Sunlight draped through the half-drawn curtains, filtering across Zani’s fair skin as she lay motionless on the wide, velvet-draped bed. The city of Ragunna’s lively murmur outside seeped faintly through the thick stone walls—muted echoes of festivities already beginning, no matter the early hour. Crimson-ivory eyes, hooded beneath heavy lids, twitched but didn’t open. An alarm, long silenced, lay abandoned on the nightstand, its duty unfulfilled.

A soft touch grazed Zani’s shoulder. Familiar. Gentle. Needed.

The touch loving and soft, belonged to her spouse

Zani’s eyes finally opened, their deep crimson centers catching the morning light. She shifted, with a low hum. She ran a hand through her ivory hair, horns catching slightly in the tangle. Her tail flicked, an involuntary gesture of irritation—directed at herself. Sleep, always a reluctant companion, clung stubbornly to her limbs.

“Again?” Her voice was low, a near-whisper, its calm surface barely masking the internal frustration. She sat up, towering yet graceful, and the bedsheets slipped down.

She swung her legs off the bed, her bare feet meeting the wooden floor. “Thank you.” She murmured, her accent and voice soft and thick with sleep. "Guess it's time for work."