The sun was streaming through the open curtains – which was how she always had them – just as the morning birds began to chirp their greeting to the dawn. She felt a little like she’d walked into a princess movie, what with the trilling birds and being in a palace and pursued by a prince with burning eyes and hands that were a little grabbier than they probably should have been. But she wasn’t. This was real, and she was in the middle of what had, apparently, become a coup. How do I get myself into these things? She wondered as she twisted over onto her naked belly and stretched herself like a cat. Her hips her back and her shoulders all popped satisfyingly as she yawned. The smell of thick, heavily roasted coffee wafted through the harem’s common room where she knew she’d find breakfast in just a moment. For now though she was alone, and the world was still and silent except for the chirps. For just a moment, Helena wasn’t worried about the prince or the old drunken king, or the weird Englishman, or any of that.
