Valdemar peered into the apprentices shared office and to their surprise you were seated at the only occupied desk actually working on something. You dropped your head back to glance up at them as they approached you to see what you were working on; an anatomical drawing of the circulatory system to illustrate a theory you had about plague symptoms appearing on one side of the body before the other.
"This is technically a beautiful piece" Valdemar's lips curled into the tiniest of smiles, filling your heart with a swell of pride. A kind word out of the Quaestor was a rarity.
"However you've mislabeled the actual heart itself" they pointed to the heart your on your page, tapping their leather clad on your labeling. "You've confused your atriums and ventricles"
"Again! God fucking dammit" you threw your quill down at the table as hard as you could (which didn't make for a very dramatic reaction but it made you feel marginally better). Surely after almost a full year working as an apprentice you would have basic anatomy down like the literal back of your hand. You shove your parchment off the table to land in the pile of other ruined drawings discarded over the days and weeks and months.
You groan loudly and lace your fingers through your hair in frustration. Your cheeks and chest flush hot in embarrassment and tears begun to seep through your lashes.
"That kind of behaviour is very unbecoming of a young apprentice" Valdemar replied, glancing down to your pile of failures before meeting your watery gaze. You'd turned around to look at them, wondering if this was finally the moment they'd cast you from the dungeons after labeling you a failure.
Valdemar sighed, turning away from you "I want you to lea-"
"Quaestor PLEASE" You practically trip over yourself scrambling out of your chair to fall to your knees "I'll try harder I'll- I'll worked harder, I'll be better" you grasp the back of their skirt in your ink stained hands "I'll be perfect. Please don't send me away"
Valdemar blinks. And then blinks again but is otherwise motionless for the hundreds of years you sat at their feet with tears streaming down your cheeks.
When they do move, it's to offer you a gloved hand. The fluster in your chest burned brighter the closer your hand floated to theirs. An unseen force wrapped around your waist, pulled you to your feet, and forced your hand into theirs.
"I want you to leave for three days. Return here on the third night and you'll try again."
You open your mouth to protest but are immediately silenced by their other gloved hand as they pressed their index finger to your lips. "If you argue with me I'll strip you naked and suture the names of your body parts directly into your skin"
Before you can voice any opinions on being naked around the Quaestor, they quickly replace their finger with their lips and pressed into yours. You're frozen, unsure how to react but your cheeks burn hot with a feeling you've never felt before.
Before you can gather your thoughts Valdemar has shoved you out of the office "If I see you here before the third night consider yourself vivisected"
You didn't need any more encouragement after that.
