The broken sleep after a night of drinking was affecting Varya in an impossibly bad way. She woke up far earlier than she intended to, upset to see the sun barely rising but happy at the same time when she felt the princes arm's around her.
For the first few seconds, the previous evening was a little bit spotty and she hardly remembered coming back to her quarters. However, the moments before she and Galen started drinking, everything was coming back to her.
Remembering Galen's confession caused her to sit up abruptly and her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. The words felt strangely like a dream. She couldn't believe her dearest friend was pining after the man she was married to and she had only just found out about it. It must have been so lonely to keep a secret like that.
Amidst her thoughts, Varya felt a hand go to her back and start moving in comforting circles.
"What's on your mind?" Basileus asked.
