A Morning Stir

SIRIUS OPENED his eyes, sluggishly feeling the sleep wear off, as though dragged upward through layers of warm water. The bed was softer than anything he’d grown used to in the wild, its linens faintly perfumed with dried chamomile and clean cotton. For a brief, disorienting moment, he forgot where he was. Then he noticed the emptiness beside him and his eyes widened.

The other side of the bed was cool and undisturbed. No tousled pillow, no quiet breathing, no faint hum of mana that had become oddly reassuring through the night.

“Aisling?” he murmured, scanning the room.

No answer.

He pushed himself upright, rubbing a hand over his face and beard.

The room was dim with early morning light filtering through the shutters, the grandsovereign clock ticking with soft, precise patience.

He exhaled once, steadying himself. “Oh, right. She went to borrow Henrietta’s clothes." He used his left hand to activate the enchanted rocks within the lampshades to brighten the room, then swung his legs out of bed and made his way to the washroom. He nudged the door open while rubbing the sleep from his eyes, but froze after taking one step in.

For the briefest moment, the world narrowed. Steam curled lazily through the air and the lanternlight softened the tiled walls.

And there, caught facing Sirius, was Aisling. She stood bare, trickling water droplets tracing her figure and glistening in gentle contrast. Her damp hair clung to her neck. From her smooth skin and its natural softness, to her voluptuous chest and narrow curve of her waist, it wasn’t posed or inviting, just there. When she met Sirius’s gaze, her face went scarlet in an instant as he instinctively registered the tasteful sight in front of him.

Although a moment was all it took, and not something he deliberately intended on doing. He used the next moment to shut the door so quickly, Aisling shivered from the gust of wind that rushed over her. “I’m so sorry!” he blurted, stumbling back some steps while his heart tried to escape his ribcage. Oh mana, I’m so stupid! he hopelessly thought. Why’d I open the door like that? I knew I should’ve knocked!

While he clutched his hair, from inside the washroom, there was a strangled squeak.

“S-Sirius?!”

“Aisling!” he called. “Please forgive me, I-I didn’t know you were in there!” he frantically shouted, eyes squeezed shut, and his face was burning red hot like hers. His brain was turning its gears in overdrive. “I thought you—! Borrowing clothes—! Lights were off—! Door was open—! Shit.” Oh fuck, I cursed on holy ground… Almighty One please forgive me. “I’m so, so sorry for walking in!” His thoughts continued running wild. Ah, there’s NO WAY I can face her now. She’ll think I’m a pervert! The flustered Bishop continued ruffling his hair in the pause that followed after.

“… O-Okay!” Aisling finally replied, her voice small and like a quick utterance of relief as she tried to sound composed. But she was the most startled of the two. Her heart hammered in her chest, drowning her thoughts. She couldn’t even make out her own reflection in the mirror, only seeing a blur.

Sirius exhaled, covering his face with both hands as he fell back onto the bed. “Breathe, Sirius,” he instructed in a low tone. “Just breathe. Maybe she’ll understand.” He gritted his teeth. “Argh, I can’t believe this happened. Okay, calm down. We’re both adults and we can be mature about this…”

Meanwhile, Aisling leaned against the door with a towel covering her body. Her eyes were closed and her chest heaved as she collected her thoughts. To be fair, I saw most of his body last night during treatment… His physique was… divine. She postured and looked at herself in the mirror. So I hope he doesn’t feel disgusted at mine…

Sirius removed his hands from his face and sat hunched over the edge of the bed, his forearms resting on his thighs as he stared at the washroom door, whispering, “Though I definitely shouldn’t say this to her face… but damn… Aisling really is a timeless beauty.”

Next door, Henrietta and Lucien lay tangled in shared warmth, the quiet intimacy of sleep lingering between them. Bare skin pressed against bare skin, her head tucked comfortably beneath his chin, his arm draped loosely around her waist. All it took was a sudden outburst from next door to wake the sleeping lovers.

Lucien groaned, “Sounds like Sirius is awake.”

Henrietta stirred, blinking a few times, then let out a soft giggle as another frantic apology echoed through the stone walls. “Oh my,” she murmured, amused. “That must be our cue. Wakey, wakey, my love.”

Lucien cracked one eye open and glanced toward the grandsovereign clock.

Its ornate hands glowed faintly blue at five minutes shy of the waking chime. “Mmm, five more minutes,” he muttered, tightening his arm around her.

She laughed quietly and brushed her fingers through his beard. “Tempting. But I have a meeting with Chisato and the others anyway.”

“How come?” He slowly sat up.

“We need to give Master Rysa the proposal to see if we can help our little cutie.” Henrietta leaned up and kissed him—slow, warm, unhurried—before sliding out from the covers. She stretched her arms above her head. Her chest was a considerable size like soft pillows, her stomach toned yet smooth. “And,” she added mischievously, “I need to lend her one of my uniforms before poor Sirius combusts from embarrassment.”

