Dorian groaned and pushed a pillow over his head to try and drown out the noise.
“What is she on about?” Nyssa heard him mutter into the bed.
“Something about guests,” she grumbled back.
Willow continued shouting to the point that Nyssa couldn’t fall back asleep despite how exhausted she felt. She turned her head just in time to see Dorian throw the pillow back at Willow and reveal his shaggy bedhead and sleepy eyes.
A slow smile lifted the corner of his lips, and she waited on whatever witty comment he was about to say.
“What?” she grunted.
His outstretched finger came towards her face, and she resisted the urge to break it.
“This is worse than usual,” he teased, finger poking in her cheek. “You’re drooling, sis.”
She swatted his arm, but Dorian didn’t care. He poked her face again. And again. A hazed grin spread full on his mouth, and she finally shoved him hard with both her hands and her feet.
“You’re sweating all over my sheets,” she snapped as he rolled clean off the bed.
He fell into a laughing heap on the floor, taking her blanket with him. Nyssa threw a pillow at his face, which he dodged. It was a stark comparison to the brother she’d had at her doorway the night before, and she was glad to see him acting like himself.
“—pair of you.Get up!” Willow was shouting.
“Shut up, Willow,” they said at the same time.
Willow huffed. “Fine. Be late. You’re only welcoming in guests from the rest of Haerland for the first time in our history. I’m sure your sister—“
“Shit—“
“Oh, fuck—“
Dorian snapped off the floor, blanket flailing wildly off him as he bounded towards the door. Nyssa caught it and tossed it on the bed. Willow continued shouting at the pair. But Dorian was out the door, leaving Nyssa to have to deal with the Dreamer’s wrath for their still being asleep.
Nyssa tried to ignore her as she scrambled up and to her vanity.
A glimpse in the mirror, and she realized how right Dorian had been about her looking worse than usual. Her hair was a nest on the right side. Her bangs were in desperate need of trimming, but she would have to deal with that another day. Or perhaps after breakfast between guests.
Willow rummaged through her closet for a dress while Nyssa brushed her hair and pulled it over her shoulder to a braid. She wasn’t happy with how it looked, but she didn’t have time to change it.
The dress Willow left on the bed before rushing out to ensure Dorian was getting himself together was one of Nyssa’s least favorites. Though she knew it was Rhaif’s favorite. She glared at the thing and went back to her wardrobe. A navy day dress with snug sleeves and a scoop neck caught her eye, and she pulled it over her head instead.
She forgot her crown and had to run back to her room when she was halfway to the gates. Belwarks moved out of her way as she ran the second time. She nearly tripped over her feet a few times, but finally, she made it out front.
Aydra was fixing Dorian’s shirt, which he’d found on the floor, and was wiping a bloodstain from his jaw that Nyssa realized she had missed the night before. Nyssa’s crown nearly dropped to the ground as she came bursting through the doors.
“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed as she held her crown on her head to try and not drop it again. She noted the tenseness in Aydra’s shoulders, the bite of her cheeks. Rhaif stood behind her, jaw clenched, hands pushed behind his back. He looked nervous and yet somehow enraged. His black curls danced over his eyes, the gold embroidery of his formal coat glistened in the sunlight.
She almost questioned his attire as the rest of the family was in casual daywear.
But Aydra’s stern brush on Dorian’s shoulder pulled Nyssa back, and she felt the red creep on her face with the embarrassment of being the last one to arrive.
“I’m sorry. Willow, she—“
But Aydra didn’t respond immediately. She tilted Nyssa’s chin back and then reached for the crown falling in her hair. She straightened it and pushed her bangs out of her face. “It’s fine,” Aydra said softly. “We’re all late. Breathe.”
Nyssa realized she had stopped, and she forced a deep breath into her lungs.
“How long before they’re here?” Aydra asked Rhaif.
