Memory of You

Chapter Ten: What? Are You Checking Up On Me Here Too?

Sitting down at the breakfast table. Alexandra looked over the papers in her hand. With the ball coming up, she had not gotten any time to relax. Instead she was busy deciding on last minute details.

"Sophia, can you please just take care of the decorations?" Alexandra asked, exhausted from all the lists she had gone over.

"No problem. I can do that." Sophia grinned, taking the list from Alexandra's outstretched hand.

"Here you go, Lex. Breakfast is served." Nicholas presented a plate of banana bread and fruits.

"Thanks." Alexandra mumbled. Days had passed since David's departure, and each time she saw Nicholas, she'd start to feel butterflies and her nerves would get the better of her. He was just being nice, she thought to herself, he's still an annoying meddling git!

"Sophia...meet me after dinner?" She heard the older Devereux ask his sister as he passed her. Alexandra had told him that Sophia wanted to speak with him. She had no idea her lady-in-waiting had yet to sit down with her brother. These days there was a lot about Sophia she didn't know, there was hardly any time for her to sit down with her best friend and just relax. I wish it wasn't so busy, Alexandra thought to herself. Life before becoming Queen seemed such a long time ago, and in a different period.

"Yes, Nick." Sophia replied.

"Mark and Valek, you two are working on the list of people coming. I'm not looking over these names again." Having shaken off her thoughts, Alexandra gave the guards the pile of papers containing information of the people residing in Seraphine.

"Nicholas...I'll meet you at lunch. You're going to deal with the menu." She said at last, having divided as much of the duties as she could. Somehow I wind up talking to him, more than Sophia, she realized with some annoyance.

"Of course, I'll get started on that." He told her, with a smile.

Taking a piece of the bread, Alexandra got up and moved for the door.

"Where are you going?" She heard Valek ask.

"I have some more details to tend to, so I'm heading to the King's Quarters. I'll see you at lunch. Don't worry...Aram said he'd check over the room...you can stay here." She told the group, before pushing the doors and walking in to the hall.

With no meetings scheduled for the next few days, Alexandra only had the ball to worry about. As the days got closer and closer to the event, she found her mood become more sullen and broody. She just wasn't excited. She had never thought that by the time she turned 20, she would already have been on the throne for three years.

Unlocking the door to her father's old room, she walked to the desk. A picture frame held a portrait of her family...before her parents had passed away. Looking at it, she felt more miserable. If I had never allowed David in to my life, maybe they would both still be here? She found herself wondering again.

There had to be a way to get rid of David for good, the thought had been going through Alexandra's mind since Nicholas' refusal to bring her wine. Why did she let that man affect her? If she was honest with herself, the time had long come for David to be released from his duties to Seraphine.

When she had first been crowned, she had argued that it would look as though she was taking revenge by revoking his lordship. Now three years on, Alexandra had seen that David had done nothing for her country or the district that was under his care. She finally had a chance to legitimately relieve him of his duties.

"I'd better get to work." Alexandra muttered aloud, realizing how much work was needed to be done before the ball. Putting the thoughts in the back of her mind, she knew she would mull on them later.

-----

"There you are...I've been waiting for an hour...I thought you'd be coming down for lunch?" Nicholas peered through the door to find the Queen still sitting at her desk looking deep in thought. She had done this for the third day in a row.

Startled as she saw him, Nicholas walked over to her, and placed the tray of food he had brought in front of her.

"You should take care of yourself. Missing lunch isn't healthy." He told her.

"Sorry...I was just...I didn't realize it was lunch time." Alexandra told him. She got up to stretch. Nicholas saw her deep blue gown move around her. Average in height, a few inches shorter than him, he often wondered how her slim frame was able to hold up such heavy dresses.

Watching as she sat back down, Nicholas stood across from her desk awkwardly.

"You can eat with me; if you like...I'm not going to bite you." She told him, an annoyed expression on her face as she lifted the covers off of the plates.

"Sorry..." He mumbled taking a seat; he should have expected this by now.

