She slipped casually onto his balcony.
He had been gone for a while, she never heard him coming in this late.
She stood, in the curtains of the doorway leading into the room, listening.
Was he still in the bath?
She certainly didn't want to walk into him, nude!
She just stood there, waiting, listening for the sounds of water or creaking of his chair.
Nothing, maybe he was sleeping?
She dared.
She slid her feet across the floor, these polished floors loved to make sounds under bare feet.
She carefully looked into the bathing room as she reached it sliding through the sitting room.
He wasn't there, good, that meant he had to be at least wearing pants.
She turned, looking across the room into the bedroom.
She felt for the dagger she had put around her waist with a belt, it was still there.
Slowly, she approached the room.
But halfway there she could hear it, breathing.
Heavy breathing.
She had expected him, passed out, on his bed.
As described by the file about him.
But he wasn't.
He was sitting in the high backed wooden chair lined with fur,
a steaming mug on the table between the chairs.
Sleeping.
She had been tense, panicked and ready to flee.
She hadn't fully trusted him and it didn't let go of her throat until she was certain he was properly passed out.
She stood up straight, let go of the heft of her blade.
He looked as tired as she felt, but at least he was sleeping.
Though, she doubted he was comfortable.
She moved towards him carefully.
Should she wake him?
Yes.
But how?
"Hello?" She tried.
"Hello? You there?" She tried again.
"Wake up!" She actually called.
She stepped closer and clapped her hands quite near him.
Nothing.
She stood there, wondering, he was definitely breathing so... not dead.
She squinted at him now.
She had never actually seen skin like his,
or hair like he had for that matter.
She couldn't help herself and touched a very freckled part of his cheek.
Warm, very warm, but not different then her own skin.
She thought as she touched her own face.
Well maybe, dry?
She touched his nose, which definitely had been broken.
What was she doing?
She kneeled ever so slightly to look at his face better.
He wasn't like the other man competing, especially his forehead area and nose.
No impressive well sculpted eyebrows and smooth forehead going into a sharp straight nose,
no angled eyes.
His forehead was a little rounded, as were his eyebrows.
His nose crooked, both sideways and in profile.
The tip of his nose seemed very undecided on whether it wanted to be a well shaped tip or just round.
He had a look of being permanently tired due to how his under eyes and nose linked up to his cheeks.
All the others had quite full lips, Agnus his lips were actually partly covered with freckles, so they were a bit unclear.
She had never seen that.
Freckles on lips?
He certainly didn't have big lips, but that would have looked weird with his facial hair anyway.
She suddenly realized what she was doing.
She was leaning over the armrest, studying his face up close.
Like a curious monkey.
Her hand was actually touching his facial hair, curious about the texture.
Her eyes had found his eyelashes, that were mesmerizing her with their dark red roots and pale blond tips.
As she started to question what she was actually doing,
she kissed him on his mouth.
For no other reason than the fact that she could.
Her brain slapped her around the ears, how could you! He's asleep!
She broke off her stupid kiss and immediately stepped back from him and the chair,
stumbling into the table and clanged into the other chair.
Agnus woke with a loud gasp.
Cursed and looked around the room.
The girl,
she was sitting in the chair looking like she didn't quite know how she had gotten there.
Agnus blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
"You?" He said vaguely.
She looked taken aback and frightened at him, as if she hadn't gotten herself here in the first place.
"How long have you been.. sitting there?" He asked, his brain still muddy.
She shrugged, "j-just now?"
She asked it as if she'd expected him to know.
He sat up straight, his back hadn't liked this wooden backrest one bit!
The fur lining wasn't enough to hide the hardness.
He sat forward a bit and rubbed his back.
"You guys like uncomfortable chairs, don't you?"
She looked at him, she didn't seem scared anymore but she truly did look very confused.
"Are you okay?" He tried.
She nodded, her hand suddenly moved to the dagger he had given her.
"Thank you."
She said so suddenly Agnus was momentarily confused.
He nodded stiffly, leaning his elbows on his upper legs
Stretching his back away from the backrest.
"Any other girls got anything good?" He asked.
She looked thoughtful at this and nodded.
"One got a black pearl," she said quietly.
Noted, thought Agnus.
That girl being the only blue he decided it was unlikely she was the true one.
But Teddy had given One his gift.
"Well, you know four, with the wooden ring?"
Agnus nodded.
" Two just got jewelry, " she said.
" Three had something interesting though," she seemed to think about how to explain it,
"We don't know what it is. But it's some kind of thick bracelet with markings." She said.
"Numerals?" Asked Agnus.
She frowned, "Very likely, it didn't look like Sand script I recognized, so, I'm really not sure?"
"Is it a deep blue or red leather with a metal plate or ring? " Agnus tried to explain what he meant with his hands.
She nodded, looking enthusiastic.
"It's a worker slave cuff. That sand? Kur? He's a former slave," he said, looking thoughtful.
"Only very few slaver still used them by the time the ban came about and I do believe slaves destroyed them then, ritualistic burnings."
She opened her mouth in surprise and understanding.
He nodded at her response,
" that's a very meaningful gift. I'm not sure if he was ever truly freed. "
Agnus frowned at that.
" So, how is he here? " She asked, looking equally puzzled.
" His brother was freed and went to get him.
Did well for himself and got him here.
But I'm sure his brother simply bought him to live as a free man.
I don't know, actually, it is not my place to share that story. " He said quietly.
She nodded.
Agnus realized he may have been better off not sharing this.
She was a former slave, he was.
This may make her want to change things, she had something in common with someone.
A whole early life and a ton of slave related trauma basically.
He had always considered this an option,
the moment they vaguely made this deal yesterday, but he could have not mentioned this..
She disturbed his thoughts by speaking.
"Tomorrow we give the man gifts. Anything I can get for you?" She said,
smiling ever so slightly through her worried eyes.
Apparently she didn't seem to have even thought about the sand as an option.
Was that insecurity on his part? No, they weren't in a relationship,
he was worried about losing this thing to the other plains man with his impressive looks.
He surely didn't have a chance in hell next to that guy.
"The green have anything magical that might fix this?" He said,
gesturing at all of himself, mostly his face.
She looked at him slightly puzzled for a moment and then seemed to register.
"Your face? Something to change your face? "
He shrugged, "Just anything to make the outside more pleasant."
She wanted to retort but he saved her the trouble.
"You have to look at it, just trying to improve it for you."
That made her chuckle quietly.
" Could also be something to improve my smell?
Or maybe something you'd consider nice clothing?" He offered.
She nodded,
"I get what you mean. But it's kinda, like giving a girl makeup?
Don't you think I'd look rude?" Her eyes were not questioning but literally wondering.
He shook his head, smiling.
"With my looks? I'm sure everyone would understand."
"Okey, I will think of something!" She said, getting up from the chair.
"They plan to catch you early in the morning to see just how awful you are at those."
She said as she walked out of the room, backwards.
He nodded in reply.
Of course they would do that.