Timeless

16

Grey hears the door open and the servants enter with their food. He makes sure that they are both covered. It's a good thing he does too because Ari was a restless sleeper and had kicked the covers off herself.

"Good morning master, mistress." Alexis says standing discretely by the screen.

Ari had been awakened by Grey when he covered her and now is wide awake. "Good morning Alexis."

"Would you like your breakfast in bed or would you like to dress and sit at the table?" Alexis asks looking down at the floor.

"Would it be too much trouble to have it here?" Ari asks. She's never had breakfast in bed and it sounds lovely. She knows that Grey agrees with her choice.

"No trouble at all. What would you like master?" Alexis asks and hopes that she doesn't spill what's sure to be a large meal.

"No worries Alexis, I'll serve Ari and myself. But unless you don't mind seeing me without clothes you might want to come back in about an hour." Grey says wanting more time alone with Ari before the demands of the day take over.

"Yes sir. I'll come back in an hour then. Is there anything you need done in the mean time?"

"Yes, can you tell that slug a bed Jeshua to have his butt here by the time breakfast is over?" Grey says and Alexis turns white. He's sending her to the barracks.

"Alexis, what's the matter?" Ari asks in concern.

"It's just that the barracks...well the soldiers..." Alexis stammers and falters.

"He'd better be up and dining in the great hall if he knows what's good for him," Grey replies.

Alexis dips a curtsy, "I'll look for him right away." And she scurries from the room once more.

"Don't look at me like that Ari. The barracks are strictly off limits to women and that includes the female servants. I'd no sooner send her in there than I would a wounded calf to a pack of wolves. Actually I told Jeshua last night to join us right after breakfast so he really should be up and in the great hall, and although I would love to skip breakfast, it's not a good thing to go long periods without food when interrogating."

At the mention of the interrogation Ari's good mood dies and she tells him to give her only a small amount of food. "The smell of the dungeon turns my stomach."

Grey nods and gets off the bed by climbing over Ari. It took him quite awhile to climb over her.

"You know Grey. If I wanted to overtake an enemy quickly, not only would I send out people to kill the mainstays, but I'd destroy their food and water supplies. Hungry people become desperate and are far more likely to open the gates." Ari says even as she savors the bite of food she takes.

Grey swears and once more jumps out of bed. This time it's much faster since Ari just scooted over when he brought the food. He doesn't even bother to put clothes on. Ari admires him as he walks. But she does wonder at the scarring on his back.

Grey opens the door and gives orders to one of the guards. Startled the man jumps up and runs off like a rabbit being chased by a hawk. Grey shuts the door and now grumpily eats his cold food.

He finishes eating and gets dressed before Alexis returns. But he's still in a bad mood when she gets back. She directs the other servants and they efficiently clear off the dishes of food. Once they are finished she goes over to Ari and helps her dress.

Jeshua still hasn't shown up by the time she's ready to go and Grey is furious. "Did you find Jeshua?" He demands from Alexis making her jump and ruining the hair style she'd been working on.