Memory of You

Chapter Six: Memories

Chapter Six: Memories

"Please don't leave me here alone..." He looked down to see her upset. Her slurring had stopped, but she didn't look any more sober than she had at dinner.

"Highness, you need to sleep off the Goswein." He told her, only to see a hurt expression on her face. "Besides I have to change out of my wet shirt."

"Just take it off, I don't care."

"Really, Highness?" He asked, taken aback.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Highness'? It sounds so cold and unfamiliar. I thought we were friends?" She demanded. "Am I that bad of a Queen that you need to distance yourself from me?"

"No it's not like that." Nicholas answered, he had not known it hurt her to be called so formally. Leave it to a drunken Lex to hound me over such a thing, he thought.

"Then what? What is it like?" Clearly, the Goswein had made Alexandra a little bit more emotional.

"I didn't want anyone to assume I had used connections to get the job."

"So calling me Alex or Lex like you used to would imply that I gave you the job just like that?"

"That's not...Lex...please just get to bed." Nicholas was at a loss to try and explain his reasoning to her.

"See, now was that so hard?" She asked him, eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to sound unfriendly." He told her, honestly.

When she didn't say anything, Nicholas went and got her night gown. Handing her the black garment, he led her to the bathroom.

"You need to change. Then you can sleep."

"I don't want to sleep. You'll just leave me here alone." She said sounding upset. "Just like you did last time."

"What?" Shocked, Nicholas looked over at her, the sorrow on Alexandra's face drew him in.

"Remember? You told me we would always be friends and that you'd be there for me, and then you left for Airidia."

He could almost picture it in his mind. They had been teenagers, and Alexandra's coronation was coming up. He had left to see other sights in the world, before heading to school.

"Are you just going to leave me alone then?" She asked him, when he didn't say anything.

"Why don't you want to be alone?" Nicholas asked, trying to change the subject. He had not thought that Alexandra's feelings were hurt when he left.

"He always gets under my skin...every time he visits." Alexandra said, looking miserable.

"Who? David?"

"Who else? And then I start thinking about how stupid I am to have let him into my life...and how I hurt my Dad...and I always make a mess of things."

"So why drink when he's here?" He decided to ask. The question had been bothering him since the dinner.

"I don't know!" She cried. "I just want him to leave me alone."

"Why don't you tell him that?"

"How? My words always get jumbled up when I try to tell him." Looking up at him, her eyes pleaded with his. He felt her hand hold on to his. "Please stay. I don't want to think about him."

"I won't leave." Nicholas knew he couldn't deny her. She may have been the Queen of his country, but Alexandra was still one of his friends, and this time he would keep his word. "I promise."