his face was particularly mocking, as if a passing monkey had walked up and declared itself a human.
“Someone would want to be friends with the likes of you? Don’t make me laugh.”
Siffia immediately opened her mouth to refute his words, but quickly closed it again. She knew her brother well enough not to think that anything she said would change his mind when he started up like this. The best thing she could do to make this end faster was wait for him to wear himself out.
Seeing Siffia unwilling to defend herself further, her brother simply scoffed and continued on with his derisive speech.
“What, did you finally find someone who was willing to take two looks at you while you were out? Did you find someone with low enough standards to take in an ugly duckling like you? Who was it? Was it at least a noble? Then again, what noble would possibly want someone who-”
Suddenly, her brother paused and looked Siffia up and down, as if he’d just noticed how she was dressed for the first time.
“Wait a minute… Where did you get those clothes?”
“...!”