14.

                                    

                                          
Notes:
Took me longer to update, my bad!
Here's the new chapter, the next one won't take this long, thanks for readin
Have you ever had those nights where time seemed simply to have stopped?
Those long hours, where the sunrise never seems to fill the room up, the birds remain quiet, in absolute silence and the sleep you have, if you're lucky enough to get any, is dreamless, tasteless, of no use at all.  
Thomas and Leonor weren't strangers to that kind of night. It was almost their unsaid rule by now, not the exception. 
But that night, to their surprise, it was entirely and strangely different. 
Leonor herself, if you were to ask her, wouldn't know if it was the opium that Polly gave her, in the hope of calming the stoic girl down. 
And Thomas wouldn't be able to tell if it was the strike to head he took on. 
But both of them had a surprisingly good night's sleep. 
He woke up first, or at least he thought so. 
Stirring on the bed, Thomas turned his head to the side, wincing at the feeling of the cotton pillowcase against his tender scalp. 
He looked at the window, and there was no hint of the sun in sight, no rain as well, just the moisture from the garden that made little droplets of water stain the glass. 
Looking down, he only saw the top of Leonor's head, the shiny black wavy hair, spread all over his chest and the golden ring, almost too loose around her finger. 
"Leonor?" He tried, his voice rough and dry, just like his throat. 
Thomas wondered what to say whenever she woke up. Whether he should bring up the subject or not this earlier in the morning.
As he dwelt with the idea, his hand made its way to her hair, his fingers stroking the silky strands, the floral scent soothing and discreetly wafting in the air as he twisted a lock around his index finger
It wasn't until he realized her breathing had changed, not as slow, followed by a yawn that revealed that Leonor had woken up.
"What time is it?" She asked in a sleepy voice, not looking up as she rubbed her eyes. 
"Early." He mutted, keeping his hand still, as his fingers remained on her hair. "And you're awake." 
His voice had a hint of humor, almost in a teasing manner. Leonor was never one for early mornings and Thomas had realized, by now. 
But the joke flew past her head, and she sat up in a halt. 
"Am I not?" Leonor asked, her eyes scamming the room. When she did, she frowned, bringing her hand up to her head, a throbbing pain bothering her. 
"Oh, I am." Leonor realized, lying down again, this time by his side, covering her eyes in an attempt to soothe that pain away. 
Thomas chuckled in amusement, scratching his chest, feeling the cold absence.
 He had expected her to awake in a raging fit, furious or disgusted by him and his actions from the night before, so it was a pleasant surprise that all she did, was complaining about a headache, caused by the use of opium. 
"You can go back to sleep if you want." Thomas groaned, tossing the sheets, frowning as he sat up, the motion followed by a light dizziness. "I have a long day ahead."
Leonor wanted to bring the subject up, ask Thomas what had led Tony to act up that way, what prior discussion led to it, or if he was just one dot on her husband's long list of enemies, who infiltrated their house.