Eleutheria

XVII

XVII

“What do you think of this new design?” Hypatia asked as Erasmos refilled her goblet. He looked up as he straightened the jug of water he held so he could see the short scroll she had been looking at so intensely for the last few minutes.

“It's a bit late to change it now. The round is tomorrow,” he answered, looking at the dark sky. One more night and he would be fighting again.

“I can't help it. I need something to work on.”

“We've done everything we can. Now we only need to sleep.” He smiled gently as he held out the freshly poured sweet water.

She sighed and rolled the scroll back up before taking it. She set the design for his new armor down on the table beside her kline as she took a sip. There weren't a great many differences between this design and the one Erasmos had worn in the first round. That wasn't surprising as the leather worker was building off of the same armor. There had been a few adjustments made to better equip him for a spear based battle but it was already completed and it was too late to change.

It was just nerves. Hypatia was finding herself the eve before round two with nothing left to prepare and sleep eluding her. Erasmos hadn't been with her the night before the first round, but he imagined it hadn't been much different.

They were in her room, the sun had already set but a few torches still burned in their sconces. The wind outside was whipping about loudly and they could hear the sound of the surf even here. It made the flames of the torches flicker wildly, but they burned on regardless.

Hypatia had already been dressed for bed, or rather she had been undressed for bed. To Erasmos's delight, she slept in the nude. It wasn't uncommon here in Thandros. For now, she had only a sheet over her body but that was more to keep her from chilling than to preserve her modesty. Her ladies had fluffed the pillows on her bed which was set against the far wall. It was a larger version of her kline, set lower on the ground. It reminded Erasmos of a remarkably comfortable nest.

The problem was getting Hypatia to move to it to go to sleep. She was worrying herself sick with nothing to do and had dismissed her lady's maids as if she knew she wasn't going to sleep before they left. Erasmos had stayed behind to help get her into bed.

Unfortunately for him, that was only to sleep. Hypatia had made it clear that she wasn't going to take him to her bed the night before the round. Erasmos had protested. A single night of love wouldn't wind him. It might even make tomorrow better. But she had insisted, so he was just trying to encourage her to sleep so she wouldn't be fighting exhaustion tomorrow.

She looked up at him over the rim of her goblet. “Shouldn't you be sleeping?”

“Don't throw my questions back at me. I'll go to bed as soon as I know that you are doing the same.”

Hypatia sighed and set her goblet down. She threw back the sheet and moved her legs over the side of the kline. Erasmos deliberately turned his eyes away. It wasn't because he didn't want to look or because she would mind if he did; he simply didn't want to torment himself with the sight of the beautiful body he couldn't hold tonight.

He was not strong enough, however, to not look at her behind as she strode deliberately over to her bed and sat back upon it. She pulled another sheet over herself as she laid back on her pillows then looked at him expectantly.

“You do know how to romance a man,” he said, unable to keep his voice from lowering in desire.

“You have your own room.”

She looked away but not quick enough for Erasmos to miss the shine of desire that lit up in her eyes in response to his voice. It was a good thing to know, he decided, that he wasn't the only one affected. It made him feel better to see that his mistress was having troubles as well. At least that meant that he wasn't the only one suffering.