Dawn brought the telltale songs of larks into the open window of Vinta's master bedroom. And though Vinta's chiming voice coaxed Aldrec to rise, he discovered, to his combined amusement and dismay, that Mericlou had decided to use his chest as a pillow, making rising into a more complicated affair than usual. As inconveniencing as this was, he afforded himself a chance to savor such a moment, as he ran his fingers tenderly across her cheek. He gazed lovingly upon his wife's sleeping form, as her lips reflexively curved into a smile.

He recalled her once saying that she was not an early riser. This meant that she might stay that way until around noon, most likely -not that he minded. But as much as he wanted this moment to last, there were many things to do. And being paralyzed in his bed for the duration of the morning would not get them done.

Reaching under her arms, he cast a gentle levitation spell.

Retnom, retnom … he whispered, feeling her weight upon him lessen as she arose upon on the blanket of nothingness beneath her. As she floated above him, he slid out of bed, and diminished the spell slowly, allowing her to descend back onto the mattress as gently as she rose. The entire time, she slept soundly.

He stretched his faintly sore muscles, preparing to leave for the washroom, but stopped just short of activating the runes on the door. Their glowing, intertwining patterns were a reminder of something he needed to do.

Quietly, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and removed the device from it. And then, from a magically-produced sheet of paper, he wrote the note to put beside it before placing it on the pillow next to Mericlou. He smiled endearingly at her sleeping form.

"Rest well, my Tulyr," he said, closing the door behind him. "We have a busy day ahead of us."

***

The bath was blessedly warm and relaxing, from the moment the water touched his skin. It was so soothing, in fact, that Aldrec found himself having to shake off the pleasurable fancy that the water was Mericlou's embracing hands.

He watched as the rose petals that had clung to his body from last night, floated to the surface, eventually covering the water with a sparse blanket of lavender purple. Combined with the decorative ferns and vines set about the bathing pool, they made it look even more like an outdoor pond than before.

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He closed his eyes, and the warmth of the water lulled him into a half-slumber, where his imagination transformed the sound of the wind outside into the roaring of the waves. The washroom became a beach in the Lemsram coast town of Lithovaad, as he and Mericlou enjoyed each other's presence in a tropical paradise.




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