When Maria Campbell woke up naked in bed surrounded by multiple women, she was overcome with a long-absent but familiar mix of revulsion, shame, despair, and the desire for blood. Only when she realized she wasn't covered by a thin layer of fine bloodstone dust did she recall this was Sorcier, not Cainhurst. It took a while to push those feelings away, which she spent sitting up and stretching, careful not to wake the women around her. Used to be it was because she wanted to put off the morning's debauchery, but in this instance it was to be polite.
Glancing out the window, Maria saw she'd slept in, likely because of yesterday's exertions. From the light, the sun was already peeking out from over the horizon. She sighed at the slothful indulgence, rubbing at her eyes, before glancing at her bedmates. Katarina was sprawled inelegantly with her limbs askew. She was also sleeping the other way around, meaning one of her feet was on Lady Hunt's face, and one knee was on Sophia's stomach. They probably weren't enjoying the experience as much as they thought they would.
The servants were no longer arrayed along the wall, having likely slipped into the adjacent servant's room, though some, probably the ones who taken the last watch in case someone had woken up, were sleeping on the sofa and chairs. Miss Shelley was up though, standing watch over Katarina and holding the poker from the fireplace.
"Good morning, Lady Campbell," Miss Shelley said, slipping the poker behind a fold of her skirt innocently.
"Good morning, Miss Shelley," Maria said. "Is it too early for breakfast?"
"I will call for food, Lady Campbell," Miss Shelley said. "Do you have a preference?"
Maria tilted her head. "Meat and eggs. The rest will probably be fine with any breakfast food. And you'd know best what Lady Katarina would like to eat."
Miss Shelley nodded. While she didn't look anywhere but right at Maria's eyes, the blonde got the sense that her body was examined minutely. "Would you like assistance getting dressed?"
"No, thank you, I'm fine," Maria said. "I'll just take a quick bath."
Miss Shelley nodded. "I have a pot boiling, if you wish."
Ah, warm water in the morning? Oh! Now that she had servants, she could have that in her manor too! "Please."
After a quick bath using indulgently warm water, Maria moved towards her luggage to retrieve the suit she'd prepared for today. The early morning cool pebbled her skin not covered by toweling as she retrieved the relevant clothes. The more light was streaming through the curtains, and Diana was rousing, her nightgown wrinkled. She looked blearily about her, as if not sure about her situation as Maria cast aside her towel to begin getting dressed. Maria supposed she was the sort who was slow to start in the morning.
"Good morning, Lady Diana," Maria said as she stood naked and prepared to put on one of her daywear suits. "I enjoyed out time together last night."
Diana stared at her blearily, then blinked and Maria saw her take in Maria's state of undress. What was she so shocked about? She had already seen Maria naked last night. Maria stared in bemusement as bloodtinge rose to Diana's face.
"W-we didn't… last night…" Diana sputtered. She looked around her at the other sleepers, and for some reason horror came over her.
"I believe the consensus was that everyone found last night very enjoyable," Maria said, frowning in concern. "Everyone gave very loud cries about it. Are you all right, Lady Diana? You look very pale. Do you need me to heal you of something?"
Diana was very pale now, looking even more horrified and was muttering to herself about "what happened last night?". Maria watched her in concern even as she proceeded to start getting dressed.
Abruptly, she gave a sigh as Maria was finished buttoning down her shirt over her shift– and it was a shirt, as opposed to a blouse, for the buttons were on the other side. "Lady Maria…" Diana said, sounding pained. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a needlessly distressing way of summarizing perfectly innocent events?"
"… no?" Maria said slowly as she finished tying the knots on her lower undergarments that kept them on her hips. She then proceeded to pull on her trousers. "I cannot say I have ever had someone say such to me."
Diana nodded. "You have a needlessly distressing way of summarizing perfectly innocent events," she said.
"So noted," a confused Maria said as she sat down to put on her socks and boots.
Everyone woke up at their own pace. With no classes and, for half of them, no classes ever again, they would all afford to be leisurely. Breakfast happened in fits and starts, with more and more food being called for when the contents of the table depleted. By midmorning, almost everyone had roused, eaten, dressed and/or bathed, or at least had down at least two of those things.
The key phrase being 'almost everyone'.
"Is it normal for her to still be asleep?" Maria asked, staring at the still-sleeping Katarina, whose mouth was open and whose body was splayed in a completely different pose than before.
Miss Shelley was a proper maid and thus did not sigh. "Unfortunately," she said.
"When is she likely to wake up?" Lady Berg asked, already fully dressed and having just finished breakfast. Many had, Maria included.
"Any time between now and noon," Miss Shelley said. "And after noon, for that matter. She sleeps a surprisingly long time when she does not have to wake to tend her ve– garden."
(It was a vegetable patch!)
"We should really wake her…" Lady Tucker said. "Um, Lady Katarina, time to take up…?"
Katarina's open-mouthed snort underscored the futility of that attempt.
"How do you usually wake her up?" Diana asked, looking bemused.
"With great difficulty," Miss Shelley said, every line saying she wanted to sigh.
