Eydis entered her bedroom at Primrose dormitory expecting mediocrity and mediocrity welcomed her with open arms. The broom closet was an ode to beige, where walls, desk, and wardrobe competed in a contest of blandness.

Until she saw a girl sitting on the desk.

Not at it. On it.

The stranger looked like an invitation to sin (not that Eydis would ever admit it). Crimson eyes met hers, fierce and piercing. There was something otherworldly in that beauty, something just out of reach.

It was not reasonable.

Had Eydis ever met anyone like this in her own world? And if not, why did it feel like she should have?

She could almost believe "celestial goddess" hadn't been an exaggeration.

Unfortunately, the hair didn't help. Liquid starlight, if she were the type to use overwrought metaphors (which she usually wasn't), but it shimmered, and she, embarrassingly, had questions. About conditioner, mostly.

Astra, presumably, was dressed in what Eydis mentally classified as peasant sleepwear: a black camisole and shorts. Functional, minimalist, and a little too revealing. Yet on her, it looked effortlessly good.

Unfair.

She blinked once at Eydis, then resumed an expression best described as disinterest.

Eydis realised she'd been staring. She shed the stiff green blazer she'd suffered through all day and tossed it onto her desk.

"Ah. My reluctant cohabitant," she greeted.

Astra didn't comment. Didn't move much at all, aside from a single, indifferent nod.

A quiet one, then. That was a relief. Finally, Eydis could enjoy the rare luxury of hearing her own thoughts without competing with Natalia's relentless narration of daily drama. Speaking of which…

She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. It lit up in her hands like it had a soul. Possibly one it had stolen.

"Do you know how to use this to contact someone?" She held it between two fingers.

Astra stared at her. When she finally spoke, her voice was low, husky, and unexpectedly magnetic.

"You don't know how?"

"I had a concussion," Eydis lied, with no shame. "My hands haven't caught up with my mind."

A flicker crossed Astra's face. Displeasure? Concern?

It vanished a heartbeat later.

By some miracle—or blind luck—Eydis managed to unlock the device. She held it out toward Astra, who stared at it for a second before sighing and reaching to take it.

"Wait." Eydis placed a hand over hers.

Astra flinched.

Eydis pulled back immediately. Just how much damage did teenage me do to this one?

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"Show me how to do it. Call Natalia, please."

Astra took the phone and scrolled through a few screens. She looked up. "No answer."

"Leave a message. That's a thing, right?"

Nodding, Astra tapped an icon. There were neither messages, nor history, nor interactions.

Blank.

Eydis stared at it for a moment longer than necessary.

So. We're not that different after all.

Astra glanced at her. "Want me to type it?"

Eydis blinked back into focus. "Yes. Bathe me, please. And be generous with the rose petals."

"I'm sorry. What?"

"Can you message Natalia and ask if she'll help a girl out?" Eydis clarified.

Looking back on it now, it was perhaps not her finest moment. It had sounded so wonderfully sensible in her head: a steaming bath, candlelight, perfumed oils, maybe even string music.

Astra, unfortunately, didn't seem to agree. Her grip tightened slightly, as if she were deciding whether to type or throw the phone through a wall.

"Are you two… never mind." With a deep sigh, she started typing.

"Not yet, but in time, she will accept her place." Her place as a handmaiden, of course. Eydis finished the sentence internally, apparently, that title didn't land well in this world.

Message sent, Astra shoved the phone into Eydis's hands like it was cursed.

Finally, something we agree on.

This roommate arrangement wasn't going to be easy. For Astra, living with someone who'd once written unsolicited love poetry about her had to be… unpleasant.

Understandable. Still, mildly inconvenient.

The silence that followed was vaguely judgmental.

Eydis drummed her fingers on the desk. "About the poem. Massive misunderstanding. Let's pretend it never happened, shall we?"

Astra didn't blink. "Misunderstanding? Which part? The kiss or the serenade of undying love?"

Oh.

Teenage Eydis hadn't just been dramatic. She'd been emotionally compromised.

By a girl.

"K-iss," Eydis repeated slowly. "A regrettable phase, no doubt encouraged by youth, impulse, and possibly a head injury."

"Happened recent—"

"—In any case, my affections lie elsewhere. No need for alarm," Eydis cut in.

Astra's gaze lingered on her long enough to make Eydis wonder if she was being dissected behind those crimson eyes.

Mercifully, someone knocked.

Eydis quickly pulled the door open, releasing a breath she hadn't realised she was holding as Natalia stood outside, visibly flustered.

"Not. A. Word," Natalia huffed.

Eydis smiled sweetly and gathered her bath essentials. On her way out, she cast a brief glance in Astra's direction.

The girl's expression hadn't changed, but somehow, she now looked like she'd been frozen.

Had Eydis said something wrong? Love, it seemed, was as foreign to her as this strange new world, and ten times more challenging.

Eydis turned to Natalia after she shut the door shut behind her. "Perhaps you could show me the wonders of this 'shower' you mentioned. Think of it as an early release from your royal scrubbing servitude."

Natalia resembled a malfunctioning kettle, eyes darting between Eydis and the nearest exit as if debating whether she had the stamina to sprint out of this conversation.

"You know how to bathe yourself? Because earlier, with the face wash—"

"You wound me. Do you take me for someone who can't handle a little cleansing ritual?" Eydis winked playfully. "Unless, of course, the purpose was to witness a certain someone's captivating display of... flustered cuteness."

"Oh my gods, captivating what now? So that whole face wash thing was just a test? Like… seeing how much of your nonsense I'd put up with?"

Eydis smirked. " Consider it reconnaissance. Great campaigns don't happen without a bit of boldness and tactical boundary-pushing. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Okay, first of all, reconnaissance? Second, why the military jargon? Third… actually, never mind, I don't have the brainpower for this."

They reached the steaming communal showers. Eydis's gaze swept over the structure and dissected its mechanics. A handle, a spout — a contraption not unlike the basin from this afternoon. Here, water danced not to the will of a mage, but to the laws of physics.

Natalia took a breath, opening her mouth, but Eydis moved swiftly, twisting the handle towards the red dot. A torrent of hot water gushed forth from the showerhead.

Natalia closed her mouth slowly.

"Functional," Eydis declared. "And yet, tragically lacking in rose petals. Such a missed opportunity."

Natalia burst out laughing. "Maybe it wasn't a concussion, Eydis. Maybe you're just... possessed by a dramatic demon queen?"

"Perhaps that's not entirely off the mark," Eydis replied enigmatically, yanking the shower curtain shut and leaving Natalia staring at a wall of floral plastic.

Meanwhile, Eydis smiled to herself. While she might not have acquired a handmaiden, the acquisition of a highly flustered mortal was proving to be almost equally entertaining.

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