How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Chapter Seven: Breakfast with the King

~Chapter Seven: Breakfast with the King~

Waking up alone was not how I planned to start off the morning. Not that I actually planned any of this in the first place, but, the fact remains, if I had planned this, I would have thought I would at least wake up with Nero still in the room. Instead, I have once again woken up tucked into a strange bed in an empty room. At least I recognize the room this time as Nero's room, as it would have felt a lot worse to find myself in another unfamiliar guest bedroom.

It takes a lot of struggling to sit up before the blankets – which are surprisingly clean after everything that happened on them – actually relent enough for me to slip out from under them. Just as I manage to wiggle my way free and slide over to the edge of the bed, though, I realize that I am not as free as I thought, as my ankles catch on the fabric, causing me to tumble over the side.

Hissing in pain while rubbing the rising bump on my forehead, I kick off the sheets in frustration and try to ease away the hurt. However, I quickly find myself distracted from my new injury when I realize that I might not be as alone as I thought. Just on the other side of Nero's giant glass window, there are faces.

Startled and horrified, I take advantage of the fact that I am already sitting down on the far side of the bed to fall backwards, effectively hiding myself from the fair-skinned Mer watching curiously just outside the room. If I thought they could hear me, I might have yelled at them, but the glass looks much too thick, and water in Yabrogath mutes sound, so I am not sure why it would be different here. I could shoo them away, but they look young, like on the older side of teenagers, and since I am naked right now, it is probably not the best idea to get up right now.

Maybe I can just wait them out?

Only, they continue to linger outside the window, either oblivious to my problem or intentionally causing it. No matter the reason, though, they do not leave. Whoever they are, they appear to be siblings – twin sisters to be exact – as they look identical from their blond hair to their silver tails. If it was just one of them, I probably could have snuck away while she was distracted, but neither of them seems particularly keen on looking away when they catch me looking at them over the edge of the bed.

Don't they have something better to do?

They share a giggle before grinning and waving at me in unison, which probably answers my question. Coming to the realization that the only way out of here with any dignity is to find something to wear, I start looking around for my discarded pants. Only, they are gone. A more thorough search, though, reveals a folded set of clothes on the chair, likely intended for me.

Unfortunately, the chair is nowhere near the bed, prompting me to groan in dismay. Still, I guess I should at least be glad that I am clean, as this situation would be a lot worse if I felt stick and looked...well, used. Hoping against all hope that they will understand the gesture, I making shooing motions with my hands from behind the bed, letting them only see my arms.

When I glance back at the window, though, they are still there, grinning from ear-to-ear. Little perverts is what they are.

For a moment, it looks like one of them is trying to say something to me, but the sound fails to travel through the glass, so I just stare at her and blink in confusion. This only makes her frustrated, though, and she starts to tap repetitively on the glass. It sounds like there is some sort of reason behind the tapping, but I cannot understand it, and it is starting to get annoying, so I repeat the shooing gesture.

I cannot be sure, but it looks like they snort in amusement before simultaneously crossing their arms over their bare midriffs – their shirts cover from shoulder to the top of their stomachs only. I am on the verge of standing up – clothes or not – to give them a piece of my mind when the bedroom door swings open behind me, making us all look at the newest addition to this silent conversation.