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[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

Tuesday morning

I wake up much earlier than usual - so early that Hermia is still asleep beside me. Rain patters gently against the window, and I look at her for a moment, stroke her hair back, and then I get out of bed. It's still early enough that the kitchen floor is cold under my feet when I put the coffee on.

I haven't thought about Marie much lately; I've been so taken up with my new family. Perhaps that's why I dreamed of her. Guilt has a way of worming itself through, and it never really goes away. I know I wasn't to blame for what happened to her, but. I still wish I could have saved her.

I make my coffee, trying to put my nightmare out of my mind, but I can't do it. So eventually I put on some clothes and go out into the main inn, where of course Marie's sitting at the front desk, doing the job she's been doing since I bought the inn. She makes a much friendlier receptionist than Cora.

"Hello, my dear," I say, leaning over the desk to kiss the top of her head.

"Good morning, Val," she says, smiling up at me. "Why're you up so early?"

"Bad dreams," I say. "Do you mind if I sit with you for a little while?"

"You can stay as long as you want," she says, "if you'll bring me some coffee." She grins, and then her expression gets more grave. "The dreams... Were they very bad?"

"Just a silly thing," I say. "Nothing that really happened." Though it could have done. Thank God it didn't.

I shake the thought away, and go back to get her what's in the rest of the coffee pot. There's no need to fret over a dream.

[closed]