Negotiation Negation

My alarm went off around six-thirty in the morning. I reached over and shut it off, before sitting up. Groggily, I sat up, and snatched my dressing gown from the opposite bed, and pulled it on over my pajamas. Tying the knot on the front, I opened the primary door, and greeted the guards. "Good morning, gentlemen."

"Good morning, sir." The guard to the left of the door replied.

"Times come yet?" I asked, rubbing my hand through my hair, realizing just how messed up it was.

"No sir, but, there's probably a stack of them downstairs."

"Thank you." I shut the door behind me, and proceeded down the hallway, yawning and stretching.

"Sir?" I turned back around, "Don't you think you'd better get a shower, sir?"

"Now, Anderson," I began, "It's seven o' clock in the morning. Who will be awake?"

"Princess Cadance and Mister Lev Vis...Vissa..."

"Just say Lev." I said.

"Well, sir, they'll already awake, and having breakfast."

"Already? After the night they had?" I asked.

The guard cocked his head to the side. "Sir?"

"Never mind, Anderson." I said, shaking my head, "It's fine."

I walked down the hallway, and went into the lift, and headed for the lobby.

I excited the lift, and walked over to the breakfast area, and poured a cup of tea. I glanced over my shoulder, and noticed Cadance and Lev, sitting at a table next to each other. They were deep in conversation, about something I couldn't make out. Cadance had clearly showered, and was wearing her usual pink dress, which fit snugly against her hourglass figure. Lev, however, had not showered, and his greasy black hair was sticking up in places.

I noticed that only one of their arms were visible, for each of them. I leaned over to the side, and looked under their table. They were holding hands. I rolled my eyes, and grabbed a paper from the stack at the receptionist's desk, and walked over towards them.

I sat down across from them, cutting off whatever conversation they were talking about, then opened the Times, and took a sip of tea.

Cadance and Lev pulled their arms out from under the table, and set them in front of them. They sat there in silence for a moment, before Cadance spoke up. "Prime Minister?"

I smiled, and closed the paper, setting it on the table. "Why, hello Princess. Lovely to see you. And Lev, a pleasure to see you too."

The two glanced at each other. "Prime Minister, have you looked in a mirror lately?" Cadance asked.

"No, why?"

Cadance's horn shone, and then a mirror appeared in front of me. My usually neatly styled hair was entangled, knotted, and standing up. "Oh, I do need to get a shower, don't I?"

Cadance and Lev nodded, and stared at me, as if waiting for me to stand up and leave. "I'm not getting a shower now."

The two sank down, and sighed. "So," I began, "How did you sleep?"

They gulped, and exchanged a nervous glance at each other. "Why do you ask?"

"You had a room together." I explained. "So, did you stay up all night, or did you go to bed right away?"

"We went to bed right away." Lev said flatly.

"I see." I said, glancing at the Times headline. "I didn't. I stayed up for a bit. You know, the walls in this hotel really need insulating. You can here everything in other rooms." The two exchanged a nervous glance. "Honestly, there has to be a way to soundproof these walls."

The two exchanged a glance. "What exactly did you hear?" Cadance asked.

"Not much." I said, "Some talking, a movie playing," I narrowed my eyes at them, "Screaming."

Cadance and Lev exchanged a nervous look, as if they were sharing the same exact brain wave. He knows.

"Anyway," I said, standing up, "I'm going to get a shower. You two can continue with the conversation you were having before I barged in, or you can always start a new one, about me, probably, judging by the looks on your faces. Good bye." I walked away, leaving the two lovers in silence, pondering my words.