When the king turned his attention to the drawer and his search for games, Ciara used the moment to finish composing herself. It was strange, this feeling, like being in the barn again. Only this time Lilith wasn’t around to interrupt, and Damon wasn’t around to possibly find out. There was nothing to feel so ashamed about. But she still felt like both of their spouses were around and that this was wrong. It wasn’t even anything to be wrong about! Just two friends, wine, some cards, a bed… No. She was sure it was in her head. Too long since she’d had a meaningful conversation with anyone let alone someone she was as trusting of and close to as Arthur. Besides, in all their years they’d never actually crossed that line. She wasn’t sure how easy it would be to go back to now.

She was still lost in her mind when Arthur came to the bed and spoke, surprising her with his closeness. She smiled at him and shook her head.

“You’re not getting old,” she remarked. “See, if you’re getting old that means I’m getting old and I’m not willing to accept that time would be so cruel.” She took a large sip of the wine. The smile evened out to more attentive seriousness as he continued and she nodded along. She hadn’t really thought about it, although she’d lived a life with her fair share of staring from people. Still, she hadn’t really had crowds part before her, and she’d certainly never been bowed to seriously.

“Not even when we were kids?” Ciara asked, realizing they hadn’t spent nearly as much time together when they were little and in the Labyrinth than she’d though, with her spending time with Damon and him with Lilith. “Not that the crowd would see you anyway,” she added thoughtfully. “Busy with their own problems and judgments, they’d just assume the first thing to pop into their head. Trust me.”

Somehow she found her own cup drained as well and refilled it, wanting to jump to the lighter topic of the game. She shuffled the deck several times and began to distribute cards at the prospect of a story, and straightened up once the hands were dealt. “Please do,” she said, eyes gleaming and kicking off her shoes to pull her feet onto the mattress with her. She tossed the dice and took a sip as she waited for him to start.