Alice’s POV
“… going to be alright, your Highness…”
“… entrance and exit wound…”
“…doctors have done everything they can.”
“Not much to worry about…”
“…should regain all movement of arm…”
I catch snippets of each conversation as I resurface to consciousness then fall back again multiple times. Each time, I try to stay awake a bit longer, but it is not possible. One time when I wake up, I can hear a voice singing next to me, soft and low. Almost unconsciously, I turn towards the singer, smiling a little at the soothing lyrics.
They remind me of my mother singing.
I haven’t heard my mother sing in twelve years.
“Alice honey, get back here!” my mom Clarice shouts as I run off in the park, giggling madly. I try to look back as I run, but end up tripping, sprawling over my tiny feet and landing with a plop on the soft green grass.
“Mommy!” I shriek, holding my arms out for her to pick me up. As she bends over me, my mother’s hair falls forward in a blonde curtain, cutting us off from the outside world. I did not notice it at the time, but her hair is streaked with grey, small age lines trekking across her face.
“Yes honey?”
“Oh mommy I forgot to tell you I loved you.” My words are soft, voice still innocent.
Small tears escape from my mother’s green eyes and track down her face, so very like my own. “Baby, you don’t have to tell me you love me. I already know it. I can see it every day I am with you. And I will stay with you forever. I promise.”
We got a call the next day. I remember sitting in my high chair, coloring on a Disney Princess’ book with blue and pink crayons while my daddy paced across the kitchen floor in agitation.
My father picked up the receiver. My mom was supposed to be home two hours ago, yet I wasn’t worried. I hadn’t yet been subject to the horrors haunting my world.
It was my mom’s boss. She had gone out for her lunch break and never come back. My dad was worried at the time, but not extremely so. He still had a little hope left.
He lost all hope when the police came to our house half an hour later. My dad took me to the station, and we viewed the footage from the traffic cameras outside the coffee shop my mom was eating lunch.
My mother was pulled into the back of a black, unmarked van; a cloth held over her face so she couldn’t fight back.
It was the last time I ever saw her.
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Xavier’ s POV
“How is she?” I ask the doctor anxiously, trying to peer past him into the room Alice is being held in.
“Your Highness, the lady Alice is the same as yesterday. Still in stable condition, but she cannot hold consciousness for more than a few seconds at a time. Please remember that she was shot very close to the lungs, Prince Xavier.” I do not even flinch at the title anymore; I am so used to people calling me that. “She needs time to recover and sleep is the best remedy at this point, better than any drugs we can give her.”
“But can’t you wake her up for a little while, just to see if she is alright?” My voice is pleading, but at this point, I am past caring if I sound like a whiny five year old. I need to know if my bride is ok.
My bride.
“No, I am sorry. If we wake her up, it is likely she will be in an uncomfortable amount of pain, and I am sure neither of us wants to put Alice through that.”
“Can I at least stay with her? Just for a couple of hours while she sleeps.” I had been visiting the hospital daily, just sitting by Alice while she slept. One time I tried singing to her, something I have never done before. She seemed to wake up, turn to me, and smile. Other than that, Alice looks like she is in a coma.
The doctor looks conflicted, but something in my expression must have tipped him off as to how much I need to be with her right now. He gives a small nod then turns to walk away. “Yes, you can stay with her through the night.” He walks away, then stops at the end of the hall before walking through the double doors.
“Oh, and off the record… Alice started talking in her sleep yesterday.” The doctor adjusts his wire-frame glasses and taps a pen against his laptop, looking every inch the country’s top medical expert. That’s because he is.
“What was she saying?” I ask, eager to know more about Alice since she won’t give anything away willingly.
“I don’t really know if it’s my business…” I give the doctor a hard look and he blanches a bit. Readjusting his glasses, he peers up at me. “She was saying your name.” The doctor walks off, yet I stand there frozen still.
Mixed feelings of elation and grief rip through me, each strong emotion vying for my attention. I am happy, ecstatic even, that she is thinking about me, albeit unconsciously. Yet at the same time, I am ashamed that Alice saw me kill a man. I had foolishly hoped that I would never have had to show that side of me to her.
The side where I can kill without mercy. That with just a twist of my hands I can end a person’s life.
Someone living and thinking and feeling.
Just one action and it was all gone, like it had never even existed at all.
A candle blown out in the middle of the night.
I never really thought about killing that much before.
It is a basic, elemental hunger that drives a Y to look for his bride in life. It is that same hunger that drives us to protect our mates at any cost, to kill for them whenever necessary.
I lost control, and I slaughtered the man. And the worst part about it is—
I don’t regret my actions in the slightest.
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So we're getting a bit about Alice's mom now!! So that is how she was abducted, when Alice was 5 years old. Personally, I didn't really love this chapter but the next two are really good. Like, one of my favorites.
Soooo. VOTE AND COMMENT!
Please and thank you
Love,
Elena
<3