Chapter four (the change)

Nb: I am sorry for the large delay everyone, but I hope you all will enjoy it! A big thank you to A Meta Nephilim for your patience and understanding =) as always you can find the uncut version of this on Ao3. Happy Valentine's day!

'To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.' -Jane Austin

(Robert's POV)

Robert blinked slowly through sleepy eyes as he eyed the shooting range that was in front of him, out of the corner of his eye he saw Alfred Ashford's disapproving glance.

"Do try to wake up at a little more, Dorson." He blonde man rebuked as he handed him a sniper rifle.

Robert eyed the rifle nervous and held it tightly, he was faintly aware of Lord Ashford's voice.

"The Remmington 700 is a gun for true hunters, Dorson. As far as I am concerned there is no way for you to miss a stationary mark, and with my invaluable guidance, you will soon be able to shoot moving targets. Moving targets that scream. Now Dorson, aim and shoot the inadequate practice dummy!"

Robert licked his lips, he felt beads of sweat run down the side of his face. He was not a violent man, and even though he had owned a hand gun the thought of shooting someone was a thought that sickened him. If he was not bound to the contract that Alfred had made, he would not have even considered holding the rifle.

He took a deep breath and looked down the scope, he pulled the trigger and flinched at the sound.

"Un-bloody-believable." He heard Alfred's muttered voice behind him. "You actually missed."

Robert Dorson had no idea how much time had passed or even how much time was passing, Alfred's tasks never left him any rest. They were also testing the limits of Robert's introverted nature, it was as though his employer was deliberately going out of his way to obtain some sort of reaction. There were two things that had bothered him while he was completing the many errands he was tasked with.

Ever since the incident in the shower, Alfred had not displayed any show of attraction to towards him and 'Alexia' had being very quiet since they last spoke. It made him more then slightly paranoid, he had begun to wonder if he was living on borrowed time.

The other thing that bothered him was a strange flash that he often caught out of the corner of his eye, he had begun to wonder if he was going insane. Whenever he looked around for the source of the flash he had found nothing, nor could he pin point where the flash had came from.

...

(Alfred's Pov)

Alfred chuckled as he ducked into one of the rooms with his poloraoid camera, Dorson's bewildered expression would be once again caught and added to his newest photo collection.

Alfred liked taking photographs of his secretary when the other man was unaware, because the result was a pure photo. Unhindered by the trappings of vanity and posing, the subject was caught in their most natural state.

In Robert Dorson's case, what Alfred truly desired to capture was the other man's 'evolution.' Day by day, little by little, Alfred slowly chipped away at Dorson's shyness with an extreme amount of patience. For Alfred, the process was nothing short of a labour of love, even though he would never admit it. Not even to himself.

He hummed faintly as he walked back towards his private office, he held the Polaroid camera in a firm and yet careful grip as though he was cradling something that was precious.

When he entered the office he placed his camera down and looked at his desk, unlike the desk in his main office, this one had a single letter upon it as opposed to the stacks of papers.

Alfred sneered, he had being waiting for this letter and loathed it's very existence. The fact that it was here, in his office that only a handful of his most loyal men knew about, meant that it demanded his immediate attention. Regardless of how much he wanted to ignore it, he had being getting far to many of these letters recently, and they each held the same sentence.

He had opened this letter and expected the same, but he was greeted by a sentence that filled him with dread. Had anyone else being present, he would have simply cast the letter aside and scoffed. However, since he was alone he kept reading the sentence over and over.

'Attack imminent. Please be prepared to evacuate, Lord Ashford.'

He dropped the letter to the floor, evacuation was not an option for him. It never would be.

"Alfred?" Alexia whispered gently. "He'll be okay.. You've trained him well and he's adapted quickly, so you should be able to get him out before things get.. Serious."

He nodded slowly. "Yes, I know.. I just wish.." He trailed off and Alexia sighed softly.

"I..Feel the same way as you do, Beloved Brother. That is why, I think you should come clean with him."

Alfred blushed and looked towards his camera. "..You are right, sweet sister. I must tell him.. No.. I must show him how we feel, while we both have the chance."

...

(Robert's Pov)

Robert was surprised when Alfred summoned him early, and to the dinning room. He walked with slowly and noticed that Alfred was already sat down and clearly dressed to impress in a suit that heightened his athletic and trim figure and his blonde hair perfectly slicked back with an even greater precision then before.

Robert himself felt dowdy by comparison in his coperate causal wear that was not made to emphasize his body, but instead to conceal it. He subconsciously lifted his hands up and quickly raked them through his slightly unruly hair.

'Who ever Lord Ashford has made such an effort for must be someone of great importance, I can't let him down.'

As that thought flashed through his mind, he approached his employer and bowed slightly. "Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" He asked with a smile.

Alfred nodded and gestured to the empty seat. "Do sit down, Dorson. Help yourself to the food, if you like."

Robert was confused, but sat himself down and pulled a concealed plate over and lifted the lid. What greated him after a rush of charred smoke hit his face was a meal so burned that it could have being anything. He looked quickly towards Alfred and noticed that the other man was watching him intently. Dorson speared what seemed to be a piece of vegetable and popped it into his mouth.

He had never tasted anything so vile, his eyes watered and it took all his willpower to swallow. He felt sick and tried to wash the taste down with a glass of water, he briefly wondered why his employer had not killed the cook yet. Robert hated to admit it, but the execution of the cook would have being something that he would have supported.

"Ah, Dorson. You are clearly overwhelmed by the ambrosia before you." Alfred chuckled with a smile. "I am glad about that, it took me ages to cook it."

Robert nearly spat out his drink in shock.

...