"Err...so how is the menu and cooking coming along?" Alexandra started, taking a piece of flat bread he had made.

"It's going well; making a menu wasn't that hard. You have nothing to worry about." He told her. She had excused herself from dealing with the menu over some last minute meetings around the town.

"Sorry, I would have given you some specifics for the menu...but I had to deal with some things..."

"That's alright. Is there anything in particular you would like me to add to the menu?"

"No. It's all up to you. I trust your cooking. Just make sure there aren't dishes with mushrooms in them. My cousin, the Countess of Iso is allergic to them, as well as the Lord of Primes."

"You're giving me free rein without any demand for chocolate?" Surprised that she wasn't just listing off foods, with the ball being held tomorrow night.

"Only in the food area, because I trust you, and you know better than to leave chocolate out. Besides, I don't have much time to be bossing you around." She smirked. "There are too many other things I have to do. Sophia is dragging me to the seamstress for a new gown tonight, and I don't have the time."

As they ate with silence settling over them, Nicholas realized something.

"I don't see Sophie with you a lot, these days." He observed.

"She has other things to do." Alexandra looked away.

"Really? I thought she was your Lady-in-Waiting?"

"She was...she is...I mean she is. I just gave her sometime to herself. At least one of us should get the chance to grow up normally…she just needs time to figure things out." She told him, a sad look in her eyes. Nicholas understood what she meant.

Having the crown thrust upon her, Alexandra hadn't gotten the chance to enjoy her teenage years. It was just like her to give Sophia time to find herself, Nicholas thought. Underneath the sometime stubborn exterior was a kind and gentle heart.

"By the way...did you get the chance to talk to her?" Alexandra asked him.

"No...she said she had an errand to run." Nicholas scowled upon remembering his sister's excuse.

"I'm sure she's just-" Before the Queen could say anymore, there was a knock on the door. It was Valek.

"Valek...I just need to discuss what you'll be doing after the ball tomorrow night." Alexandra told her guard. Nicholas was about to get up, when she stopped him.

"You can stay…since they'll probably tell you, and because you're supposedly my advisor, it would look stupid if you didn't know what was going on." She scowled, as Valek grinned at him.

"So...what is going on Alex?"

"After the ball, you're going to travel the towns with your guards." She said to Valek. "I need you to poll the townspeople anonymously about the lords in charge of their districts. It's time to get everything in order."

-----

Hearing the music playing as she stood behind the door of the throne room waiting to be announced, Alexandra sighed, it was going to be a long night of mingling with dignitaries. She had heard from one of the guards that David had made an appearance as well. She had been hoping he wouldn't show up after his last visit.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of trumpets.

"Please stand for the arrival of Her Majesty, Alexandra, Queen of Seraphine."

The doors to the Throne Room opened, giving her a view of the people who had gathered. Stepping in to the room with a smile on her face, she took a few steps, moving as gracefully as she could with the amount of layers in her gown. Dressed in a black off-the-shoulder gown with sparkling silver embroidery, her dress gave the impression of night enveloping her, as the stars sparkled.

In front of her, Mark and Valek stood, dressed in their formal uniforms; their sheathed swords and chains glittering in the light; each waiting for her to take hold of their arm.

"You clean up nicely, Alex." She heard Mark whisper. Looking up at him, she saw the grin, making her smile as well.

"I could say the same for you." She replied. "Looking dapper Marcus, and you too, Valek."

Meeting the visitors from different countries, Alexandra was surprised at how far some of them had come just to meet her. As some of her guests lingered around the tables loaded with different dishes, she walked to another group of visitors. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sophia chatting to a man she hadn't seen before, she didn't get a chance to dwell on the thought. As music started to play once more, Valek left her with Mark to make his rounds.

"How many more people are there to see?" She whispered, her feet starting to hurt.

"The dukes and duchesses and then the lords...you've already met with the other dignitaries." He told her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

People around them had begun to dance, as she was led to the lords.

"Majesty, please accept our congratulations." She heard as she passed them, shaking their hands.

