Estevan
I think I was exhausted, but Alexia seemed distant, her eyes lost, her chest rising and falling quickly despite her calm appearance, now with her hair done up as well as her clothes, she walked calmly through the corridors, no one but me knew that she had woken up twice last night with the nightmares that haunt her, the attempt on her life was something she had detailed by putting out how it had happened, the man's body sprawled on the floor and that my mother had helped her.
We were walking a fine line, dealing with silent threats and others not so much.
Although I wanted to stay by Alexia's side, I needed to prepare the soldiers for an imminent war, Lorenzo became a great help, he and my father discussed structuring the new armor all morning, stopping only for lunch.
Mariah was standing next to Alexia, who even when she looked at the viscountess seemed only to nod.
"Soraya told me what happened the night before," my father said, raising his glass of wine to take a sip. He moved closer to my ear. "She won't be able to bear the weight of the crown by being nice, she'll give in or be corrupted."
I looked at him in silence, my father was right, to carry the crown was to carry a lot of guilt, a lot of blood, a lot of weight and unequal judgment in order to maintain the kingdom, to give in to absurd things and fight for things you dislike, it was swimming against the tide while trying not to lose yourself to power.
"She's stronger than she looks," I said, and the roar of a dragon made me turn quickly to look at the windows. The dragon flew over the castle, almost crashing into the kingdom and appearing just a second above the window, Alexia's eyes calm and her smile light.
Clapping with joy at Silver's arrival.
"At least the people haven't been traumatized, they're still quite accepting of dragons," said Lorenzo, turning to us, "We're so used to being attacked and protected by these fascinating creatures."
If Lorenzo knew what we were hiding under wraps, Alexia's secrets that are now part of the crown, and that perhaps the dragon that attacked us wasn't just any dragon, it would only be a matter of time before it recovered and attacked us again.
After eating, I called a meeting with my father and Alexia in my office.
"I imagine that King Acacio already knows about what happened yesterday," said Alexia as she entered the office behind us.
"Yes, Soraya told me"
"Alexia has been threatened and her life has been threatened again," I began. "We can't go on like this, we need to expose Alexia's true identity."
"Estevan, I don't think..."
"I'm not open to discussion, Dad, if you don't expose the situation I will anyway!" Tension grew between us as I stared into his serious eyes.
"You're being reckless, I already let her stay here, now you're defying me and going against my orders? Do you think you know what's best for the kingdom?"
"You didn't let her stay, you know you need her," I said.
"Enough!" Alexia shouted angrily, slamming her hand down on the table. She looked angrily at my father and said, "I'm not your spinning top! No one's, I'm sick of not being heard and ignored by kings, I've seen you in the shadows and kept secrets under the carpet that I don't want to reveal to anyone about kings and nobles, but if this is my life I should be heard. Did you hear me? No, I'm skulking about in the shadows, this morning I received another letter from Torrem from the kings, they said they're coming to visit their beloved daughter because of all this fire maiden stuff and the dragon attack, they want to see me at all costs, but I'm not Charlotte!"
I looked at Alexia surprised by her words.
"When were you going to tell me this, Alexia?" I asked.
"I'm telling you now," she said. "That's why I've been away all morning thinking about what to do before I even told you, and I had no choice but to tell you the whole truth, starting with the king and queen of Torrem."
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Acacio.
"What is it?" She asked bluntly, "Keep hiding and wait for them to see that there's a servant in your daughter's place?"
Alexia's words hung in the air.
"Or find the real Charlotte and get her to cooperate."
"No one knows the whereabouts of Princess Charlotte," my father said and looked at Alexia, "or do they?"
I looked at Alexia, if there was anyone in the whole kingdom who knew where Charlotte might be, it was her.
"I don't know where she is, Charlotte was born in the castle and never left. I'm sure General George took her in his own way and I don't even have a reference or a clue as to where he might have taken her."
Something inside me drained away, giving way to fear, everything is heading for war.
"We're going to receive the kings on the decker, bringing them to the castle could be a scandal and we want to soften the impact by taking one problem at a time" I said to Alexia "There's no alternative but to be honest, there's no way we can put it off any longer"
She nodded quietly.
"I'm going along," said my father, "We'll leave tomorrow with the sunrise."
After a stressful day where I focused on organizing and resolving things that had accumulated with my departure, all I wanted was my bed.
When I entered the room, I saw that Alexia had already dismissed the maids, even though it was early, and she was wearing thin sweaters instead of changing for dinner.
"What's that?" I asked with a smile on my lips. "It's six in the evening and you're already dressed for bed."
"Yes, I'm thinking of going to sleep," she said, and I moved closer and kissed her on the lips.
I could feel her pulling me closer and I was already feeling excited, but I needed a shower first.
"I'm going to take a shower and I'll be right back," I said to her and headed for the bathroom.
Pouring hot water over my shoulders, I felt that they had relaxed a little, I lifted my face and let the water soak me completely while I scrubbed myself with the soap, I felt Alexia's soft hands behind me, the thin black hair wetting with the water and becoming even more transparent.
I turned to her and saw her hands full of soap as she ran her hands down my neck, rubbing my chest.
"Let me give you a bath," she said, seeming to enjoy rubbing my chest with the soap in her hands. She kissed me slowly and pulled away again, rubbing my arms, little squeezes, gentle touches. She ran her hands down my body, wanting to feel every inch of it. She stopped with her hand on my cock and rubbed it, lingering there. She looked me in the eye, seeing me gasp, horny and desirous, her breasts heaving through the wet sweater and her eyes hungry.
She gave me another kiss and went back to rubbing my body.
"You're a freak," I said.
"I'm a woman who hasn't seen her husband for a week," she said with her lips close to mine and her eyes glued together, still running her hand down my body.
"I've missed you so much," I told her, running my fingers down her arm, sliding it lightly and then down again. "There hasn't been a day that I haven't imagined her naked on my bed!"
I took her by the waist, bringing her closer and kissed her intensely, wanting more. I pulled away and looked at her inspired clothes, which would be difficult to take off because they were wet and stuck to her body.
I kissed her again, a more intense kiss that deepened, I ran my hand through her hair and Alexia pulled away, kissing my neck.
I put her against the wall and her legs fit around me as if she were the missing piece in my body, the perfect fit.
I turned her over, her skin soft from the hot water sliding over our bodies and her hands on the wall.
Alexia moaned as I thrust harder, grabbed her hair and slapped her ass, loving to see her lose control, wanting to see her scream for me.
Alexia didn't know how much I missed her, her voice, her touch, her kiss and her body.
I loved it when she instigated me, how our bodies seemed to call to each other and I desired her, in front of everyone I imagined her naked and the most different nights seemed little enough to quench so much flame and desire.