Straw sat in the living room, staring at her reflection in the polished surface of the table as she tried to clean the wound on her face. The cut was not deep, but it burned, a sharp reminder of how close the arrow had come. Berryanna had almost killed her. Not in battle. Not by accident. But because a maid had spoken to her.
The thought made Straw pause, her fingers tightening around the cloth in her hand.
She dabbed at the wound carefully, wincing. Her heart was still unsettled, beating too fast for something that had already passed. She had been shocked earlier, frozen in that strange moment where danger sinks in only after it is gone. Now the reality sat heavy in her chest.
She had never seen someone like this before. Even in her previous life as Andrea, she had never gone that far. She remembered that version of herself clearly. The anger. The betrayal. The way her hands shook when she caught Cassie with someone else. The slaps had come easily, almost instinctively, but that was where it stopped. She had walked away before things could spiral. Intrusive thoughts had come then too. Ugly thoughts. Violent ones. But she had never let them win.
One, they would end up in a hospital. Two, she would end up in jail for attempted murder.
Straw pressed the cloth harder than necessary, then forced herself to ease up. This body was different, but she was still her. Or at least, she liked to believe that.
The room was quiet, the kind of quiet that made every small sound louder. The rustle of fabric. The faint crackle from the fireplace. Her own breathing.
She was focused on the wound when she sensed someone else in the room. Berryanna walked in and stopped in front of her. Straw looked up automatically. Their eyes met. For a second, neither of them moved.
Berryanna's expression was unreadable, her posture straight, controlled, as always. Straw felt something twist inside her chest, something between anger and confusion and something she did not want to name. She looked away first. Her gaze dropped back to the cloth in her hand, and she continued what she was doing as if Berryanna were not standing there, watching her.
Berryanna did not speak. She stood there like a statue, unmoving, her presence heavy in the room. Straw could feel her gaze on her face, could feel the tension stretching between them. It made her shoulders stiffen.
Then Berryanna moved. Without asking for permission, she reached out and took the wool from Straw's hand. Her fingers brushed Straw's skin briefly before she lowered herself in front of her.
Straw froze. Berryanna did not explain herself. She did not apologize. She simply began tending to the wound.
Her touch was firm but careful. She applied the ointment with slow precision, her movements practiced, as if she had done this many times before. Straw watched her hands, the way they worked with quiet focus, and felt the heat of unsaid words pressing at the back of her throat.
Berryanna placed the plaster over the wound, smoothing it down. Neither of them said a word.
The silence stretched. It was thick and uncomfortable, the kind that crawled under the skin. Straw felt like they were both waiting, standing at the edge of something, unsure who would step forward first.
Her patience finally ran out.
"Don't you have something to say, Princess?" Straw asked.
Berryanna did not look up immediately. When she did, her eyes were steady.
"You should be the one with something to say," she replied.
Straw let out a short, humorless laugh.
"Really?" she scoffed. "You almost killed me today. At least I should be the one receiving the apology, not the one asking for it."
"Almost," Berryanna said calmly. "You said it yourself. I didn't kill you. And you broke one of our agreements. I had a valid reason."
Straw stared at her, disbelief flashing across her face.
"Your valid reason?" she shook her head slowly. "She came to me. I didn't go to her. I wasn't even talking to her. She did all the talking, and.."
"You broke one of our rules," Berryanna cut in, her voice firm. "Which means I am breaking one of yours too. One rule each. Fair deal."
Straw's lips parted, then pressed together again. She exhaled sharply, frustration bleeding into her expression.
"At least I deserve an apology for what you did today," she said. "Rule twenty three says you always say sorry when I'm sad, and right now I am sad. My wife almost killed me today. I feel like crying. And according to rule six, if you make me cry, we don't get to have sex for a whole week."
Berryanna did not hesitate.
"Sorry," she said immediately.
Straw blinked. Her anger stalled, caught off guard by how quickly the word came.
"Come again," she said. "I didn't hear you."
"I'm sorry for my actions today," Berryanna said. "And I won't try to shoot an arrow at you again."
The moment the words left Berryanna's mouth, something in Straw softened. Her shoulders relaxed. The tension in her chest loosened.
She leaned forward without thinking and pressed a light kiss to Berryanna's lips, brief but sincere. Then she took the blue flower she had kept and gently tucked it behind Berryanna's ear.
Berryanna stiffened at first. Her eyes flicked away, her body tense, as if she might pull back. But she didn't. She allowed it.
"You look beautiful, my Princess," Straw said softly. "You should stop being jealous and learn to trust me. I am not that kind of person. I'm loyal. Just know that if there were ten thousand women in a room, there is only one my eyes would be fixed on. And that's you. Because I'm married to a princess as beautiful as you."
Berryanna looked at her for a long moment.
Her face was unreadable, but something shifted in her gaze, something quieter. Straw took that as a win.
She smiled and reminded her that it was cuddling time, the hour they had agreed to spend holding each other. She shifted closer, already settling in, ready to pull Berryanna with her.
For a brief moment, things felt calm. Then the living room doors burst open. Both ladies snapped to attention.
"Little sister, something terrible has happened," King Apple said hurriedly as he rushed in.
Berryanna straightened immediately.
"What happened, brother?" she asked. "Is everything alright?"
Apple looked genuinely distressed.
"I asked for my afternoon chocolate pudding," he said dramatically, "and the maid said it was missing. Someone ate my chocolate pudding."
Berryanna stood up at once.
"I need you to find the pudding thief and punish them," Apple continued. "No, behead them immediately. They are guilty of thievery. This place is not safe anymore. A pudding thief is in the mansion."
Straw bit the inside of her cheek.
"I'm sure it was taken to be preserved," Berryanna said calmly. "Maybe"
"No," Apple interrupted. "The thief left evidence. The bowl was on the table. Empty. I asked everyone, and they said they were busy. I need you to find the culprit."
"Okay," Berryanna said patiently. "I will find the culprit and bring justice. Just ask the maids to prepare another one."
"They can't."
Berryanna frowned slightly. "Why?"
"Because you fired the maid in charge of my chocolate pudding, and none of them knows the recipe anymore. Little sister, I have no pudding left."
Berryanna sighed, the kind of sigh that came from years of practice.
She stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Guess what? I know the recipe. I'll prepare it for you. You can eat something else for now, okay?"
Apple hesitated, then nodded reluctantly and left the room, still muttering under his breath.
Straw had stayed quiet the entire time, watching. She watched the way Berryanna softened around her brother. The way her voice changed. The patience in her movements. The care she showed without hesitation. It was a side of her that felt real. Warm. But there was a problem. Straw was the pudding thief.