Loneliness was a terribly cruel mistress, and one that Ciara had known for far too long a time. Even with others around she felt eyes on her but she was still lonely most of the time. Time on her own had been no worse than time living with her best friend when the king was constantly busy running the world and protecting his subjects. Besides, Ciara was certain he was just as lonely, and she had no intention of voicing any displeasure with life at the castle. She just wished Damon were still around to hold her and make her feel loved. Sometimes she wished she could become invisible as well, just to match that emptiness inside her rather than constantly drawing the eyes of heterosexual men and homosexual women, and some who didn’t really care to be as attracted to her as they were. There was a hunger and a want in those eyes that was uncomfortable in a way invisibility would completely erase.

But she had never been gifted with that power, and she had to live with that.

Some nights, Ciara welcomed the stares and brought guards and lords and guests alike into her bed, just to be warm and to feel for a short time that she was not as alone as she felt, but inevitably they left in the morning and were nothing but perfectly formal later. Like nothing happened. Ciara knew that was their job, and that one night stands were not emotional attachments, of course, but it would have been nice to feel something again.

The sun streaming through the window was not what woke her, though the violet glow was very bright this morning. Instead, it was the shouting in the hall and the loud click as her familiar entered the bed chamber that woke the young woman.

“Nalani, what’s going on out there?” she asked the monkey, with little notice of the man still under her duvet. Before her familiar could answer, Ciara peeked out into the hallway, where guards were rushing to and fro, armor and weaponry clanging about them as they moved. Rather less dressed than was proper, Ciara opened the door further, stopping one of the younger men in his tracks.

“You, um, you should stay in your room, miss. The castle is on lock down. There was a break in and … you should stay in your room. There’s a lot of distrac- err dangers out here.”

He closed the door on her then, trying to keep his codpiece in place, leaving Ciara in a bit of a huff. She was going to be stuck in the stone chamber until something changed and whatever threat was now invading – a pirate no doubt – was in custody. Until that time, she might as well rest until she became completely stir crazy.

Ciara returned to the bed and laid on top of the covered in the direct path of the sun. The purple light felt like soft kisses against her bare skin and her eyes drifted shut. Her bed companion was not so lucky, as Nalani began to nudge at his feet. She wanted nothing to occur between her fairy and the man who’d clearly spent the night.