Bright morning sun glanced off the windowpanes, shining directly into Allura's closed eyelids. She reluctantly opened her eyes, and rolled onto her back.
A faint smile teased the corners of her lips as she stretched out a hand and touched the pillow next to her, where Keith's dark head had rested when he stayed with her after her nightmare.
She felt truly cherished for the first time since her father had died. She knew instinctively that her happiness was of real importance to Keith, even if he didn't love her.
"Maybe love really didn't matter", she thought, with a reluctant sigh as she swung her legs of the bed. "Maybe it's enough that he cares about me and that I care about him."
Dismayed with the direction of her thoughts, she reached for her dressing gown. Be happy, she reminded herself as she shoved her feet into her satin slippers and pushed her lingering doubts aside.
The morning sun continued to shine brightly as Keith finally began to surface from his deep slumber. A sense of well being filled him and oddly enough, its unfamiliarity awakened him.
He rolled onto his stomach as awareness returned and he became aware of something else — the delicious smells floating in the air. He sleepily stood up and followed his nose to the kitchen.
When Keith strolled in the kitchen, the air was filled with the delicious smells and the haunting notes of an unfamiliar melody that was romantic and somehow sad.
His eyes roved around the room and settled on Allura, standing by the stove, singing softly under her breath. A lazy smile drifted across his face as she stood silhouetted against the sunlight streaming from the window.
Surprisingly, what caught his attention wasn't the slim feminine shadow he saw for a brief moment. Allura had a certain purity to her face, as well as a confidence and awareness of self that he found irresistible
With very little effort, he could imagine her standing there, in that very spot, a year from now, even fifty years from now, still setting off that stirring in his blood.
Without knowing it, Keith's smile softened and widened.
He stepped into the room and poured himself a cup of coffee. He leaned closely against the counter and took an appreciative sniff. For the first time in a long time, he could take his time growing fully awake.
He enjoyed his sleepy confusion. It was a rare luxury for someone who was used to being rudely woken up by the persistent chimes of his chronograph or the strident klaxons of the Castle alarm systems.
Allura smiled gently as she caught sight of her husband. He was leaning against the counter with an endearingly befuddled expression on his face.
She suddenly had a vision of how their son would look like after waking up from a nap— a chubby little boy with her blue eyes and Keith's dark unruly hair — and her heart filled with love and longing.
Laughter flickered in her eyes as she studied her sleepy husband. For once, she had him at a disadvantage. It was her chance to get even for all the times that he had called lion practice before she had the chance to come fully awake.
She sang a few words in the ancient language of Cador and allowed images to form in her mind's eye. She waved her hands in the air and the colored stones on her wedding ring caught the light, casting rainbows onto the white walls of the airy kitchen.
In response to her spell, kitchen implements danced around the kitchen. Cabinets and drawers opened, unaided by human hands. Dishes and silverware flew out of the shelves, setting themselves gently on the table.
Allura watched with mischievous glee as Keith's eyes widened and his jaw slackened. She stifled a giggle of delight at the way he was holding his coffee mug — as though it were the only tangible thing in a world gone mad.
She offered him her sweetest smile even as her eyes danced with suppressed laughter. "Good morning, Keith. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Anything would be fine, thank you." Keith said weakly as he moved forward on unsteady legs. He sat down at the kitchen table and looked around with stupefied bemusement.
A thick slab of ham flew through the air only to land on a dancing plate. Slices of spiced toast jumped out of the toaster. A pitcher poured juice into the waiting glasses.
He took another large swallow of coffee, hoping that the caffeine would help him wake up. He remembered a book that his grandmother had insisted that he read as a child — Alice in Wonderland. He was beginning to feel like Alice tumbling down a rabbit-hole into a new and strange world.