That night, Alison couldn't fall asleep. The moon was casting bright light into her room, lighting up the carpeted floor like a spotlight. It had to be past midnight, she swore she heard the bell tower toll twelve in the distance. Her open window brought in the cool August air, and the occasional sounds of the patrolling guards talking below. Everything was peaceful and as it should be, but Alison could still not sleep. She had been trying her hardest to focus on her breathing and to let her thoughts stray to a sleep, but they were on a whirlwind. She couldn't help but panic about kissing Emily. She was worried that Emily was freaking out about what she did, regretting her decision. Did Alison regret it? No of course not. She had been thinking about it since Emily tucked her in and left for her own room.
When she couldn't take it any longer, Alison threw back her covers and sat up. She looked around her room frantically and swung her legs around so that her feet could touch the carpeted floor. She took a deep breath and stood up, pulling on her silk robe and tried to find her door in the moonlit room. When she reached for the doorknob, she quickly exited her bedroom and closed the door with a click behind her. She could see two guards at the end of the hallway, guarding the stairwell and talking in their deep voice through their covered masks. Alison approached them, and they looked taken by surprise at her sudden appearance.
"Uh, Queen Alison. What are you doing awake?" one asked, Alison could almost see the confused looks on their faces through the masks.
"Is that any of your business?" Alison asked, holding the sternness in her voice.
The guard shook his head quickly and stood straighter than he was before. "N-no."
"Where is the assistant's quarters?" Alison asked.
"On the lowest level. Your personal assistant is at the end of the hall on that level." the guard said, pointing with his head to the stairs behind him.
Alison nodded and put her hand on the railing of the stairs, walking quickly down the staircase. She walked down the steps, passing all the landings to the different floors until she reached the last one. The lowest level was dark and seemed eerie, there weren't any guards. The only light was the occasional lantern on the wall, it was enough for Alison to navigate her way to the door at the end of the hall. She reached the white door and turned the knob, allowing herself to enter the bedroom.
From her first impression, Alison saw that Emily's room was very clean. Everything seemed almost too perfect, but maybe that was because she was barely in it. The only reason that Alison's room was clean was probably because of the maids that cleaned it everyday. She never had any intentions of coming down to this level before, this was probably the first time in her life that she had even been down here. The room had no windows, probably because the lower level was underground. Alison could only make out things in the room because a candle had been left lit, casting yellow shadows all over the room. On the bed, covered in blankets was a figure laying on their back, a cascade of dark brown hair was spread across the pillows. Their left arm was resting on their stomach, and the other was spread out across the bed. Alison approached cautiously and caught a glimpse of Emily's sleeping face in the candle light. She looked peaceful and innocent, Alison couldn't help but stare at the beautiful girl in front of her. Alison had never seen someone look so beautiful while sleeping, probably because she hadn't watched anyone sleep before. Emily looked angelic.
Alison moved cautiously and sat at the end of Emily's bed, almost hovering over her as she watched in awe. She was tempted to reach out and stroke Emily's face, and no sooner that the thought crossed her mind, she was giving into the temptation. Alison caressed Emily's face with such gentleness that she didn't know she was capable of. Emily let out a deep breath when Alison did so, and she moved slightly in her sleep. Alison moved her hand so that she was holding Emily's head, Emily's ear between the space of Alison's thumb and pointer finger. She brushed her thumb up and down Emily's cheekbone, watching as Emily took deep breaths in her sleep. When she couldn't take it any longer, she found herself leaning down to capture Emily's lips between hers. It hadn't even been a few hours and Alison was already missing and craving Emily's lips upon hers again.
