Being alone for so long, Ciara was no longer accustomed to being awoken from her sleep, except in the rare instances that Nalani felt her fairy had slept for far too long. The woman slept soundly and deeply, without the cares of a person sleeping in the kings bed who might get caught at any moment. Besides, she had confidence that if the king or a guard or anyone else found her sleeping, either they would toss her out of the castle like some street cat that had found its way into the palace, or Arthur would recognize her and save her.

Lilith’s wrath that Ciara was found in Arthur’s bed might be harder to escape, she supposed, but the feline dreamed that perhaps Lilith would be happier at the reunion than she would be upset at the rather brazen actions of Ciara. The former red-head couldn’t have known what had happened in the lives of her best friends, or that Lilith was no longer a physical part of Arthur’s life.

What the cat woke to was the sharp, earthy smell of dirt and clay, but underneath that was a familiarity, a warmth. She remained still as she watched the king cross the room, oblivious to his visitor. She watched him look out the window, like a cat watching birds, and let her claws stretch as his shirt was removed and he laid beside her. Oh yes, Lilith would definitely not approve. Especially not when Arthur’s hand found her fur and Ciara couldn’t control the soft purr in her throat.

When he looked at her, the cat gazed at him, only slightly hurt at the lack of instant recognition. Mentally, the woman knew it had been years since they had last seen one another, and that she shouldn’t expect instant recognition – especially in a cat form – but it was still a bit of a slight. Still, when his eyes softened from confusion to understanding, and his hand reached for her head and his mouth said her name, it was the sweetest sound. It was the first word said to her in a long time that wasn’t from her familiar.

The cat’s head moved to rub against the king’s hand for a moment before Ciara ducked back under the covers completely and shifted. The small lump in the duvet elongated and grew until it was the size of a human woman. Only then did Ciara let her head pop back to the pillows.

“Hi, Arthur.” She smiled softly at him, aware that her hair was not the same as it had been and her eyes were not the same either. Those could be returned to normal easily though. For now, she just wanted to focus on getting to know her best friend again, and catching up on everything that had happened.

But first, clothing would be a nice touch, though the royal sheets did feel heavenly against her bare skin. Ciara had been caught in less compromising positions with the king before and she didn’t feel like going through that again anytime soon. Her arms gracefully wrapped the sheets and blankets around her, and when she sat up, they pulled free of the mattress to cover her. “It’s been too long.”