Court of Darkness

17. Regret - Alexander

Alexander had managed to get himself banished from his own suite and he had completely deserved it. He was upset but not because he sleeping on the couch in his office. He was upset because the love of his life hated him and it was completely his own fault. Everything he had had let to this and he had seen it coming centuries ago.

The once handsome king looked like a wreck. He had stopped working and locked himself up in his office. The only reason that the kingdom was running was because his advisors had taken over.  Alexander no longer shaved himself and hadn't changed his clothes wince god knows when. He was currently slumped on a chair with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, watching how the fire crackled in the fireplace. He heard a knock on the door but ignored it. Another knock.

"Go away." He said. The knocking became more persistent.

"I said, GO AWAY!" The knocking still continued. Alexander put down the bottle of whiskey and walked furiously to the door to open it.

"WHO DARES TO DISOBEY THE-" He fell silent when he saw who had been knocking on his door. It was Nicki. And he had screamed in her face. Great. This was brilliant. Another mistake to add to the things he had done to wrong her.

Nicki was wearing high black boots, black pants and a matching, long sleeved tunic with silver details that complimented her hair. She had her arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"So the servants were right. Alexander the once charming king has become an unmannered swine." She then scrunched her nose as she smelled him. "And reeks of alcohol. Follow me. You've been holed up in your office for three weeks and feeling sorry for yourself. Time to become productive again." She turned around and walked away. Alexander blinked a few times of confusion. Nicki stopped with walking and turned around to look at him.

"Are you coming or what? My patience is running thin." Alexander quickly started to walk and Nicki continued to show him the way. She led him to his suite. To their suite. The suite she had banned him from entering until she had been ready to deal with him. This meant that today was the day they would talk about everything that had happened. She walked straight to the bathroom and opened the door for him.

"You're going to bathe, make yourself presentable again and wear clothes that you haven't been sleeping in for days. If you refuse then I'll stop talking to you again. Got it?" Her tone made it clear that she wouldn't accept a no.

"Yes, my queen." He said and entered the bathroom as instructed. He saw the confused look on her face when he closed the door. He knew that Nicki wasn't officially his queen but she sure acted like it. He liked it.

Alexander did as instructed. He washed himself for the first time since their fight. He wore the clothes that Nicki had probably picked for him. It was a simple look. A black dress shirt, black pants and black boots with silver details. That surprised him. He was certain that Nicki wearing silver wasn't a coincidence. He brushed his hair and put it up in a bun. He trimmed his beard but didn't shave it off. He was actually starting to like his beard.

He returned to the living room. Nicki was curled in her favourite chair, reading a book. If he had remembered correctly, it was one of those spicier romances that he had gifted her not too long ago, when they had still been a happy couple. He cleared his throat as he stood in front of her, wanting her attention. She looked up from her book, her eyes running over him shamelessly.

"How do I look?" Alexander asked when Nicki remained silent. Her red eyes moved from his chest to look at his face.

"Presentable again, although you haven't shaven off you beard." She sounded calm but he saw that her grip on her book had tightened slightly. It was a small detail but it betrayed her. Alexander leaned towards her and gently pushed her book down so he could see her face better.