CHAPTER 12

ALEKS

The sun was high up in the sky when I finally woke up, a bit of a surprise really since it was snowing ...yesterday? I realized then that I had no idea what time or what day it was. The month and the year were also distorted in my mind. Adrie and Lenny's spots on the gigantic bed were cold and I panicked for a bit, all sorts of horrors running through my mind. The memory of Leukas' dashing smile, aimed at my daughter put my mind at ease a bit and I took a breath. I looked around the well lit room that had large windows and overlooked a garden. It was even more gorgeous with when as I saw it with a well-rested mind. Aside from the large bed and the door to the bathroom and another one which led inside a closet, the room was refreshingly bare and spacious. There was a leather couch at the other end of the room, near a white dressing table and on top of the couch were stuffies, cushions and a large box of chocolates. I couldn't help but smile at the gesture.

A glance at the bedside table showed a large digital tablet like device which showcased the time- three pm-, the date- twenty fifth of November, four days after the kidnapping-, and the day- Sunday-. I let out a yawn feeling surprisingly well rested before I dragged myself to the fanciest white and gold themed bathroom I'd ever seen. I kept my waterfall shower short and quick since a part of me wanted to see my kids. Wanted to make sure they were fine.

A short investigation that followed revealed that the clothes in the bags which had contained all our stuff had been re-laundered and packed into the closet at some point. The thought that someone had gone through my stuff and had managed to do it all while I slept was disconcerting but I reminded myself that the kids had probably needed clothes to wear and I had been the one to oversleep in a house that wasn't mine. Surprisingly the justifications worked and I went on to choose my clothes for the day. The day of reckoning.

I wasn't sure of the cultures or the rules when you were a guest of royalty of an unknown country like I clearly was, so I took the safest route and wore a plain black wrap-dress and matching knee high boots. I used the dresser mirror to look myself over as I brushed down my straight hair. I noticed how long it had gotten, it was almost waist-length, and smiled a bit, I liked it that way. I decided to tie it into a neat ponytail. I spent another minute looking at my reflection and applying lotion on my hands and face, wondering if I should find some lipstick or change up my stud earrings for my diamond hoop ones which Lander had forced on me years ago. I had never worn them because I hated taking more from Lander than I already had, but I loved them and I tended to carry them everywhere and for the first time ever, I was actually considering wearing them. To look prettier. To be more attractive. To maybe fit into the splendor and the glory which surrounded me in the mansion-palace I found myself in. To maybe look more appealing to Leukas. I realized then that I hadn't really looked at myself in the mirror for years. The woman in front of me was a stranger to me.

I recalled a time when I would spend hours obsessing over my hair, fixing my lashes and laughing with Sam as she teased me about 'dolling' myself up for Leukas. I had been so free then, so happy. I would throw countless outfits on my bed, model them to an amused Sam and look at my smiling self in admiration. I'd seen how beautiful and attractive I was then. I had twirled in front of the mirror, my assassin persona forgotten, and try to guess how Leukas would react to the short dress I was wearing. I'd known how much my legs drove him crazy then. I'd known he was an ass man too. Later I would find out my breasts short-circuited his whole brain, and I was so shameless that sometimes when we were alone, I would wear my thinnest t-shirt without a bra and the shortest skirt I could find. I would bend over and brush against him and subtly spread my legs until he begged for messy. He would finally come behind me and pull me against him, his hardness digging into my back. His groan would empower me. "Fuck baby, enough please. Let me taste. Just a bit. Fuck Aleks, just the tip." I would push him away and laugh before going home to my own devices. I loved the games we played.

I would laugh as Sam sighed and raved about me, telling me how jealous she was of my looks and my effortless beauty; she hadn't known about my two hour daily working out regimes and my monthly fitness camps. I was so carefree in those moment, so eager to go out and seduce Luk. That Aleksander was gone forever. For one thing, I had legally and discreetly changed my name to Aleksander only, and there had been no Luk to seduce or Sam to talk to in seven years. My looks had been the least of my problems. I'd been running a bakery that Lander had bought in the children's names, taking care of the kids, going to school events, cooking for my family, shopping, and spending as much time with my kids as I could all the while trying to stay as low and as hidden from everyone else as I possibly could. I didn't use any of my official documentation, I bought everything in cash, I made sure that I had no close relations with anyone, not even my workers in the bakery. I tried not to isolate my kids by letting them go to school, Lander pulled some strings so I didn't have to give out any of my information, and I tried hard to give them the normal life I never had. My personal happiness and fulfilment and sexuality had been the least of my worries.

But I could see myself then. In front of the mirror I saw a twenty-eight year olds woman who had grown to become even more beautiful than she was seven years ago. Her hair was darker and longer. Her body was even more feminine because she hadn't been doing intense training for years, she had put her life of fighting and gore to become her mother. Her stomach which had had abs or ab lines for as long as she could remember was flat and toned then, and her legs where less muscular. Her hips where a little wider, and her breasts where a bit bigger. Her eyes and her nose and her ears hadn't changed though. They were still delicate and fit her face perfectly. Her fingers were long and bare and her nails were adorned with a glittery polish that Lenny had painted perfectly on her. The woman was me and I really liked what I saw in the mirror. A knock interrupted my musings.