Unraveling Eris

The Moment He Noticed

The library was unusually quiet that afternoon.

Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting warm, golden streaks across the wooden tables where books, papers, and half-finished notes lay scattered.

The usual group—Eris, Theo, William, Cassian, and Georgiana—occupied their regular corner, half-heartedly studying but mostly procrastinating.

It had started like any other day.

Theo, as per usual, was in one of those moods—the insufferably smug kind where every remark carried a teasing edge, every glance filled with silent, knowing amusement.

Eris was used to it. Expected it. She had long since accepted that the Crown Prince had made it his personal mission to get under her skin. He thrived off of her irritation, and unfortunately, she kept giving him what he wanted.

But today?

Today was different.

Eris barely looked up from her book when Theo made yet another arrogant remark, something about how naturally leadership came to him, how there was no point in pretending otherwise.

Cassian rolled his eyes. William snorted. Georgiana muttered something about him being intolerable.

And Eris?

She simply said, "Well, obviously."

Silence.

It took a moment for the words to sink in.

Theo, midway through flipping a page, stilled. His fingers hovered over the parchment as he turned to her, blue eyes narrowing slightly. "What?"

She glanced up, the picture of nonchalance. "You're a good leader," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You make smart decisions. You think things through. That's a good quality to have."

Pause.

Then, absolute malfunction.

Theo did not react immediately. No quick-witted remark, no smug response. He simply blinked at her, as if his brain had stopped processing information.

William, ever the opportunist, leaned back in his chair, watching the scene unfold like a spectator at a gladiator match. Cassian, meanwhile, looked like he had just been handed the greatest gift of his life.

Slowly, deliberately, Cassian turned to Theo.

"Theo?" he said, grinning. "You good?"

Theo opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"I—yes. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

He sounded deeply unconvincing.

Georgiana nudged Eris. "What did you do to him?"

Eris, looking far too pleased with herself, shrugged. "Nothing. I just told the truth."

Theo, for the first time in his entire life, was struggling to find words.

He needed to turn the conversation around, regain control, do something—

"I'm just saying," William cut in, barely containing his laughter, "has Theo ever been speechless before? Because this is historic."

"Truly," Cassian agreed, smirking. "I think we should document it for future generations."

Georgiana, always one to enjoy Theo's suffering, tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we should commission a painting. 'The Day Crown Prince Theodore Lost His Composure.'"

"Don't be ridiculous," Theo muttered, regaining some of his usual sharpness. "I wasn't speechless."

"You absolutely were," William said, grinning.

Eris, watching the absolute chaos unfold, tilted her head slightly. A thought struck her.

A dangerous thought.

Theo had spent weeks—months—getting under her skin, taking far too much joy in making her flustered.

And now, by some miracle, she had the upper hand.

Slowly, she leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. Her hazel eyes gleamed with amusement as she looked straight at Theo, her voice smooth and deliberate:

"You know, Your Highness," she said lightly, "you're kind of cute when you're flustered."

Cassian choked on his drink. William, in what could only be described as the most dramatic reaction possible, actually fell out of his chair.

Georgiana gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth before breaking into laughter.

And Theo?

Theo stared at her, utterly stunned.

Like she had just rewritten the laws of reality. Like he no longer understood the very fabric of existence.

His ears turned red. Visibly.

For the first time since she'd met him, the unshakable Crown Prince was... unraveling.

And Eris relished it.

Satisfied, she casually turned back to her book, as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, Theo sat there, blinking at her like he had just suffered an out-of-body experience.

The rest of the study session was an absolute mess.

Theo, despite his best efforts, kept sneaking glances at Eris, still entirely thrown off.

She had never flustered him before. She wasn't supposed to fluster him.

And yet—

"Why do you look like you're questioning your entire existence?" William whispered, still grinning.

"I am not," Theo hissed back.

William looked at him, unimpressed. "You so are."

Theo scowled and attempted to refocus on his book. He failed spectacularly.

The worst part?

Eris knew.

She was sitting there, perfectly composed, a faint smirk playing at her lips, completely unbothered.

And now?

Now, she had leverage.

Theo was doomed.

The library settled into something close to normal again—at least, as normal as things could get after Theo's unprecedented loss of composure.

Cassian was still occasionally shaking his head in disbelief. William had not stopped smirking since he'd crawled back into his chair, and Georgiana was watching Theo with the kind of knowing amusement that made him want to flee.

And Eris?

Eris had gone back to reading, her expression maddeningly serene, as if she hadn't just dismantled his entire existence with a single offhanded remark.

Theo took a slow breath. He could salvage this. Regain control. Act like nothing had happened.

So, naturally, he chose to open his mouth.

"Well," he said, clearing his throat. "That was cute of you, Eris, trying to—"

But before he could finish his sentence, Eris let out a laugh.

Not a scoff, not a quiet huff of amusement.

A real laugh.

The kind that caught even herself off guard.

It started as a startled sound before blooming into something unfiltered, unrestrained. She leaned back slightly, her eyes bright with mirth, her lips curved in genuine delight.

And Theo—

Theo forgot what he was doing.

It was so... unexpected.

Eris didn't laugh like that. Not around them. Not around him.

She was always composed, always sharp and controlled, always rolling her eyes when he tried to provoke a reaction.

But this—this was different.

And Theo, much to his horror, found himself staring.

His thoughts completely blanked.

It wasn't just the sound—it was the way her eyes crinkled slightly at the corners, the way her whole body seemed to relax into the laughter, like she wasn't thinking at all.

He didn't even realize he was staring until Georgiana raised a brow at him.

"Theo," she said knowingly.

He blinked. "What?"

Too fast. Too defensive.

Georgiana's smirk widened. "Nothing."

It was absolutely not nothing.

Theo scowled and turned his attention aggressively back to his book, as if sheer force of will could undo the last thirty seconds.

But he could feel it—the weight of Eris' presence beside him, the lingering echo of her laughter in his head.

He was really, really, really doomed.