At the end of the line was David. Biting her tongue, she refrained from saying anything rude when he congratulated her.

"Care to dance, Alex?" He asked offering, despite being caught in Mark's glare.

With the others watching, she was hard pressed to refuse.

"Alex..." She heard Mark's low growl.

"It's fine..." Alexandra motioned for him to do nothing

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, Grimaldi." Mark said low enough for only them to hear, as he passed David, a hand on the glinting hilt of his sword. "One wrong move, and that's all it'll take."

David said nothing in return, as he put an arm around her waist. Revolving them slowly, in time to the music, he led her as they danced in the sea of people.

"So Alex, have you reconsidered any of my ideas?" He asked.

Typical, she thought, he was always talking about business no matter what the occasion was.

"No, I haven't. I stand by what I told you, David."

"Alex, I thought perhaps giving you some time would help you see things in perspective. Maybe you should rid yourself of these men, they clearly don't have your best interests at heart." He told her, his voice sounding as greasy as he looked.

"And you do?" Alexandra asked, incredulously.

"Darling, you know me. I only want what's best."

"For you. You only want what's best for you, not for me or for Seraphine. How can you ask me to trust you over the friends I've had since birth?" Trying to keep her voice down, she knew he was trying to get a rise out of her, but her strong sense of loyalty made it hard to ignore what he said about Mark and Valek.

"You mustn't take it the wrong way, I was just saying that perhaps..." He trailed off.

"Yes, what were you saying?" She pushed on, looking directly at David.

"Alex, you need to recon-"

"I'm sorry...but may I cut in."

The interruption came from Nicholas. She watched quietly as he tapped David's shoulder, before offering a hand to her. Looking at David's scowling face, gave Alexandra some satisfaction.

"I reckon it's just like you to have someone interrupt us." She heard David mutter.

"What? I didn't ask-" Before she could complete her sentence, Nicholas had decided to speak up.

"I apologize, Lord Grimaldi; I just wanted to make sure I got at least one dance with the Queen this time." Nicholas said, not flustered at all by David's reaction. "I'm trying to make up for lost time, which includes missing her coronation ball."

Nicholas' eyes didn't leave her as he said this; she could feel a smile making it's way on to her face. It had taken her a few days, but Alexandra had remembered what she had told him that night, it had never occurred to her that he would have reacted on it.

"May I?" Nicholas asked her and David once more.

Not waiting for David to answer, Alexandra took Nicholas' hand, it felt like he was pulling her out of the darkness that she had come to associate with David. She felt a surge of relief.

Leading her to a more secluded area of the throne room, she felt his arm wrap around her waist, as another hand took hold of hers. Her stomach flipped at his touch, and she tried to keep her self from staring at him. Dressed in black formal attire, with his silver family shield attached over his heart, and the sword she had seen his father wear attached by a silver chain to his side; he matched her guards as well as herself perfectly; His gray eyes sparkling in the light.

As the silence prolonged, Alexandra saw him look at her with a grin.

"What? Are you checking up on me here too?" She asked, saying the first thing that came to mind, he laughed as he heard this. "Worried that I would try to pull something funny?"

"Not at all, Highness. I trust you." He said with mischief twinkling in his eyes, he received a glare from her. "I saw you start to frown, Lex, so I thought I would come over to keep you from making your guests worry about your mood. Besides you looked in need of a rescue."

Sighing, she shook her head. Nicholas had always been observant.

"Have you seen Mark and Valek?" She asked, wondering where they had gone off to. Knowing that they would have jumped to get rid of David if she had looked unhappy, she was surprised that they were missing.

"They were doing rounds last time I checked." He told her.

Keeping in time to the music, she let him lead them along. A part of her felt better about coming to the ball. He had unknowingly brightened her night.

Drawn in by his warmth, she rested her chin on his shoulder; as the tempo of the music started to slow down. As his arm pulled her closer to him, she found herself hoping that he wouldn't hear her racing heart.

"Thank you, Nicholas..." She mumbled, he couldn't know how much his actions had meant to her.

"Your welcome, Lex. Any time."