Slave's Love (Pirate!Spamano)

Capítulo 36 (trienta y seis)

Roderich

Elizabeta stirred next to me. She turned away from me, curled into a ball before deciding it's not a good position, then turned back to me and nuzzled into my side. My arm was slowly going limp from her resting on it the whole night but I didn't say anything; I wanted to be as close to her as possible.

Her hand came to rest on my chest, her head there, too. I brushed some of the fallen hair away from her face, tugging it behind her ear. She re-adjusted her head but didn't open her eyes. She didn't open them after I caressed her face either. Only when my fingers got lost in her hair, playing with it gently.

Green emeralds shone at me. I looked back and we stared into each other's eyes. I tried opening my mouth but her finger shushed me quickly. I understood and shut it again, letting my hand wander to her waist to pull her closer. Her feet made a cold shiver run all over my body. I wrapped the comforter tighter around her and she giggled – a good sign.

"You know," she said at last, her voice like a beautiful melody to my ears. "If I hadn't known you for so long, I'd be surprised." I gave her a puzzled look, brows knitting in confusion. "You seem cold and distant but deep down, you're kind." My fingers brushed a caress along her arm, "Have you thought of me like that, too?" I could feel her chest shake against me as she let out a tiny laugh. "I did; do you know why?"

I shook my head. She smiled gently, drawing circles into my skin with her forefinger. "Because it's easier to judge someone than to understand them. And I judged you, too. I used to judge you a lot, you know? I often got angry with you because of the way you treated me and others. Then I went to my parents' house, do you remember?"

I nodded – yes, I did. I was surprised when she came to me with a request of visiting her parents to help them out since her father got into an accident and couldn't move around properly for a certain amount of time. It was back then when I realised I had feelings towards the Hungarian.

"I've never told you what happened there. Because of the frustration you caused, one evening, I told my anya about you. I told her everything and I got so angry at you while talking. That's when she's told me, and I'll never forget her words, 'People aren't their skin, or their God or whom they claim their lover'. She told me to tell you this, but I never did. Instead, I always repeated those words to myself because just then I realized people were their souls and hearts. And that's when I also stopped being so irritated by everything you've done; because I told myself that I never really knew just who the hell you are, so I wasn't in the place to judge you."

I stared at her, dumbfound. Why tell me all of this now?

She shrugged and nuzzled even closer. "I just felt like telling you," she said. No logical reason whatsoever; it happened so many years ago, why now? But sometimes, things didn't need a reason to be done.

Her hot breath tickled my skin. "Actually," Elizabeta said after a while, "I wanted to apologize to you. I didn't know how to start so I guess I had to say something stupid first." I planted a kiss on the crown of her head, "Nothing you say is stupid." I could feel her smile against me, "But it's still hard to accept defeat when you're stubborn like me. You know, before it all happened, I thought about how prideful people are and how bad that is. Then I got angry with you and thought my own pride was hurt. Stupid, isn't it?"

"We all have pride, and despite what we say about it – how bad it is – we still get hurt. But you're not stupid; you apologized, that's a sign of intelligence. Stupid people wouldn't apologize. They would sulk and whine about how hurt they got. I was like that, too, until a certain accident. Your slap really woke me up." I laughed and Elizabeta laughed as well. "I guess one could say I've learnt something thanks to you."