The Tale of a Mad King

Chapter 3

The months went by and Leah was starting to lose hope. He barely touched her, barely spent time with her. Hell, he barely even LOOKED at her. What made it even worse was the fact that the pressure to have an heir was getting more intense by the day. How was she supposed to give birth to an heir when she didn't even have the means to make one. It has been 7 months since their wedding and they've only spent four nights truly together. Yes, he still kisses her every morning and night but that's not enough to make a baby. She's alone most of the time. Other than seeing the servants every day and the occasional party Alexander takes her too she's alone. The only person to make an effort to see her was Aiden. He came to visit every few weeks. They would usually take walks in the garden or play card games. He sometimes critiques her poetry. Though he only says good things. Aiden made her feel like she finally had a friend. Leah didn't have many friends growing up so it was nice to have someone like Aiden.

"I just don't know what I did to have him be so repulsed by me. Am I really that horrifying?" Leah expresses with a sigh making Aiden scoff. "My brother is just a prideful idiot. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you." He tells her appalled she would say something like that about herself. "But there's got to be a reason. I'm not petite or elegant like the other women in the castle. Compared to them I'm built like a man. I wouldn't want to touch me either." She places her head in her hands. Aiden sighs and goes to kneel in front of her. "Leah you are not built like a man. You are perfect just the way you are and if my brother wasn't so stupid he would see that." He says gently taking her hands away from her face. "Now come on, show me that beautiful smile of yours." He places his fingers on the corners of her mouth and pushes them up forcing her to smile. Letting out a laugh she pushes his hands away and gives him the biggest, fakest smile she could possibly muster.  Aiden laughs along with her "there's my favorite smile. Now how could my brother be horrified this." He says pinching her cheeks. Placing her hands on top of his she takes them off her face holding them to her heart. "Thank you for making me feel better." She whispers genuinely smiling at him. He gently squeezes her hands "anything for my favorite sister." "Aiden I'm your only sister."

All he felt was guilt. Slowly pumping from his heart pouring through his veins. It consumed him. Aiden has never felt anything like this before. He remembers the day of his brother's wedding so clearly. How he had danced until he dropped. How he had so much cake and alcohol he could barely move by the time the reception was over. How he lied to Leah. It had happened right after Alexander came back from his meeting with Leah. Aiden had been nagging him about her since the moment he got back from the north. Alexander came into the room looking less than pleased. "What happened?" Aiden asks confused as to what happened to make his brother look so upset. "Is that really the girl that was chosen for me," Alexander exclaims confusing Aiden further. "What do you mean? What's wrong with her?"  "WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER? There is so much wrong with her. Have you seen her?"  "Yes, I've seen her. I don't see what the problem is."  "The problem is I am a KING! Who I am seen with affects my reputation."  "What's that supposed to mean?" He asks exasperated at this point. "It means I can't be seen with her. I need to have a wife I can proudly stand by. One who is beautiful and elegant. Not her. It doesn't help that she has absolutely no aspirations in life."

Aiden was disgusted by what he was hearing. Is Alexander, the man who would give the shirt off his back for someone in need, really upset about his wife's appearance? This is not the Alexander he grew up with. This is a stranger. Aiden explodes with rage, screaming at his brother. How could he not see the sweetness Leah has? Just because she looks different doesn't mean she's not beautiful or elegant. How could he not see that? The fight went on for forty-five minutes. They both screamed and got into each other's faces. By the time they calmed down it was almost time for the wedding. They were reminded of this when a servant came to tell them. As soon as Aiden heard this he began running. Running as fast as he could to get to Leah. When he got to her he lied about why he was late. He didn't want to but he also didn't want to make her feel worse than she already was. He has kept his guilt inside him for months now. Not knowing how to make the situation better he decides to talk to his brother. Maybe he could convince him to at least try to get to know her. His brother is stubborn though so he's going to have to think about his words carefully.

