Hidden Princess

Chapter 21 - Alex's POV

It's been a couple of days since Christmas, and I see Nia walk past the staircase to our rooms as she heads towards the back garden. I call after her, but she doesn't hear me so I decide to follow her. I follow her out the back door, calling her name again, but she still doesn't hear. She heads down one of the paths in the garden that seems to be less traveled than the other. She follows the path, until she takes a turn, onto what seems to be a hidden path.

I follow her down the path, until she stops at a bench and sits down, right next to someone else. I recognize Nicodemo. I hear them say something, but since it's in Portuguese I can't understand what they are saying. I'm about to walk over to them when I see him wrap his arm around her shoulders and she leans her head on his shoulder.

"Nico, eu também sinto falta dela." I hear Nia say.

"Eu sei," Nico says. He pulls her closer and kisses the top of her head. I feel a surge of jealousy flare through me as I see him do that, and I clench my fists.

"Eu te amo, Nico," Nia says, and that's something I know. She told him she loves him, and anger courses through my veins.

"Eu também te amo," Nico says.

I can't bring myself to stand and listen to them talk anymore. So I turn and storm back the way I came.

"Alex?" I look up as I hear Lia say my name. "What are you doing back here?" She asks. "And why do you look so angry?"

"If she wants to keep secrets fine, but she can't expect me to stick around while she is off meeting someone else," I say through clenched teeth.

"What are you talking about?" She asks, confusion on her face. She glances back the way I came and realization dawns on her, then she gets a sad look in her eyes. "Alex, it's not what you think, just come with me and we can explain."

"I don't want to listen to anything she has to say." I push past Amália and make my way back to the palace.

When I get back to my room, I shut the door and I don't want to see anyone. I've heard Nia outside my door multiple times, but I'm not in the mood to talk to her. Cami has come by to try and talk to me as well. After a few hours of sitting in my room in solitude, Xavier stops by. He's the first person I let in all day.

"What is going on dude?" He asks as he enters my room. "You've been locked in here all day, and not even talking to your own sister. So what's up?"

"I don't feel like talking to anyone," I shrug as I sit on the edge of my bed. "I saw my girlfriend sneaking off and then when I caught up with her I find her with another guy's arm around her. So you can't blame me for not wanting to talk to anyone."

"Did you even talk to Nia about it? Or did you just assume what was going on like an asshole?" Xavier says crossing his arms across his chest as he stares at me.

"She told him she loved him Xavier," I put my head in my hands, looking down at the ground.

"You do realize there is only one word in Portuguese that means love, right?" Xavier says. "We use the same word when telling family we love them as we do when telling our significant other. There's no other word for it, just like in English."

"So? She snuck off to go see him. What am I supposed to think?" I fire back.

"Did you see anyone else there? Or was it just the two of them?"

"I did run into Amália on my way back. She seemed to be going to the same place Nia and Nicodemo were." I admit and I see Xavier nod.

"You need to talk to Nia," he says. "Lia told me what they were doing out there, but it's not my place to explain it to you. So talk to her." With that he walks out of my room, closing the door behind him.

I stay in my room all day. At around 10PM I leave my room and head up to Nia's. I decided to give her a chance to explain what was going on. I knock on her door and after a few minutes, she opens it, wrapped in her blue silk robe that falls mid thigh. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying. Her eyes widen when she sees me standing there.

"Alex," She says my name, with so much emotion in her voice, that just that sound almost breaks my heart. "Meu amor," she reaches up to touch my cheek but she stops herself. She steps to the side and lets me in. I step around her and enter her room, taking a seat on one of the couches. Nia shuts the door before she crosses the room to sit on the other end of the couch. 

"What were you doing out there?" I ask, jumping straight to the reason I came here.

"Alex, it's not what you think -" She starts, but I cut her off.

"I just want you to tell me what you were doing out there with him." I snap and Nia jumps a little bit.

"In order for me to do that, I have to explain some things, okay?" She asks, and I nod for her to continue. "It really wasn't like what you think. Nico is like a brother to me. Him and Dário are Remi's best friends, and have been ever since I can remember," She says. "Their fathers' were my father's friends and personal guards, so they lived here in the palace with us. Nico had a younger sister who was the same age as Amália and I. Valéria, Amália and I were inseparable and always causing trouble for our big brothers." She takes a shaky breath before continuing. "Their parents died when Nico was 12. My parents and Lia and Rio's parents took them in, so that we all weren't split up, because we were all very close friends. Ria and Nico got even closer than they already were after their parents died. Ria disappeared around the same time as my attempted kidnapping. We were 14 at the time. No one has seen or heard from her since, so she was presumed dead. It's been hard on Nico, and Lia and I try every chance we get to help him feel better. That spot in the garden was Ria's favorite place, so Lia and I turned it into a sort of memorial for her." Nia quickly wipes a tear from her cheek. "We showed it to Nico when we had it completed, and when he has really bad days, he goes and just sits out there. We can always tell when he has days like that, so we go out there to spend time with him, and help him feel a little better." 

I'm leaning forward, my elbows on my knees, and my head bowed. I feel like a huge asshole now. I run my hands over my face before I turn to look at her. Nia is sitting in the corner of the couch, with her knees drawn up to her chest, with her arms wrapped around them and her head down. I move across the couch and pull her into my lap, leaning her head against my shoulder as I wrap my arms around her.

"I am sorry Nia," I say softly. "I'm so sorry about how I acted today. I should have just let you explain. Hell, I shouldn't have even followed you like I did." 

"Alex, you don't have to apologize," Nia says pulling back to look at me. She turns so that she is straddling me and she puts her hands on either side of my face. "I should have just told you all this earlier. I know you've seen me have quiet conversations with Nico the whole time we've been here. I should have guessed that you would start wondering what we were talking about. I should have just told you, and I'm sorry I didn't."

I reach up and pull her forward, meeting her lips with mine in a kiss. I run my fingers through her hair, gripping a handful of it as I pull her closer to deepen the kiss. I hear a soft moan from Nia as our tongues meet. I stand up from the couch, picking her up so her legs wrap around my waist, and without breaking the kiss I carry her back to her bed.