By His Side
POV: Alexandra
We finally got Lucien to his room and Malinus turned to me, “Can you please stay with him until I can get a doctor?” I nodded at him, “I would stay even if I wasn’t asked.” Ashton hugged me, “I’m going to go see if anyone can find our parents and let us know what’s going on.” He placed a kiss on my head but before he could leave the room, I called out to him, “Ashton!” He turned to look at me with his hand on the knob, “What is it?” I smiled at him, “I’m not sure how you did it but you lifted my curse.” His eyes widened, “What did you just say?” I placed Lucien’s hand in mine, “You lifted my curse somehow. I am with the man I truly love.” His face lit up, “I’m not even sure what I did either but I’m glad I was the one to rescue you in both ways, dear sister. Now to address our other problem.” I nodded, “Yeah, you should go on ahead.” He walked out of the door and silence fell over the room. I stared at Lucien who had beads of sweat on his forehead. I looked around the room and my eyes fell on his wardrobe.
I let go of his hand and walked over to the wardrobe and opened a drawer. There was a row of handkerchiefs sitting in a roll to one side, I picked one up and walked over to the bathroom. I turned on the sink and placed the handkerchief under the cool water. I stared at my face in the mirror, my makeup was streaked and a few hairs had loosened from my braid, there was blood on my dress as well. I set the handkerchief aside on the counter and washed the makeup off my face. I patted my face dry with the towel hanging from the wall. I picked up the handkerchief and walked back into the room. I placed the cool handkerchief on his forehead, he winced a little so I grabbed his hand with my free hand. I whispered to him, “Lucien, I don’t know if you can hear me but I am here for you. Please open your eyes, I need you.”
The door opened and the doctor followed by Malinus stepped into the room. The doctor smiled at me, “It appears His Majesty has a very capable nurse looking after him. Lady Batiste, could you give me some room to look at him?” I nodded and began to pull away but his hand squeezed mine. I looked up at the doctor, “It appears His Majesty doesn’t want to let me go.” The doctor nodded, “That’s fine I just need a little room, how about you sit on the other side of the bed.” I climbed over Lucien and sat next to him on the bed, still holding his hand. The doctor looked over Lucien’s head and nodded. He reached into his bag and pulled out a vial of purple liquid and poured it into a cloth then applied it to the wound and wrapped another bandage around it. Malinus asked, “Will he be alright?” The doctor sighed, “I would love to tell you he will be fine but I am not sure at this juncture. We need to have someone watch him all night.” He looked over at me, “Lady Batiste since you were nursing him so well when we came in, would you do me the favor of staying by his side?” I nodded, “I think I should change though.” Malinus nodded, “I can see if the Queen Mother has any clothes that you can borrow though I do believe she is larger or you can borrow at the very least a shirt from His Majesty until someone from Blackwood can bring you a change of clothes. I would like to see about getting your dress laundered very soon.”
I looked at Malinus, “Speaking of which, do we know if my parents are okay?” He smiled, “Yes, they were both found locked in a broom closet. Your father said that he wasn’t sure how they got in there but he was escorting your mother out for some fresh air when they suddenly found themselves in the closet. They are unharmed and I informed your mother that your dress got dirty assisting the King. We haven’t told her the whole situation but I will be going to Blackwood to apprise them of it and I will get you a change of clothing.” The door to Lucien’s room opened and the Queen Mother and Blake hurried in. Blake looked at me with relief and strode over and hugged me, “Alexandra, thank the Gods you are okay.” I sighed, “I am but…” I looked at Lucien and I could feel the tears sting my eyes. He patted me on the shoulder, “Do you know what happened? Did he get in a fight with Loki?” I shook my head, “Uh no, Meldon found me and helped me out.” I used the other name for my brother since the doctor was in the room and I didn’t fully trust him. He looked down at my dress and clenched his fist, “Are you hurt as well?” I shook my head, “This is from His Majesty.” The Queen Mother was on Lucien’s other side weeping.
