Checkmate ⚢

Chapter 29 Muse

The room was bathed in the pale light of early morning, the shy rays of the sun protruding through the white curtains that framed Althea's room.

Althea's half-closed eyes barely distinguished who the chocolate haired girl sleeping next to her, believing she was in a dream amongst the whiteness of the sheets, but as soon as the girl revealed her slowly awakening maroon eyes from beneath the blanket, Althea managed to recall the events from last night. Althea did not dare to open her eyes wide and upon being struck by the light—that with every passing second seemed to become more intense—she sealed them again and abandoned herself to the coziness of her fluffy pillow, while her left arm rested on Hana's back.

There was a loud thud resembling much to the banging of an opened door and as soon as both Althea and Hana flinched by the grating sound, footsteps belonging to four people entered the room. They jumped, taken aback by the rude manner of being woken up, and as soon as they could open their eyes and take awareness of their surroundings, both noticed Edith and an old woman standing before them. All of them were suddenly struck by a scarlet shade molding on their cheeks.

"Eep!" Hana gulped, muttering in incoherent Japanese before nuzzling her lover, and as she glanced back at the gaping intruders.

The faces were all clear now—Edith, Professor Tosca, Professor Andrea, and Professor Oakley. Althea was dumbfounded and then as her eyes met hers, she smiled. She then turned her gaze at the older women.

A slow-forming smirk wormed its way on Professor Oakley's lips. "I had an inkling feeling you would be together at the same roof, but not on the same bed."

The Italian and the French professors were merely stunned to silence, occasionally looking at each other, then becoming red in the face.

"My lady, you knew the rules!" Edith said, clucked in disgust. "This is inappropriate for a lady to sleep with her lover on any occasions aside by the sanctity of marriage!"

"Edith," Althea held out her hands. "For heaven's sake, we're fully clothed. You can see our hands. Show her, Hana."

Hana sort of wrapped hers around herself but she followed Althea's lead and now they looked like they are being pointed by some guns.

"Considering it's our fault for intruding," Professor Andrea said, wiping her foggy glasses before returning them to its place. "How about we wait for you girls outside to prepare and we can talk appropriately for morning tea?"

"That would be lovely, Professor." Althea nodded.

"You both do know that it's eight in the morning, don't you?" Professor Tosca finally decided to use her sharp tongue. "Were you busy all night?"

Althea smiled sweetly, sometimes wondering if she overdid it. "Had you all eaten breakfast yet?"

Professor Tosca snorted while Professor Andrea's face went beet red. She had just lately realized the difference in the connotation and denotation of what she had just said and felt as if she's slowly dying. As Althea attempted to find words for a rebuttal, Hana decided to slip out of the mattress when all eyes bulged on her.

Hana was unaware why they all had their jaws dropped as they glanced at her. She asked innocently. "What?"

"Hana," Althea's face burned, debating whether to throw a blanket or pull her back into the sheets.

Hana's bare skin felt a little colder from a gush of air from the open window. It took Hana a long while for her brain to process that that aside from the big shirt that she wore, her lower half was completely in the nude.