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-Ella
CHAPTER SEVEN: REMEMBERING
Grace is rocking. So, I wrap my arms around her and whisper in her ears. Poor Grace, that embassy is her home. She must be so scared, knowing that the whole Embassy has to be protected because of her. She is curled up in a ball, and she looks so adorable. But now is not the time to admire her. I need to be here for her, be the rock she can lean on. She starts speaking out of the blue, and looks up at me.
'So . . . someone is trying to kill me. And Jamie. They want – no, they need – us dead. We're a threat. And as long as we live . . . as long as our entire bloodline lives, we will always be a threat.' She stops shaking and moves away from me, as if by touching me, she automatically endangers me too. But the thing she doesn't understand is that I don't care what lengths I have to go to keep her safe. I don't care if I get hurt, as long as she doesn't. So, I grab her, lift her up onto my lap and stroke her back.
'But Grace . . .,' Rosie begins, and she seems completely lost for what to say. 'Do you want to be a princess?' Grace gives a small laugh, as if she can't believe that this is her reality now, that people ask her that question and expect a serious answer.
'No, Ro, I most certainly do not want to be a princess.' She gives a small, weak smile up at me and I kiss her cheek softly.
'Well, maybe is you explain that to everyone,' Rosie is trying to make Grace see the sense in what she is saying, but I already know what she is getting at, and unfortunately, it's not happening. 'Maybe if you just tell them, then maybe . . .' But Grace shakes her head and opens her mouth. But Megan beats her to it.
'It doesn't work that way,' She says.
'Yeah, they're never going to believe me,' Grace says looking at Rosie, but it's Megan's turn to shake her head.
'No, Grace. You don't understand. Adrian law won't allow it.' Megan gets her laptop out of her bag, and gets Noah to go and get the Wi-Fi password. When he comes back with it, we all sit quietly for at least a minute, while her fingers fly across the keyboard. She spins the laptop around as she says, 'I'm talking about this.'
It's some sort of website, with all stuff to do with Adrian History, but specifically stuff relating to the government and politics.
'After the War of the Fortnight, all kinds of people still believed that Amelia was alive. Or maybe they just hoped she was. Anyway, it was a rumour for a long time.' She says, and all of us look at her like she's crazy. I have no idea what she's on about, but I just listen, hoping someone else will question her. Of-course it's Noah.
'Ok,' Noah says sarcastically. Megan rolls her eyes.
'Think about it. The country had just been through a war. A bloody, bitter revolution. Adria was fractured and broken. And they needed to move on. They brokered the peace treaty under the condition that the dead king's brother would assume the throne, but that there would also be a new parliament. Peace depended upon that. But there were still all these whispers – all these theories – that Amelia was alive, and as much as half the country wanted the war to be over, the other half didn't want Amelia's throne taken away from her if she was still alive – that if she really did survive, they owed it to her to keep her throne intact.'
'So?' Rosie says. Trust her to interrupt right when the big reveal is coming. 'Amelia was never out on the throne. And then, presumably, she died. Unless she became a vampire. Did she become a vampire?'
Megan resists the urge to roll her eyes. 'No,' She says simply. 'But they wrote the constitution as if someday she might come back, and–' Megan turns her laptop back to face her and Rosie leans over her shoulder trying to read as well. '"In the event that out lost Amelia should be found, she or her heirs shall return to the throne of the country that is rightfully theirs."' So that means that Grace and Jamie should be on the throne instead of the whole current royal family. Woah, that is some deep stuff. I can nearly feel Grace's thoughts racing through her head, the poor thing. She is probably so overwhelmed right now. I squeeze her shoulder gently and she lays her head back onto my shoulder.
'Don't you see?' Megan seems very frustrated that we aren't quite grasping whatever she is getting at. But I kinda do.
'If Amelia had returned – if her heirs return – then it all goes away. The Prime Minister.' Good. It would be great if we could get rid of that crazy bitch. 'Parliament. Not to mention the current King. All gone. Amelia's heirs – that's you, Grace. That's Jamie – would reclaim the throne and then Adria would, by law, revert to the government it had before the coup.' Grace looks at her, and Megan raises her eyebrows. When Grace starts to speak, Megan sighs.
'That can't be right,' She shakes her head, and Megan just puts her head in her hands, as if she needs to say something that she really doesn't want to say. Grace goes on, 'They wouldn't have written the constitution to a country like that. Not to pacify some crazy conspiracy theories.' She says as if that makes everything better.
