How to rule a king

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Ronja:

Alexei didn't come back for breakfast as he had promised. He didn't show up for lunch either. After he had left I had fallen asleep again. The sheets were to blame. Far too comfortable. Getting out of bed I took a bath in the beautiful golden bathtub Alexei had leaned against as I had treated his arm yesterday night. His dried blood was still covering some of the tiles.

And now he is already back at the gym torturing his body further. Someone give the man a break for once.

Sinking deeper in the mass of bubbles I allowed my eyes to close, drifting off for another nap dreaming about last night. After we had left the party I had expected Alexei to take me the way he had always taken them. Word travelled fast, especially if the rumours were that juicy. Instead he had shown me his home and had introduced me to his son. His son, who came quite as a surprise. Vasyli.

The kingly one. How fitting for the future king of Russia's underworld.

He was so much like his father. Not just in his looks as he had inherited his father's natural tan, his jet black hair and night-sky colored eyes. No, both were very intelligent, yet never a show off. Secretive and careful. Always seeming to hide something. Especially the lonely look in their eyes. Both far too easy to fall in love with. Once you got a glimpse at their true selves they caught your heart in an instant, wrapping their chains around it and never letting it go again ever again.

I was woken from my slumber by tiny footsteps lumbering around the bedroom.

"Па́па, I can't sleep anymore. I want to go outside and play."

Vasyli.

Stepping out of the bathtub I tried not to accidentally step on Alexei's dried blood drops on the tiles as I frantically searched for a towel I could cover myself in.

Please don't let this be the one bathroom without towels in it.

Looking underneath the sink I exhaled in relief as I was greeted with a stack of fresh, fluffy, white towels. Wrapping an oversized towel around my still wet body I spotted a stack of apparently female clothes on the tiny black wooden stool next to the double lavatory on the right side of the room. Alexei must have placed them there for me, before he had left the apartment. Deciding not to linger on the fact whether he picked out the light blue silk lingerie set on his own or if he had had one of his female followers do it for him, I dressed myself in the pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a light grey long sleeved shirt before I pulled the light blue knitted wool sweater over my head. Bending down I slipped my feet into a pair of dark brown hunting boots before I made my way into the bedroom, where I was greeted by Vasyli sitting with wide eyes on the king-sized bed watching cartoons on the huge flat screen, which hung from the wall across the bed.

I cleared my throat to get his attention: "Good morning, Vasyli. Did you sleep well?"

His head shot up the second he heard my voice, a smile plastered on his childish face. He stood up on the soft mattress which wobbled a little bit before he raised his arms towards me, demanding to be picked up.

"I'm hungry and па́па left...again...He's never here in the morning anymore. It's so unfair", he whined as I walked out of the room with him in my arms.

"If па́па leaves you all the time, who is taking care of you then? Clearly you're far too young to be left on your own."

Not even Alexei couldn't be that copped up in work and, well,  killing people to not realize his son's need for care and love. Then again, he too grew up without anybody caring for him, living as an outcast on the cold streets of Moscow.