It had been about two days since then when Heron was woken up in the middle of the night. At first, he was not really sure what had woken him up.
There was noise coming from the hallway. It was faint, barely noticeable. Like someone deliberately trying to sneak. Though they were not a master of it.
Heron got out of bed and went over to the door. He cast a quick protection spell over himself before opening the door a crack and peeking out. He did not see anything. At least not for a moment until his eyes grew adjusted to the dark.
There was a shadowy figure in the hallway. When it saw him, it took off running. He hesitated a bit but he ran after the person.
He used his paralyzing spell again, but the figure shrugged it off. Then, whoever it was lept out the window. Heron watched as it fled away. Then he shrugged and went back to bed. Probably a thief. It was considered a great challenge to rob the castle.
Before he actually opened the door of his room again, Elswyth exited her bedroom. She looked at him a bit worried, "Is everything alright?"
"There was someone in the hall. Probably a thief. Nothing I couldn't handle." He grinned at her.
She nodded. She seemed a bit half-asleep. And it made her look surprisingly defenseless.
Heron could not help but stare at her. He had never actually seen her without her armor before, and it really made her look softer. Less, well, less dangerous. Especially since she was wearing a nightgown.
"Something the matter, Heron?" She asked with a yawn.
"Nope. Just you look different without armor on." He did not explain what he had been thinking and headed straight into his room.
Then he blushed as he fell onto his bed. He found himself thinking of that image.
Leaning against the door, clad only in a nightgown she had looked almost defenseless. Her bed hair had been cute. Her eyes had been half-lidded, as if she had just woken up, which obviously she had.
It was… an attractive look. Heron covered his face with his hands, embarrassed by this odd feeling. It wasn't even that he really saw her… like that. Just sometimes, he suddenly found himself very much aware that she was a woman. It was probably because of how unfamiliar he was with any females other than his sister.
He had of course seen his sister in a nightgown before, but it was different seeing Elswyth in one. He had always just thought his sister looked cute, and he wanted to protect her. Elswyth looked far more….
He blushed deeper and buried his face in his pillow.
He needed to stop thinking about it. He was just tired and had been surprised by a sight he had not been expecting.
That was all. Really it was nothing.
Eventually he managed to fall back asleep. When he woke up, he felt a bit better. Though he felt rather tired from having his sleep interrupted.
After getting dressed, he exited his room. Elswyth had her back against the wall in a leaning position, waiting for him. She stood up when she saw him and smiled, "Morning, Heron. What are you planning to do today."
"Research." Heron answered, "Kur and I still need to figure out what manner of spell is on me."
"Breakfast first though, I hope?" She said as she fell in step beside him, "I'm famished."
"Of course."
They had to wait for Kur and Serendiah to arrive at the table before the food was served. It was not long though before they did and Elswyth got to eat her hearty breakfast. Heron ate a bit, but he wasn't as hungry as she was.
He found himself looking forward to the day. Hopefully his research would lend results.
After breakfast the three of them walked together to the library, Elswyth a few steps behind as he talked to – or rather at – Kur. Kur listened, but he didn't say much. But that was fine. It was part of his shy personality.
Heron didn't mind doing most of the talking, so long as both of them were enjoying it. When they got to the library they found the next books they were going to be looking in and began flipping through them.
Elswyth as usual perched on the arm of Heron's chair and looked over his shoulder. Heron knew it was probably all gibberish to her, but she seemed to be curious. Which he could understand.
Today he felt a bit more conscious of her presence than he usually did. Perhaps because of that encounter last night. But he tried to ignore it, and did a pretty good job of it.