A Fresh Morning

I woke up next to Nela, and knew this wasn't a dream. It was the happiest I had been in my life up until that moment. I stretched, and grinned at her.

"Good morning," I said.

"Guten morgääähn," she mumbled back, and buried her head so deep in her pillow only her hair and the tips of her ears poked out.

I sat up, and enjoyed the first wash of sunlight on my legs. A peaceful morning. I didn't have to rush to quiet my alarm, didn't have to tiptoe around the kitchen in search of something to eat. I didn't have to quietly close the door, and then pretend at school that everything was fine. I stretched my legs, really felt them, felt the sun on them.

And I had no problem waiting for Nela to wake up until we could continue our gaming session. In my head, I was already thinking that puzzle over—there had to be some mechanic we had missed. Maybe a hidden lever or pressure plate? Or we had to wait for the right circumstances—surely not at night, since we tried that yesterday. Or maybe a certain day of the week? No, surely not, as that would restrict the players too much. Maybe we had overlooked a key item? Or were missing some ability? There were still so many possibilities, and I was looking forward to going through each and every one of them together with Nela.

She looked so peaceful, still half asleep, curled up like a cat as she hugged her pillow.

She's so beautiful, I thought. I never want to look away from her.

But our peaceful moment was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door.

"Prinzessin! Dat is Tied opstahn!"

And with no further introduction, the maid I had gotten a glance at yesterday barged into the room. She was shorter than I had anticipated, now that I could see her in full. Her practical, short purple hair shone in the light, and I could see small, black horns poking out from the top of her head. Strange. Nela doesn't have those.

Any other thought was cut off as she glared at me, as if she was ready to kill me at any moment. I immediately sprung off from the bed, as if I had just gotten caught doing something I definitely shouldn't have done. And maybe that was the case? But whatever it was, she didn't do anything but glare at me. Maybe she crinkled her nose at me, and I couldn't help but mirror my own annoyance at her on my face.

"Prinzessin," she said again, "opstahn! Wi mööt los."

"Hmmmmngh? Meike? Wat...?"

"Opstahn." With that, Meike went over to Nela, and unceremoniously tore the cover away from her.

"Ah!"

Now, Nela reminded me more of a rolypoly than a cat, her curl taking a defensive touch as she shivered. "Dat is koolt!"

"Bloot, wiel du al wedder so lang slöppst," Meike said, her tone reprehensive. "Du müsst längst op sien!"

"Ik will aver nich," Nela protested.

"Ik weet." Suddenly, Meike was glaring at me again. "Du denkst, dat du di allens verlöövst kannst."

"Meike..." Nela whined. "Dat is doch allens in Ordnung."

"Nix is in Ordnung." Her tone was sharp. "De Königin will di sehn."

I didn't quite get what was going on between the two, but their interaction was tense enough that I felt myself freeze on the inside. Did Nela need my help? No, it looked like she could hold her own well enough. But she clearly didn't want to get through with whatever Meike had just said.

"Ik weet," she finally sighed, as if she had been defeated. "Ik maak mi gau trech."

"Ik help," Meike insisted, and turned around to open Nela's gigantic closet.

I glanced at them, unsure what to do. Surely, I should excuse myself, but I didn't know where to go, or what to do. And with Meike around, I felt too embarrassed to try and communicate with Nela via our game emotes. Was there another way? Our gazes met, and Nela grinned at me. Okay. Great. Wonderful, but not helping me in the slightest, I thought.

For the moment, I decided to just... stay there. As long as I wasn't obstructing them, they wouldn't mind, right? Or, if they did, they would tell me so.

I just didn't think that Nela would disrobe right then and there. The movement, of course, immediately caught my attention—the soft slope of her shoulders, the curve of her neck, the way her hair curled down her back.

Then, my view was promptly disrupted by Meike, who now more than before glared at me. I quickly looked away, my face burning. This is wrong, even if Nela doesn't mind, I thought. I really shouldn't look again.

But, as if pulled by an unseen force, my eyes darted back to Nela—and Meike, who was moving to button up Nela's dress in a way that I couldn't see anything improper. I wasn't sure if I should curse her or thank her.

"I'm..."

"Roh." Meike snarled at me. "Hier, duusch di."

With that, she threw a fluffy bath towel and a basic set of clothes right at my face, further obscuring my view.

"I, uh, thanks?" I said.

"Wat seggst du? Ik verstah nix," she said. Then, she pointed at another door. "Duusch. Di."

Okay, I did get the hint. And while I went around the bed, Meike mirrored my movements, even though Nela was fully clothed by now. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't like I wanted to try anything! Well, maybe I did, but I wouldn't. Not with Meike around, clearly.

The bathroom was surprisingly big, with a giant tub taking up most of the space. Thankfully, there was already hot water waiting in the tub for me, so I didn't have to figure out where exactly it came from. It was pretty magical.

And getting into the bubbly, scalding hot water was even more magical. I let myself sink to the bottom of the tub, with the water up to my face. When was the last time I had a bath such as this? Back on Earth, I was lucky if the water turned even lukewarm, if he remembered to pay the bills on time. This here... was probably the best bath I ever had.

And then I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I had showered back on Earth. I must reek, I thought. Great. Awesome.

I wanted to die, but instead, I just submerged my whole body for a moment, before I surfaced again. There was the sound of soap bubbles popping in my ear, and I made sure to get as clean as I could. Outside, I could hear Nela chatting with Meike, but I couldn’t make out any words.

What are we, even?, I wondered. Is this a relationship? Are we just friends? I couldn't put a name to it, but that was fine with me. If I had just one wish that could be fulfilled right now, it would be for this to stay the same. I stretched, and got out of the tub. The clothes didn't fit me well, but the light linen felt nice on my skin. I stretched, and was ready to take on the day.