Always Kensington

V

I don't know how long I stood there watching the door. I don't know what I was waiting for. I knew Roman wouldn't be back anytime soon. This was business. "Remind me again, Nikolai. What does Roman do?"

"Chloe," Nikolai mumbled, uneasy, "You know what he does. Why do you want to upset yourself more by having me rep-"

"Nikolai," I cut him off, raising my brow at him, "answer me."

He paused, taking in the emotions in my eyes. He closed his eyes, dropping his head back in a nervous fit, "He is the King of underworld crime."

"Continue." I began walking down the stairs with Nikolai walking beside me, reluctantly going over the same story I had every one of my knights tell me when it was their duty to stay behind with 100 guards in place of Roman's absence.

"He took control over Europe's mafia crime syndicate and from there he worked his way out to neighboring nations. All of this done in a span of three years. Never before was there ever a role of a King, until Axel." Nikolai continued speaking, knowing this was the way to cope with my unrelenting emotions. "One by one he swallowed up every crime syndicate in the world. They all answer to him, and every third week of the month he attends the Royal Gala in which every head boss along with politicians, movie stars, business men and moguls attends to deal with business and pay respect to Axel."

"Tell me about how good he is."

"The best, Chloe. No one can touch, no one...that is," he paused, and so did I. I turned my attention to Nikolai, my heart racing even more now. He smiled touching my cheek which caused the guards passing through to hault in their step. Nikolai's gentle touch did not go unnoticed by them as they continued walking through the house in their perimeter watch. Nikolai noticed this and dropped his hand, giving a shy smirk, "I'm sorry Chloe, I didn't mean to."

"There's nothing to be sorry about Nikolai. I trust you and so does Roman, besides," I continued into the blue room where my dinner was set, alongside Nikolais'. I always enjoyed sitting in the blue room for dinners without Roman. Much of the house is regency style interior with a modern twist, and so the blue I had chosen for the blue room was specifically picked from rooms of some of my favorite regency based films. The blues I have decorated all around me remind me of the way the films make me feel, much of the movies romance based. "You were saying no one can touch him, but it seemed like there is someone who can? Is there someone I need to be worried about? Is there someone who is in attendance tonight and I don't know about?"

Nikolai only chuckled in response. He shook his head as he reached for his napkin, draping it over his lap. "This person is not in attendance. This person is at home, about to eat dinner. In fact, she's sitting right beside me."

"Me." I said it, not as a question, but as a reminder. Yes, me, of course it would be me.

"Yes, Chloe, you. You and only you have full control over Axel and the fate of everyone under his command," he nodded his head and the maid lifted the cover to both of our plates revealing one of my favorite dishes. Beefsteak on a bed of chopped potatoes smothered in garlic butter. I hummed in happiness, dancing in my seat a bit as I picked up my napkin and laying it on my lap. "I don't know why they don't just feed you your favorite dishes every day...then there would be no worry about you not eating," Nikolai rolled his eyes, enjoying his red wine.

"Well, it is not the best diet for Madam Chloe to eat constantly," Fiona commented to Nikolai, looking him up and down in annoyance. Fiona was never fond of Nikolai. She always thought he was too comfortable with me, but so were all my knights. That is why they are my knights. Kaichou, Nikolai, Marcus, Dimitri and Worthington are my knights and Roman's most trusted men because they not only follow him into any situation, but as well he entrusts them to watch over me. I must not know something, or Fiona is just being a prude.