AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I said, here it is! another chapter... I'm overwhelmed for your comments, it makes me so happy that you are enjoing it, thank you so much for your support. For those asking for more interaction between Piper and Alex, I just ask for a little patience; it's going to take some time for these two to understand each other but it will occur very soon. For the moment enjoy the new chapter and as always, I will appreciate your comments/suggestions/or wathever you want to say ;)
CHAPTER VII (Alex POV)
After taking a long bath, I went to the big library next to my room. I lit the flames of the fireplace and took my usual seat in front of it. My mind was full of all kinds of thoughts that I simply wanted to avoid. In a futile effort to occupy my brain on another subject, I took a book from the pile that was stacked on the small table beside my seat. After several attempts to resume the reading where I had left it, I closed the big book with a loud thud that camouflaged my sound of exasperation. Why could not I stop thinking about her? She seemed to have captured every single one of my thoughts in so little time. Could Nicky be right? Did I like her? No one but me could hear my internal debate, so I allowed myself to reflect deeply on the matter. One thing was sure…definitely this girl had aroused a great interest in me, I could not deny it to myself…but why?
The most basic reasoning led me to discard the possibility that Nicky had suggested to me…no way I could like her; she was pretentious and vain, just as a princess could be; solely, her social position displeased me, nevertheless, I could not deny that she had certain attributes that had surprised me. She had proved to be brave and strong, sacrificing her life for her loved ones. Even her obstinacy was worth admiring, although that same quality could lead her to appear arrogant, and that exactly was the reason that pushed me to challenge her; for some reason I thought it would be fun to see how far her pride would get, I had bet internally that it would go far. But then, I remembered our encounter that morning, she seemed a completely different person, so docile; her attitude made me miss her haughtiness, maybe this place had already quenched that fire inside of her, I thought with sadness, No, it's not at all quenched…Just a moment ago I had witnessed it, when she defended herself from Sylvie calling her stupid. Maybe she had decided to swallow her pride and fulfill her part of the deal, but that did not mean that she was going to let herself be trampled. How is her second night going? For a moment I wished to be able to observe her, I could do it actually, just going to her cell and have a look, but I decided against it…If you don't like her, why are you so eager to see her? Whatever! I'll wait until tomorrow…
I closed my eyes and my mind gave me an illusion of her, it almost seemed real; she was placidly lying on her cot, her face lit by the scarce light of the moon that managed to seep through the cloudy sky and then through the cell's window. The cell…I pondered... It´s not a place for someone like her. I felt suddenly upset for allowing Sylvie to keep her in the common's cells…she was not a criminal, what were you thinking Alex? I decided that the next morning I would order Sylvie to give her a room in the area enabled for the permanent servitude.
My brain continued to ramble, offering memories of her; I realized that I had been paying more attention that I would like to admit, because my mind had stored a wide repertoire of mementos regarding her physical attributes. I'm not going to lie, she was a real beauty; her golden hair shone with the light of a hundred dawns, and her eyes were the warmest blue color, like the waters of a lake in midsummer, encouraging you to immerse yourself in them, and not even the best artist could have done justice to the sweetness of her unblemished face. I recall never had seen anything like her…that was it! She was just different, unique, that's why she got my attention, it is not because I like her…I tried to fool myself while I wished the hours to pass quickly for dawn to arrive but I was not that lucky…the passage of the hours turned out to be excruciating. For the first time I was glad to see Sylvie's face in the morning…
"Good morning my lady…" I tried to contain my prompt joy and returned her greeting indifferently
"Good morning Sylvie…"
"Do you have plans to leave the house today my lady?" I was thankful that she did not ask me her stupid recurrent question about how had I spent the night, but this was not a common question, besides, she always seemed to know my activities almost better than me, which made me cast doubt on her motives, I knew her too well, what is she up to?
"Not really…I was hoping to spend a quiet day" I simply said, wondering if she had caught the subtle warning in my words "Unless someone dare to interrupt me"
"Hopefully not my lady" She hesitated, so yes, she had definitely caught the hint "Will you take your breakfast here or in your room?"
