In Which Dora Wakes Late

November 8, 1203

Dora remembered having odd dreams. She was sure she'd forgotten having odd dreams. Neither thought had ever bothered her.

What did, however, was exactly what had happened upon waking this morning. She knew she'd dreamed--vividly. She knew it was an odd dream--very odd. But she couldn't remember a thing about it, other than that it had happened.

That had happened before, but never quite like this. She might have had... at least a flash of an image, even if it told her nothing about the dream as a whole. But this morning, there was nothing. Just an empty space in her mind, a gnawing reminder of something she'd forgotten, something that ought to have been unforgettable.

Something...

"Ah! Finally awake, I see."

Her husband, all smiles caught her as she cleared the last few steps and cleared her fog with a mid-morning kiss. Mid-morning. She'd always been an early riser, as Alina had long lamented since they'd been little girls stuck sharing a bedroom. A lucky thing, this rare occurrence striking on one of her free days!

"I was starting to worry. You're not ill, are you?"

"No. I just... slept strangely, I guess." Slept strangely, dreamed strangely, woken strangely. Adonis, at least, was his usual caring self. "I'll be fine so long as I've got you."

"And you'll always have me, my love--although alas, I won't have you to myself just yet today! Your father's waiting for you in the kitchen."

"My father?" She certainly hadn't gotten her usual sleeping habits from her father! Of course, her father had no sleep habits at all. She'd spent half her childhood convinced that he in fact didn't sleep, until she'd overheard the baron scolding him for napping at his desk. She'd since heard reports of him catching winks in trees, on the roof, at Master Altharaine's inn (probably not after having paid for a bed), and even in the Lady Rahileine's cellar--from the sounds of, any preceding presence on the property going unnoticed by the family.

Her mother thought sleep bored him. But if sleep bored him, then so did routine visits. Not that he didn't call, but rarely did she find him waiting politely in her kitchen.

"And he even knocked, if you believe it! I was so concerned, I asked if anyone had died. Of course, he told me to spend less time asking stupid questions and more time making my eyelashes look less girly."

"So... less cause for concern, then." Dora shook her head, not without that bizarre fondness only her father could inspire. "I'll go see him."

"And I'll be upstairs, making my eyelashes look less girly."

She chuckled as Adonis took to the steps, then made for the kitchen. Her father hated waiting even more than he did both sleep and visits.

"Oh, thank God. I need your help."

"Good morning to you too, Father." Whatever it was, she suspected he'd be better off seeking help from her five-year-old son than from her. "What do you need?"

"Your boss has a stash of books, right? Books that might say something about... I don't know, behavior and whatnot, whatever you did at the university? Or training? I'd ask Raia if I could use the university's, but it's tough to speak with someone after your nap in their cellar ends with them pelting potatoes at your naked ass as you run like hell."

"Wait, you were-- never mind." Dora sighed. "What do you need a book for?"

"I'm glad you asked. See, I'm curious as to what kind of bird would be best suited to a life spent stealing pastries off of windowsills. I don't know if a crow would be able to carry a pie, but I get the feeling that an owl would betray me..."

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