context: the morning after ced and aemon's night of fun (oop)

the morning sun had climbed far higher than the hour they had agreed upon for breakfast on the terrace. laena was not unused to delays, court life thrived on them especially for the king of the reach himself, but not even a page had been sent with apology or explanation, and that unsettled her more than his absence itself. silver-blonde curls fell in a soft cascade down her back as she rose from her seat, smoothing her hands over the pale blue silk of her skirts. it was a simpler gown, one of her own favorite designs, chosen for ease and the promise of an intimate meal. after a brief hesitation, she turned toward the king’s chambers.

the walk was a familiar one, intimately so, and yet today each step felt louder beneath her feet. her pulse beat a little too quickly, a restless rhythm she could not quite soothe. it was worry, certainly. but there was something else threaded through it, something unnamed and sharper. she told herself not to think of trouble before she had reason. still, when she reached his door, she knocked herself rather than sending word ahead. when permission came, she stepped inside.

the room bore the marks of a hurried attempt at order. bedding straightened but not smoothed, a chair nudged back into place without care for its angle, garments gathered yet not folded. her lavender gaze drifted, meaning only to take in the whole, and caught instead on the seating area, on a scatter of items that did not belong to any neat arrangement. and then the end table. beside a jug she assumed to be arbor wine sat a faint, unmistakable dusting of white powder. her breath hitched so subtly it might have been mistaken for a sigh. she schooled her features at once, closing the door gently behind her.

she could see he was already rummaging for fresh garments, movements brisk in a way that felt just short of composed. laena clasped her hands lightly before her, willing them not to fidget. “sorry,” she began, her tone touched with a careful brightness, “i suppose i could have waited longer, but i was beginning to wonder if you’d been swept away into some urgent council meeting without so much as a warning.” a small smile curved her lips, practiced and soft.