Kari awoke just before dawn the next morning and blinked in the rapidly increasing light shining through the windows leading onto the balcony.  It took her mind a few minutes to reset after such a vivid dream.  It wasn’t like any dream she had ever had before.  Usually, she experienced her dreams with all five senses (which was very unusual, or so she had been told), but nothing had ever compared to this one.  This dream had felt more real than real life.  If she hadn’t done something so completely out of character, she might have actually thought it was real.  But, no.  There was no way she would ever wear an outfit like that and kiss Yunho.  Her lips and tongue tingled at the memory.  Kari shook her head.  Nope.  No way.  It had to have been a dream. 

She rolled over to peer over the side of the bed, hoping to see Yunho’s sleeping form in the pallet he had made for himself so that he could make sure she was getting enough sleep without actually sleeping in the same bed with her.  Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  Where was he?  His pallet wasn’t even there.  This was the first time in a week (since he had begun sleeping in her room, actually) that she had woken up without him or at least his slept-in pallet to greet her.  She was more than a little disappointed that he wasn’t there.  But, maybe it was for the best.  After the dream she had had, it might’ve been kind of awkward for her.  It was a good thing dreams weren’t shared. 

Flicking off the covers, Kari stared in shock at the white silk…well, she couldn’t in good conscience call it a nightgown…whatever it was that barely covered anything on her.  It was the same one from her dream!  She did remember seeing it in the back of her dressing room on one of the many times she had gone in there simply to stare at all the clothes.  But, she never thought she would actually wear it!  Just daydream about wearing it.  That’s all.  She blushed.  Those daydreams were better left in dreamland.  She was married now…she could daydream about her husband, couldn’t she?  The blush deepened.  This line of thought was getting her nowhere.  She needed to figure out why she was in this…outfit (for lack of a better word) and what really happened last night.  She was beginning to doubt that that dream was entirely a dream.  The feelings from the dream were far too vivid.  But, everything seemed somehow enhanced.  Like, the colors had seemed brighter than normal, and every one of her senses, including touch had felt more sensitive.  She remembered every minute detail of the dream with far more accuracy than she would normally remember reality and yet, her thoughts had seemed rather fuzzy.  She couldn’t remember having any thoughts at all, just acting on feelings and emotions.  What on Earth had happened to her?

Well, first things first.  I need to find some more appropriate clothes.  She hopped the rest of the way off the bed, for once glad that Yunho wasn’t in the room.  Her best chance was to get to her dressing room.  Hopefully, Yunho wouldn’t be in their chambers and she could change without having to worry about being seen like this.  If she was right, and last night hadn’t been a dream…well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.  If she came to it.  She was still holding out hope that it was just an extremely vivid dream.  One that she could look back on fondly and not have to worry about any embarrassing repercussions.  She cracked open the door to the sitting room as quietly as possible.  In the small amount of light coming in from the bedroom, she could just make out Yunho’s sleeping form several feet away from the door.  He was facing her, but there wasn’t enough light to see if he had his eyes open or not.  She would just have to hope he was asleep and make a quiet run for it.  She flitted across the room as quietly as possible and breathed a sigh of relief when the dressing room door was finally closed behind her.  Now, she could finally put some real clothes on.

Yunho had heard the door to the bedroom opening, but didn’t have enough time to turn over without being noticed by Kari.  There was nothing for it but to pretend that he was still sleeping.  He did, however, notice that she was still wearing that wonderful but horrible nightgown as she ran across the room.  He fought really hard to keep his heart rate down and his breathing normal.  After the kiss they had shared the previous night, it was a lot harder to do than he expected. 

He sighed and got up.  He wanted to be out of the their rooms before Kari came back out of her dressing room.  From prior experience, he knew it would take her a good five to ten minutes to decide what to wear for the day whereas he could change in less than one (courtesy of his days as a performer).  Sure enough, less than a minute later he had changed into something a bit nicer than his pajamas and was attempting to open the doors leading out of their rooms.  They were still locked.  What was going on?  All the times they had been locked in before, the doors had been open when he woke up in the morning.  This was really strange.  Maybe there was another way out.

Looking through all the rooms, except Kari’s dressing room of course, yielded no escape route.  The last room to try was their private dining room.  He walked in and was surprised.  There was a huge breakfast spread on the table.  And in the middle, there was a note from their dear friend the High Wizard Yazin.

“Majesties,

The ball last night went extremely well, I am pleased.  The two of you have worked very hard to become the king and queen this world needs.  However, I feel it is time you had a break to simply enjoy one another’s company.  Please, take this day as a day of rest and relaxation.  I understand that it is difficult for you to take the time to rest.  That is why I have ordered the servants to lock you in for the day.  The doors will be opened in the morning.  Food will be delivered magically for lunch and dinner. 