Maria coughed. "Lady Katarina, would you like a cookie?"
Katarina practically floated to an upright sitting position. "Cookie?" she said, eyes still closed and trying to blink themselves awake.
Everyone stared. "Yes, that completely makes sense," Sophia said, arms crossed as she nodded at the conclusion. Everyone nodded in agreement.
And so, the girl's sleepover party ended.
Everyone was packing up to go back to their homes– which was pretty far away, in some peoples cases– happily chatting about last minute small talk as they finished getting ready to leave. One of the castle's servants took Maria's bag for her since she had no servant of her own, and she resolved to finally getting around to hiring her own personal maid. It was one of the things she'd missed after leaving Cainhurst. It had been so convenient having someone to do things for like preparing her clothes, giving her a personal source of blood…
Given there was no point in drinking someone's blood here, her maid might actually be worth training to know her preferences!
It was with a light heart and something to look forward to when she got back to her manor that Maria left with the other girls to give their regards to the princes.
They found them in an office, dark circles around their eyes and looking absolutely exhausted. Each had a stein in front of them, and from the smell it was filled with Rafael's tea. Nicol was with them, looking equally tired as he sat at a desk and read a sheet of paper, while Rafael was moving stiffly in the corner, apparently preparing another pot of tea.
Katarina gasped. "Are you guys all right?" she exclaimed, immediately concerned at the sight of them.
"K-Katarina?" the Third Prince said. "What are you doing here? It's late you, shouldn't be in my rooms… ah, but if you insist… come, my darling my body is ready… " Weakly, he spread his arms.
"Wow, he's really out of it," Sophia said. "He's confusing reality and his delusions even more than usual."
"That's rich coming from you," Lady Hunt said, but there was no bite to it. Despite her frown of annoyance, she actually looked concerned for the prince. "Did you boys get any sleep at all?"
"Can't… " Prince Alan said. "Need to find…" He collapsed face first into his desk, snoring before he hit the surface.
At the same time, the Third Prince, who'd made the terrible mistake of closing his eyes in delusional anticipation, collapsed backwards unconscious into the floor. Luckily, he was standing on a carpet, and Maria was able to dash and catch his head so he wouldn't crack his skull.
"Hex it, I was too late…" Rafael said before giving off an explosive yawn, "I wasn't able to make the tea in time…"
Gently, Maria lay the Third Prince down and walked over to Rafael. "Good morning Rafael," she said pleasantly.
"Hey…" Rafael answered, giving her a goofy, sleep deprived smile.
She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss. He passed out halfway through and she had to catch his suddenly boneless body in wry amusement. Picking him up, she carefully placed him on a nearby chair. "Lord Ascart, why is have none of you apparently gone to sleep?" Maria asked.
Lord Ascart said nothing, continuing to read the report before him.
"Big brother?" Sophia said. She waved a hand in front of his face.
He didn't react. She poked him.
That was all it took for Nicol to collapse face-first into his desk, not one line of his face changing.
Gently, Sophia closed his eyes. "Get some sleep, brother," she said tenderly.
"Ah, I see they have finally succumbed."
Everyone looked up as a man who looked like an older, less handsome version of Nicol entered the room, wearing a very un-Nicol-like smile.
"Daddy!" Sophia cried, rushing over to him. She was picked up and spun around, laughing in delight.
"Uncle Dan!" Katarina cried, waving.
Everyone else, not being on intimate terms with the Prime Minister, either curtsied or, in Maria's case, bowed.
"They've apparently been up all night, hoping for word of the intruder getting caught," the Prime Minister said as he put his daughter down. "Sadly, they must be disappointed. I hope you ladies enjoyed your… sleepover, I believe it was called?"
"Yeah, we had great fun, Uncle Dan!" Katarina said.
The Prime Minister nodded. "You are all free to return to your homes," he said, "provided that Lady Maria will speak on behalf of your health…?"
Realizing what he was asking, Maria nodded. "I can assure you that none of them are in ill health," she said. "And I have treated Lady Claes for her malady."
The Prime Minister nodded. "Then you may leave, ladies," he said, not sounding at all like it was ever a possibility they wouldn't be allowed. "However, I must ask Lady Campbell to stay briefly."
"My sword and arms are at the king's disposal," Maria said with a bow.
"They're unlikely to be needed," the Prime Minister said. "Only your words."
Maria nodded at the others as they were dismissed. Lady Berg was told Prince Ian was still asleep and so she decided to return to her manor. Lord Claes appeared from somewhere, looking cheerfully smug as he looked at the other unconscious boys, and escorted Katarina away, likely to return to their home.
Maria was left with the Prime Minister, several discreet knights and four unconscious young men.
"They'll be taken to rooms for them to get some proper sleep," the Prime Minister said. "Will you please come to my office, Lady Campbell? I find I am in need of your perspective of yesterday's events, as well as your views on the intruder."
"Of course, Prime Minister," Maria said. Glancing at the unconscious Rafael regretfully, she followed after the Prime Minister.