When Astredian woke late the next morning, he found that Elise was still snoozing in the bed beside him. Even though she was creating a puddle of drool on his pillow, he was pleased to see her. She normally woke well ahead of him, and had no compunctions about getting out of the bed without so much as a good morning.
The paladin shifted in the bed, leaning on one elbow. He brought his free hand over to brush Elise’s cheek. She stirred, mumbling something about blankets, before snorting awake. Her eyes cracked open, but it took her a minute to focus on him. Then, as she took in his faint smile, an expression of happiness dawned across her face like the sunrise.
“Good morning,” Elise said, her voice crackling, green eyes sparkling as the corners of her mouth turned up. She put her own ha
