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Yet another day dawned on the Valnoire, illuminating the forest and the river that ran through it with its soft light, as well as the sinister castle that stood at its edge. The light filtered through the trees where it could, slipping onto the walls and furniture of a bedroom. Despite an obstacle in front of it, it fell on the face of a young brunette woman who was still sleeping soundly.
After a little over half an hour of filling the room, the gentle, pleasant warmth emanating from the morning light slowly woke her up. First, her closed eyes fluttered for a few moments before her eyelids opened. It took her several seconds to realise that she was not alone in the room, unlike the night before when she had gone to bed.
She was with her host, a blond man with an angelic face. He was lying face to face with her, sleeping as soundly as she had been just moments before. She stared at him for several minutes. It was so soothing to watch him sleep, motionless despite his slow, deep breathing. His serenity made him even more handsome than he already was. As if she wanted to make it more real, she reached out towards his face, but she stopped, almost ashamed. She looked down and saw part of the large scar on his chest.
He had never told her about this injury that would never heal, and yet he had confided in her many times. Perhaps he wasn't ready for that. And that was fine. If this scar had a deep and painful origin, she would respect the time it took him to talk to her about it. For now, and until he made up his mind, she would be content to see it there, or just glimpse it when he was dressed.
Unconsciously, the hand that wanted to touch the blond man's serene face moved towards his chest. There was no obstacle to that. If the young woman could not know the story behind this scar, touching it might satisfy her curiosity. With her fingertips, she slowly traced the length of what was once a fresh, bloody, and surely very deep wound. There was no longer any relief, as could be seen. The skin was as smooth as the rest of his body. Only the colour had changed.
What had been a touch motivated by curiosity became a caress of compassion. She imagined the suffering he had endured, which still left him silent. She understood perfectly why he remained quiet about it, without knowing why. Regaining consciousness before the awakening phase, the blond angel who lay before her felt something run through his chest. With his eyes still closed, and following the path of this gentle sensation, he knew immediately. This made him slowly open his eyelids, revealing his amber eyes.
It was her, her eyes on his scar, sliding her middle and ring fingers over this terrible wound, now closed but still visible. She was so captivated that she hadn't noticed him waking up, or even the slight change in his breathing pattern. For a moment, he did nothing. The naive look on her face as she gazed at him was rather endearing. It even made her look lovely. He realised he was smiling, without really knowing how long he had been doing so. Then her whole hand rested on his chest, her palm against part of the scar. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the brunette's hand. She looked up at him, afraid she had disturbed him. That was far from the case, because he was still asleep — at least for her.
When she focused on the scar again, he opened his eyes and looked at her. He felt her thumb caress part of his chest. But something told him it was better to stop now, as if he had received an unpleasant reminder. So, slowly, he moved his hand towards hers and gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist. She suddenly looked up at him, her eyes filled with regret, apologising for waking him. He briefly stroked her delicate wrist with his thumb, as if to reassure her, to tell her not be sorry. His golden eyes and slight smile reassured her, as well as making her heart skip a beat. Enough for her to smile back at him and for her gaze to change. Now her eyes seemed to say: Hello, Adrian.