Chapter 22

"Agathus, I've gone through it a lot of times and I don't think there's anything to fix". Alexis spoke to the hybrid man with bags under her eyes, he didn't glance away from his own pile of documents, "Please. I can't go through it another time!"

At the desperate cry he finally looked at the sleep deprived girl.

"Fine. Place it over there and get some sleep." He pointed at his desk, adding it to his mental list of tasks to be done. She threw the finished exam down where he pointed, if not slightly off.

"Oh thank you!" She gave the man a hug. No social boundaries existed when Alexis was sleep deprived. "You're so cosy and small." She murmured into his hair.

"Unhand me you feral human!" He cried and struggled to get out of her grip.

"Let go of my confidant, Dirt" came Alastair's deep voice from out of nowhere as he appeared in front of Agathus' desk, where the green man was being held captive.

"Go away grumpy king" were the words that slowly came from the sleepy voice of girl.

"Grumpy king?" He spoke incredulously to the girl as he approached her. "You're swaying? Are you okay?" His voice to anybody in their right mind sounded kind and worried, but to Alexis, it sounded cruel and condescending.

"What do you mean by am I okay? I'm perf- perfectly fine" her words slurred a bit as she stared at the tall man. "You're so tall". She looked up at him and a wide smile spread across her face, it looked like she was day-dreaming.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" The Emperor disliked stares, especially when they were directed at him, but this stare just made him feel embarrassed.

"Because", Alexis' eyes drooped low.

"Because?"

"Because", she once again started and this time she fluttered her lashes at him.

This time the Emperor felt a warmer feeling, it was foreign and strange and very, very uncomfortable.

"I'm taking you to your room", he declared as he mentally noted she was unfit to be near anyone. Her eyes still looked at him in that strange way as he lifted her up.

For a while, he returned the gaze with an inquisitive stare that had an unconscious blush, but soon he couldn't handle it as his face reddened more and more. He couldn't teleport with another person without threatening their limbs and so he walked to her room, carrying her in a princess hold.

"Stop staring at me and sleep".

"Hmm", was the reply he gathered but she still gave him that red cheeked stare, he knew her mind was far away, and he knew in her mind, he was there too.

He felt even more uncomfortable at that. It was a strange uncomfortable feeling, one that made his body heat up and feel a bit strange. His head felt light headed and dizzy at the blood rush he felt.

He should get her to bed before his family came for a random visit and she started giving his brothers the stare or maybe even his father. At the thought, he felt something very irritable. It was annoying and seemed to be almost suffocating.

He ignored the dwarfs who stared at the pair in surprise and the few who gasped at the sight, while he descended the stairs.

He glanced at her when he made it to her room and her eyes were much more narrower as her head now leaned against his shoulder. Her short hair tickled his neck and her warm body was strangely soothing to him. He felt warm. Not his body. But his heart. His soul... he couldn't explain the feeling but it loosened his shoulders and made him relax without realising.

He kicked open the door to her room and moved towards her bed. Glancing around, he realised the room was small and not at all decorated with any ornaments. It was plain and boring. The only selling point was the small balcony and even then the doors were shut together so tightly she hadn't bothered to go out.

He frowned.

'I'll tell Agathus to change it to somewhere better, after all, my palace has plenty to offer'.

He placed the girl down on her bed just as her lips parted and she spoke.

"So beautiful".

His body froze as he stared at her. That strange heat coming over him again, but stronger, his throat dried and he found himself gulping. 

strangely his hand reached for her face at that moment, brushing against her forehead and then playing with her hair as he stared at her face. He glanced to the open door and the sight of nobody being there made him gasp of relief. 

He felt like he was committing a crime. 

And then, noticing how Alexis' lips parted and started to move he jumped back frightfully. Trying to conjure up excuses to tell her when she opened her eyes, but she didn't and he relaxed thinking maybe she was asleep. He cautiously approached her and held his breath as a whisper escaped her.

"The sky's so beautiful", the words were uttered with such an innocent smile. 

Alastair almost fell down in embarrassment, he was partly relieved but also confused. He held his head and stared at the girl sleeping, who slept without a care in the world.

His eyes tracing her every feature with carefulness. Her long lashes that pressed against her cheeks which were pink. Her skin wasn't so pale as many women in the Empire kept theirs, Alastair found them to look quite ghostly and sick. But her skin was such a healthy glow, a tan that made light reflect off her face when the sun touched it. Her nose was like a button, it was small and cute.

'Cute?' He furrowed his brows, 'since when have I thought of such a word',

Her head turned slight and her short hair spread across the pillow, that colour that no other seemed to have. It made her stand out among the potful of coloured hair in the Empire. 

He reached for it and then snapping out of his daze he stepped back and held his head, as if a headache came surging forward.

'I need to see a Doctor...'