'But they weren't crazy, were they.' Noah says, and Grace exhales deeply, looks up at me, disbelief etched on her face. She has been defeated. And she knows it.
'It's in the constitution,' She says, and she retreats further into me. She puts her head in my lap and swings her feet onto the chair next to the one she had just occupied. Megan looks up from her hands and rests her chin upon them. She looks at Grace sadly.
'I'm not saying the Society is right, Grace. But according to this, Jamie doesn't have a choice.' She says, and Grace sits up and looks out the window, then she starts to sway.
'Grace?' I ask her as she plops into my lap. I pinch her thigh to try and wake her up, and for a second I panic, like maybe someone has shot her from outside the train. But that is ridiculous, she has just fainted. Which I totally understand. Megan basically just delivered the news that, like it or not, she needs to sit on the throne of a vitally important European country.
. . .
Grace eventually comes to, and when she does, everyone leaves the carriage, winking and giving the thumbs up, Noah even wolf-whistles. And I hate them for it. I flip the bird just as Grace opens her eyes. She looks at me for a moment and then runs her fingers through my hair.
'You should probably wear a hat or something.' She says, and I nearly laugh, until I realise how right she is. I am still a wanted man. The world – especially the media – still think that I killed Spence. And now I'm back in Europe, but it's for Grace, and there is nothing I wouldn't risk to be with her and protect her. But she looks at me, absolutely terrified.
'You need to go back, Alexei!' This is unbelievable, I don't care if I get locked up and thrown away, as long as Grace is far out of the reach of Princess Ann and the Society. So, I say, exasperated.
'I need to go back?' I ask her, as if she has just suggested I get married to Lila. She leans closer, there is no Dominic or Jamie nearby now, it's just me and my Gracie. There's not even any of our friends here.
I expect her to kiss me, but she says slowly, and articulately.
'You shouldn't have come to Europe.' I honestly want to scream at her, and warn her of just how wrong she is. But I also want to hold her in my arms and tell her that everything will be alright. So, I settle for the middle, and start yelling at her.
'Oh, I shouldn't have come to Europe?' I ask. She actually cowers back and I instantly feel bad, until she bites back.
'You can do something besides repeat everything I say you know.' Cool, she's angry at me… well.
'Oh, can I? Because what I want to do is strangle you. I want to tie you up and throw you over my shoulder and jump out of a moving train. I want to take you to the coldest place in Siberia, to the darkest part of the moon. I want to keep you safe, Gracie. So, the question is, why are you so determined to stop me?' She looks at me, and holds my shoulders.
'Is Jamie okay?' She asks, and she completely disregards what I said earlier. I slide my fingers into her hair, and pull her onto my lap. I turn her around to face me, and she wraps her legs around my waist. I hold her close and we just sit there for ages. I massage her scalp with my fingers and breath out. I realise when she looks at me, that I have said something, and I have no idea what I said. Would it be awkward if I asked her what I said? Yes… probably. She smiles slightly, so I know that whatever it was must've made her happy. Her smile fades, as she looks up at me, our faces inches away.
'Is Jamie okay?' She asks, as if it's the only thing that matters. And to her, it probably is. I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I smile, and she crumbles into my body, I hold her tightly. I start teasing her, trying to flirt with her and build up to something I've been wanting to tell her for months. But I can't do it yet. So, I smile wryly and look down at her, thickening my accent to make it seem extra cute.
'Jamie is not my primary concern at the moment.' She pushes away from my body, and sits on my knees. She looks really annoyed. Well that plan backfired.
'You know what I mean Alexei. Are they still on the run or are they someplace where Jamie can get better?' She asks me, and I pity her so much in this moment. I lift her up and put her on the end of the table. I stand up quickly and walk quickly over to another empty table and slam my hands down with so much force the table splinters. Lucky the carriage is empty, because I am about to lose it.
'You ran away!' I yell at her. I'm not accusing her though. I'm merely restating an event that occurred. But the fact that I have to do it in the first place is the thing that makes me angry.
'I ran so that the rest of you could stop running.' She is trying to reason with me, and I hate it. She can't try and justify what she did, so I spin on her and continue yelling.
'You left!' God, if I could say some of the things that are going through my head right now… She has no idea what it feels like to watch the person you love above all people kidnapped and taken to a foreign country, and then to go to their rescue and find out that you weren't called to help them, and that they were running away from you. I want to scream all of this at her, but I also want to tell her how much I love her, and that all I want to do is hold her tight. Grace chokes out a sentence, and it sounds like she is going to cry, and I feel very bad for scaring her.
