Memory of You

Chapter Seventeen: What If I...

"For the love of all things holy...do you ever think about making my life easier, Alex?"

Storming in to the courtyard, Mark spotted the young ruler standing alone in the darkness. She was lucky it was him she was dealing with; Valek wouldn't have waited for an explanation to chain her to her bed, and lock the room, he thought.

"What is wrong with you? Do you not understand how unsafe it is for you to go out alone, especially at this time?" It was a miracle he hadn't yelled by now, he thought finally taking a look around. No one was near her. Why the hell had she come here? He thought with irritation.

"What are you doing here, Alex?"

She didn't answer, instead all he heard was a sniffle.

"Alex?" Mark asked, his anger vanishing as concern flooded through him. "What's wrong?"

Walking up closer, he saw the stream of tears the girl was trying to wipe away. Placing a hand under her chin, he gently lifted her face to look at her.

"What's the matter?" He asked once more.

Instead of getting a reply, she ran into his arms; her sobs wrenching at his heart. What had gotten in to her? He wondered, it had been a long time since she had been in such a state. Wrapping his arms around her, he tried to comfort her, but she only cried harder.

"Shhh...Lexie...what's wrong?"

Alexandra said nothing, she shook in his arms. Mark held onto her, waiting patiently as her sobs slowly started to subside. As she regained some control over herself, she looked up at him, the hurt look in her eyes becoming more pronounced. Tears started to well up in her hazel eyes, once more.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have left without telling you." She said with a shaky voice, wiping her eyes. Alexandra moved away from him.

"Just don't let it happen again." He told her, ruffling her hair. "Why were you here in the first place?"

"It was nothing..." Alexandra muttered, looking away. "Pointless, and stupid...really..."

Mark eyed her wearily. She knew there was nothing she couldn't tell him, so Alexandra keeping secrets usually meant someone else was involved.

"Were you meeting someone?" He asked as they started to walk towards the castle, watching her closely. Alexandra froze, her expression of shock quickly covered up with a passive look.

"No..."

Saying nothing, Mark took the lead, taking her hand. I'll figure it out sooner or later, he thought, not pushing the topic any further.

-----

Sitting in the library, Alexandra turned the page of her book. Humiliated, she felt so humiliated after that debacle with Nicholas. She hadn't had the courage to face him for breakfast this morning, and she was pretty sure her meltdown had been narrated to Valek through Mark.

Both guards had refrained from making any snide remarks when she had asked to sleep in a bit longer. With no meetings scheduled for the day, the two had relented, saying they would bring up food if she was hungry. She had sensed their suspicions as they gave her one last look before leaving.

What was she supposed to tell them? I told Nicholas I liked him...and he ran...just the thought made her face flame with embarrassment. She had never felt so hurt before, even the trials she went through with David didn't compare to this. Her eyes started to well up as the events of the night before were brought to the forefront of her mind. Sighing she rubbed her eyes, she realized how much more Nicholas may have meant to her, in comparison to the last man who courted her. What a mess I've gotten myself into, she thought, flipping to another page.