Dominic was gentle with Emea when he did research on her, but Beatrix didn't have the luxury of being loved by the male lead.
She swung around with her tail as she sensed footsteps entering the room.
Dominic had sharp blue eyes and short brown hair, wearing a white researcher's
coat and matching gloves. Thin glasses fixed on his nose completed the look; he was the perfect image of an obsessed researcher.
He walked over to Beatrix's tank with an undisguised interest in his eyes. He looked at her as if he saw the cure to cancer, with pure glee and amazement.
Beatrix couldn't help but be surprised that this man was the main character in a romance book. He was far too disturbing and strange. The curious way he approached and prodded her sent shivers down her spine.
She completely went limp as Dominic conducted various tests and poked her with various instruments, carefully stretching and moving her. She had already lost her chance, so all she could do now was make him let down his guard.
She stiffened, however, when she felt a hand tenderly caress her tail.
"Wow…" Dominic sounded amazed, inspecting her scales and fins. He gently ran his fingers against the edge of her scales, his head so close she could feel his breath on her tail.
Dominic noticed her sudden movement and turned his head to meet hers.
"Hello." He stared into her eyes, unblinking.
"I'm sorry for the extreme measures, but I didn't have much choice." He gestured toward Beatrix's restraints regretfully.
Beatrix just nodded, unsure of how to react.
Dominic saw Beatrix's small movement, and the flare of curiosity in his eyes lit brighter.
"You understand me?" He excitedly grabbed her hands from inside her tank.
She nodded again, regretting it already. Perhaps it would have been better if they had no way to communicate.
"This is amazing! I never would have expected you to know human language!" Dominic carefully dropped her hands and rushed away to get a notebook.
If he was this excited over a nod, he'd probably die of excitement if she actually started talking. Too bad sirens can't breathe in regular air, and therefore can't speak to humans. She tried to speak underwater, but it seemed Dominic just understood it as garble and bubbles.
He didn't seem afraid or resentful towards her, considering she tried to kill him, he was too preoccupied with his research. It felt like that was all he thought about, but judging from the book's events, he was clearly more complicated than that.
Beatrix realized she was staring and drew her eyes from his back.
She had to admit, it was strange being around him again, this mysterious person she had to kill.
It was difficult to reconcile the fact that they were the same person, River and Dominic; they looked and acted so different. But she could tell they were, they both had the same presence and demeanor.
Whoever the visiting soul in River and Dominic was, he was undeniably unique, something almost inhuman in his nature, that no one else but Beatrix could feel. Which was strange to think, considering he appeared somewhat normal.
And it was this very soul that had disrupted Beatrix's life so heavily. She couldn't deny the horrible guilt and sorrow she felt when she saw him. She wanted so desperately to forget her task and relax and laugh with him, like the last world.
Beatrix shook off the thought. No good would come of dwelling on her feelings.
Dominic walked back, this time with a syringe in hand.
"I'm afraid this is going to pinch." He said apologetically.
He lifted Beatrix's arms out of the water, gently sliding the needle into her vein.
"Do you have a name?" He stared at the needle, only glancing at her briefly.
Beatrix nodded.
"Can you write?"
Beatrix nodded again.
Dominic finished drawing blood and retrieved an empty notebook
"Excuse me." He lifted her arm and removed her restraints before rubbing it down with a towel; it was a difficult task, considering the rest of her body was still submerged in water.
He displayed the notebook and looked at Beatrix expectantly.
Beatrix raised herself from the water and held her breath as she steadied herself against the tank. She grabbed the pencil with her dry arm and began writing Narcissa's name; inevitably, however, water dripped onto the page, and the writing got smudged a bit.
"Narcissa?"
Beatrix sank back into the water and nodded. She considered writing her own name, as Dominic would likely never meet another plot character at this rate, but she quickly stuffed that desire away.
Dominic had removed her restraints, but he still kept a safe distance away, out of Beatrix's reach. It looked like he hadn't forgotten the attempt on his life, after all.
"Nice to meet you, Narcissa, I'm Dominic." He said with a smile.
-
The coming days passed strangely peacefully.
They formed a routine, Dominic and Beatrix.
Dominic would wake her up, perform some tests on her, and then leave for the day, only to repeat the same steps the next day.
During the testing, however, Dominic and Beatrix would chat the whole time, with Dominic talking to her and asking her questions, and Beatrix responding by writing in the notebook.
Their dynamic felt strangely natural, as if they had been interacting like this for a long time.
Beatrix swore she was just waiting for her chance to kill him.
Dominic was standing near her, hesitating. He kept opening his mouth before closing it again, seeming indecisive about what he wanted to say.
"Do you have any family waiting back home for you?" He cringed a bit as he said it, regretting it. He didn't want to feel guilty for abducting her.
Beatrix nodded and grabbed the nearby dry-erase board. The notebook she had used at the start had long become unusable, completely soaked through.
'My sister, it's just us.' Beatrix wrote. She considered writing more, like talking about Narcissa and Risa's dead parents, but she decided she didn't want him feeling too guilty. She didn't want to be sent back to the ocean.