Astrid is the crown princess of Atlantis, but she barely has time to worry about the kingdom with six younger sisters to watch over, especially with the youngest coming into her powers as a daughter of the sea to navigate time. When Astrid fears tha...
As sunlight begins to trickle through my blinds, I roll over to try and make out the time on my alarm.
Instead, I make out the form of a woman on my window seat.
Jerking upward, I grab my blanket and tug it up to my chin while I blink sleep out of my eyes.
But she stays present, wearing my clothes, and sleeping in my room. "Um, Astrid?"
She makes a sound that is somewhere between the plane of wakefulness and sleep, that is probably the most alluring sound a woman can make.
I clear my throat. "Astrid, did you not like your bed or something?"
A hand moves to push her hair out of her face, and she blinks sleepily at me.
Clutching my blanket closer, I point at her. "Did you have a bad dream? Because James is really good with those kinds of things."
Frowning slowly, Astrid shakes her head. Then she gestures between her and me.
I nod slowly. "Yeah..."
She nods back, looking relieved that I understood.
But I didn't. Frowning again, I shake my head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not picking up what you're putting down."
Crossing her arms, Astrid angrily blows a strand of hair out of her face.
I clear my throat and gesture at myself, and then at the dresser. "But, I, uh, kind of need to get dressed now. So could you...?"
She nods and stands up.
Breathing a sigh of relief that at least there is some communication going through between us, I sink back onto my mattress.
Until she stops walking toward the door and instead starts opening my dresser drawers.
"What are you doing?" I ask, trying to see over her shoulder.
She tugs out a pair of sweats not unlike the pair of mine she's already wearing and carries them over to me before dropping them on the bed.
I glance down at them. "Um, thank you?"
Pursing her lips, she gives me a professional sort of smile, like the kind a retail employee might give you after helping you choose which shirt to buy. Then she points at my bathroom, like she expects me to go and change like she did.
"Um, that's not such a good idea," I say, not sure how best to communicate that I don't sleep with clothes on.
Astrid cocks her head at me, her long hair falling over her shoulder. At first, she looks curious, as if trying to solve the puzzle of why I'm behaving in a way that is apparently very odd to her.
Wherever she came from, it's very odd to me.
Then she lifts one eyebrow, as if she finds this bizarre situation she's put me in amusing. She drops the clothes on my blanket and then strides back out of my room.
Unfortunately, she keeps my door wide open.
Groaning, I tug my sheets back over my head. If this is how things are starting before I've even climbed out of bed, I hate to see what the rest of the day holds.
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