Elide didn't have to have a heightened sense of smell to realize that Manon was different that morning in the palace. She sat, half-asleep in the bed while Manon took all of twenty minutes to get ready, confused because of the witch's early rise. Elide was usually the first one awake, and, most of the time, she'd wake up Manon a few minutes before breakfast.
"Will you be finished any time soon?" Elide asked, raking a hand through her tangled hair. Though she could still hear running water, there was no response from Manon. She sighed, shrugging her shoulders and laid back down on her bed.
After gods know how much time, Manon emerged from the bathroom in only a towel that could only be described as… too short for the witch's long legs. Gulping, Elide thought back to the first time she'd slept in Manon's rooms, when she found out that the Wing Leader of the Ironteeth Witches slept naked. It was… surprising?
"I… assume you're done with the bathing room?" Elide asked once again, and Manon turned to her, water going everywhere from her wet hair as she nodded. She got up from her bed and went to the bathroom, beginning to undress.
After bathing and doing everything she'd normally do in the morning, Elide came out to see that Manon had left the room again.
Odd.
She ignored it anyway, changing into a simple pale blue dress that ended right above her knees and sandals. She braided her hair to the side, not bothering to try and put on cosmetics so late in the morning. After she was finished, she left the room to go to the dining hall.
"Good morning, Elide. I see today your ever-so-pleasant roommate decided to come down before you." Aelin laughed from the head of the large wooden table, Rowan and Aedion both diagonal from her. Manon snarled at Aelin, clearly playfully, and went back to eating a piece of bread. Elide chuckled and found a seat, next to Manon and across from Lysandra.
"Possibly my tardiness was the result of someone waking up at an ungodsly time and spending the entire morning in the bathroom for no reason." Elide raised an eyebrow at Manon, causing Lysandra to chuckle.
"Nothing I do is without reason, Elide." Manon put down a fork with a wink to Elide, pouring herself a glass of water.
"Are you sure you'd like that water? Or would you like to…" Aedion trailed off as he brushed his hair to the side, exposing his neck with a devilish grin. Manon rolled her eyes, and Elide looked at Aelin, who'd usually step in at this point to break up the two before the clawed at each other too badly, but the queen was intently staring at her carranam, him staring back. She held back a laugh as everyone at the table's eyes turned to the pair.
Rowan raised his eyebrows. Aelin smirked, her cheeks flushing. Aedion groaned.
"By the Wyrd, you'd think you guys would get the hint and stop having eye-sex every day at breakfast. The two of you share a room every night. Speaking of such, would you mind not being so loud in your… devoted promises to each other?" Aedion took a long gulp of wine, and Rowan turned to him.
"It's not my fault that Lysandra refuses to visit your rooms and you have to use your hand every night, Aedion." The warrior said with a flash of his fangs. Everything between these Fae was a dominance battle, every way that they positioned themselves, the way they spoke, the things they said, what they ate…
Aelin slapped her hands on the table at the same time Elide caught Lysandra place a hand on Aedion's thigh, and he snapped his eyes straight forward, eyebrows raised slightly.
"Okay, okay, save the killing for when you guys are not on my marble floors, please? Do it outside. Anyway, I will be going to Adarlan today. In light of Erawan's defeat, Dorian is holding a ball, and all of you are invited, though only come if you want to." Aelin said, then continued to devour the food on her plate. "Resume your quarrels, keep it to minimal blood." With that, Rowan snarled at Aedion, who flipped his knife upwards and grinned from ear to ear, causing everyone to laugh.