The doctor looked at his mother, “Your Majesty, I have asked Lady Batiste to help me nurse him since she did so well with His Highness and she was nursing His Majesty when I came in. Would this be okay?” She looked over at me and patted my hand that was holding Lucien’s hand, “I could think of no better nurse. Oh but dear you are dirty. Has anything been done to accommodate you?” I nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty, Malinus has gone to Blackwood to talk to my parents about what happened.” She gasped, “I do hope this can be kept quiet for now, I don’t want panic in Vellum.” I shook my head, “My parents are loyal to His Majesty, you needn’t worry about them spreading rumors.” She nodded, “You’re right my dear, it is House Batiste that helps us keep our power. She straightened up, “I have to go back down to the reception. I made the decision not to cancel the rest of the night. As far as anyone is concerned, you went home with your parents and Lucien had a headache so he came upstairs to lay down. Blake and I will have to carry on in his stead. The princesses likely know what happened though and I don’t know if they can be trusted.” I smiled at her, “I believe they can be. They are very kind and understanding.” Blake nodded his head, “Yes, Mother, I don’t think we need to worry.” He looked down at me and kissed my cheek, “Please make sure you take good care of him.” I simply nodded then everyone left the room and I was alone again with Lucien. I spoke to him gently while stroking his cheek, “Everyone is pulling for you, Lucien. I need you to understand that we all need you. I want to tell you how I feel with your eyes open. Please wake up.” I curled up with him and placed my head on his shoulder and listened to him breathing steadily.
I must’ve fallen asleep because I felt a nudge on my shoulder and turned my face to see Malinus in the room. He smiled down at me, “I’ve brought you some clothing, Alexandra. Your mother is relieved that you are alright and not upset that you got blood on your dress. Speaking of which.” He handed me a bag and looked over at the bathroom. I took the bag and pried my hand away from Lucien’s. This seemed to unsettle him, I kissed him on the forehead and whispered, “Don’t worry, Lucien, I won’t be far. I just need to change into something comfortable so I can stay by your side.” This seemed to help because he settled back down. I walked quickly to the bathroom and changed as fast as I could. I came back into the room but Malinus had gone, likely to go assist the Queen Mother or Blake. I settled back down into the spot on the bed next to Lucien and grabbed his hand. He opened his mouth and whispered sadly, “Alexandra, I can’t lose you.” I stroked his face and smiled, “I am right here, Lucien. I will not ever leave you.” I kissed his cheek and checked his bandage. The doctor had given instructions to check and apply medicine every hour. I pulled the vial out and dabbed the medicine on his wound and placed the bandage back. The bleeding had stopped but he had a very large lump on his head. I felt a guilty pang in the pit of my stomach and told myself that I was stupid for having almost run off with Loki. I told myself that I had caused Lucien to be in this state. I started to cry again and I placed my head on his chest and wept myself back to sleep.
I opened my eyes to darkness and I reached out to feel Lucien but he wasn’t there. I got up from my spot on the bed and ran around in the darkness reaching out for him when a spotlight came on and a man was standing in a white suit. He turned and had a mask on his face. I looked up into his face and smiled at the man I was in love with. He smiled and held his hand out to me and as I stepped into the light, I found myself wearing a teal ball gown and we began to dance. As we were hitting a good rhythm a hand pulled me away from him. I reached out to him and he couldn’t rescue me and I turned to see a man with long hair in a mask pulling me away from Lucien. I jolted awake and panted a little. I looked down to see Lucien laying where he was before with the bandage on his head. I checked the bandage again and applied the medicine. I sat there just watching him breathe for what felt like hours, each hour repeating the routine until I needed to find something else to do. I looked around the room to see if Lucien had any books. I saw one on his desk and walked over to get it so I could read it. I opened it up to find his handwriting in it, it seemed like a journal. I didn’t want to read something so private so I closed it and stared at it until I heard his voice behind me, “Read it, you’ll see just how much I love you Xan.”
