(Then)
Alfred walked slowly across the shore and listened to the sound of the gentle waves and laughing gulls. The wind ruffled his blonde hair and teased his skin, he breathed in deeply and shut his eyes.
He wished that he had dressed more casually, but he knew that such a thought was never an option. Not when he was surrounded by other important Umbrella officials in the ironically named 'Corporate Party.'
'There is nothing fun about this party.' He thought with a sour expression on his face. 'Unless you are Alexia.' His expression softened at the thought of his sister, the sister that should have stood here instead.
Since her 'death' he had no choice but to step into her shoes the best he could, but he could see that in the eyes of Alexia's co workers he would never be good enough. He knew what they were thinking. He could see it in their smiles, sharp like a knife.
'The wrong Ashford had survived.'
He did not blame them for thinking that way, he also felt the same. He knew that he would never come close to the perfection that was his twin, his father had told him that often enough.
'You're a mistake, Alfred. A miscalculation. Do not ever think otherwise.'
He did care for his father, in fact he would be the first to admit that he hated the man. It filled Alfred with a sense of satisfaction when he watched his father's agonising transformation, he was glad that he would never need to hear that hateful voice again.
The crushing blow for him was when Alexia plunged herself into her long fairytale slumber, and expected him to endure until she woke up. The absence of his twin carved a hole into his heart, but he had no choice. With the 'deaths' of his father and sister he had no choice but to shoulder the burden of running the Island alone.
For Alexia.
'How long?' He mused as he turned away from the sea. 'How long must I suffer like this?'
He looked back out to the sea in the hope that it would give him an answer. But the only person who could soothe his fears was Alexia, and she was so far away from him. Lost in her own land of dreams, dead to all but him. He needed to stay strong and not give in to fear, but Alexia was his rock. Without her, he was crumbling.
In the distance, he heard faint laughter. He wondered if he would ever have the chance to laugh like that again.
"I doubt it." He muttered.
Before he had the chance to walk away from the sea, a voice behind him called gently.
"Are you alright, sir?"
In reply, Alfred jumped and shouted in alarm. He fell backwards into the sea. Luckily the tide was not bad, nor was the water deep, but his suit was ruined. He growled and stood up as he shouted. "You bloody twit! You silent bloody twit! You nearly killed me!"
"I-I'm sorry." The voice stammered.
He looked at the owner of the voice and paused. All cutting insults died on his lips. The man that stood before him was toned, not extremely muscular, but had a pleasent build. His brown hair was messy and his eyes were a very light green. He heard Alexia whisper.
'The colour of beauty, dear brother.' Her voice was that close that he spun around and in doing so fell once again into the water.
As he sat there and growled to himself, the other man offered his hand and spoke. "Um..Lord Ashford? My name is Robert D-Dorson and I was wondering if you had any job openings?"
Alfred narrowed his eyes at the other man's offered hand. "Can you bring tea and biscuits in an efficient manner?" He asked.
Robert Dorson nodded. "Yes, s-sir."
"In that case, you are hired." Alfred declared as he took the other man's hand.
...
(Now)
Alfred gazed out to sea and muttered. "I hate the sea." Behind him stood Robert Dorson, who smiled as he held a box of heart shaped chocolates and a bunch of gladiolus flowers.
"And yet, we live on an island." Robert remarked cheerfully. "Stop being so sulky, Alfred. You'll make the flowers cry."
Alfred smiled at him weakly. "I am sorry, Robert. I just cannot wait for when Alexia wakes up, then we can leave this place."
Robert placed the gifts down and approached Alfred. "And where will be go?"
"Far away, somewhere in the country." Alfred replied with a smile.
"But not to England, wot, wot?" Joked Robert in his imitation of a British accent.
"Oh, God no." Alfred said with a laugh. "I had enough of that place in university. But I do know that we will never have a place.."
"..By the sea." Robert finished for him with a laugh.
He felt Robert's arms embrace him and the two men gazed at the sea in silence for some moments.
"When Alexia wakes up, we'll go far away." Alfred whispered as Robert kissed him on the cheek. "When she finally awakens."
The two men gazed out at the sea, the spoken promise hung in the air. It was a solemn vow, a pledge. A dream that could only be born...
...on Valentine's day...
(The end)
Nb: Happy Valentine's day A Meta Nephilim! I know it is not very much (and I apologise for how short it is), but I hope you enjoyed this stand alone short story! =)