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"He was much older than me, but he was always very kind," she recollected. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. Nonetheless, she hesitated before she made good on the question. "What - happened to him?"
At once, she felt she had made a misstep of some kind. The King was silent for too long; though his expression did not quite change, his smile took on a more forced, unsettling quality. He turned from the lake to her, appraising her. When he finally spoke, his tone was flat. "Are you asking if I took his life?"
Oh, he was upset now, was he? That had always been a risk of treading into such matters, hence her initial hesitation. She forced herself to ignore the apprehension simmering anew in her chest. Implications aside, what else was inherently wrong with that question? The elder brother had to have been the heir apparent at one point; therefore, so something must have happened.
"I only meant," she began to clarify.
But her umbrella slipped from her hands a little, and by some stroke of (ill) fortune there was just enough of a breeze to send it slightly adrift. She reached hurriedly for it with an even tighter grasp, perhaps moving only too swiftly and jarringly (most likely on purpose, for the convenient distraction it seemed to provide at the time). The jerky momentum had her reaching dramatically over one side, until balance could no longer be preserved and she fell right over the edge, somehow on her back, with a very loud splash.
And before she knew it, the water was rapidly rising above her head - and rising, and rising. The density of her dress and garments had her sinking at once, and she already knew that they were bound far too tightly to be able to loosen quickly enough with her fingers.
Strangely, the thought that occurred to her was how pretty it was, the way the light filtered, fractured, and broke in the expanse of aquamarine.
*****
Authors: I know, I know, another cliffhanger! But as mentioned, Chapter 9 should be out soon too, so you won't have to wait too long to find out what happens!
- COMMENTS
PaladinDanseover 1 year agoAlias is my favorite type of Strong Female character. Intelligent, pragmatic and highly mentally resilient. all traits you need to rule. Any moron can be PHYSICALLY strong, or emotionally “Tough” aka Oblivious. She is making the best she can out of her tough circumstances and if that means laying the groundwork for owning his ass later SO MUCH THE BETTER. Tho I do hope that they somehow do come to love each other for real, it seems extremely unlikely after what Alexander has done & would be a cop out frankly.
jenna6almost 5 years agoClearly, you don't know ANYTHING about true love. Worst love story ever! And unlikable characters. 🤢
Anonymousover 6 years agoWhile it's not at all clear what Alais' plan is I just have to hold on to the hope that it results with her holding Alexanders balls in a vice like grip and and twisting until they are torn from his body! This is the kind of fantasy that keep me reading.
lady_temilyalmost 8 years agoAuthor@ "Nothing special"
There is something special about Alais in that she fascinates him, and of course he is very attracted to her. He's definitely not in love with her though - it's lust he feels, right now, as love (and its accompanying feelings) will generally take longer to develop between people. So no, he's not feeling like he "wants to be more" because of her; right now, she's just an object of fascination. If there is to be more between them, it will be a slow progression, rather than immediate devotion, etc. Alexander has demonstrated worse traits, and this is fairly characteristic of him. Also, I wouldn't say Alais has an extraordinary understanding of his needs - it's more that she doesn't care if he cheats, because she has no emotional attachment either. To her, he's just someone who kidnapped her, and she needs to survive his dangerous temperament (even if her physical reactions make things a little complicated).
@ "Huh???"
Well, hope you find other stories more to your tastes then! I wouldn't say Alais is passive so much as deceptive/subtle with her tactics. She's not going to outright start attacking him or something, as that would lead to a lot of dangerous consequences! This is her way of playing mind games with him and buying herself enough time to play politics at court - though I get that that's not to everyone's tastes, all the same.
@ "?"
Aww, thank you! I think my preference aligns with yours. It's more interesting to me to see heroines behave rationally and cleverly (at least sometimes), and who try to use their brains to get out of situations. There are certainly a few stories I've come across too where I couldn't keep going because the heroine's "defiance" started to defy logic, consequence, etc. And I'm glad you don't think Alexander is one-dimensional either! We tried to give some insight into his background in this chapter, as you saw. :)
Anonymousalmost 8 years agoThink you lack an understanding of the story if you think the king is one dimensional or Alais is passive, lol. Maybe she's not "feisty" (aka dumb) like some other heroines in this genre who act wildly and stupidly no matter the consequences. To me those heroines were always difficult to sympathize with and I could never finish the story. Here she is being smart about her strategy.
