Alexander's eyes opened suddenly as he tossed and turned in his bed. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he violently woke from his bad dream.
He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, his fingers undoing the top buttons of his shirt as he had broken out. I'm a sweat. He wiped his brow with his arm, then looked toward the window, noticing the twin moons shining brightly in the night sky.
A low groan escaped his throat as he stood from the bed. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he slipped out of his chambers and made his way to the palace gardens.
Alexander thought of knocking on Corina's door as he walked down the hall, but he decided to give her some space. He knew all he needed to do was speak to her about it, but he didn't want to invade her privacy. Shaken by his nightmares, the last thing he needed was to seek her comfort when he knew she was upset.
The Duke's eyes gazed up at the night sky, and then he continued to talk, the night breeze helping to relieve the discomfort in his body. As he approached his usual sitting spot, he noticed King Gerald alone on the bench.
Alexander approached and took a seat on the opposite end of the bench. When he sat, he witnessed the king turn his head to look at him. "Good evening," the Duke politely said, giving the man one nod before turning his eyes back to the sky.
"Could you not sleep, either?" Gerald asked him.
"No," Alexander admitted. "I suppose there are things on my mind that made it difficult."
"I see. It's the same for me."
"Is it something you would like to discuss?" The duke offered the king. "I have the time to listen."
The two men sat in silence for a moment as they gazed toward the stars. Before long, the king began to speak. "Have you heard anything from your men about Queen Amelia?" He asked.
Alexander shook his head. "No, I haven't," he admitted. "We have instructed them to inform you first if they uncover anything."
The king leaned back on the bench, his palms flat on both sides. "You know, I never had a wonderful relationship with her. I suppose it's natural for her to lie to me for years, then run off."
Alexander nodded as he listened.
"Amelia was young when we married. I remember when we met. She had always been a free-spirited woman who refused to let marriage limit her. Once we married, she expressed to me the desire to have a child. After our first three sons were born, I felt we should stop having children, but she wanted a girl."
"Yet, you have so many children," the Duke commented. "I understand she wouldn't take no for an answer, would she?"
"Anytime I arrived home, Amelia was eager to try for another child. She kept carrying children, but she never had the daughter she dreamed of. I believed she finally achieved this when Corina was born."
"That's quite the selfish reason to mask her final son as a daughter," Alexander said with a frown.
"I don't disagree. I was in complete darkness. It wasn't often I was home, so I didn't notice too much. However, looking back, I can see that Amelia underwent significant changes after Corina's birth. She became secretive. I assumed she had a romantic partner, but I believe her entire focus was on concealing Corina's gender from me."
Alexander sat there. He listened intently to the words of King Gerald, but it still didn't make sense. He knew Amelia wanted a girl, and never birthed one, but why would she go to such lengths to hide the fact the youngest child wasn't female? He wondered if the queen had something wrong in her brain that made her think raising the child as a woman was a good idea.
"Thank you for accepting my child regardless of the circumstances," Gerald said.
"I want nothing more than for Corina to be my bride," Alexander assured him.
The king smiled. "I hope Amelia is well," he groaned, then stood from his seat. As he left the courtyard, he waved to the duke, leaving the man alone.
As he thought about the situation, Alexander tapped his fingers against the bench. He was not at all sleepy, so he didn't feel he was going to get any rest that night.
The duke could hear footsteps and voices. He could tell one of them was Nadine. He looked around in all directions. He wasn't in the mood for idle banter, so he quickly got up and decided to hide behind one of the well-manicured bushes. He sat on the grass and watched as two sets of legs walked to take a seat on the bench.
"Lady Nadine, thank you for spending the evening with me," the young voice said. "It's been a pleasure to have your company this evening."
"Lazarus, you're quite the cutie," Nadine replied.
Alexander put a hand over his mouth. The young prince was attempting to impress the woman who had agreed to be his date for the evening. He found it amusing that the young man was focusing his attention on Nadine. Not that there was anything wrong with the woman, she was just rather plain, with a personality that annoyed the Duke more often than not.
"Would you do me the honor of showing me around the lovely village of Mysric tomorrow?" Lazarus questioned the woman.
"I guess I could, but I'll need to get Corina's permission."
Alexander wondered if Nadine had any interest in the young man. He knew about her dead fiancé, so he was surprised she had even entertained the idea. Though, Corina and Lazarus were quite similar in appearance, he thought the prince was pretty cute and by looks alone could seduce a woman.
"Oh no," Alexander whispered to himself as he felt a pain in the bottom of his stomach. It seemed like something from the banquet had not agreed with his digestive system.
Alexander clenched his buttocks. Any noise would give away his eavesdropping on the conversation.
"She'll let you," Lazarus replied.
"Oh, I know. I still have to ask her."
Alexander couldn't hold it in—it had gotten too painful.
The pair perked up when they heard a loud noise. "What was that?!" Nadine asked as she stood up.
"An animal?"
"There's no animals out in the garden," Nadine replied.
They heard a noise again, that time, the noise was louder. If they had been inside a building, it would have echoed through the room. It was loud and drawn out, lasting several seconds on the second occasion. The tone was low, as it roared from the direction of the bush.
Lazarus stood up as he approached the bush. When he looked down to see Duke Alexander sitting in the grass with his arms holding his abdomen tight, he screamed.
"D-Duke?" Lazarus stuttered. "Are you...?"
"Don't say it!" Alexander snapped, then quickly stood and ran back into the palace.
Both Lazarus and Nadine looked in total confusion as they watched Alexander run, his hands around his stomach, the entire way back into the palace.
"Well, then..." Nadine chuckled. "I didn't expect that."
"I think he's embarrassed," Lazarus commented as he continued to gaze in the direction the Duke had run. "I've never seen a man make such noises then run as if his life depended on it."
Nadine couldn't hold back her laughter. She had never seen the man act in such a manner. Before the princess had come to the palace, he had been a model royal, but since she appeared, it seemed he began to come out of his shell. She quite enjoyed the new side to him, even when it involved gastrointestinal distress.
"Let's go inside before the scent reaches my nostrils," Nadine said as she began to walk.
Lazarus enthusiastically followed her inside, then led her to her room. He smiled and kissed the back of her hand. "Thank you for the wonderful evening."
"Sure," Nadine said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
Lazarus smiled excitedly, his eyes fixed on hers. His heart hoped the night would be the start of something great. He really enjoyed her company, more so than other women his age with whom he'd previously interacted.
Was a romance beginning to bloom?