TYWS Chapter 31
The carriage ride back home felt like hell to Eris. Her mind swirled and reeled, all from one unending thought.
Siffia was an omega. Siffia was an omega. Siffia, who she’d sworn was a beta, was actually an omega!
How could she, capable as she was, not have noticed this sooner? How could she, as an alpha, not have noticed an omega so close to her?! She’d even gently picked up on Siffia’s scent before and still had not made the connection! How could she have been so foolish?!
…For the first time in her life, Eris felt like an idiot.
With a dire look on her face and her mind still in chaos, Eris left the carriage, blankly going through her routine. By the time she was finished with it all and collapsed down onto her bed, her eyes held a haunted looking gaze.
“Lady Siffia… is an omega.”
She closed her eyes, letting out a big sigh. Again and again, her mind flashed memories of Siffia to her, pointing out what she’d missed. For instance, those rude ladies from the first banquet that had all seemed acquainted with Siffia… Were they perhaps aware of Siffia’s subgender? Was that why they’d chosen to stop and harass her, and not because of her horrible dress? Though Eris had intervened quite late, she’d still been able to catch the beginning of their altercation where they commented on Siffia’s dark coloring. One wouldn’t mention such a thing about someone they thought to be an alpha or beta.
And what of Siffia’s situation at home? Yes, one would be looked down on for being a beta in a noble household, but Eris could definitely see why one might be treated even more poorly for failing to fit into the mold of their subgender. Although, even if Siffia didn’t have the bright flashy colors that were expected of an omega, Eris still couldn’t quite understand why Siffia’s father looked down on her so; After all, Siffia had many unique charms of her own. Not only was she talented and kind, but also quite lovely and captivating in her own way. Surely it wouldn’t only be Eris who could see how alluring-
Eris’s eyes shot open, her eyebrows twisting in consternation.
It was unheard of for her to think such things of someone, no matter how interesting she might have found them!
However, her mind soon drifted back to the images of Siffia’s wondrous smile, along with the unforgettable subtle sweetness of her pheromones as they attempted to engulf her earlier. She couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle at the almost torturous memories. Her hands fisted the sheets unbidden, as if to stabilize herself.
“...This is all so very much unlike me...”
…It was too early for her to give such grand names to whatever she was currently experiencing. For all she knew from her lack of relationships, this could easily be what people would call a ‘crush’. It could all be something simple, something quick, something that might burst away like a bubble from the slightest thing, just as she’d witnessed so many other ladies go through.
Of course, the easiest solution to this problem would simply be to distance herself from Siffia and see if such feelings remained… but the mere thought of doing such a thing immediately brought a frown to Eris’s face. Confused and dismayed about her own feelings as she might be, if she were to let this get in the way enough that it would allow some kind of harm to come to Siffia unnoticed, then it would be unforgivable.
Aloof though she could be, Eris was not the type to simply watch on as someone who she’d spent so much time and energy on suffered within her reach, no matter what the outcome of her feelings might be.
With a sigh, Eris rolled onto her side and pulled the covers up, deciding to give up on the difficult topic for now and allow her mind a much needed rest. However, contrary to her desires her eyes remained open, and a question soon bubbled forth from her lips, unbidden.
“...Is she as fragile as she is because she’s an omega?”
Less than a second later, Eris’s face scrunched as if she’d eaten something sour. She felt embarrassed to have ever even entertained such an undeniably sexist thought… And yet, she couldn’t deny that the more she pondered it, the more she found it worryingly plausible. She’d previously blamed the frailness typical of mages for how weak Siffia was, but perhaps-
“Ugh!”
Upset with herself, she shook her head violently before slamming it back down onto the pillow and swearing to herself that she would never ponder such things ever again.
-Sadly however, she was unable to keep this promise.
***
Siffia adjusted the basket, double-checking that its contents were in the right place, before climbing down from the carriage. Having come to the grand and imposing Mescal manor alone for the first time, it was hard for her to work up the courage to approach the front gates. Perhaps, if it wasn’t for one of the nearby guards recognizing her and calling out first, then she might have stood there like an awkward statue until the sun went down.
