From the Morning

Ow, ow, ow.

Ew. Sunlight. Go away.

…Wait.

Sunlight?

Elisa blinked against the intrusive warmth, groaning as she yanked the blanket over her head.

For a second, she felt the perfect weight of it, soft and heavy and oddly homely.

Then, she felt it—a hand brushing up her thigh.

“Too cold…”

The voice was low, tired, familiar.

Her entire body tensed.

For a split second, she was about to shove him off the bed, to curse, to demand why the hell he was in her space—

Then she remembered she had been the one who grabbed his collar and pulled him into her chest last night.

Oopsie.

“Ow. You got carried away.”

Kael exhaled, his fingers twitching slightly. "Apologies… I was just—"

His voice dipped, softer now. "Very frustrated."

She shuddered a breath. “Ain’t my blood supposed to make you warmer?”

"Please… just stay in. It’s cold."

“And you think that helps your case?”

Now that he was… fueled, for lack of a better word, his skin was much livelier, his muscles more defined, shoulders—broader.

Her fingers twitched against the sheets. By the Gods. She spoils him too much.

"...Fine."

She didn’t push him away. Not that he was particularly warm.

Theirs was a hookup born from exhaustion and convenience.

One that she very much indulged in.

Just… nice to have company.

\\

It had been quite a while.

Long enough that Elisa had time to trace her fingers absentmindedly over the scars on his back.

That was the funniest part, really.

The fact that she had touched his scars before she could've truly known him.

\\

Eventually, Kael shifted, stretching out like a lazy cat, then exhaled and sat up.

"I need to get ready for the war room." His voice was still rough from sleep. "Meet me for breakfast."

“Even after your feeding?”

“It’s just… well, feels like I can finally enjoy breakfast for the taste rather than just for necessity now.”

Elisa rolled onto her side, half-buried in the blankets.

"I should be in the war room too."

Kael didn’t even hesitate. "I know."

She lifted a brow.

Kael sighed.

"Because some of my fellow demonkin generals consider the idea of an outsider with no prior ‘demonkin etiquette’… sitting in on military discussions… it’s detestable."

A pause.

Then, simply—"I won’t waste your time with false promises. It is your people, I know. It is silly not to bring someone who intimately knows of how Highcliff really views the demonkin incursion. Don’t worry, we have our own surveyors of the region as well. But you have to put in a good word for yourself first. They see you as green as a horn."

Elisa sat up, watching him, waiting for the inevitable defensive excuse, the justification, the thinly veiled attempt to protect her.

It never came.

Because she didn’t want to be defended.

She exhaled slowly.

"Fair enough. But can you take in some of what I have to suggest first?"

“It’d be my pleasure.”

\\

Breakfast may as well have been brunch. The Count insisted she eat first since the meeting would probably go overtime, but Elisa insisted she wait. She wasn’t about to be one-upped in terms of humility, no way!

“So how has your week been?”

She laid down a crispy and runny omelet with great hesitation. Took Kael long enough to get his words out.

“What do you mean?”

“I realize I… uh, had not been courteous last night.”

“Courteous was the opposite of what happened between us. You were an animal.”

“In my defense…”

"Joking, joking. I liked it." Elisa waved him off before taking another sip of her tea. "It’s been good. A lot of surveying the people in the castle, people around the towns, especially the most multicultural ones. A lot of suggesting other people do certain things while I sit back and let it happen. Essentially, my dream job."

Kael huffed a quiet chuckle.

Elisa continued, tapping a finger against the rim of her plate.

"Beyond that, I’ve been talking with others in the manor. Getting to know them again… refamiliarizing myself, I suppose. Then I gave them a little stipend for staying with us after all these years. With my pockets."

Kael’s brow rose.

"Pockets mainly supported by you, but hey—details."

Elisa leaned back in her chair, dropping her head slightly.

"Honestly? I feel a bit useless."

Kael’s fingers tapped idly against the carved armrest of his chair.

"It’s just…" Elisa hesitated. "It’s not the right time to throw my own pity party."

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Will there ever be a right time?"

She took a breath.

"I want to have a life beyond being your wife."

Something in Kael’s posture shifted.

"I don’t know what the previous me was like," she admitted, "but surely she must’ve told you at some point that I wanted to start my own dessert business?"

Kael blinked. "No."

Elisa’s lips pressed together.

"There’s a gap in the market, you know. With all the demonkin around, Middletown especially, there’s a whole new customer base out there that probably never had good food in their lives. I know this sounds stupid in the grand scheme of things, but I want to help you, even if it is just money. And I want to help myself."

“Darling, it is ridiculous for you to source your own stream of income as the wife of a Count. You helped more than enough surveying and brainstorming ideas for renovations and alternative industry the last few years. I say that is more than deserving of some compensation.”

Kael stared at her. And that gaze of his… sharp enough to cut stone.

"Your… second-in-command handled everything while you were gone," Elisa admitted, shifting her weight. "She seems to skirt around me all the time."

"I heard her comments. She was suspicious of you from the start. She seems to respect your martial abilities, however."

“The bandits were young. A real smorgasbord of people who relied more on numbers than technical competence.” Elisa frowned. "And what about the situation with Ve’tria? The Lycans? Hopefully they can forgive us."