"Leave it in my room, I'll be there in a second"
"As you wish" She walked out of the library and I headed toward my room. She arranged the table with my breakfast. The smell of freshly baked bread almost made my stomach grumble. I was hungry; I realized that the day before I had not eaten anything. I sat at the table and focused on my breakfast, more generous than usual
"This looks good" It smelled incredible, but I knew it was not going to taste as good. It was just another of my curses…even the most delicious food tasted plain in my mouth
"I ordered it special for today…" She said in a sweet voice that was not her own
"What's with today?" I asked suspiciously
"Nothing, I just remembered that yesterday you did not eat all day, so I figured you'd be hungry my lady…" this totally took me aback
Usually, Sylvie was always aware of my needs, an exemplary maid, but a special breakfast? This was new to me. She totally had an inner motive that made her extra nice to me, but I just ignored her and started eating. As I predicted, the food did not meet my expectations. Red, the kitchen's cook, had been trying for years to dazzle me with her meals, but nothing seemed to work. Even so, I ate my breakfast satisfied. When I finished, I noticed that Sylvie was still lingering awkwardly around.
"Whatever you have to say, just say it…" I said trying not to raise my voice, she could be quite annoying at times "You are just making me nervous"
"What do you mean my lady?" She asked innocently
"You are not fooling anyone Sylvie, so cut to the chase…" She got me tired sometimes
"I…" She began undecided "I just don't want to bother you with nonsense"
"Then don't bother me with your nonsense" I replied; I refused to fall into her game, if she had something to say, I was not going to beg her to do it. She lowered her face with my words, concealing her anger, and not willing to talk. I decided it was a good time to tell her to assign Piper a proper room "By the way… there's something I wanted to discuss with you"
"You will say my lady" Anger was still fresh in her voice
"It's about Piper" With the mention of her name, her face became contorted
"What about her?" Her jaw was so clenched, that I could almost hear her teeth squeaking
"I've been thinking, I don't want her in the common cells" I firmly said
"My lady?" Of course, she was not going to take this very well
"I want you to give her a room at the permanent servitude area" For a moment I thought she was about to faint from rage
"I cannot tolerate such a thing!" She said trying really hard to control her anger
"What did you say?" I asked in disbelief. Was she actually refusing to fulfill my will?
"Last night…" She moderated her tone "She crossed a line"
"Oh please!...is this because she dropped the bucket of water?…because if that's so, I don't want to hear about it!" I got up to stand by the window
"It's not that…to what I mean, it happened later, at the kitchen" this must be what she had been waiting to tell me, what she had been waiting for me to beg her to tell me. I turned to see her
"What happened?" And I fell for it. I honestly could not care less; knowing her, it sure was a very silly thing
"It also concerns Nicky" the mention of Nicky got my attention, what could she have to do with it?
"Alright…" I encouraged her to continue as I approached closer to her
"Well, last night, I ordered Piper to go to her cell, because it was time for it. She complained about it because she had not dined yet, but of course, I was not intending to leave her without eating; I was going to take her some dinner at her cell…anyways…Nicky appeared at that moment invalidating my authority and even invited her to have dinner with her when she is not allowed to sit at the main table…" She finished outraged. So far, the story did not seem as serious as her tone could have indicated, still, there was something that bothered me
"What did she do?" Was all I wanted to know
"Who?"
"Piper…what did she do?" I asked fretfully
"She obviously accepted Nicky's invitation more than delighted" I didn't like that a bit
"Obviously?" Why did she emphasize that word?
"Well…you know Nicky…she can be very charming with the ladies" I felt something twisting inside of me
"And what did you do?" I demanded with a clenched jaw
"After being ridiculed by both, I could not do more than leave, completely humiliated…" I imagined Piper having fun with Nicky, sharing laughs and dinner together…the rage grew relentlessly
"You should have come to me and tell me immediately!" I reproached her
"You said you did not want to be disturbed my lady" Was she telling me the truth?
"You better not be lying Sylvie…" I warned her
"Why should I lie?" She said honestly and I believed her, because indeed, why was she going to lie? Besides, I knew Nicky too well, and she had already shown interest in her just the day before…surely she had become infatuated with her, and the fact that I had somehow claimed her probably even helped to make her more obstinate about having her, she loved impossible causes. Had she succeeded in seducing her and take her to her room? No, it could not be possible…the princess was probably very naïve, but under no circumstances could she fall into such situations…right?
"Where is Piper now?" I asked just in case…Nicky could be very persuasive
"In her cell…last night I watched Nicky accompany her to it, so when she left, I locked her door" I felt an immediate relief "What should I do my lady? I cannot allow my authority to be questioned by a newcomer…the other girls respect me" No they don't respect you, they fear you I was about to say "What will happen when they see that she can do whatever she wants?"