Knocking on Alexander's door Aiden takes a deep breath. "Come in," he hears from inside. Aiden opens the door to find Alexander signing some documents at his desk. "I need to talk to you," Aiden says in the most serious voice he can. Hearing this Alexander looks up from his papers "what is it, little brother?" He asks "you need to spend more time with Leah." Aiden states firmly causing Alexander to stand from his seat. "Excuse me-" "you heard what I said," Aiden interrupts. Alexander scoffs "who are you to tell your king what to do." "Someone who cares that's who. Do you know how much pressure Leah is getting to give birth to an heir?" "Yes don't you think I'm getting pressure to." "Well obviously not!" Aiden shouts "if you were getting the pressure she was, you would be in more of a hurry to make one." Alexander sighs "well I'm sorry I have better things to do." "Better things? What's better than securing your legacy and making your wife not feel worthless. Look I'm only asking you to spend more time with her, nothing more." Aiden says giving Alexander a pleading look. Sighing once more Alexander finally submits "okay I have plans to go to the orphanage today. I'll see how well she does with kids." "Thank you."

When Aiden leaves Alexander sits down putting his head in his hands. This is really not what he planned. Aiden was right though the pressure for an heir was getting stronger by the day. Alexander needs to get his head in the game. He quickly calls a servant to go tell Leah to get ready, that they were going on a trip. He goes outside to get the horses ready. He did say he would go horseback riding with her. As he's readying the horses he sees Leah from the corner of his eye. He walks up and greets her with a kiss. "Good evening darling," he says with a smile. Leah looks confused "what's going on? Did something happen? Why are we suddenly going on a trip?" She spews stumbling over her words. Alexander can see how nervous she is. "Nothing happened. What, am I not allowed to surprise my wife?" he asks raising a brow at her. "W-well I guess there's no harm in surprises. Where are we going?" "Somewhere I love dearly." He says gesturing to the horses. "Didn't I say I'd take you horseback riding." Hearing this her eyes light up. Looking up at him excitedly she asks "really?! Do you mean it?"  Smiling down at her he says "of course I always keep my word." He pats her on the back and helps her onto her horse. "Just follow my lead, okay?" He tells her, she nods in reply.

It took only thirty minutes to get to the orphanage. Alexander smiles as he hears a gasp from beside him. "T-this is Mrs. June's orphanage," Leah utters in awe giving him a wide-eyed look. "I realize I never really shared with you the places I love. So I figured that should change." He says hopping off his horse. He also helps Leah off her horse. Offering her his arm to hold onto he leads her into the orphanage. The children all run-up to him in excitement asking him where he's been, why it took him so long to visit, and who was the lady beside him. "Children this is Leah, she is my wife," he introduces. They all take to her immediately, pulling her off to play with them. Alexander watches from the sidelines only jumping in the game when necessary. He watches her. The way she interacts with the children. The way the snow falls onto her slightly frizzed hair. He can't help but be entranced by her. He smiles as the children manage to knock her down and pile on top of her. How could he not notice how beautiful her laugh was? Maybe its because he's never heard her laugh. He frowns at the realization. Shaking his head he decides not to focus on that. Looking at his wife once more he notices she's already looking at him. As soon as they lock eyes she gives him a beautiful smile. His heart skips several beats. Grabbing onto his chest he stumbles a little from the shock.

She sees this and automatically looks concerned. She ushers the kids off of her and hurries to his side. "Are you ok?" She asks "I got a bit light-headed. I think we should head home now." The children groan as he says this. "It's okay kids I promise we'll be back soon," Leah assures them. The kids still seem unhappy but they accept it. On the trip back home Alexander can't stop looking at her. They safely make it back home and into their room to warm-up. Leah suddenly grabs his arm and leans up to kiss his forehead. "It doesn't seem like you have a fever." She says putting her cold hand on his face. "You're cold," he grabs her hands rubbing them with his warm ones. "Maybe I should warm you up." Leah blushes at his words "oh no, you shouldn't be worrying about me. you're the one who doesn't feel well." She stumbles over her words trying to look anywhere but at him. "I feel a lot better now, thanks to you. Your concern warms me to no end." His face slowly gets closer to hers. "It's nothing really. Of course, I would be concerned your my-" she was unable to finish her sentence. Alexander pushes his lips on hers in a passionate kiss. With that starts the adventure of a lifetime.