For the first time in all the time they had being in each other's company, Robert and Alfred simply talked with one another. The sound of the dinning room was filled with their laughter and the gentle sound of cutlery glided over plates, which in turn were punctuated by Robert's coughs as he tried to eat the food that was placed before him. Eventually, the conversation had turned to Alexia.

"Alexia speaks in riddles sometimes, but her genius is beyond compare." Alfred said as he attempted to cut a charred piece of what seemed to be meat. "As a child I learned very quickly that her will was the only thing that mattered and that I... Would always be in her shadow. At first, I was resentful but.. Then I understood.. She is worth so much more then what I will ever be."

Robert shook his head and stood up from his seat, he walked over and placed his hand on Alfred's shoulder. "That's not true, Alfred. You're worth so much more then what you think."

Alfred looked up at him in surprise before he chuckled and looked down. "Dorson, only one person can decide my worth and that is my beloved Alexia."

"Alfred...I.. I would like to know..Why do you pretend to be Alexia?

"I do not pretend, Dorson." Alfred murmered after some moments. "Alexia speaks through me. If you met her, you would understand. You would understand everything, but I.." Alfred threw his knife onto the plate and looked him in the eye. "..I am worried that if you met Alexia in the flesh, I would lose you to her forever."

Robert smiled warmly. "Don't worry about that. I may like 'Alexia' and all but... I love you, Alfred."

Alfred's jaw dropped and he blushed furiously. "Show some respect for your employer, you cad!"

"But it's true, Alfred! I've loved you for a long time! Okay.. I admit, I used to be scared of your sociopathic moments.. But that never stopped me from loving you."

Alfred narrowed his eyes. "I think you have had enough to drink, Dorson. You are quite irritating at the moment. I will have you know that I have acted with nothing but kindness towards you and all my other minon- employees."

Alfred stood up in a sudden movement as though something had just occurred to him. "Tell me, Dorson.. Do you dance?"

Robert tilted his head in surprise. "I can do a mean funky chicken." He offered.

Alfred tutted. "No, you twit. I mean actual dancing.. Such as the waltz?"

"..No."

Alfred smiled. "Would you like me to teach you?"

...

Robert was clumsy and uncertain, Alfred had needed to help position his hands in the appropriate positions on more then one occasion. Robert seemed to be reluctant to lead the dance, so Alfred led for him. At first their movements were clumsy and uncoordinated, but as they danced together, their movements became more fluid.

"That is good, Dorson. Just remember the rhythm!" Alfred encouraged him as the dance moved on.

The room became a kaleidoscope of colours as the two men spun and twirled as the gramophone played behind them with it's gentle and nostalgic memory.

As they danced Robert listened to the song and inquired. "Alfred.. What is this song?"

"This song..Well, this song was made for Alexia. At least, that is what I think. As you can hear, it tells the story of a cruel queen and her naive king."

"Why..Was it only made for her?" Robert asked as the two of them slowly stopped dancing, in the background the music began to fade as it reached its end.

Alfred said nothing, he simply smiled when the music stopped.

Robert walked back with Alfred to his bedroom, after the music had stopped Alfred seemed to withdraw into himself and spoke little. Robert mentally kicked himself repeatedly, he did not mean to cause such a reaction in the other man.

When they stopped outside Alfred's room, Robert cleared his throat. "Thank you for the evening, Alfred."

Alfred raised an eyebrow as he opened the door to his bedroom. "Why are you thanking me, Dorson? I have not even got started yet."

Robert was speechless as he looked into Alfred's room. The room was covered with rose petals and lit by candles.

"I hope you appreciate my efforts, Dorson." Alfred mumbled behind him. "I am... Not used to being able to plan romantic evenings and frankly I feel inadequate-"

Robert interrupted Alfred with a kiss, when he pulled away he smiled and spoke gently. "Alfred..You should never feel that way. Not with me."

The other man hesitated. "Dorson..Everyone that was important to me made me feel worthless.. Alexia..My Father.."

Robert gently wrapped his arms around Alfred. "I'm not them, Alfred.. I love you. You're all I'll ever need..now.. are we going to stand here talking, or are you going to show me the romantic evenings you have planned?"

Alfred pulled away with a mischievous smile. "Only if you take the lead, Dorson."

The two men laughted and entered the room together, the door shut behind them quietly.

...

(Alfred Pov)

They lay side by side, and Alfred smiled to himself as he thought to himself. 'I certainly could get used to this.'

His smile faded as he thought back to the letter and it's loathsome words. His mind flickered between the words and the man who lay beside him.

Robert Dorson had become an enigma to him, someone who kept surprising him again and again. Especially earlier, when Alexia decided to voice her opinion on Dorson's trim looking figure. Alfred had thought that the night was over, he was certain that the 'mood' was killed. So it shocked him when Robert smiled and greeted Alexia and accepted them both in a way that Alfred had not thought was possible.

What started out as an end to a romantic evening had become so much more to Alfred, it became one of the happiest days of his life. He only regretted that he did not have Robert all to himself, that he had to share him with Alexia.

'No...Not Alexia..Rather, the ghost I have made.' He thought to himself sadly. 'The memory I made into flesh.. Maybe.. since I have Robert... I will not need her anymore? No. She will never let me go. In life and death, in sleeping and awakening, our fate will forever be linked.'

Alfred sat up in the bed and shook away his thoughts. He had made a decision, a decision that he would never even thought about before. "You know, Dorson.. I actually.." he paused and noticed that Robert was fast asleep.

Alfred reached down and brushed some hair away from the other man's face. He leaned down and gently kissed Robert's cheek and smiled to himself when Robert remained asleep.

"I love you as well, Robert.. That is why..I have decided.."

"...To introduce you to Alexia."