Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Alexandria and Zander.

444444444

A stiff breeze blew, knocking the box off of the chair. It crashed to the ground, and Memnon looked over to see that Alex was gone.

444

Zander walked past a hallway. Casually, he glanced down it. Then did a double take.

Alex was sitting on the ground with a very confused Red Guard looking down at her. She was simply staring at the guard with a look of mild surprise on her face. Her left arm was wet with blood, and was bent between the wrist and elbow in a way that it shouldn't have been.

"Alex!" They both looked up, and Alex glued her eyes to Zander. "The king is looking for her. I will bring her back, to save you the trouble." Gently, Zander picked her up and cradled her arm in his hand. Giving a curt nod, he left the confused guard standing there, watching them leave.

444

"Philos!" He called, knocking on the door with the toe of one shoe.

"Enter." A voice called from inside.

"I can't open the door, my hands are full."

"Alright, then." A man with wild, grey hair opened the door. "Oh, Zander, come in. Umm… you can just put her on that table right there." As Philos got bandages and pastes, Zander set Alex down on the table, still supporting her arm.

There were a few clinks and crashes as Philos rummaged through some supplies.

"Here you go." He handed Zander a damp towel so he could clean the blood off of his hand, then turned his attention to Alex. "Now, let's have a look at you." After gently cleaning her arm of the blood, he said, "Oh, well that doesn't look very good. Doesn't that hurt?"

"Yes." She said, never taking her eyes off of his face. He nodded, slightly confused.

"I am going to have to straighten the break, which will hurt." Her right hand found Zander's, and squeezed gently. "Ready?" She nodded, and winced slightly as he straightened it, but otherwise never moved.

"There you go," He said, wrapping her arm up. "Good as new. Just try not to use it for a few weeks."

"Thank you." She said shyly as Zander lifted her off the table.

444

"So he is not your father?" Zander asked as they walked towards Memnon's throne room. "Why did he say it was?" He said, more to himself then to anyone else.

Rounding a corner, they saw a pair of guards, one on either side of double doors. They were stopped, and one of the guards slipped in. After a few moments, he came back, closing the door behind him.

"The king does not wish for any visitors at the moment." He said firmly.

"I believe that he would-" Zander started.

"If you wish to argue," The other guard roared. "I have no problem escorting you to the dungeons!"

"Excuse me?" Alex asked in a high voice.

"Children should speak only when directly spoken to." The first guard told her. Ignoring him, she went on.

"I do believe that he would like to see me, his only daughter. I think he was worried about me." She held up her bandaged arm, showing it to them. Both guards looked as if they had been kicked in the stomach.

"Oh, I'm-" One of them stuttered. "I-I'm sorry… princess. I did not recognize you. Please forgive me." They both bowed and opened the doors to let them through.

"Zander," Memnon sounded relieved as he stood and walked towards the two of them. "Thank you for finding my daughter. But, what happened to her arm?"

"I broke it, and Philos fixed it for me." She replied. Memnon picked her up, and held her on his hip.

"You are dismissed, Zander." With a small bow, he backed out, closing the door. "How did you break your arm?" She merely shrugged. She knew, but didn't really care enough to tell him. He sighed. "I suppose it does not truly matter. As long as you are safe." Turning, he walked back to his throne.

"You are not a very good father." She said. He stopped and looked at her, confused.

"And why is that?"

"I was able to get away. I could never do that…" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Before." She finished. "You got distracted." He thought on this as he sat down with Alex on his lap.

4444444444

Yeah, I know I'm posting a lot of chapters in a short time.

I was very tempted to put 'stone throne' in there somewhere.