Heir of Ice

Chapter 9

Alia

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Alia woke up the next morning on the couch. She had let Marco sleep on the bed last night. Well... "let" would be a little bit of an understatement. Marco had insisted that she sleep in the bed because she was technically his guest but she tried to explain that she didn't want to be rude and it made her anxious sleeping on his bed, but he wouldn't listen so eventually she got tired of arguing with him and just shoved him on the bed and told him if he tried to get up she would slap the hospitality out of him. 

He had smirked and said, "I didn't think you would want to get me in bed this soon." To which Alia responded by hitting him over the head with her book before storming off into the sitting room. 

And now it was morning, and she watched as he crankily stumbled into the living room. 

"Have you been reading that all night?" He asked her when he saw the open book in her hands. Alia hated that the sound of his tired voice made her heart leap. 

"No, I took a little break around midnight to have some whiskey," Alia replied with a smirk.

"That's not a very Princess-like thing to do!" Marco said, pretending to be shocked and dramatically putting a hand on his chest. 

"And getting beat up by a girl isn't a very Captain-of-the-Royal-Gaurd-like thing to do either, but I guess we are learning more about each other every day." 

Marco scowled. "Well since you've been up all night, I hope you've used at least some of that time to come up with a good solution about what to do with your brothers, and the whole you-not-wanting-to-be-queen situation." 

Alia sighed. "Why would I want to spend my free time thinking about things that make me want to crawl into a hole and die when I can read Shakespeare?" 

"Because this war has lasted for twelve years and there is finally someone who can make it all end!" Marco said, growing impatient. "But no, you would rather sit around and read!" 

Alia's face heated. "I didn't ask for that kind of responsibility!"

"I'm aware, but that doesn't mean you don't need to step up and do something," Marco responded. "Like it or not, you're involved in this war now. You have the chance to end it and bring peace to not only Nymphimorus but Elaria as well. Every single day that this war goes on more people are getting hurt!" 

"Marco, don't you think I've thought about that?" Alia asked, closing her book. "The thing is, I don't know what I'm doing, at all! I might have the claim to the throne, but that doesn't mean I would be any good for Nymphimorus or Elaria with a crown on my head. I wish it was that simple but it's not. How am I supposed to rule a country that I haven't stepped foot in since I was four?" 

Marco sighed. "I...I don't know." He sat down in the seat next to Alia. "I'm sorry for getting angry at you, I know this is a tough situation and I shouldn't have expected you to have a perfect solution when I probably have more experience with this than you and I'm completely lost." 

Alia raised her eyebrows in shock. 

"What?" Marco questioned, looking concerned. "Did I say something wrong? Or is there something on my face? Oh god, I hope there's not something wrong with my face that would be so embarrassing-"

"No, there's nothing wrong with your face, and no you didn't say anything wrong." Alia chuckled. "I'm just shocked that you apologized, that's all." 

"Why would you be shocked by an apology?"

Alia shrugged. "Well, usually when someone loses their temper around me they either blame me or pretend it never happened in the first place."