Memory of You

Chapter Nine: You've Met My Advisor...

Feeling the sunlight warming her face, Alexandra turned in her bed, facing the wall. The last week felt as though it had dragged on forever. Finally the time had come for David to leave, but not before one last dinner. She couldn't help but frown at the thought.

What was more, Nicholas had kept a slight distance from her. She couldn't help but suspect he was up to something. Mark and Valek would probably be in on it. The three of them had always been close, despite the four year age gap.

Just thinking about Nicholas had her stomach tied in knots, and she couldn't explain why. He's so annoying and righteous, she thought with aggravation. A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

"Alex, come on. Stop lazing about." She heard Mark call her. He must have drawn the short straw again, Alexandra thought. Valek and Mark used the method to decide who got stuck with the duty of waking her up.

Not moving to get up, she heard the door open.

"Come on, I thought we agreed that you'd get to breakfast on time."

Still not moving, she ignored him. There were days when all she wanted was to sleep in, and not be disturbed. She hardly got any time to herself.

Hearing his footsteps, she felt his weight on the bed.

"You're awake. Why aren't you ready yet?" He asked leaning over her.

"I don't feel like it." She answered. A long tedious day awaited her, which included dinner with David in the evening.

She felt him lay back into her bed. Maybe Mark would give her a break. Not likely, she corrected herself. He was probably thinking of someway to get her up and out of bed.

When he didn't say anything, Alexandra turned over to look at him, only to find Mark with an arm covering his eyes. Dressed in his black guard uniform with silver badges, a long sheathed sword chained to his belt, and a black cloak attached to the shoulder of his uniform, she knew better than to think Mark was asleep. Having seen his quick reflexes, Alexandra knew one wrong move could put somebody at the business end of his sword.

"Does that mean I can sleep?" She asked, hopefully.

This time, it was Mark who didn't reply. Moving closer to him, she rested her head against the arm that wasn't covering his eyes, cuddling under her warm blankets. Not listening to the danger warning that kept entering her mind, Alexandra closed her eyes.

No sooner had she gotten comfortable and was about to doze off, she felt him move. Her blankets were whipped off of her.

"Come on Lexie. Time to get dressed." Mark grinned, towering over her, as the air generated by him made her shiver slightly.

"I knew it was too good to be true..." She grumbled, sitting up at last.

"All you have to do is get through today, and David will disappear for a while." Mark smiled.

"Not everything has something to do with him." She glared at the guard. "I just wanted some extra sleep."

"Right...you'd miss chocolate chip muffins for sleep?"

Perking up at the sound of chocolate, she knew he had caught her.

"You didn't say anything about chocolate?"

"See what I mean...hurry up and get dressed." Mark told her smugly.

"Fine..."

-----

Walking down the hall, Nicholas opened the door to his room. He had a few hours before he was due to make dinner. Taking off his chef's jacket, he grabbed his cloak and headed out.

It had been sometime since he had gone to the stables. As he walked down the castle halls towards his destination, he saw a pair of shadows ahead of him. As he got closer he recognized who they were.

"Soph-" He stopped as he watched in confusion as one of the guards, Samuel, kissed his sisters cheek before heading off. Not seeing him, Nicholas watched as his sister walked in the opposite direction. I'm going to have to talk to her, he thought, a protective feeling coming over him. What had she been up to while he had been away? He wondered nervously, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind.

Once getting out of the castle Nicholas was relieved to breathe in fresh air. Since he had started working at the castle, there had been a rush of events. He hated the tense feeling that had come over the castle. It had been smothering him since David's arrival.

Walking down the path leading to the stables, he took in his surroundings. The fall had come with leaves changing colour, while some had started to litter the path along the trees.

Opening the gate, he saw his father's horse munching on an apple. The other horses were also grazing, while a few slept. He was surprised the the old King's horse, Alphonse, was still around.

"Hello, Reem." He called to the horse. "Did you miss me?"

Slowly making his way towards the animal, Nicholas grabbed a bunch of hay that was stacked in one corner, and offered it to him. The horse sniffed Nicholas before taking the hay. Petting his head, Nicholas couldn't help but think about the upcoming dinner. David had been an unavoidable presence, throughout his visit. Each time Nicholas had seen him, the man would give him an odd look before saying something to one of his men with a smirk.

Good thing he's leaving tonight, Nicholas thought. Of course, he wasn't going to go without seeing Alexandra one last time. It was going to be difficult to try and keep her from acting up, Nicholas thought. Not fully understanding why it bothered him to see the Queen behave in that manner, Nicholas had taken it upon himself to watch over her tonight.

Putting the saddle on Reem, and making sure he was fitted to go outside, Nicholas led him out of the stable. Climbing up, he started the horse on a brisk walk. How am I going to stop her tonight? Nicholas wondered as the horse started to gallop.

-----

Having quietly gotten through the day, Alexandra had been counting down the hours until David would be leaving for Saarsgard. Sitting down at her place at the head table, she waited for Mark and Valek to lead him in. It's like time is torturing me by going even more slowly, she thought with annoyance.

As the doors opened, she watched as Mark led the way with David following, while Valek brought up the rear. Both heads of security looked less than happy to escort the man.

Once David had been seated, both guards moved to stand in the nearby shadows.