“Oh my! Greetings to you, Lady Heston! Are you here to see our Lady again?”
It took her a few surprised blinks to notice that the friendly seeming guard had also been present the other two times that she’d been all but spirited away here by Eris. With an apologetic smile, Siffia nodded at him, slowly approaching closer.
“Ah, yes. I came by unannounced with a thank you gift for Lady Eris… I understand if she’s too busy right now, but I was hoping… um…”
A slight tremble snuck into her voice as her eyes flicked towards the set of windows she knew belonged to Eris’s rooms. She’d sent word to Eris that she’d gotten better, and even stayed put in her room for two more days afterwards, waiting for her to visit again just as she’d said, but Eris hadn’t shown hide nor hair of herself. Not even a single servant or letter was sent.
Perhaps Eris could have simply become too busy to send word, but… Siffia was worried that something more concerning might be taking place. Truth be told, she was taking quite the stressful gamble right now even showing up like this...
“Aha! Understood! Just a moment, My Lady-!”
The guard ran off with an enthusiastic nod, leaving Siffia standing there nervously for what felt like nearly an eternity. She checked herself and the basket again and again, fretting over it all. She wanted to look perfect for this visit. She needed to look perfect! If she showed up looking too slovenly after already having been left hanging like this, then everything might just be ru-
“Lady Heston! You may enter now! Our Lady requests your presence in the parlor!”
“Oh…”
Siffia let out a relieved breath, following after the guard to the front entrance. It wasn’t until she sat down on the spacious parlor room couch and placed the basket down on the table that her heart suddenly began to race with anxiety once more. Never once had Eris ever opted to speak with her in the manor’s parlor room; Every time she’d been brought over, Eris had only ever taken her straight to her bedroom, treating her like the closest of friends.
The sinking worry in her chest grew all the more heavy, this change seeming to all but solidify the anxious thoughts she’d been having.
It seemed that maybe, perhaps, Eris might not want to see her anymore.
Of course, it was all too obvious what the event that could have caused this would have been. They had been interacting with each other just as closely as normal until the day when Siffia’s heat had struck. Looking back on it now, there might have been any number of triggers that day that might have led to Eris’s sudden distancing. She could have been mad that she hadn’t immediately been allowed in, feeling that their closeness as friends was being questioned, or perhaps the simple rudeness of being made to wait there for two hours was to blame. Maybe Eris disliked such roundabout metaphors, and had come to dislike her for having used them. Or maybe-
Siffia took a deep breath in and clasped her hands together tightly, desperately trying to quell the swelling feelings that were threatening to bubble over.
…Maybe, just maybe, Eris simply didn’t know how to deal with the fact that her pheromones had risen in response to Siffia’s own.
Siffia closed her eyes, her thumb absentmindedly stroking over the back of her hand as she recalled the tingling scent that had come forth to meet her own. It was a magnetic smell, almost electrifying as it entered her nostrils, and somehow chilly too, as if she’d been doused in mint oil. Perhaps it was a smell reminiscent of a blade deftly swung through the air, so fast and skilled that none would see its approach.
She couldn’t help but think that such a smell suited the cool Eris perfectly.
Though Siffia might not have been terribly experienced in the nuances of such things, she’d heard enough here and there to be sure of a few things. No omega would be caught walking around during their heat, no matter how strong they were or what medicine they had access to, so there was absolutely no possibility that Eris’s pheromones had come out because of that. And although omegas are capable of picking up on each other’s pheromones, that doesn’t mean that it provokes an automatic reaction of arousal like it would in an alpha.
No, the only reason that an omega would release their pheromones upon smelling another’s… would be due to a psychological reaction. More specifically, it would be because they recognized the pheromones as belonging to the person that they ‘liked’.
It’s no wonder that such a thing happening could have been quite a large shock to Eris… and to Siffia herself, for that matter.