"No, absolutely not, you're right…you cannot tolerate this" And I was not going to tolerate Nicky going behind my back
"And now I must get her out of the common cells and give her a room…"
"No…you will not do such thing…" The tone of my voice was completely foreign
"But you just said…"
"Forget what I said…! She stays right where she is…I don't want her to have any kind of exchange with anyone!" She obviously accepted Nicky's invitation more than delighted… Sylvie's words resonated still in my head…well, let's see how delighted you are going to be …I thought with bitterness
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"I don't know! Change her schedule…make her work when everyone is asleep, and the hours she's not working, I want her locked up in her cell; there she will eat and spend all day, with no contact with the outside, and for today, leave her there all day without eating, understood?" Sylvie was enthralled with my instructions
"More than understood my lady" A dangerous smile was on her lips "I knew you would not let them make fun of me like that" She approached me encircling my neck with her hands, wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue in a seductive gesture "You look tense" She began massaging my shoulders "You know? I happen to know a wonderful way to release tension"
"Oh yeah?" My anger had caused an unidentified desire in me, so I let Sylvie take care of me
"Yes…" She caught my lips passionately, and with my eyes closed, I guided her to the bed urgently.
Why did I suddenly consider Sylvie so appealing? I pushed her unceremoniously making her gasp wildly when hitting the mattress. I lay down on her, and I started feasting, kissing her neck…
"Ohhh my lady" She heavily breathed out…but it was not the voice I was expecting
"Shhh…don't speak" I ordained her. I kissed her to stop her from talking. Unintentionally, I started to imagine what it would be like to kiss her lips, why couldn't I get her out of my head? Could my present arousal be due to her? I thought, because that sudden outburst could not be caused by Sylvie…I froze at my realization
"Don't stop please" Sylvie pleaded while her hands ruminated all over my chest; I opened my eyes to find her face…it was the wrong face, the wrong hands, the wrong lips; everything was wrong "Are you alright?" She asked when she noticed I couldn't move
"It's…nothing, just…" I said nothing else and forced myself to go on, to prove me wrong, this is not about her… so I ravished Sylvie's neck and my right hand began to lift her skirt
"What…about…Nicky?" She asked with ragged breathing making me stop, taking a look at her face
"What about her?" I cautiously asked
"Aren't you going to punish her? For making fun of me" Yes...I was going to have a conversation with Nicky, but not because she had insulted Sylvie because, in truth, I could not care less
"Yes…of course…" I lied and she resumed our kissing very pleased with my answer, but I did not want to go on…I couldn't. A sickening feeling took over me…I had to break our kiss, I had to stop...
"What is it?" She asked…I don't want you…it feels wrong I thought
"I'm…I'm not feeling good…" I honestly answered but she did not buy it "You'd better go" I suggested before getting out of the bed. She did the same, arranging her clothes and glancing at me with resentment
"By you leave my lady" she delivered surly
"Tell Nicky to come to see me…!" I got to say before she left the room
What is wrong with me? I began to feel I had no control over my…feelings? You don't have feelings! But even when I wanted to deny it, I could not help having a sense of guilt, as if I had done something wrong But you do bad things all the time…I reminded myself. The sound of the door opening made me jump
"Holy shit…Did I actually scare you?" And there she was…the biggest idiot in the world
"It would be really nice if you knocked on the door before entering for once" She never did
"Did you want to see me?" She asked oblivious to what I was going to say to her. I did not answer right away, instead, I walked to the bar and poured some liquor in a glass "A little bit early for a drink don't you think?" She joked
"I thought I made it very clear Nicky" It's all I said, but she did not seem to grasp what I was talking about
"Errrr…what?" Was she acting ignorant or she really had no idea?
"About Piper" I think I had nothing else to say for her to understand what my point was
"Yeah, I mean, her name rings a bell but I'm definitely not following you…" There was no way for her to take anything seriously, so I had to toughen my tone
"Stay away from her Nicky…I'm not kidding" I faced her with a severe face
"Ohhh right" She patted her head with her hand, as if remembering something "Because she is yours…"
"Don't cross the line Nicky…you know I appreciate you, but you must learn once and for all your limits…"
"You appreciate me?" She exclaimed in disbelief "That's a great compliment, considering that you could say the same for your drinks…" I had hurt her
"No…that's not what I…" I tried to fix the damage
"No Alex, it's fine really…" She stopped me from keep talking "It's not your fault that you are as emotional as a dead log, besides, I know that there is much more under the rotten bark…you are just afraid of showing it"
"There's nothing more under" I said dully
"Yes, there is! I know you! And you obviously have a thing for this girl, what's the big deal?"
"I don't have a thing for her!" I was still trying to understand what was going on inside me, I could not talk to her about it "I just don't want you near her!"
