NIKITA

Is it love? It can't be...

“How is she doing?” a man’s voice said, somewhere near me.

I kept my eyes closed; trying to figure out what was going on and hoped they didn’t know I was woke-

“She’s stable right now, but after all the damage that’s been done to her, I’d suggest check-ups once a month for a few months,” a man answered. He sounded a little distanced from me.

I heard a sigh come from the guy beside me. This time when he spoke, I focused on voice to place his name.

“What about the poison?” he asked. I still couldn’t place his voice, but the worried toe in those words almost brought it to me.

“Well, I’ve gotten rid of it before it got to her heart. The stings on the other hand, will need to be treated. I have some pain killers here for her too.” He paused. “Dmitri, she could’ve died if you hadn’t gotten there in time.”

And then everything that happened came rushing back to me. I came back to the name. Dmitri. Who was that? I knew every guard’s first name but-

“Hey, Belikov, the others want to know if we could still… stay here even though there’s no, uh, ruler here?” a guy asked. Replaying the voice in my head, I placed him as Josh.

“Actually, we do have a ruler,” Dmitri said. “If she’ll stay. But either way, yes, you can still stay. I am.”

“Thanks mate.” A pause. “She alright?” Josh asked.

Where is all this worry coming from? I thought. Didn’t they see what I did?

“Yes. She’s not as well as she was before, but I’m hoping she will soon.”

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks the connection did.

I gasped, shocked, and my eyes shot open. At first everything was blurry, but then my eyes adjusted and I saw Dmitri gazing down at me worriedly.

I gazed back into his eyes as he smiled with wonder.

“Good afternoon, Nikki,” he said, and I noticed the nickname immediately. His voice filled with something I’d never heard directed to me before by a man, except my dad.

Love? I asked myself. Could it be true, or is it my imagination?

I smiled, confused. “Afternoon? How long was I out?”

“About two weeks now. You were about to head into three weeks by tomorrow.” Dmitri answered. Looking into his eyes, I saw it there too. Love.

“You look confused,” he said waiting for an explanation.

“You saved me.”

“I had to,” he said. “Just didn’t have it in me not to. We’re not holding what Jesse tried to do against you. The other guards, however, were innocent-“

I cut him off. Had to. “Did you not see what they were doing before they died? It was disgusting… and you call that innocent?” I arched a brow.

Josh chuckled from the door. “Oh yeah, she’s gonna be just fine. No worries there.” When I met his gaze, he nodded in greeting. “See you later, my Queen.” He winked at that before leaving.

“See, even he agrees,” I said, and I couldn’t help smiling.

“Everyone does, but you didn’t have to kill them.” He pointed out.

I frowned. “How else was I supposed to get out?” I shot back.

“Why were you even in their rooms from the start?” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “There is many reasons actually, which, since we’re on the topic, brings me to my next question. Where in the world did they get those pictures of me?”

Dmitri frowned. “That was what I was wondering.” He shook his head and changed the topic. “But we still have to punish you for that. As soon as you’re back in your room, I’m putting you on room arrest.”

My eyes narrowed. “I do have a new room right?”

“Yep. We redid Jesse’s and brought in some new guards from outside.”

“What about my old room?” I asked.

“One of the new guard’s will be staying there. We’ve cleaned it out and he redid it.” Dmitri answered. “The bed was burned and we got a new one and redecorated the room.”

I stared at him. “You’re not telling him.”

He shrugged and grinned. “None of the outsiders know which room it happened in.”

I smiled and arched a brow. “What about you, Dmitri?” It was my first time saying his first name, and it felt right in my mouth.

He smiled, realizing the same thing. “That’s up to you, Your Majesty.”

I smiled and, before I could answer, the door opened.

The doctor stepped in and came over to my bed. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re awake.” He smiled, but it didn’t seem right. I put the thought out of my head. “She can go back to her room now,” he said and detached me from the machines.

Dmitri helped me stand. When I was up, the doctor handed him my medicine. We nodded and left.

Walking down to my bedroom, I linked arms with Dmitri. “I feel like staying in and watching movies.” I said with a smile.

He grinned. “That was going to be your only choice anyway. But I’ll stay.” He hugged me, surprising me. “I’m sorry about everything, Nikita.” He murmured.

I answered with a smile. “Thank you for saving me, Dmitri.”

That night, he fell asleep in my lap during the second movie. In his sleep, he said something I’ll never forget. He said, “I love you, Nikita.”