'Yes,' She says, tears welling up in her eyes. She swallows hard. 'And I'd do it again.' I bolt towards her and she cowers back but I put my arms around her. Does she really think that I would ever hurt her? Just the fact that she would even think that breaks my heart into a million little pieces. I could never hurt my beautiful girl.
'Not without me,' I hold her tightly into my body. 'Never without me. Never again. Say it, Grace, say it.' I finish and look right into her eyes. This is the moment where I see if she is truly loyal to me.
'Okay,' she says, but I need her to make it clear as clear can be.
'Say it!' I stare down into her eyes. We are so close right now, and all I want to do is grab her and kiss her as hard as I can. I grab her face in my hands and pull forward until I am less than a centimetre away from her. I look at her beautiful brown eyes and she looks up at me.
'Never again.' She says. And I decide to tell her what I went through that night, hoping that it will stop her from ever repeating herself. I turn away and run my fingers through my hair.
'I was so scared. When I woke up and you were gone… And then when I found you, and those men were there... Блядь... I was so scared!' I say, and I drop my hands.
'Alexei,' She says, barely louder than a whisper. She grabs my right hand after I drop it and pulls me straight into her. Her legs are open and hug my torso. She looks straight at me and grabs my face. She presses her lips against mine. She slowly opens her mouth and we move our tongues around. I start to move away from the table she is still sitting on, and she moves off with me. I slide my hands down to her waist and she wraps her hands around my neck, I pull her onto the ground, and once she is standing, we move to the table I nearly broke earlier. I spin her around and she once again is leaning against the table. Alright Alexei, this is the moment. Just tell her, as soon as she breaks away tell her. Before I can lay her down on the table, I hear a small cough coming from down the corridor.
'Ahem' Megan says, and Grace stops the kiss. I move my lips up to her ear and start to whisper.
'Gracie, I lo-'
'Sorry to interrupt,' Megan says, obviously oblivious to my whispering in Grace's ear. She nods her head, smiles and looks at me as if to say, "Nice going,". She continues after a moment.
'But we thought you'd like to see this.' She grabs a remote control and spins it around to face the television hanging up behind the bar. I hoist Grace up and she stands and holds my waist with her hands. She rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her shoulder.
The Adrian news comes onto the screen. The cities of Valencia are displayed, and the camera zooms into the police station. There is a newscaster standing out the front, explaining in rapid Adrian. We have come in during the middle of a sentence, so it's hard to understand what's going on. The camera pans across, and we see a man in handcuffs being dragged along by two large men in police uniforms.
I'm confused as to what this has to do with us, and why we would need to see this. However, Grace looks up at me, like she needs to tell me something. Oh great! This'll be good.
'Alexei-' She starts, but then the picture changes and her grandfather comes onto the screen. She gasps. It is evident to all of us that he is not well. He looks much, much older. I always knew that he wasn't very old for a grandfather, because Caroline had Jamie when she was only 19. But also, that he was one of the older ambassadors, though you couldn't tell. He was usually so full of life and up-beat. This is the first time that I have ever seen his as old. It is for all of us. And it is scaring Grace, I can tell.
Megan turns up the TV's volume, and we can hear Ambassador Vincent talking to the press.
'We are extremely pleased that the perpetrator of this terrible, random crime has been caught and Alexei Volkov's name has been cleared.' Say what? How have they done this? No. No, it's not possible, someone must've done something. Grace. I swear to god if Grace has done something I will kill her. The ambassador continues.
'Our relationship with our neighbours is very important. Ambassador Volkov and I have spoken, and I look forward to everything returning to normal, as both of our countries get back to the diplomatic work for which we are here.' He glances behind him and I see my father, standing there. Ladies and gentlemen the world's biggest ass-hole. I know I should be happy that my father is safe and well, but he was fully-ready to send me - his own son - to prison, for a crime that he knows fully well I didn't commit. So, I'm not. I show no emotions, and just stand there, looking at the television.
But I am still confused as to what is going on. How is my name suddenly cleared? The allegations against me cause a huge international incident, so they can't suddenly be dropped. It's just not possible. That's not how it works in the world of politics. So there has to have been some sort of interference by someone. Then it hits me. Grace was willing to run away and basically sacrifice her life to save Jamie, so she definitely might've made a bargain to clear my name. Oh, my freaking goodness. If she has, I swear I will kill her.