“A good amount have.” Kael exhaled. "We weren’t aware of things brewing of this scale. The invasion heralded new technology from the Concordant. Obviously, we knew there would be pushback. It was only a matter of time some never-welldoer was going to use it. But not like this. Make no mistake, the Lycans will come and investigate themselves. But for now, they have stayed their hands from any direct challenge. From my talks with them, they almost seem embarrassed."

Elisa’s stomach twisted.

"People weren’t stupid enough to try before," Kael continued. "And why would they? For such a small land whose only real industrial worth is the Basin?"

"Really? That’s what you think of Highcliff?"

He gave a short, humorless chuckle. "Not my opinion, darling. The High Lords’. But I understand why they think that way. Doesn’t make it fair."

He tilted his head, watching her. "Could you believe their imposition was even worse before? A generation of High Lords back then believed in absolute autocracy. Their land, their rules, their survival—alone. And when the Invasion came, do you know what happened?"

Kael's voice dipped, smooth but sharp. "More of them died than in any war before it. So, count your lucky stars you live in an era of relative prosperity."

Elisa frowned slightly.

"Today’s Lords are far more liberal than humans like to claim. They saw what happened to their predecessors. They saw how ‘standing alone’ turned into being wiped out. Adaptation isn’t just survival—it’s necessity. Anyway, getting off-topic."

He swallowed a quick sip of his wine. Elisa blinked. Wine… for breakfast? Not even blood?

“What I am trying to say is—if you talked to my commanders, I swear to you, you will find more similarities than differences. All you need is one ‘in’ with my commanders. The others will trust you implicitly. And by the by… you can bring along the kobold as leverage.”

“My Cloud? My blue boy?”

“So he has a name now. I knew you’d come around to the demonkin.”

"Don't make me regret it."

\\

The Commander must have felt incredulous when she saw Elisa.

Standing with her arms crossed and wearing a face like she had something to prove... how scandalous.

Across from her was Commander Oraya Vehl. 

She had a mind to think that Oraya was gruff, efficient, and far too tired for this conversation judging by what she did for Highcliff's security. Evidently not going too well, hence the eyebags, but what can you do against a force that had the forest itself shielding them from harm. 

Elisa felt the right to feel just a little bit smug about it. It was her co-idea, after all. Right after Daniel...

The good commander just came out of a multi-hour long meeting, anyways. Your brain would be fried under the best circumstances.

Her silver-hued skin caught the flickering torchlight, her dark horns adorned with rings of old victories. A warrior, through and through.

She took one look at Elisa and sighed. 

"You again."

Thus would ensue the world's most pointless cat...

A tiny blue speck peeked out from Elisa’s arms. The thing blinked.

...fight?

“Y-you… you brought him?”

"Yay!! I am very useful! My name’s Cloud now, miss Oraya! Elisa named me and it must be because of how fluffy I am!" The Kobold was a veritable ball of yarn the way he spun around Elisa's head. "Also, very good at diplomacy."

Oraya let out a long, suffering sigh.

"M-my weakness. H-him as... leverage. Gods, Kael really married a menace. How could you?"

"I come prepared."

"You’re here about the command room, aren’t you?"

Elisa shrugged, as if it wasn’t the entire reason she came. "Can you blame me?"

“I can blame plenty since it’s working."

A beat of silence.

“You’ve changed. And regressed, in equal measure.” Then, Oraya exhaled, tilting her head. "Look, it’s not that I don’t respect you. I do. You’ve got fire. Cunning, in equal measure; and any friend of the kob... Cloud's is implicitly trustworthy. He has a good eye for good people."

The fur creature blepped.

"But putting you in the command room? That’s… uncomfortable for the more traditionally educated."

"Uncomfortable?"

Oraya gestured vaguely. "Not a common role for a vassal wife. You’re not a commander, not a soldier, not a formal diplomat. At best, Kael's personal advisor. And even that's stretching things. They don’t know where to place you."

Elisa tapped her fingers against her arm, considering.

"Then don’t place me. Let me in as an advisor."

Oraya snorted.

A pause.

Then—a small, almost reluctant smirk from Oraya.

"I won't shut you out the door."

Elisa fist-pumped. "Yes!"

"Don’t go being all excited just yet." She exhaled, crossing her arms. "As a member of our inner strategic circle, I will now assign you your first bit of fresh intelligence. And unfortunately, it’s bad news."

Elisa’s smirk faltered.

"Something has risen from the Great Basin Lake."

"Risen?"

"We have no idea what it is or what it could represent. But the fact remains—if something as massive as a statue could rise above the water with no soil beneath it for support, then it is something powerful."

Oraya’s fingers tapped against her arm. "The Count must be informed immediately."

Elisa swallowed. "What did it look like?"

Oraya’s eyes flickered slightly, like even repeating the description was unsettling.

"Humanoid. But with a bird’s skull for a head. Feathers where skin should be."

A pulse of dread shot through Elisa’s chest.

Her breath hitched.

By the gods.

It must be…

"Jujilbarka…"

"What...?"

"He's come to save us."

Silence.

Oraya stared at her. "Save us? From what, exactly?"

Elisa had no answer.

The past wasn’t just resurfacing in the Basin. It seemed like it was coming for her.

And if something that impossible could rise from the lake, then maybe—just maybe—she could take control of her own past.

"I need to talk to Kael."

Oraya exhaled, shaking her head. "Elisa, I know that look—"

"Not about this. Not yet. But I can’t… I can’t keep waiting to make things right."

Oraya studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Go, then. But don’t waste his time. For all our sakes."

Elisa didn’t intend to.