Chapter 9- Nice To Meet You

--Alexandria POV--

"Who is she?"

"Is than an Eagle on her shoulder?"

"She is quite beautiful,"

"She's walking beside the crown prince instead of behind him, how disrespectful,"

I frowned at that last comment, stopping in my tracks while Val continued to walk and I started walking behind him. Is this less disrespectful?

Val noticed this and came to a halt, turning to look back at my smaller figure with a frown etched across his face. "Apparently it's disrespectful to walk beside you," I answered his question before he had the chance to even ask it.

His eyes immediately travelled to the side in which the women were lined up, heads still bowed down in respect but it's as if they felt his intense gaze and started to choke up.

Val released a heavy breath, gesturing with his head for me to go stand beside him which I did with great hesitance. It felt wrong for me to stand beside him. Honestly speaking, I was probably lower than these workers.

He didn't say anything and continued to walk and I followed, this time walking beside him and noticeably, the hushed voices of the gossiping workers had also come to a halt.

I was amazed at how he was able to shut so many people up with one look. The intimidation and power this man held is just hard to believe.

Before we reached the steps, Val took a left turn, walking down the corridor beside the grand staircase and after a few minutes of walking in silence, he came to a stop in front of a double set of shiny white doors, nodding at one of the guards who stood beside it.

"My King. Crown Prince Valentino is here and wishes to seek your presence," The guard said.

"Let him in," I heard the familiar voice of Alpheus speak from the other end of the door. I had missed him so much. It's been years since I've last seen him.

Bowing their heads, each guard opened one door and Valentino walked in with me following in behind him with great reluctance.

"My son! How I have missed you. It's good to see you healthy. How was Alexia? Beautiful as always I'm guessing," I felt a blush creep onto my face at the sudden compliment. I wasn't used to being called beautiful by anyone other than John.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Val simply replied, stepping aside so I was no longer hidden behind his large form.

Alpheus's jaw hung open in shock as he gaped at me, seeing me standing in front of him in the flesh surely couldn't have been that surprising but apparently it was.

"Hey, Alpheus. Long-time no see," I sheepishly waved with a cheesy grin.

Snapping out of his short trance, Alpheus came running towards me but just before he pulled me into a hug, Ryder took the opportunity to get to safety and I was left awkwardly patting Alpheus's back as he hugged me.

"How? What are you doing here? What about John?" At the sound of his name, my chest fell but I put on a brave smile anyway.

"John passed away," I simply put it. Once again, his jaw hung open in shock.

"What? How? When?" He fired questions at me, unknowing that each one hit like a bullet.

"A few months ago due to illness," I tried to sound emotionless, but every time I thought back to his last moment my heart would automatically start shaking and I would have to blink back a waterfall of tears.

"Oh, how awful. I am so sorry, Alexia, my dear," He leaned down to give me another comforting hug and I patted his back with a small, broken chuckle.

"At least you have that loyal animal with you," He sniggered, gesturing to Ryder who stood on the chair and was glaring at Alpheus.

I don't know how I should take that statement. I was offended, to say the least, but bit back my rude comeback, not wanting to anger him. This man held my future in his hands.

"But now you are with us and I will make it my mission to make sure that you live a comfortable and happy life," He put his hands on my shoulders with a reassuring smile plastered on his face.

"About that. I don't want to live in the palace," I bluntly said.

His eyes widened at the statement, making it obvious that he wasn't expecting to hear that but he nodded his head in a gesture that told me to continue.

"I'm sorry. Your palace is a beautiful and breathtaking sight to look at but it's not something I'm used to. If it's not too much to ask for, I want to start off by living like a normal citizen, with a small house and a fun job," I smiled up at him.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as if he didn't get why I would throw the chance to live in a palace away for a small house and job which I wouldn't need but still want.

"I think it's a good idea. Remember father, you said that you'll give Alexa a comfortable life and if this is what she deems comfortable then she deserves it," Val cut in from the back and I turned around to see him leaning against the wall as he nonchalantly checked the time on his watch.

Alpheus gave in with a heavy sigh but nodded in agreement anyway and I smiled appreciatively at him, thanks to Val's words.

"For today at least, stay over at the palace. We'll help you find a comfortable house to live in and get you any job you desire. With that amazing brain of yours, possibly a librarian or even a teacher. What you want, I will get you," I nodded.

"I'll get one of the maids to take you to your chambers for today but feel free to explore the palace as you wish," I nodded yet again with gratitude this time.

"I'll take her," I was surprised when Val suggested that. Alpheus himself seemed surprised too but only shrugged as a smirk climbed onto his face.

"Very well then. I'm happy to see you giving this life a chance, Alexia. I can only hope that you enjoy it," He smiled, patting my shoulder.

"Thanks, Alpheus," With that, I followed a waiting Val out of his study and we made our way back to the grand staircase and started walking up. Once we reached the landing, he showed me down one of the many corridors and stopped in front of a white door.

"You'll find everything you need in there. There's a bell to tug if you need anything, just pull it and one of the maids will come to help you," He spoke like a robot but I nodded along anyway.

As he opened his mouth to say something else, the sound of someone shouting halted him and I turned around to see a young girl running our way. She couldn't have been older than 5.

"Yvaine. Don't run around the castle," Val's words fell on deaf ears because she didn't stop running until she was close enough to jump into his arms and I smiled at the adorable sight of Val holding a child.

"Hello," I waved at the girl who was now placed around Val's waist.

She smiled brightly before waving back. "What's your name, miss?" She curiously asked.

"Call me Alexia. What's your name?"

"I'm Yvaine," Yvaine? As in...

"She's my sister," Val answered my unasked question and I opened my mouth in surprise.