Lucien chuckled, scooching closer to her. “That’s fair. I remember my first time seeing you in your birthday suit.” He worked his arms around her narrow waist, squeezing her delicately as he rested his chin on her neck, the soft strands of beard tickling her. “Many a meal have I eaten with my eyes each time I gaze upon your beauty,” he whispered in her ear before nibbling on it.

She gasped, then giggled, “Stop it…”

A short while later, a gentle knock sounded at Sirius’s door. He opened it cautiously, still flushed.

Henrietta stood there, perfectly composed, with a folded burgundy-and-black dress draped over her arm. “Well,” she said sweetly, then winked with her lavender eye, “thanks for the wakeup call. It was certainly different.”

“I—” Sirius cleared his throat. “I’m very sorry about the noise, Henrietta.”

She waved it off, joking, “Oh, no need to fret, sweetie. Hearing your panic was the most entertainment I have had before sunrise in years.”

He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

She looked around the room and noticed Aisling’s absence but assumed she was still in the washroom. After handing him the dress, she remarked, “Anyway, this is for Aisling. And remember to meet us in the sitting room soon.”

“Sure,” he muttered. “Uh, thanks.”

Henrietta giggled. “I must be going now.” Just as she turned to leave, she recalled, “Oh, just so you know, you may have to zip her dress in the back and tie the corset for her.”

His heart leaped into his throat, but before he could get a word in, Henrietta chimed, “Toodle loo.” Left alone again, he took a deep breath and carefully made his way to knock on the washroom door. When carefully passing the dress through, he informed Aisling to call him if she needed help. “Henrietta said something about the back zipper and tying the corset…”

“Oh, okay then. Thanks,” Aisling simply replied, and shut the door again. Her tone wasn’t stern or irritated, but stiff, a if she were also going through the same motions as Sirius.

For some time, there was some quiet shuffling, followed by the sound of fabric settling. A few moments later, the door slowly opened.

Aisling piped up, “Hey, Sirius?”

“Yeah,” he replied, stepping closer to the door.

“Could you, um, help me real quick, please?”

“Sure.” He swallowed and placed a hand on the door but not pushing it. “I’m, uh, I’m entering now.”

“Okay…”

When the Bishop caught a glimpse of how Aisling looked in the front from the mirror’s reflection, his legs jolted, like they forgot how to stand.

Henrietta’s uniform was noticeably bigger on her because of the height, bust, and waist differences, but it still fit well. Her waist without the corset nearly accentuated her silhouette, the neckline framing her cleavage modestly but unmistakably left some room. The deep burgundy blended beautifully with Aisling’s hair, contrasted her complexion, but really brought out her emerald green eyes. This lent her an elegance that felt wholly unexpected.

“So it looks like what you said.” She awkwardly shifted her back towards Sirius. The rear diamond window of the dress showed her defined shoulder blades and stretched from the base of her neck down to the center of her spine. Aisling needed help zipping the parts from the base of her spine to the center together, but she couldn’t fit them into one another.

“Alright, I see what I need to do,” Sirius said, more composed and focused on the task at hand. Next, after he helped her place the black corset over her waist, the back needed to be strung, so he carefully managed that, while also allowing Aisling room to breathe when he pulled it. “Not too tight, is it?” he muttered, his heart rapidly beating.

“Just fine,” she exhaled, slightly flinching.

It wasn’t until after he tied it off did a bead of sweat finally streak down his face and he exhaled like he’d been holding his breath the whole time.

“Thank you,” Aisling murmured, then faced him and shifted awkwardly under his stare. “I-Is it okay?”

“It’s—” His voice failed him, despite keeping himself together. But after gulping, he mustered the courage. “You look beautiful, Aisling.”

“Really?” Her confidence boosted, she struck a pose. “Though, I’m not gonna lie, it does feel kinda heavy on me. A bit stuffy too, and the boots are a little big…”

“Yeah.” His voice trailed as he looked off to the side. “Plus, Henrietta’s taller and… uh…” Sirius didn’t want to elaborate on her fuller proportions, so he excused himself to use the sink.

When she exited to give him privacy, Aisling looked at the mirror beside the bookshelf to further admire herself. “I probably can’t pull this off long-term like the others here, but we’ll see.”

Cold water. Teeth. Face. Eyes.

Sirius performed his daily ablution, before gripping the stone basin to stare at his reflection. Keep yourself together, his thoughts advised. I can’t keep overreacting or she’ll think I’m weird. He soon emerged and found Lucien waiting beside Aisling on the couch.

After seeing his friend, Lucien stood up to greet him with arms folded and an unapologetic grin. “Rough morning?” he teased.

Aisling hung her head, and Sirius twitched. “Nothing rough about it,” he quickly replied, flustered. “Just a misunderstanding.”

“Yes, a misunderstanding is all,” she quickly agreed.

He laughed. “All right. Let’s go, then, shall we?”