Court of Darkness

11. The not so urgent urgency - Nicki

Nicki woke up with a gasp and sat up in her bed. It was already after sunset. Her nap had lasted longer than a few hours. Most likely because her dream had contained a memory. An important one. Alexander was in love with her. He had been in love with her since she'd been a human. That one night stand... It hadn't been just the wine that they had drank. Alexander's emotions had been real. Wait... did this mean that human Nicki had fallen for that prick?! She groaned and let herself fall back in bed. She tugged softly at her hair.

"No, no, no! This was supposed to be a stupid fling!" How on earth could she have this whole ex lover situation with Alexander and not remember a single thing?! At least she understood now why she had always felt some kind of loyalty when it came to king prick. But this was a disaster. She had to keep her emotions in check and stay focused on getting the throne. She had probably dumped Alexander for a reason. He clearly still had feelings for her so there was no way that he had dumped her. She heard a knock on the door and the worried voice of her maid.

"Miss, is everything alright? I heard you groan and yell. Do I need to call for a healer?" Ah fuck. She had been too noisy. Damn you Alexander.

"No, I'm alright! I just had a bad dream. Just fetch me a cup of blood and put it on the table in the living room." She heard Reeva say 'yes miss!' as usual and leave. Nicki took the time to get dressed. She went for her usual black dress and some jewellery that went nicely with it. She then went to the living room. Her cup of blood was already waiting for her. She picked it up and sipped from it as she was thinking. Alexander had true feelings from her. That was something she could exploit. She just had to wrap him around her finger and he would do anything she asked. He had been very interested in her and the baby but kept his distance since she hadn't given him permission to touch her belly. Maybe she should change that. The closer he would feel to her and the baby, the easier it would be to convince him to make her his queen.

"Fetch me Alexander. Tell him it's urgent." She told her maid. The girl bowed and quickly left the room to tell the guard to get the king.

Nicki had barely put down her empty cup when the door opened. Alexander was a mess. He looked worried and his dress shirt was half buttoned. His long black hair was unbrushed. The king rushed to her and sat down next to her. He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye.

"Nicki what's wrong?! I was told it was urgent. Are you alright? Is there something wrong with the baby?" Nicki could almost smell the fear. Good. She had him right where she wanted him. She placed her free hand on top of his and gave him a sweet smile.

"I'm alright. I'm doing perfect actually. We both are." Alexander sighed of relief but then looked confused at her.

"Then why did you say it was urgent?" It was obvious that he still had no clue what was going on.

"Because I have news that I wanted to share with you. The little one is starting to move." She placed Alexander's hand on her belly. It was odd that someone's hand was on her swollen belly. No one had been allowed to touch her so far but if she wanted Alexander to think that he could have a real relationship with her she had to let him touch her.

Alexander gasped softly when she told him the news. A bright smile appeared on his face when she placed his hand on her belly. A red tear rolled down his face.

"Nicki, that's amazing news! Our child is moving!" He started to caress her belly carefully, checking her facial expression to see if she wanted him to stop. When she didn't say anything he took his chance and started to talk to her belly.

"Hello little one! I'm your father, Alexander. I'm so excited to meet you and I bet your mom is too." Nicki blinked and looked away from Alexander. Damn it. She was too late. Red tears were rolling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away but she knew that Alexander had seen them already.

"Are you alright, love?" He asked her and stopped with caressing her belly. Nicki nodded at first but then shook her head. She started to cry and Alexander carefully hugged her, rubbing her back to calm her down.

"I'm sorry if I did anything wrong. I was just so happy with the news that my emotions took over. I-" But Nicki cut him off.

"That's not it. It's just those stupid hormones! I'm fine! I'm not upset with you. It's just-" She started to cry again. Her tears stained Alexander's shirt but she didn't care. Alexander just started to pat her back and waited until she was done with crying.

"So... no more tears?"  He asked carefully when she had been silent for over a minute.

"I think I'm out of tears. I'm sorry for that..." Nicki said, leaning with her head against his arm, due to their height difference. Why was Alexander so damn tall? Ah well, his strong, muscular arm would do just fine. The king handed her another tissue while his other arm was wrapped around her.

"It's fine. Like you said, it's those hormones driving you crazy. I meant it when I said that I'm here for you. I'm not just sticking around for our child. I want to make this work, you know? To raise this child together with you. It's okay that you're not in love with me. I just want to be a good father and that means that I also take good care of the mother of my child." Oh no. Damn you Alex! More tears came and the king quickly started handing her more tissues.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you start crying again." Nicki wiped her tears away and softly started to hit Alexander.

"Damn! You! You! Prick! Do you love seeing me cry today or something?" Alexander chuckled softly when she said that and gave her a devilish smile. She hit him again.

"No I don't. But you look cute when you cry. I didn't know you still had it in you." She smacked him again on his arm.

"Stop flirting! Wait, what do you mean still had it in me?" Now she wanted answers and he would give them to her. Alexander suddenly avoided eye contact with her.

"Alex! Answer me or I won't allow you to touch my belly again." She saw the stress in his eyes. The blackmailing had worked.

"Okay, okay! Fine. When you were a human you were a bit softer personality wise. You were more shy and it made you cute in my opinion..." He avoided eye contact again. Suddenly he was very interested in her furniture.

"Wait, were you in love with me when I was a human? Wasn't I just a servant?" She had dreamed about him saying that he was in love with her but she still wasn't sure if she could trust those so called memories. Perhaps Alexander could confirm it for her. She wanted answers and she wanted that now. Unfortunately for her, Alexander ignored her question. She hit his arm again.

"Hey! I asked you a question prick!" Another smack. Alexander answered her while looking at her table.

"You were a servant. And yes... maybe I was a little into you." Nicki raised her eyebrows.

"A little?" She repeated, accusing him.

"A little much to the point that it was a good thing that my father had no idea about who I fancied." It sounded like Alexander was dying on the inside. It was funny to see him like that. He rarely let others see that side of him. He was very good in putting up a poker face.

"Oooh scandalous! But let me guess, you never told human me about it?" Alexander suddenly got up, ignoring the most important question. Nicki almost fell on the couch but Alexander quickly helped her to sit straight.

"I have to go. Work is calling. Do you want me to... come by when I'm done?" Awww was he shy now? Adorable!

"I would love that." She said and gave him another sweet smile. Then she got up and gave him a hug, ignoring the warm feeling she was experiencing on the inside. This was just an act. She just had to convince him that she would miss him very much.

"Then I will." Alexander said as he awkwardly patted her back. He then freed himself and walked to the door.

"See you after work." He said and left.