She was a small, cute little girl with golden blonde hair and the brightest shade of blue eyes with apple cheeks and was dressed in an expensively embroidered knee-length dress. Since she looked nothing like her father, I guessed she inherited her looks from her mother.

"It's lovely to meet you Yvaine. You're adorable," I complimented and she giggled in return as I outstretched my hand for a handshake which she quickly took and shook with her small hand.

"And you're really beautiful. Are you going to marry my brother?"

Val coughed at her words as I blinked, surprised but it was quickly overcome by a fit of giggles and I shook my head. "Sorry princess but no. I'm not looking to get married right now," She sighed sadly at my words.

"That's a shame. Your children would have been really cute you know. I heard that if two pretty people get married then their baby would be even cuter," How old was she again?

"And who told you that?" Valentino asked his little sister.

"I don't remember," Yvaine innocently replied.

"Well, you best be on your way now. I have work to get back to," Yvaine pouted but listed to him as she climbed down from his waist and jumped forward to hug me.

I was frozen for a short second but quickly hugged her back and made sure to wave after her and kept waving until she was out of sight.

Standing back up, I noticed Val giving me an odd look but he quickly diverted his gaze after being caught and spun around, walking away.

"Thanks, Valentino," I called after him.

Hearing my words, he came to a sudden stop before slowly turning to look at me.

"What happened to Val?" He asked in an almost mocking tone in which I felt my face instantly heat up.

"You didn't like it," I simply managed to choke out nervously.

"Now, whenever did I say that?"

What happened next left my heart tripping a mile a minute and nearly had me faint on the spot right then and there. He was crazy. Beautifully crazy.

That emotionless face of his that I had grown used to seeing slowly melted away and it was there for barely a second but I know what I saw. His lips tilted up in what could only be a smirk and his eyes narrowed in amusement. I was definite.

"Um..." What were we talking about again?

He raised one eyebrow and continued to stare at me for a few extra seconds before spinning around in a perfect 180-degree turn and walking off down another corridor.

I was left standing there, unsure of what my eyes had just seen with my jaw hanging open, looking like an utter fool.

Ryder's annoyed squeal pulled me out of my reverie and I pushed the door to my chambers open and walked in, tripping at the sight in front of me.

Did I really just give all this up for a small house?

Ugh! Snap out of it, Alexia. You want to live in a small, comfortable house, with an ordinary job and live like an ordinary person. Right? Yes. Right.

But this room was on a whole other level.

Golden painted walls with a large chandelier hanging in the centre of the room. There were two doors, one leading to the en suite bathroom and the other to the closet. In one corner of the room, there was a bar, on the other corner, there was a large TV with a red couch in front and I saw two french doors, red curtains beside them, leading out to a balcony.

I went straight for the balcony, pushing the door open and leaning against the railing as I looked down at what could only be the garden. It was massive, to say the least.

Everything was green, there were water fountains scattered across the large stretch of land and a few footpaths which ran in between the large patches of perfectly cut grass. In the right corner of my eye, I noticed a rose garden and made sure that I would visit it at some point.

To my left, there was a massive swimming pool with sun chairs and umbrellas around it and on the deck that stood a few feet from the swimming pool was an outdoor bar, protected by a roof so the drinks wouldn't get ruined when it rained.

Basically, it was a massive piece of beautiful land that I could just live in.

When I go there at some point and I can assure you that I will, I need to go sit under that oak tree which stood proudly with three others and I could spot a few other trees too like a cherry tree, lemon tree and a few peony bushes here and there.

I can already imagine that that specific area would smell divine.

Ryder beat me to it though. Abandoning my shoulder as he jumped off the balcony, flying towards the garden with his wings beating at his sides in what I believed was an excitement.

Smiling at him, I turned to go back inside the room.

As I wandered around my room for a bit longer, I finally decided to pull on the golden bell and within a minute, a maid came scurrying into the room.

"May I be of any assistance, miss?" She asked with her hands folded in front of her and head bowed in respect. I didn't like that.

"Call me Alexia," I said, hoping that she would stop staring at the ground.

"That would be inappropriate, miss," She denied.

"Please. I'm someone who's probably below you in rank. I don't deserve to be bowed to," I pleaded, desperate that she would stop bowing- it made me very uncomfortable.

"Very well, miss Alexia," Seriously. She wasn't going to get rid of the miss no matter what? Oh well, at least she wasn't bowing anymore.

"Now, can you take me to the garden? I'm afraid that I'll just get lost," She smiled at that, nodding as she walked out the door and I followed behind.

As we walked, I admired all the paintings that hung on the walls, hands carefully tucked behind me as I walked but as we turned a sharp corner, the maid that was guiding me stepped aside and unfortunately I wasn't paying any attention when I bumped right into someone.

"Oof,"

"Ouch,"

We both gasped out and just before I was given the chance to fall back, two arms snaked around my waist, pulling me up against a solid chest and when I looked straight, I only caught an adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here,"

I pulled my head up, leaning back slightly to catch the man's face and when I did, I smiled appreciatively, trying not to outright gape at his beauty.

"Thank you," I smiled, taking a step back as I bowed my head in thanks.

The said man hummed in reply, his caramel eyes travelling up and down my body before he stopped at my curious eyes.

"Who are you, miss? If you don't mind me asking," He asked.

"Alexandria," I carefully answered, the smile slowly dropping. "But call me Alexia," I added just as another friendly smile made it's way to his lips

"Well, Alexia. My name is Tobias Lockheart. It's lovely to meet you,"

With that, he moved back into a gentleman's bow, grabbing my white-gloved hand and landing his pink lips on my knuckles.