This time it was the smell of coffee that woke me. Much nicer than the ring of my phone.
"'Llo" I said from the couch. "Good morning, Miss Tina" came the answer from the kitchen. "I took the liberty of making breakfast, if you don't mind. I find myself quite hungry."
I got up at that and went to check on my kitchen. It was spotless.
"Breakfast? All I smell is coffee." I sniffed, but no, only coffee. "That's because the muffins have only begun to bake. Soon you will smell them as well. Shall we start on coffee and make our phone call?"
I grabbed a mug, let them fill it, and took my usual place at the kitchen table. Cecile soon joined me, looking refreshed and satisfied. "You look much better. I told you some sleep would do you good, although a bit more than 4 hours would have done you better."
"Thank you, Miss Tina-" "Oh please," I interrupted. "Just call me Tina. We're way past the Miss stage."
Cecile cleared their throat. "All right then. Thank you, Mi- Tina. How is your head? Mine seems to be throbbing a bit." I laughed. "Yup, mine too. That's the alcohol. You get used to it, but I'll admit it's been a pleasure to work from home lately and not having a bunch of chickens playing with my hangover."
"I'm not sure I understand, but I don't like the feel of it. How do you manage?"
"I don't. You can take a painkiller, if they work on you. Don't work on me, I'm a fairy. I just take it like a champ and wait for the next drink."
Cecile passed a hand over the other, and there appeared a pill. Guess painkillers did work on them. Lucky bastard.
"I still don't understand why you'd submit yourself to such pain everyday on purpose." I sighed. I was gonna have to explain, wasn't I.
"I didn't mean to, at first. I just had a drink or two at night to take the edge off. It wasn't every night. And then it was. And the one drink became two, became three. And now I'm hooked on it and can't go a day without. I tried, recently. After a few hours I'm sweating and shaking and nauseous. My head feels like it's gonna crack open. My hands shake so much I even struggle to smoke a cigarette. It's hell, and that's only after a few hours. Imagine a full day. I'll have to go through it, but I couldn't yet."
Cecile was quiet. They looked lost in thought. I sipped my coffee in silence, wondering what was going on in their mind. "Medicine doesn't work on you?" They asked. I shook my head.
"Okay Tina. First, I'm really sorry you're going through such pains. It sounds truly awful. Second, can I offer my help? I know we're not exactly friends but we have a common goal, and I have the feeling we'll see each other quite a bit once your little protégées are under our roof."
I didn't know how to answer that. I stared at them, mouth open.
"Well, thanks. I… I'm not sure what to say. How about we call Eileen first, save your kingdom and your prince, and then talk more about that?" I just had to change the topic for now.
Cecile agreed. I checked the time. Eileen should be up. I retrieved my phone from the couch and dialed her number. She picked up almost immediately. "Tina? What are you doing up so early? What's wrong?" I put the call on speaker so Cecile could participate. "Do you remember Cecile? Well, they're with me right now. There's news and you're not gonna like them."
I motioned for Cecile to speak. "Good morning princess, I am sorry to bother you at this hour but the news are grave and important. Gianni's brother is trying for the throne. Our kingdom depends on you."
I spoke up. "In other words, to keep the throne Gianni has to make an official engagement announcement. Because his brother says he's not bringing stability to the kingdom or some such bullshit. So he needs you to agree to the engagement. In return you'll have all we discussed, and August will come with you to their castle."
Cecile muttered "he hasn't agreed to that last part." I stared at him. "He doesn't have a choice." They bowed from their chair and hid behind their mug.
"Whoa there easy. I need proof. And I need it directly from Gianni. And yes, August comes with me, that's not a question."
Eileen seemed wide awake and not in a good mood. "Also I need to meet up with him at least once more, actually get to know him before throwing my life upside down for his kingdom, that I didn't even know existed until Tina told me the other day."
Cecile slowly nodded. "That is not unreasonable. Are you available tonight perchance?"
Eileen laughed. A true, princess like laugh. "Nope, I'm working double shift tonight. Tomorrow? Come to my place around 7, we'll eat here with August. And you guys bring the food."
I admired her audacity, and thought to myself she would probably make a good queen if Gianni let her. She knew what to do and wasn't easily taken aback. Cecile agreed. "Tomorrow, 7, your place. We'll bring food and Tina. Does that suit?"
"That suits. Have good day, you two. And Tina, good luck with what you're dealing with." She ended the call.
The oven, that we had completely forgotten, dinged.
Cecile got up and grabbed the muffins from it. Blueberry and chocolate, they told me. They didn't have oven mitts on, but then I didn't have any. Didn't need them. I figured neither did they. The muffins were brought to the kitchen table. Smelled delicious. I found myself hungry all of a sudden.
"Help yourself, Tina. We still have many things to discuss and can't do that on an empty stomach. Especially not with such a headache. Mine is better but I think yours isn't, based on your half closed eyes. Do I need to dim the light?"
That was very thoughtful, but I was used to that pain and said so. I attacked the muffins. They were delicious.
When my mouth was empty I spoke up. "You'll want to talk to your prince about Eileen's demands." Cecile absently nodded. "He'll be asleep still. He stays up late. That's why I called at such an odd hour, we were still working at 3 in the morning."
I took another muffin. They really were good. "So what do we do while we wait for Prince Charming to get up from his beauty sleep?"
"We plan, I suppose. What are we sure of, what do we have that's tangible right now?" I smirked. "A dinner date, Cecile. That's all we have at this moment. And very good muffins."
That made them smile, but the frown soon returned to their delicate features. "When will you need your next drink?"
That shut me down. My good mood evaporated. "A few hours" I said.
"That leaves us a few hours to plot tomorrow night's dinner and call Gianni. And perhaps find a solution to your problem. No, don't say anything. I know it's not my place but I want to help you, Tina. I know we haven't gotten along very well so far, yet you still took my call in the middle of the night and gave me a place to sleep. Your generosity and kindness towards me didn't go unnoticed. Please let me repay it, in my own way."
I stared at them, mouth wide open, muffin halfway to my mouth. "Who are you and what have you done to the arrogant son a bitch I used to know?"
Cecile laughed. It was a nice laugh, very elaborate. I liked it.