'Alexei,' Rosie runs towards me and jumps into my arms, and I quickly have to let go of Grace so that Rosie doesn't fall over and nearly kill us all. 'It's so great! You're cleared! You're free. You didn't do it! I mean, we always knew you didn't do it, but now everyone knows, and you're free!' I am so fricking angry right now. I turn to Grace.
'What did you do Gracie?' I ask her, fuming, she looks down at Rosie, expressionless.
'Alexei, you can come home!' Rosie hugs my torso tightly, Noah pries her off me. Lucky, because I'm about to explode. I breathe deeply, allowing everyone to have their say first, because once I start, no one's going to get a word in.
'It's not that simple Ro,' Noah says. No one is looking at me. I guess they all know what's good for them.
'But…' Rosie says, looking from Noah, to me, to Grace.
'Gracie. What. Did. You. Do.' I am trying so hard not to yell. My teeth are clenched and my fists are in balls. I can feel my nails digging into my palms.
'I got you cleared.' She says vaguely, still not making eye-contact with me. She stares at the neckline of my white T-Shirt.
'Grace?' Megan grabs her hand, she looks worried. We all know what's coming - well, except Rosie - yet none of us want to hear it.
'I asked the Prime Minister, OK? When I turned myself into the Society, I said that I had some conditions. Clearing your name was one of them.' She says, so matter-of-a-fact it almost kills me. I reach boiling point, and anger flows out of me like an all-powerful river.
'And you didn't think to tell me?' I yell, and she finally looks up at me. She starts to yell too.
'I didn't think it mattered! Or, well, I didn't think they'd do it. I kind of ran out on them. Literally.' She yells with a small scoff. She grabs my hands and pulls me into her. But I pull away.
'You bargained for my freedom?' I say, like she signed a deal with the devil. And in a way, she most certainly did. While I appreciate the gesture, I hate that she was willing to sacrifice herself for me.
'You didn't do it, Alexei!' She screams grabbing my head and pulling it right in front of her own. She says the next bit, barely louder than a whisper. 'You were the most wanted man in Europe for something you didn't do.' I am almost content with what she is saying, until I realise that the man who has been arrested is probably just as innocent as I am.
'And what of the man they arrested, Gracie?' I point at the screen. 'What did he do?' I've got her and she knows it. I pull my head back out of her grasp.
'I'm sure he did something!' She blurts out, but she doesn't look like she believes it one bit.
'Most of the world was sure I'd done something.' I say and she sighs and plops down into one of the seats behind her. She puts her head in her hands and runs her fingers through her hair. She eventually looks up at me.
'Maybe he really is the killer. We don't know. We may never know. And now you... you can go home,' She says sadly, and I realise that maybe she is trying to do this for me, because she knows she can't go home herself. What Grace doesn't realise, is that home is where the heart is. So my home will always be with her.
'I'm not going anywhere,' I say looking at her pointedly.
'You have to!' She snaps and Megan steps behind her, as soon as I give her a look, saying "Oh yup. Like I'm gonna leave you..."
'You seem to think we're giving you a choice.' Megan says. I could take her on in a fight and easily win, normally. But not right now. She is with Grace, and she isn't going to argue with me. So, I throw my hands in the air and sit down in the booth opposite Grace. She stands up and walks towards me. I realise that Megan, Rosie and Grace are all standing in front of me with their arms crossed. Like a powerful wall of women. Noah walks over, obviously a bit offended at being left out of the loop. So, he takes a biiiiig step around Rosie and holds onto Megan to keep himself steady. He looks at Grace.
'Fine.' He shrugs and looks at me. I just shake my head and turn away, with my eyebrows raised. I bite my lip to try and stop myself from saying anything. 'Where do we start?' He asks us. I wait a minute and then something clicks. I completely forgot about my accompaniment. My eyes light up slightly and Grace sees it. Shit. She walks towards me slowly, swinging her hips. It's adorable when she tries to be sexy. It must work, because I run my fingers through my too-long, too-dirty thick black hair and sigh.
'I was afraid you were going to say this, so...' I say, immediately regretting it.
'So, what?' Grace asks, staring me down. She sits down on my lap and strokes my chin with her finger, pulling my head up. I look straight into those beautiful, big brown eyes.I am going to regret this.
'So... I didn't come alone.'
