Assassin, until the first moment (🇬🇧)

In the shadows of truth

Alec peered outside from behind his father's office window - no, his office - into the frigid cold grey of the November day. The sun was low in the sky and gradually disappearing behind the horizon.

It wouldn't be long before night would shroud the city in its blanket of darkness and shadows. It was one of those days when Alec desired nothing more than to snuggle up on his sofa, to be soothed and lulled in to comfort by the warmth of a crackling log fire; but unfortunately, he couldn't afford himself that kind of luxury right now...

A week had passed since his coronation ceremony and every single day since had been packed with important appointments he simply couldn't miss. There had been lengthy council meetings, regularly running late into the evenings and a lot of additional formal meetings outside of Idris's borders. He had shaken so many hands he'd lost count.

In addition, he'd had to meet ambassadors from various countries who all wanted to speak to the new King of Idris. Basically, his life remained fairly indifferent from his previous life as a Duke - it was just more of the same. Seventeen times more, Alec thought... and it was just the beginning of his seven-year reign...

Alec sighed. The worst part was that he hadn't managed to visit Magnus, not once, and his mood had dramatically deteriorated, with each passing day he grew more frustrated and stressed.

It had become more difficult for him to hide his displeasure and his family had already questioned him several times over as to what was troubling him, but he continuously shrugged them off and said he preferred not to speak about it.

Alec bowed his head and ran his palms over his face. A dull pounding at the forefront of his head had accompanied him since the early morning, and he wished for nothing more than to cancel all his appointments for the remainder of the day. But, as King of a country, he couldn't just choose when to end the day. Another sigh left his mouth as he leaned his head against the cool glass of the window in front of him. The glass vibrated slightly against his forehead, shaken by the wind that blew and pursued around the mansion.

As he'd promised Asmodeus, Alec hadn't told Jace or anyone else that Magnus was alive. Although, with the passing of each day, Alec couldn't be certain how long he could keep his bodyguard/best friend at bay. Of course, Jace could sense that something was wrong and Alec knew it wouldn't be long before Jace urged him to tell him what was going on.

Weary, Alec closed his eyes and the vision of Magnus lying in his hospital bed appeared promptly at the forefront of his mind. Since his visit over a week ago, Alec had woken up every morning with profound fear knotted in his stomach, with worry that during the night he might receive bad news from the Bane residence. He had sent a prayer to heaven with relief each morning when there had been none. As long as Dot didn't reach out to him, Alec knew that Magnus' condition hadn't changed for the worse.

Alec closed his eyes again as he felt the tears rising up. He knew that with every day Magnus didn't open his eyes, the chances decreased that he would ever wake up from the coma, fear was so constant inside him that he had to face the probability of losing Magnus once again; he wasn't sure if he could go through it a second time. Alec bit down on his lower lip. Just don't think about it...

Driving the thought from his mind, Alec opened his eyes and straightened himself. Squaring his shoulders he glanced sideways at the clock hanging on the wall next to the window and realized that his next official appointment would be in less than half an hour. Oh, how he would prefer to see Magnus instead of sitting through another lengthy meeting - but dodging it... well, unfortunately, that was not a possibility.

Alec pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen. With deliberate movements, he opened his photo gallery and selected the last photo of him and Magnus - he had taken it before the assassin had left to find Lilith... A faint smile tugged at Alec's lips as he looked down at the photo. It revealed them minutes after they had woken up in his bed together, the morning after their date.