"Good morning, Sleepyhead!"

Jacin bolted awake. He was a light sleeper by trade, always needing to be alert to danger, always fearful for his princess. His brain had already begun to run through the possible dangers before he even opened his eyes: an assassin, a kidnapper, a terrorist, a hallucination.

"What's wrong? Where-" his panic turned to confusion as his face nearly ran into Winter's smiling one.

"What are you doing?"

She had climbed into his bed and was leaning over, nearly sitting on top of him. Jacin pulled the blanket over his bare chest and tried to scoot away. He certainly hadn't expected this.

"Waking you up," she said as if it were obvious. "I want to watch the sunrise."

Jacin leaned over and tapped the portscreen on his bedside table. "Winter, it's not even five. You should be sleeping. We both should be sleeping."

"It's our first Earthen sunrise, and I don't want to miss it." She looked at Jacin through her eyelashes. After sixteen years of friendship she had perfected her pleading look and knew all too well that Jacin couldn't say no for long.

Groaning Jacin conceded, "Do you even know where we could go to watch it? I don't want to wake up the rest of the Embassy."

Emperor Kaito had generously granted Luna use of any Eastern Commonwealth embassy until Lunar ones could be established. Cinder, or rather Queen Selene, had decided to begin her new alliance by sending the princess to Mexico City as a gesture of good faith to President Vargas.

"The Americans suffered the worst casualties from Levana's soldiers," Cinder had said. "We need them to have another image of Lunars, one that's less homicide-y"

Although she was arguably less homicide-y than Levana's wolf soldiers, so far Winter's eccentric charm had done little to win over the American diplomats or their media, and Jacin had a feeling that the rumored-to-be-insane princess being caught sneaking around the consulate in the early morning wouldn't win them any friends.

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Winter said.

"Of course you do, Trouble." Jacin finally granted her a smile. "Just wait outside, so I can get dressed."

Winter raised her eyebrows playfully. "Do I have to?" she asked, but she was already scurrying out the door before Jacin could respond.

Trying not to think about the interaction they just shared in his bed, Jacin dressed quickly and met her in the hall. She had been studying a second-era woodblock hanging on the wall, but when she saw that he had emerged she began silently skipping down the hall with a grace only she could muster. One right, one left, and the third door down opened to a small balcony overlooking the city.. He didn't know how she knew the way. Maybe she had batted her eyelashes at one of the embassy guards.

"Does this face the right way?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" She hummed, surveying the city beginning to come to life.

"You have to be facing the right way to see the sunrise properly. East, I think," Jacin had studied Earthen geography while he was Head Thaumaturge Sybil's person guard, but he mostly remembered only what had been useful.

"I know," Winter looked at him from the side of her eye. " Do you not trust me? I'm perfectly capable of finding a place to watch the sunrise."

Jacin sighed, "I know, I know, of course I . . ." Trust you. Think you're capable. Think you're perfect. Jacin sat down on the stone bench as he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. "I just worry, you know."

Winter sat down next to him, a little closer than he would've, their shoulders and their knees bumping gently.

"I know you do." She paused and then added, "But I've been better since the surgery.

A week before they left for America, Winter had the bioelectricity security device implanted behind her head. Jacin had urged her to wait, to not be the trial subject, but she had refused. She claimed to be fine Since the surgery she claimed to be fine, "better than ever," but Jacin was still concerned. She had no hallucinations, and no ability to glamour or manipulate, but he knew she regularly had horrible headaches, and there was no way of knowing if they would go away with time or if migraines were a permanent side effect of the procedure.

Slowly, as if petting a wild animal that would run away at the first sign of peril, Jacin reached up and brushed her thick hair off the back of neck and lightly ran his thumb along the surgical scar that was there.

Winter leaned into the touch and smiled at him. They stayed there for a moment. He couldn't say if it was a few seconds or a few minutes. He was so lost in her. Lost in the grey flecks in her golden-brown eyes. Lost in the grace of her long neck. Lost in the feel of her coarse hair between his fingers. Lost in the sight of her sweet smile.

It was rare for him to be this demonstrative of his feelings, and he was barely doing a thing. Even with Levana, with Aimery, dead and gone, Jacin couldn't shake the feeling that what they had was taboo, that it would only in in pain and tragedy and heartbreak. That she was a princess and he was a lowly guard. That he didn't deserve to feel as happy as he did when she was safe in his arms. He began to pull away, but Winter captured his hand with hers.

"Look! It's starting," she was staring out over the skyline now. Sure enough, the furthest part of the sky they could see was beginning to lighten.

Winter scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. The pale blue slowly spread across the sky. Jacin put his arm around her. A white light so bright he could hardly look at it blinked over the horizon. She leaned further into his side. All around the sun the sky was yellow, and pale blue above, and still night behind. He felt her shift.

"It's beautiful."

"It sure is, Princess."

She pulled away slightly. She was looking at him. Her face scrunched up in determination."You know, technically I don't think you can call me princess anymore."

Jacin chuckled, "Why's that?"

"Well it's like Kai." Jacin's expression turned from amusement to confusion.

"He's not the king-consort anymore, because Levana was never really queen, and if she didn't have the power to make someone a king, I don't see how she had the power to make someone a princess. Selene is the only one who has that power, and she didn't make me a princess, she made me an ambassador," Winter finished, looking pleased with herself.

"Would you prefer I call you ambassador?"

She frowned and looked away again. "You called me Winter this morning."

Jacin pulled her close again and planted a soft kiss on her head. "Whatever you say, Princess."