To You, Who Shines

Eris made her way down the hall, her steps heavy yet hurried. Her face was etched with skepticism and worry, and her fists were clenched from the tension.

She didn’t, for a moment, believe that Siffia was actually 'sick'.

Even with how new Siffia was to healing magic, Eris was certain with what she’d witnessed at the banquet that Siffia must have at least learned the bare minimum basics about curing magic, enough to help heal a simple illness. Anything that could have possibly gotten better enough to meet with guests after a day would most assuredly have been something minor enough for Siffia to have treated, and were it something more serious, then the tonic that Eris had gifted her before would have done wonders against such a thing as well.

Truly, there was no illness-based reason that Siffia should have been refusing to meet with her right now.

Knowing all of this, Eris’s face had turned more and more grave with worry as she sat in the waiting room listening to poorly thought out excuse after poorly thought out excuse. Her first thought had been that perhaps Siffia’s parents had been unreasonably angered by something again, and were somehow unrightfully punishing Siffia in some way for it. It was a terrible and likely suspicion, one that Eris could easily see being the case.

However, as time dragged on and the excuses grew more and more obtuse and childish, a much worse worry began to blossom in Eris’s mind.

Maybe, just maybe, she’d done something to terribly upset Siffia herself.

The more she explored such a thought, the more possible that it seemed. Not only had Eris chosen to ignore her in favor of her duties, but she’d also failed to properly keep an eye on her as her escort, allowing her to fall into such a traumatizing situation. On top of that, she’d let her anger rule her, and had acted like a cruel beast in front of the already terribly scared woman, something that she should have known better than to do.

Really, it was no wonder that Siffia would be displeased with her right now.

She’d already kicked herself quite hard at the banquet multiple times over such things, but now that Siffia was refusing to meet with her, they all seemed to resurge with a guilt-ridden vengeance. The prospect of Siffia choosing to completely cut ties with her over such a poor showing seemed much too likely for Eris’s liking. Eris, who had never once had to navigate her way through a decaying relationship, had absolutely no idea what to do to salvage such a situation.

With her lips stiff with apprehension, she resolved to do whatever it took to properly apologize and win back Siffia’s favor.

-But when she opened the door she froze, every single one of her angst-filled thoughts falling away like the shattering of glass.

There was a scent. A familiar scent. A scent which she’d sworn that she’d smelled before. It was like the mixing of milk and honey, perhaps with the faintest hint of lavender, sweet and soft, promising of delicious relaxation.

Eris’s eyelashes fluttered. She’d smelled the faintest hint of this smell coming from the maids who had relayed Siffia’s messages to her, and had simply thought nothing of it. She’d even caught small whiffs of it occasionally coming off of Siffia as they’d practiced dancing before, and had simply thought it to be a particularly enticing perfume.

But now, having entered the room that was practically overflowing with the scent, there was absolutely no way that Eris could possibly mistake it. She must have been a fool for not having noticed it sooner.

“Ah, Lady Eris! Thank you for coming!”

Though Siffia greeted her brightly from the bed, her expression and the way that her hands were fisting at the sheets all but screamed of how embarrassed she was. Eris couldn’t even blink, studying everything about Siffia that her vision would allow, before her mouth opened to shakily venture a single question.

“...Lady Siffia, you’re-”

Her lips trembled imperceptibly. Still filled with disbelief, she couldn’t say the word, instead changing it to something equally as pertinent.

“-in heat?”

“Oh, um… Y-Yes.”

Siffia’s already lightly flushed cheeks seemed to redden even more. Her eyes turned away from Eris as if deeply embarrassed.

“...I tried to tell you indirectly, but it seemed not to be very effective.”

Eris’s dumbfounded face twitched. She’d thought the excuses that she’d been receiving were odd, but without realizing that Siffia was an omega, she would never have pieced such indirect clues together. Eris had never fraternized closely enough with an omega to have to sit through such euphemisms, nor had she paid close attention at the tea parties to any gossip relating to such a topic, having absolutely zero interest in the subject, let alone any slang that might relate to it.

“I... see...”

“Mmm, yes. But it’s alright now, I was just being overly sensitive, there’s no reason to have kept you away like that! To tell you the truth, this heat was particularly strong, and I was completely out of commission yesterday because I hadn’t been keeping track of my heat schedule... Usually, it’s not quite as bad as this. But my mother let me have some of her more effective medicines, so I’ve recovered rather quickly! I should be all better by tomorrow!”

Siffia smiled and rambled on, seemingly slowly becoming more comfortable with the situation. Eris, on the other hand, couldn’t help but tightly clench her fists and clamp shut her lips, barely able to control herself and keep track of what Siffia was saying.

The shock of learning the truth had only been enough to keep her alpha instincts at bay for so long.

With every new breath she took of Siffia’s scent, Eris became more and more inhibited. She could feel her body heating up, her vision sharpening, and her nostrils flaring. The pheromones in the air felt as if they were caressing her, covering her, filling her, urging her on. Saliva began to fill her mouth, threatening to overflow should she open it. It was as if she were a lion looking down on a vulnerable sheep. Something deep within her was beginning to snap, and it was taking everything in Eris’s power to hold her ground and not give in to it.

She’d smelled the scent of an omega or two before, whether willfully used against her or otherwise, but never would she let herself be swayed by such primitive things. Eris had prided herself in staying composed and intelligent, keeping a tight lid on such unsightly instincts and separating herself from the other beastly alphas.

However-

“Ghhkk…”

For the first time, she wasn’t capable of doing such a thing. Was it because she’d entered a room filled with pheromones? Or perhaps because they were from Siffia? Whatever the reason, Eris was being affected beyond compare, steadily losing control of herself. It was only a matter of time until she would succumb, becoming the drooling, thoughtless monster that she’d always sworn never to be.

Even now, for the first time in her life, her pheromones were beginning to leak out in response to an omega’s, completely unbidden.

It was an absolutely horrifying experience. It was as if Eris was losing herself, slowly becoming something completely different. And yet, despite how much she despised it, the racing of her heart proved just how excited she was. She was practically a step away from becoming giddy. Her head almost felt like it would begin spinning any moment, drifting pleasantly away from the pull of the swirling scent that filled the room.

But when she saw Siffia sniff and suddenly widen her eyes in surprise at her, the small scraps that were left of Eris’s will tried their hardest to finally scape themselves together.

“L-Lady Eris? Why-”

As if hearing Siffia’s astonished voice was the missing piece to awaken her from her hypnosis, Eris covered her mouth and nose with both hands and took a large step back, exiting the room. Though her voice was clearly muffled, Eris spoke as quickly and loudly as she could, desperately spitting the words out without daring to stop for even a breath of air.

“I should let you properly rest! I’ll return once you’re feeling better. Excuse me!”

And with a shallow, polite bow, she ran from the room, not even daring to take one last look at Siffia’s bewildered face.