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Part 20

Alexander looked up at me sadly. I could feel the fear he had inside, the very fear that I had when I had begun to tell him of Troyethe. At first Alexander was furious, but soon his anger turned into the pain he sat in now. I knew I couldn't carry on being untruthful with Alexander, and so I decided to tell him of my feelings with Troyethe.

'I don't even know my own feelings with him! How could I even possibly go about to explain it to Alexander?' I conversed with myself, a slight surge of panic washing over me. I had already told Alexander that there was strange feelings being passed between Troyethe and I, and that I had spent the night talking with him.

"Do you love him?" Alexander suddenly asked. He already had a tear rolling down one of his cheeks, as if he had already known the answer. The sun behind him in the window coloured his blonde curls a golden colour.

"Alexander...Alexander I.." I sat down beside him, after an hour of pacing. I took a deep breath. "Alexander. I am hardly even sure if I know what the true meaning of 'love' is. I have never loved, I do not think, for I don't know what it means to be in love. Alexander, you have been so kind and caring towards me, this last year. I cannot even begin to thank you enough. You have told me you loved me, and..."

Alexander stood up and wiped his eyes. "Kyla. I do love you. But..but if your heart..." his words struggled slightly. "...if your heart does not tell you that I am the one to love...then..then I shall understand."

Suddenly it was my turn to feel fear, but I knew I could not go back on my words. Not with something like this. Standing up to meet him, I tried to catch his gaze. He turned his face away from me, and eventually his back. As I reached out and touched his hand, he flinched. 'Time for me to leave.' I told myself.

With one last look at Alexander's figure in the sun, I eased the heavy door shut.

"You see, Troyethe...I couldn't possibly..oh what am I saying anyway?" I paced back and forth, trying to keep my calm but not succeeding in the least.

"Please, m'Lady...please come with me?"Troyethe squeezed my hand tightly, trying to stop me from moving.

I whirled on him, my long hair thrashed against itself in the wind. "Where? Sir I beg of you, please if you know what you're goal with me is, please tell me."

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and pushed his own out of his eyes. "M'lady I would love for you to come with me...away! To travel this earth with me...alongside me, now and forever!" His voice became excited. "We could run through large fields together, gallop through forests, see the ocean, see the stars, go where no one has ever been! Discover new things..you and I, my darling...together!"

"Troyethe..." I whispered on his lips, that had now found their way close to mine. I pressed myself against his body, and felt his hands run up and down the length of me. The electricity I felt as he danced his fingers on my lower back sent me into another world. Something new and exciting. I felt scared, and a little lost...unknowing of what was to come.

Suddenly an earth-shattering shriek pierced the air, sending me to jump back, and look around. Troyethe drew his sword, and told me to shush. Again, the same scream echoed, and instantly I knew where it had come from.

Making my way up the staircase, several castlemaidens were crying and screaming, running as fast as they could the opposite way. I clutched the hem of my dress and ran faster, doing my best to dodge the oncoming traffic. I half-knew half-feared what I was about to see, what I was about to find.

A tray of tea and scones was scattered across the floor, broken dishes and glasses aswell. I stopped running and slowly made my way to the door. I took a deep breath, and stepped in.

A knife was engorged into Alexander's chest, blood oozing from the heart. His hand was still clutched around the top half of the knife, his knuckles a ghostly white. His eyes still lay open, the depths of blue now gone. His mouth, the very mouth I had kissed ever so softly, had one trickle of blood falling down his chin. The red that had once kept Alexander alive was now drenching the soft and gentle white bedsheets, like paint.

'Alexander no...Alexander! NO!' I held my mouth and collapsed on the hard wooden floor, my eyes shutting as fast as they had taken in the scene. The air in the room began to dense, and soon I was gasping for it. I rocked myself back and forth, my eyes still tightly closed.

I did not move from that spot until I felt myself being lifted from the ground. I had a strange sort of ache in my head, and the room began to take shape again. It was dimly lit now, and I could see a few guardsmen covering Alexander's lifeless and blood-soaked body with a dark sheet. A loud and painful noise was pounding at my ears, and it was only until I was taken outside that I realised it was my own screaming.