Unraveling Eris

A Puzzle Named Theodore

It was an unseasonably warm afternoon, dust motes floated lazily in the air, settling between scattered books and parchment-covered desks. The scent of old paper and ink clung to the space—a familiar, almost comforting presence to Eris.

She was engrossed in her work, brow furrowed as she scribbled furiously into her notes. The quiet hum of the library was an ideal backdrop, a rare moment of peace where she could focus uninterrupted.

That peace was inevitably shattered by Theodore.

"You know, Eris," he mused, leaning against the table as he idly flipped through a book, "I think you might be the most brilliant person I've ever met."

The words landed with unexpected weight.

Eris froze, pen hovering mid-air.

Praise wasn't new to her. Professors admired her intellect, peers begrudgingly respected her wit, and even high-ranking officials acknowledged her sharp mind. But coming from him—from Theodore, who spoke with an easy confidence that made everything sound significant—it felt... different.

She schooled her expression, willing herself not to react.

"Obviously," she said, her voice as nonchalant as she could make it.

Theo chuckled, and she felt, rather than saw, the shift in his posture. He was watching her now, his usual smirk softened into something more thoughtful.

"And yet," he continued, tilting his head as if considering the thought for the first time, "I don't think you know how mesmerizing you are when you talk about something you love."

Eris' grip on her pen tightened.

That was not the kind of statement she could brush off.

A slow warmth crept up her neck, unwelcome and frustrating. She was used to handling pointed debates, intricate arguments, and intellectual sparring—but casual admiration? That was uncharted territory.

"Stop that," she muttered, still refusing to look at him.

Theo smirked. "Stop what?"

"Being... weird."

The amusement in his voice was unmistakable. "Weird? Or honest?"

Eris exhaled sharply and turned another page in her book—despite not having finished the last one. "Go be honest somewhere else."

Theo laughed, rich and full of knowing.

She hated that he was getting to her.

Or, at least, she wished she hated it.

Because the truth was, the moment he had spoken, she hadn't been thinking about the equations in front of her.

Theo didn't leave after that.

Instead, he wordlessly slid a folded piece of parchment across the table.

Eris shot him a look before reluctantly picking it up. The writing was encoded—lines of letters that made no immediate sense.

"What's this?" she asked.

"A message intercepted from a foreign diplomat," Theo said, watching her reaction. "The palace scholars have been struggling to decipher it for weeks."

That caught her interest. She studied the page, her brows drawing together.

A moment later, she scoffed.

"This isn't a difficult cipher," she muttered, reaching for a pen. "It's just layered. They wrote it using a double-substitution method. If you shift every second letter back three places, the message reads—"

She paused, eyes widening.

Theo immediately straightened. "What?"

Eris didn't look at him as she finished the last few letters, then carefully placed the quill down.

"This is a veiled threat," she said, voice measured.

A heavy silence fell over the table.

Theo took the parchment, scanning her translation. His expression darkened.

"You figured that out in five minutes?"

Eris shrugged. "It wasn't exactly subtle."

Theo exhaled sharply, then shook his head, a strange mix of exasperation and admiration flashing in his eyes.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or worried," he muttered.

Eris arched a brow. "Why?"

Theo looked at her then, something unreadable in his gaze. "Because you see through things too easily."

She wasn't sure what he meant by that.

But she had the distinct feeling that, for once, he wasn't just talking about ciphers.

The piece of paper remained in Theo's grip, but his focus wasn't on it anymore.

Eris could feel it—the weight of his gaze, the way he studied her with something sharper than amusement. Theo had always been observant, but this was different.

She busied herself with rearranging her notes, as if the act of organizing papers could dispel the strange tension settling between them.

"Did you really need me to decipher that?" she asked, aiming for casual. "Or did you already know and just wanted to see if I'd get there faster?"

Theo smirked, leaning back slightly. "I suspected. But I prefer to have confirmation from someone I actually trust."

The words shouldn't have meant anything.

They did.

Eris set her pen down, narrowing her eyes at him. "Flattery doesn't work on me."

Theo chuckled. "Oh, I know. That's why I find it so entertaining."

Before she could retort, the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted them. A palace official strode into the study, eyes flickering between them before settling on Theo.

"Your Highness," the man said, bowing slightly. He then approached Theo, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Eris couldn't make out the words, but she noted the way Theo's expression shifted—subtle, but telling. The relaxed amusement from their conversation faded, replaced by something sharper. His fingers, which had been idly tracing the edge of the parchment, stilled entirely.

Theo's gaze flickered briefly to her before he straightened. "Understood."

The official bowed again and took a step back, awaiting further instruction.

Theo exhaled through his nose, reaching into his coat to retrieve the cipher she had just translated and slipped it into his pocket.

Eris studied Theo carefully. He hadn't moved yet.

For a moment, it looked as if he was considering something, weighing his next words. Then, with a faint sigh, he turned to her.

"For what it's worth," he said, voice softer now, "you just outpaced the brightest minds in the palace."

Eris rolled her eyes, but she didn't look away fast enough to miss the way his lips curved—like he knew something she didn't.

And that—that unsettled her more than any cipher ever could.

Eris watched him go, fingers tapping idly against the desk.

Later that evening, Eris told herself she wasn't still thinking about their conversation.

It was absurd.

She had been working in the library when Theo found her—nothing unusual about that. He had given her an encrypted message because he knew she'd find it interesting. Again, perfectly logical.

She could still hear his voice in the back of her mind.

"I don't think you know how mesmerizing you are when you talk about something you love."

"You see through things too easily."

She exhaled sharply, tapping her fingers against the desk.

Perhaps she needed a distraction.

Pushing herself up from her seat, she grabbed a book at random from the nearest shelf and began to read.

She lasted exactly four pages before the words blurred together.

It wasn't until later, when Georgiana found her staring blankly at a half-written page of notes, that she finally admitted it.

For someone who prided herself on understanding patterns, on uncovering hidden meanings—

She had no idea what to make of Theo.