You wake up and find yourself tucked under the familiar blanket of your bed.  You feel  a sense of warmth and glance right, noticing Baekhyun’s statuesque face, sleeping with your head snuggled under his. 

“Baekhyun-ah,” You whisper.  “Baekhyun-ah,”

He grumbles and mutters quietly.  “Not yet,” His arms tighten around you.

You sigh and rest your head back under his chin, setting your arm on his chest.  Last night, you saw your parents.  You know now, that your father had been a director in an opposing organization and your mother was just someone else he fell in love with.  You had been in the organization, too, away from your mother for 7 years.

You shudder at the thought, frightened by the fact that you had thrown knives without compassion.

“What is it?” Baekhyun questions.

“Do you think I could have killed someone, Baek? Killed someone just because they told me to?”

“You’re 7 years old at the time, Amara.  They would be animals if they had sent you out to kill someone,” He answers.

You push the thought away and reach up to poke Baekhyun’s cheek.  “How did you end up on my bed, huh?”

“You were the one who pulled me in.  Well, technically, you refused to let go of my hand, so, here I am,” He clears his throat and presses his lips on top of your head.  “I won’t be going anywhere, so don’t worry unnecessarily,”

“Mm,” You marvel a moment longer at the comfort of having him close to you and having his arms around you.  “Anyways, Baek, we have to get ready for the day.  We need to go through those files,”

“Are you okay with that?” He asks in concern.

“Of course I am, who do you think I am?”

“Amara,”

“That’s right,”

Chuckling, Baekhyun lets go of you and swings his leg off the side of your bed, scratching the back of his head as he stands up, yawning and flexing his arms.

“Aigoo, so handsome in the morning,” You kneel on the edge of your bed and reach out to pat down the hair on his head.

“Ei, I’m not a kid, don’t talk to me like that,” He shakes his head, helping you off the bed. 

“Yeah, yeah,” You push him out of your room and grin. 

Standing on tiptoes, you peck him on the cheek and step back to laugh at his expression.  “Thanks for being there, Baek,”

“Y-yeah,” He brings his hand to his cheek and stares at you as you close the door, smiling to yourself.

You bathe quickly and pull on a casual, plain, red cotton dress that fell to your knees.  You cover your bare arms with a flower printed cardigan and take red flats to go with the outfit.  Pulling your hair into a low bun, you leave your room, making your way towards Chanyeol’s to see how he’s comfortable with the castle.

“Yeol?” You knock on his door and call out.

You’re answered by Chanyeol himself, looking fetch in his simple linen shirt, khaki pants on his long legs and comfortable shoes to finish it off.  He had a towel draped across his shoulder and you reach out to take it and ruffle his hair with it, drying it off.

“Hey, hey!” He pulls away and frowns.

“Dry your hair properly, you’ll catch a cold,” You throw the towel back at him and hop at the balls of your feet.  “So? How’s the castle?”

“Nice,” Chanyeol shrugs, rubbing the back of his head with the towel.

“Ei,” You give him a playful punch on the stomach.  “You’re welcome,”

He chuckles along with you and throws his towel into the room before leaving to walk with you.  “What are you up to today?”

“I have this case I’m supposed to work on with the princes,” You smile. 

“Princes? Don’t tell me—“

“Yeah, the ones that came after me into the house last night,” You laugh, affectionately grinning at the memory.

“You’re good at getting guys, aren’t you,” Chanyeol nods approvingly. 

Together, the two of you laugh as you both make your way down the corridor, going separate ways as you reach the work room.  “Here’s my stop,”

“Go, I’ll see the castle to myself,” He pulls you in for a hug.  “Don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” You roll your eyes at him but return his hug.  “Bye, Yeol.  Come visit if you have nothing else to do,” You nod at the workroom.

“Okay,” He says as he watches you enter the room.  “And, sis?”

“Hm?”

He wiggles his eyebrows playfully.  “Tell me which one’s your pick, okay?”

Laughing at his joke, you close the door and skip happily towards your seat, flipping through the Rebellion’s files.

“You’re early,” You look up to see Luhan making his way towards you with a smile on his face.  “Got enough sleep?”

“Sure did,” You grin at him and pat his chair, gesturing for him to sit beside you.

“Hyung, why do you have to rush over without breakfast?” Baekhyun comes in after him, his hands on his tummy.

Your tummy growls in reaction and the three of you laugh.  “Breakfast?” You offer, standing up.

The three of you make your way towards the dining hall and find your own breakfast menus.  You go for the omelet, Baekhyun goes for the scrambled egg and bacon while Luhan goes for the porridge.

You thank the chef with a nod of your head and a smile and proceed to your table.

“Juice?” Luhan sets a glass of orange juice by your plate, slipping into his seat at the same time as Baekhyun does.

“Thank you,” You grin, taking a sip.

You eat your breakfast and finish your juice, calmly waiting in your seat as the boys go for seconds.  Shaking your head, you wonder how they could have that big of an appetite early in the morning (and most of the time) but stil have bodies like..that.

“Eat slowly, boys,”

You look up at the familiar voice and dip your head in a friendly bow at Lara, who was there to take up their dirty plates.

“Yes, ma’am,” Luhan and Baekhyun answers in unison, minding their manners.

You chuckle along with their mother and eye the boys as she winks at them.  It sure is nice to have a mother around. 

Finishing up with breakfast, the three of you return to the workroom with full energy, noticing that a new heap of files, a laptop, a tablet, and several CDs have been set on your table. 

A note stuck on the top of the laptop said:

Study first, then visit the places kept in the tablet.  Hope it’ll get you somewhere.

-          The Lady

“Shall we begin, then?” Baekhyun flips open the laptop and you divide the files for Luhan and yourself.  His eyes linger on you in vague concern, and you flash him a smile.

Nodding, the three of you begin again.