Palace dining room, 3rd person POV.

Elaine spent more time then she intended to thinking about Alex and what happened the night before. It came right back at her that night at the dinner table. "So, I hear from the guards that you've been going into dazed states on and off today." Her sister, Remilia regarded. Elaine froze, quickly thinking up of a clever lie that would get her out of this. "I-I'm just tired today. I didn't get much sleep last night." She said. It wasn't exactly a lie, she really didn't get much sleep the night before, but she felt terrible about not telling her sister the whole story. However, she knew that she must keep Alex's visits a secret. She ate quickly and asked her sister if she could be excused. "My, you ate fast. Are you still hungry? Are you sure you don't want anything more?" Remilia asked. "No, I'm fine. I just want to get to bed early." Elaine lied. The real reason was she wanted to be ready before Alex showed up, or maybe even asleep so that he wouldn't mess with her. "Fine, then, I guess you may be excused." Remilia waved off her sister, and Elaine darted up the stairs as fast as she could run. She ran into a guard, which made her fall backwards. She said, "Excuse me!" got up, and took off again. She quickly unlocked her bedroom door and slipped inside. Elaine didn't want to waste any time, so she quickly threw on her night gown and leggings, except this time, they were black instead of white. She slid into bed and rolled over, trying to fall asleep as quickly as possible to avoid Alex. She did doze off, but right when she was about to fall asleep, she felt the cool autumn breeze against her back. The window was open, and Alex had arrived. He sat on the window sill for the longest time. Elaine thought she might start twitching. But still she breathed slowly in attempt to convince Alex that she was asleep, and not meant to be messed with. "Well, I guess she's asleep. It'd be rude to awaken her." She heard Alex say. His deep voice rang in her ears with slight attitude. Hushed and sharp. A tone that she did not like. "Damn, just go away so I can finish getting ready for bed!" She thought. She heard Alex slip out the window, and then heard the window close. She sighed in relief. "He's gone." She murmured. And with that, she slipped out of bed, finished getting ready, and was just about to get back in bed when she felt arms around her waist. "Yeah, I don't think so." Alex hissed in her ear.

Elaine's Room, 3rd Person POV

Elaine jumped a little when she heard his voice. "Thought you could avoid me, huh?" He said. Elaine swallowed hard and shook her head frantically. "N-No! I would never-" Alex growled and pulled her close, looking dead into her golden brown eyes. "Stop lying." He went to grab her neck. Elaine tried to stop him with her arm. "No! Stop!" She cried. Alex drew back and looked at his hands. He had that, "What have I done?" Look on his face. "Alex…I-" Elaine started. Alex looked up at her and shook his head at her. She reached out for him, but he pulled back, whispering to her, "I don't want to hurt you." Elaine tried again, but got the same reaction. "Oh, Alex…" She trailed off, blaming herself for his sudden change of behavior. He stepped away from her, but she chased after him. "Stop, Elaine!" He cried. "Stop! If we're close, I'll hurt you!" Elaine pushed him up against the wall, the only way to get him to stay still. "No, Alex….That's not how it is. That's not how it is at all." He squirmed a bit in her grasp. She was tough for being so small. "Yes. If I hurt you, I'll only hurt you more. You can't trust me, Elaine!" He was almost scolding her. She gently stroked his cheek, making him calm down a little. "You need to calm down. You're losing all common sense." Alex looked at her, his eyes a beautiful scarlet shade. "No…this is common sense, Elaine. If I hurt you, I'll only want to hurt you more. The pain will lead to your death, I'm sure." Elaine pulled back and shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? It was my fault you got violent. I tried to avoid you, the king of death. It's rude, and punishable by death. I deserved it." He went silent. She walked towards the window and looked out. She suddenly felt him grab her waist. She couldn't help but blush as his warm, gentle hands slid up and down. From her waist to her ribs, then back again. Suddenly, she inhaled sharply. His gentle teeth and warm breath were doing their work on her ear. A soft moan escaped her lips, and she felt, more than saw, him smirking. He pulled her close, and started kissing up her neck. She felt his eyes on her as a dark blush covered her face. "You look a bit tired." He said. Elaine shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm alright." She said. Alex looked unsure. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Alex, I'm fine." She said. Alex picked her up off her feet and held her in his arms. "We'll see about that. How long will you last laying down?" He said. Elaine knew what he meant, but it still gave her the wrong idea, and she was ashamed of herself for thinking such things. He carried her over to her bed and laid himself and her down, playing with her hair and making her blush once more.

Same night, Elaine's POV

As I laid there with Alex, I let him play with my hair. I let him do a lot of things, actually. I let him play with my hair, I let him whisper calmly into my ear, which to me, felt kind of good. I let him hold my hand, I could tell he was cherishing me as if he'd never see me again after this night. Eventually, his body heat started to get through to me, and I fell into a deep sleep. He was gone by time I woke up, as usual. As soon as I woke up, I got that Trying-To-Hate-Him feeling again. I wonder why that is. I like it when he spends time with me like that, but as soon as he leaves I try to hate him. Maybe he knows the answer to that. Maybe I'll ask him tonight. Now for some reason I'm nervous! Sometimes, I really don't understand "love".