CHAPTER 30: The Drowsiness

"You seem to be hesitating," Bane's cool voice rang into the deadly silence as his eyes popped open.

Aella, who was shocked by his interruption, did the first thing that came to her mind to avert the situation from getting worse.

"Giddy, horsey, yayyy!" 

With her arms hovering in the air, Aella closed her eyes and murmured.

She had to fool him so he wouldn't think she had come to do what she actually came to do.

She would get in deep trouble if he reported this to his Master. She might even get eaten tonight!

"Yayy, horsey, yayyy!" she even jumped a bit to add to the drama.

Aella heard the rustles of the sheets before she felt his presence right in front of her.

"You are deluded if you actually believe I would fall for this pitiful act," his voice was blank as always.

"Giddy, horsey, giddy!! Yayyy, horsey, yayy!" Aella continued with her antics.

If she didn't respond, he was going to believe it eventually.

"Endeavour me, why would a sleepwalking patient pick up an unsheathed sword and step into this room of all places in the enormous mansion?' Bane seethed.

"F-For protection?" Aella muttered softly while biting her lips.

Pretending to be sleepwalking wasn't working on Bane so she was going to try any other lie to convince him the opposite of what she wanted to do.

"Protection of what? Will an odd-legged monster jump out from the walls and attack?" He raised an eyebrow.

"W-Who knows? They always say to be safe rather than sorry," Aella shrugged as she lowered her sword slowly.

She couldn't believe she had been caught before she could execute her plan. Why did he have to wake up right at that moment? Was he even asleep to begin with?

She remained doubtful.

"Give me one reason why you intended on harming me when I have done nothing but help you out until now,"

Aella was speechless by his request that her mouth was left hanging open. She couldn't even guess if he was hurt by her actions or if he was just genuinely curious.

She admitted that she had acted like an ungrateful brute to someone who had only done her good but one would do anything to survive!

"Y-You exaggerate! I never wanted to harm you, I simply…" she trailed off uncertainly.

Trying to come up with fibs to convince him was getting harder day by day.

"Simply?" Bane pressed.

Aella turned her head to the bed behind him and blurted out the first thing that left her mouth.

"To sleep with you!" Her voice rang across the room.

"P-Pardon?" Bane seemed flustered for the first time since she met him.

Her cheeks grew red when her head began to register how inappropriate her statement sounded.

"U-Uh, I mean, sleeping in the room all by myself frightens me. I see things crawling out of the walls and I am terrified, can I sleep in this room tonight?" Aella had no idea what she was saying but she masked her feelings and stared up at him with confidence.

"Um-"

She didn't wait for him to answer before she plopped on the bed immediately.

"Oh, my goodness, this mattress is way softer than mine!" She smiled as she stretched her legs on the wide bed.

"How graceful," Bane scoffed from where he stood.

"You have no permission to be here, this is my personal space," he said with his arms crossed.

"Well, too bad, gruff lad. I am already falling into a deep sleep," Aella replied with a yawn.

She couldn't understand why she was feeling so sleepy already. Maybe it was because she had been up all day, planning how to escape or maybe it was because her plan had failed and she had no more energy left to care.

Either way, she found it so much easier to fall asleep in Bane's room than in any other place.

Amidst her drowsiness, Aella heard a sound as though he picked up her sword and placed it somewhere safe for her.

She blinked her sapphire eyes open to see his dark figure sitting on the chair across the bed as he stared down at her with her penetrating golden orbs.

"You confuse me deeply, maybe it is because I haven't seen a human in a long time," Bane muttered, almost to himself.

"You aggravate me," she spat and yawned.

"Not my intention,"

She didn't know if she was seeing right but the side of his lips was raised as though he was trying hard not to smile.

"Y-Your eyes," she mumbled as she tried to fight off the sleep.

"Your eyes," he repeated.

"It is like none I have ever seen before," she murmured as her eyelids became too heavy to hold up.

"It is indeed like none I have seen," his cool voice rang into her ears but she had already dozed off.

Something told her that she might be having a peaceful night for the first time in a while.