Enjoy your time together,

Yazin Mierka

High Wizard of Filarin”

As he got to the end of the short letter that had been spelled so that he could read it, Yunho felt like punching the man.  Why on Earth did Yazin think it was a good idea to lock them in together in order to give them ‘rest and relaxation’?  Yunho was likely to have a heart attack from the stress of being locked in with her all day more than anything else!  He didn’t even want to think her name anymore.  The emotions and desires that came with her name and picture in his head were far too tempting to give into.  And now, he was stuck with her.  All day.  Alone.  Just the two of them.  With no interruptions.  He shook his head.  He had a feeling that today was going to put his will to the test like never before.

The first thing Kari noticed as the hu’um in the room magically lit so that she could see was the fact that all of her clothes were gone.  Well, mostly gone.  The large room that had once looked so full she could never wear every piece of clothing in it was now, for the most part, barren.  The few articles of clothing looked fairly innocuous, but she was loath to put that observation to the test.  There was, however, a note on the stool in front of the stand mirror.  Kari hurriedly unfolded it, hoping that it would tell her where the rest of her clothes were.  Or at least give her a decent explanation as to what was going on.

“My Queen,

Your other maids and I are so glad that you enjoyed the I’letya last night (it was that purple drink, in case you don’t know what I’m talking about).  You probably have something similar on your home planet, but I’m not sure so I’ll go ahead and tell you about it.  Those who drink the I’letya notice their senses, emotions and desires enhanced, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now.  But, I think I can explain it better by simply telling you its nickname.  It is known amongst our nobility as ‘the lovemaking drink’ or by the lesser classes as ‘the baby-making drink’.  It is rare that it would be provided at a royal function but not completely unheard of.  The other maids and I have a bet going as to how many babies will be born this coming winter because of this night.  I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds, but I sincerely hope yours will be born then, too!  Oh, I took the liberty of providing some more appropriate clothing for your day of ‘rest and relaxation’ with the king.

Enjoy!

Mair”

Kari’s legs couldn’t take her weight any longer and she sunk to the floor in stunned silence.  She could’ve sworn there was no alcohol in that purple drink she drank so much of last night.  But, at least that explained her behavior. 

“I swear I am going to strangle that woman.”  Why had no one warned her about the drink?  Oh, yeah.  Because everyone in this whole kingdom is trying to get her pregnant.  That’s why.  That’s what it felt like, anyway.  Maybe the vast majority of people on the planet didn’t care one way or the other as long as the throne was secure, but the people in the palace sure did intrude into their rulers’ private lives a lot.  Her stomach rumbled.  It seemed strangely empty for all the food she had eaten last night.  She sighed.  Maybe there was some outfit her that was at least halfway decent. 

There was, in fact.  Kari managed to find a skirt that actually covered more than her nightgown (though, not by much) and a shirt that she didn’t feel in danger of falling out of.  Since she would be out of the public eye today, she guessed that would be fine.  She felt her stomach.  It was becoming insistent on getting some food.  That was a little unusual.  She didn’t usually get hungry until the sun had been up for several hours, regardless of what time she woke up.  Maybe it had to do with the aftereffects of the I’letya.  She did feel unusually cold.  Normally, she always felt warm, uncomfortably so.  Kari shook her head.  She was just going to have to deal with it.  And find some breakfast.  Surely the servants didn’t lock them in here with nothing to eat. 

Peeking her head out of the dressing room, she sighed in relief when she didn’t see any sign of Yunho.  Maybe he was in the bathroom or his own dressing room.  Or maybe, he had somehow escaped from the servant’s evil plans.  Since he wasn’t in sight, she crossed the sitting room and sauntered into the dining room, hoping there would be some food.  Which there was.  Of course, food wasn’t the only thing in the dining room.  Yunho stared at her as she walked in and froze in her steps.  The moment he looked at her, she knew for sure that last night had been no dream.  She had really kissed him!  She felt her face and the rest of her heat up.  No, no, no, no, no.  This couldn’t be.  She couldn’t have actually kissed Yunho!  It was okay to daydream about it, but to actually do it?  In real life?  Even if she was drugged, how was she supposed to explain this?  He probably knew the saying, ‘Drunken words equals sober thoughts’.  That applied to actions, too.  Oh, man.  What was she going to do?

He broke the awkward silence with a slight cough.  “Um…good morning.”

“….good morning.”

“They left us some breakfast.”

Yeah, she could see that.  Darn it all.  He was trying to cover up the awkwardness with obvious comments. 

“Listen, about last night.  I don’t think I was myself.  In fact, there was this drink….well, here read this.”  She handed him Mair’s letter, hoping the spell that translated it for her would translate it to Korean for him.   Luckily, it did.  He read it quickly then looked up at her.

“Well, that explains a lot.”  He was blushing!  Yunho!  Blushing!  She looked away from him and her stomach rumbled again.

“Man, I’m starving.  Let’s eat.”  She sat down and started shoveling food on her plate with almost none of her usual grace.  She heard him sigh and sit across from her.  Kari kept her eyes on what she was eating.  The less she looked at him right now, the better.  Maybe it would make it less awkward if there was no eye contact.