Aleksandra, as usual, had the urge to push him away when he kissed her. His weight on her and the look on his face made her think of that morning the week prior. Having him kiss her in his bed felt almost wrong. But her own body betrayed her, her fingers burrowing deeper in his hair. Just feeling the soft strands fall forward to brush her face was enough to lessen her unease.

It was over quickly. Or it felt quick. She didn't know how long kissing was supposed to last. She was still sort of dazed as Aulfr climbed out of bed to perform his morning warm-up. She sighed and closed her eyes, tempted to burrow beneath the blankets and sleep for the rest of the day. No feasts and no missions, so there was hardly anything to do. But she did have to cut her hair, and she was hoping Aulfr would let her trim his.

So she dragged herself from bed and padded to the door to call for breakfast- along with some coffee. She loved the bitter, energy-rich drink and was often in a foul mood if she didn't get some in the morning. Even better, it wasn't all that hard to come by. Banti sold ships full of the beans at low costs, so she had as much coffee as she wanted. Especially here in the castle.

While she waited for breakfast, she joined Aulfr in his daily warm-up. She'd watched him do it several times, so she mimicked some of his movements and threw in a few of her own. She didn't speak. She felt peaceful, at ease with the man beside her. She listened to their combined movements and their breathing, and enjoyed the warmth of the morning sun streaming in to caress her face.

Once they finished, she took his hand before he could move away and turned toward him. It was terribly stupid of her to keep touching him and acting sweet on him like this, but she was stuck here for at least a year. Even if he was just using her for politics, he was reciprocating her actions and he was doing it in a way that felt safe to her. She'd keep on with it until he asked her to stop.

She reached up and grabbed his collar to pull him closer to her. She was still on her tiptoes when she kissed him, her fingers burrowed in his hair once more to keep him there. She lightly scratched her nails over his scalp, kissing him longer than he'd kissed her. She was getting better at it. After a few long moments, she pulled away just enough to speak. "It's going to be a lazy day," she murmured against his lips. "We could both use a trim. Would you let me?" she asked, brushing his hair from his eyes.