The Dragomir Heir (Watty Award)

Prince once more

Alek threw his sword as hard as he could at the full length mirror, hoping that it would transform into Lucius’ face. The mirror broke but Alek was not satisfied nor did the naked girl laying on his bed satisfied him last night.

“My Lord?” the girl whispered nervously because not so long ago, Alek of Russia was gentle despite the fact that he called her Valentina instead of Veronica. The naïve teenager giggled at his silliness then but now… she saw him as what he really was: cold and short tempered. She was frightened and cursed her mother for encouraging her to seduce the Tsar. She thought she would be courting Alek and then become Tsarina but now she knew that it was Princess Valentina that Alek wanted; the Princess that Alek was rumoured to be unwisely engrossed with. The rumours are true, the girl thought, but that’s impossible. Everyone knows that King Lucius is by far more powerful than Alek and more handsome.

Suddenly, the naïve little girl started connecting the dots together and then she burst into tears. Her brother and best friend were sent to a mystery mission by the Tsar himself. The Dragomir and Vladonov had just won their war…there were no prisoners taken. A message arrived for Alek while he was drinking his scotch after their night of passion. Her best friend, Michael gave her a single rose, kissed her hand and nervously left, carrying his army gear out of her estate.

Unable to stand the sobbing from the stupid girl, Alek whirled around and glared at her. “Get out of my room whore!” he said menacingly. In record time, the girl gathered her belongings and left the ruined room. He drowned down his glass of scotch and threw the glass at the wall. Only a few days ago, Alek had just received word that some of his men had abandoned him while the others were dead.

Lucius Vladonov wanted him dead for ‘conspiring with a Dragomir enemy’ and he had received no word from Valentina herself. With one bad luck after another, he tried to drown out that feeling of hopelessness and lost with alcohol and whoring. He missed Valentina and to his surprise, he missed her wisdom too.

Finally, word from the Dragomir arrived in the form of an official letter demanding his presence at Valentina’s palace. He knew he was in big trouble and tried to call Valentina numerous times but he was not successful.

He wanted to hear her voice and demand answers. He wanted to know about this Derrick Dragomir, who, in school, was known as Henry Edwardson and was now, Valentina’s second cousin. A slight smile formed as Alek realised that the protectiveness that Derrick showed in school was due to family connection not romantic interest. But who was this Sultan Darim? The guy under her balcony, thought Alek, who remembered Valentina sneaking off with Darim in Paris. At that time, Alek had raised the alarm, only to find the guards in a deep, drug-induced sleep.

Alek’s double door suddenly opened and his parents, Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov, walked in, to his surprise. Weren’t they holidaying in the Caribbean? His father was spotted with flushed cheeks and his eyes were different…the warm brown gone; frozen with fear.

“Father?” Alek asked with concerned. “What is the matter-?”

“The matter is that you’ve failed to disclose the fact that you helped Rog in his delusional war”, shouted Nicholas with fingers clenched. “Against the Vladonovs AND Dragomirs! Have you forgotten that in this world, they are dragons compared to us ants?”

It has been a long time since Alek received his father’s wrath and it still sent shivers down his spine but despite the creeping fear that settled in, Alek remained still.

“How many men, Alek?” asked his mother softly, her blue eyes were steeled with seriousness. “How many did you send to their death? How many have lost faith in you and have taken their vows of loyalty to the Dragomirs?”