"Good evening, Alex." David smiled at her. It's never a good evening with you around, she thought silently.

"How has your stay been, David?" She asked after exchanging the usual pleasantries, while one of her other guards came to stand beside her.

"It has gone well, I suppose. I am hoping that you'll give me some good news tonight, to make this trip even better."

Back when they had been courting, Alexandra had disliked when he would talk to her as though he were persuading a child to do as he said. Here he was doing it again.

Cringing inwardly, Alexandra kept her face blank.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until after dinner." She said, putting off the news she had in store for him.

Turning to see that it was Aram standing beside her, she motioned for him to come closer.

"Please ask Nicholas to serve dinner now."

"Yes, your Majesty."

"So Alex, how are things? I've seen your workers prepare for the ball." David asked, making it sound as if they were friends. "It's been, what? Three years? How time flies..."

"Yes...it has been three years." She mumbled quietly. It would be so easy to just do the spell and have a bottle of something to tide her through the dinner, she thought.

Unfortunately, the doors opened before she could make her move. Nicholas walked in with the platter of food, and she saw his eyes immediately look over at her; relief expressed in them as he saw no bottle beside her. Why did he care so much? She wondered, slightly annoyed.

Putting down a platter of food in front of David, she watched as the chef moved towards her. Oddly, there were two more plates he was holding. Did I invite someone else? She wondered as he came to her.

Putting a plate down in front of her, Nicholas also put one beside her, before coming to sit down next to her.

"What are you doing?" She whispered, irritated at his actions. A look over at David, showed that her former fiancé was amused.

"I thought you could use the company." Nicholas told her, innocently. "Besides, this way you can't do anything when no one's looking."

The man had effectively blocked her from using the spell to save her from David.

"I didn't know Nicholas would be joining us?"

Turning to see David look at them questioningly, she knew she needed something to explain this away.

"Sorry David. I forgot to tell you that Nicholas would be having dinner with us. He's agreed to fulfill the role left by his parents. He's my advisor." She said through gritted teeth, as she glared at Nicholas.

-----

"Sorry David. I forgot to tell you that Nicholas would be having dinner with us. He's fulfilling the role left by his parents. He's my advisor."

The look she gave him, let Nicholas know that he would be getting a telling off once David had gone.

Watching over the Queen had been easy so far. Apart from the glares she sent him, she had not tried to pull any of her tricks. Looking over to where Mark was standing, he saw the guard grin at him. He knew it had been a long time since Mark and Valek had seen a sober Alexandra deal with David.

Although the conversation tended to leave him out, he watched as David and Alexandra discussed the lord's prospectuses. Although her face didn't show it, clearly the Queen was not impressed. Nicholas knew that tone voice she was using.

"I suppose...but I am not entirely convinced by the information you've given me." He heard her tell the other man.

As they finished eating, Nicholas moved to get up, but a hand from underneath the table pulled him back. Looking over at the Queen, he saw Alexandra shake her head slightly. Sitting back down, he watched as Alexandra straightened her shoulders, and sat up properly, her hand still holding on to his.

"David, as lovely as it has been to see you." She said, sounding diplomatic. "I think that in the immediate future there isn't much use for any of the plans you have shown me. I have asked you time and again to give me something to benefit Canterbury & Rosslyn, and still all you present me with are plans to help Saarsgard."

Nicholas watched as David's face soured. He was quite unhappy with how things were turning out, by the looks of it.

"For now, I'm convinced that it's in my country's best interest to steer clear from these plans. As such, Seraphine will not be funding any of your projects. I'm sorry."

Amazed that she was not under the influence of anything, Nicholas squeezed her hand in support. She had managed to get through the entire meeting without being drunk.

"Are you serious, Alex? I showed you six prospective plans, and you liked none of them?" David asked, incredulously.

"That's right. Each one was a variation of the last. I didn't find anything new or innovative in any of them. We already have a considerable amount of charities helping fund those in need around the world. You're not the first to suggest one." Nicholas heard the conviction in her tone. She was not going to budge.

"So that's it then? I'm leaving with nothing to show for all the work I did?" David sounded angry.

"That's what it looks like. If it was going to help your district, I may have approved it. But you didn't listen to me." Alexandra told him firmly. "Maybe next time you'll have better luck."

Watching as David looked over at him, Nicholas saw the other man's expression change as he stood up.

"You know what, I can see what's going on. I get it! He's your new toy isn't he...it's obvious he has you ear!"

"That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard, David!" Alexandra countered angrily, her hand pulling out of his as she stood up. Mark and Valek stepped out of the shadows, their faces looking like thunder.

"You had better watch your mouth in front of the Queen." Valek warned him.

"Whatever. It's just like you, Alex, to take the advice of your help. One day, it'll destroy you."

"That's enough!" Mark grabbed David by the shoulder and forcefully pushed him towards the doors.

"Don't forget, I'll be seeing you soon, Alex." David sneered, as Valek followed him.

A strange silence settled over them as the doors closed. Looking over at the Queen, he saw her slump into her chair, her head resting on her hand. Not knowing what to do, Nicholas moved to start clearing up; but seeing her look so shattered stopped him. Instead, he put a hand on her shaking shoulder. For once she had faced David without any aid, and he knew this was just the beginning.