"But why noooot!?" She was expecting me to recognize that she was right
"Sylvie told me what happened yesterday!" I almost spitted the words
"Oh yeah, and Sylvie is a very reliable source of information…" She rolled her eyes
"So you deny it? You didn't invite her to have dinner with you?"
"No, I'm not going to deny it…I did it" She said blatantly "So?"
"So?..." yes Alex…so? I had no answer "She is not allowed to do so! her place is in the common dining room…" it was the poorest reply, and she knew it
"Oh pleaaaase Alex…she's not a criminal! I just wanted to be nice with her"
"Oh yes, because you are nice to girls for no reason at all" I added sarcastically
"In this case, yes, I was just being nice" she said casually
"Why?" I asked because I could not conceive Nicky being kind to a girl for no reason. She narrowed her eyes, thinking about something
"Maybe you are right after all…maybe there's nothing under the bark, because apparently you are not even able to understand why I was being nice to her" I let her to go on because I was interested in hearing what she had to say "Just open your brain Alex, just for a tiny moment and try to put yourself in her place, would you?…She just arrived to this place so different from her home, I would even say it's scary for her; she just lost everything she had in the world, her loved ones, her past, her present, her future…you put her in a cell and make her share her meals with criminals, and what's worst, you put her under Sylvie's orders…I mean, what are you trying to do? To break her?" I turned my back on her, I felt something close to shame, and I did not want her to see it…since that was exactly my purpose…to break her. But she knew me too well, and even though she could not see my face, she understood "Got damn! Alex! Is that what you intended?" She was the only person I had ever allowed to reproach me
"And what do you care?!" I recognized openly in her face "I've got my reasons and ultimately it's none of your business!"
"You are right…it's none of my business" Again that stupid smile on her face
"What's so funny?!"
"Nothing" She denied with her head and made a great effort to contain the laughter "I just…I just wish I could understand why you are doing this…"
"Because…she is arrogant and haughty…I tried to be kind to her and instead of thanking me, she behaved insolently, and I will not consent it!" The anger stirred inside me
"I think the real problem is that you've met your match…" She said under her breath
"I heard that" I glanced her coldly
"My bad" She made a conciliatory gesture "Maybe she's all those things you said…but I don't think she is going to learn any lesson this way, if anything, it can only make it worse"
"What do you mean?"
"Last night at dinner, she did not show herself as you are describing her…instead, she seemed pretty unpretentious…I mean, she shared the table with me and Red for crying out loud!" yeah…that was actually surprising "And we had a nice time, she was even cheerful and laughing at times…" I felt a spasm on my insides because I had not had the chance to see her smile…Nicky continued talking "What I want to tell you is that…maybe you can accomplish much more simply by not…provoking in her that sort of reactions"
"Are you implying that I somehow provoke her to be arrogant?" I was slightly offended
"Oh Alex…don't play the fool with me…you can be very arrogant as well sometimes…" Argh! How much I hated Nicky when she was right
"So…what do you suggest I do?"
"First of all…to treat her as an actual person; she's here paying a debt, not serving a sentence, and second of all, you could try to be nicer with her and being, you know… a little less pushy and scary around her, maybe, I don't know, you could try to start a conversation with her or sharing a meal" I pondered each one of her words, and on second thought my reaction seemed a bit exaggerated. Now my reasons to break her did not make sense, why would I make her suffer? What could I gain from that? If she had already given me everything she had
"I...I could do that" I reluctantly recognized
"See? You're not a rotten log after all…" She smiled fondly at me but then she changed her demeanor, as if thinking very deeply of something "This feels good...reeeaaaally really good"
"What?" I asked regretting it immediately, I knew I had fallen into her trap
"To be right…I guess you are not familiar with the sentiment"
"Shut up…" Her shit eating grin grew wider. She began walking out of the room
"Oh! And by the way…I appreciate you too" She managed to dodge the cushion that I threw at her face with the door
"Idiot…" I said even though she had already left the room
The conversation with Nicky made me forget my previous anger. What if I like her? What if I want to see her? Nobody cared, only me…well, there is a person who might care I thought, but I decided I would not worry about it then. I ran to the closet to get dressed…I started to think what I would do, what I would say to show her a different me, I wanted her to have a new conception of me, very distant to what I had shown her so far, and maybe I could get to see that part of her that Nicky told me about…maybe I would get lucky and even see her smile...Yes, that would be my purpose for today, I will make her smile. I got dressed and went without delay to that part of the castle I had never stepped on, determined to swallow my pride and apologize if necessary, everything to see her smile…