A Lover and A Liar

Easier This Way

Alina was in shock, she realized with a start. She could hear Vincent's words echo in her head over and over again, loud enough that it drowned any other noise coming from around the castle. Her hands―Max's hands―had started trembling, and so had the body she had invaded that felt foreign to her as the seconds passed by.

But all she could think about was the conversation she had just had with Vincent.

About an heir.

About an heir that they would use to take over the Kingdom.

Would they really assassinate Julian after that or had Alina gone to such extremes all by herself? Were there even extremes when it came to such man like Vincent? Perhaps he had millions of other plans she would never be able to figure out by herself. Perhaps there was really no way to defeat him, not when he had such power over Alina by threatened her grandmother's life.

Yet all she could think about was Julian. Would he sleep with her? Was he even making love with her while Alina could feel as just the thought suffocated her insides?

The realization hit her instantly. She had to stop this.

But just a step forward and she felt her head spinning, Maximus' mind almost fighting for its place as the spell started to weaken.

"You," Alina spoke to the first guard she saw on the hallway, something telling her he was under Vincent's orders. It wasn't strange to assume all this castle's wing was under his orders. "Send me to my room. I'm not feeling well."

The young guard gave him a strange look, but he didn't object. It was clear Maximus was the head of the guards around here.

She leaned one big arm on the man's shoulder for support as the walked through the hallways until they reached a corridor full of doors she supposed were the guards' rooms. The man lead her to one of the rooms, and she was thankful she didn't have to find it herself.

"Thank you. You can go now."

Alina didn't have time to look around the room. Her legs couldn't hold her upwards anymore; she knelt on the floor, the room spinning fast on her head for some long seconds, until it all stopped, turning dark.

The only thing she remembered was lying on the cold floor of the dark room.

***

Alina woke up with a loud gasp, only to look around and see that she was on her own room, and most importantly, her own body.

She got up from the floor and rushed to the mirror, letting out a deep breath of relief when she saw she was herself again.

Nothing had changed. 

Except it had. Everything had changed.

She opened the door and ran towards the stairs to the King's chambers as fast as she could. Her head kept spinning hard, and she could barely stand on her own feet, but somehow she found the strength to keep going.

Perhaps it wasn't too late. Alina prayed and prayed that it wasn't.

"I want to talk to the King," she told the two big guards that were standing at the sides of the door, keeping watch.

They narrowed their eyes at her, watching as she panted for breath. "You should turn back tomorrow, my Lady," one of guards spoke. "It's almost midnight."

"It's important," she insisted. "Let me talk to him." When they didn't leave her space to even knock, Alina tried to push their bodies away from the door. Which was completely impossible. She was too tiny compared to them. "Let me talk to him. Let me talk to him!"

She cried out when they held her back by grabbing on her arms, not strong, but strong enough to keep her from knocking. Alina desperately struggled to get free, tears prickling on her eyes. 

"Please, it's important!"

The door opened in front of her from inside, and a beautiful Julian in only a loose shirt and black pants, with a worried look on his face appeared in front of her.

"Julian." She let out a sigh of relief.

His eyes darkened when he realized their hands were on her body, keeping her back. "Do. Not. Touch. Her," he gritted, and the guards instantly let her go, bowing down and apologizing to him.

"Julian," she repeated almost pleadingly.

"Alina, what's going on?" he questioned, taking her in. All the mess that were her hair and her dress, but mostly the worry on her face.

"Julian, you should listen to me. It's important, please, you shouldn't―" Katherine coming into view behind Julian's back cut her off, her eyes opening wide in shock. Katherine's fingers were on the small golden buttons of her upper dress, keeping them together. Was Alina too late?

"What's wrong, Alina?" Katherine asked in a fake worried voice. "You look almost scared."

Her eyes met Julian's, and his were sad. As if he told her without words she should forget what happened between them just a few hours ago.

Alina could feel her heart shattering in a million tiny little pieces.

"We should talk," she told Julian, her voice weak. "Please."

Katherine warned her off with her eyes only, hate obviously written in them. "Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow. Right, my love?"

"Julian, it's important," she plead, in the verge of crying.

His eyes averted away guiltily. "It's the middle of the night, Alina. Katherine is right, whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow."

Alina barely blinked the tears back. She could feel it, her sanity, her hopes, him... everything sleeping like sand between her fingers. There was a sudden piercing ache on her head that darkened her vision for only half a second. "Julian―"

"Alina, stop," he whispered, but it was like he had yelled that at her face. He didn't have to say anything more for her to understand what had happened between them was eating him inside, so now, with Katherine on his room, he was just trying to ease that guilt. Grabbing on the handle of the door, he gave her a small helpless shrug. "You should go now."

She made only a step back, and slowly, it was Katherine that closed the door on her face.

Someone could have plunged a knife on her heart and it would have hurt less, she was sure of it.

"My Lady." One of the guards stepped forwards, and only then she realized she was about to fall right there on the floor.

"I'm alright." She stopped him from holding her with a move of her hand. She was far away from alright, but all she could do was try to walk away while keeping her eyes open, which was seeming to be more difficult as the seconds passed by.

The way back to her chambers was torturing. Tears after tears rolled down her face, and she didn't try to stop them even when the servants on night duty looked at her as if she had grown another head. Alina simply didn't care for anything else in the world right now.

He was going to sleep with her. If he hadn't already. And if she got pregnant, with a boy, it would be over.

And the worst was that she couldn't even put the blame on him. On anyone else but herself.

She was the one that had caused the man she loved to sleep with another. And she loved him. If Alina had tried to push those feelings away until now, now she knew for sure.

She loved Julian.

Not that it changed anything. He was compelled to love another.

Her knees couldn't hold her anymore. She fell on the floor, in the middle of the room, and throwing her head back, she let it all out. Everything she held inside, she let it out with her tears and her loud sobs until she had no strength to cry any longer.

Everything was getting darker around her, and when she felt something wetting her lips, she wiped it away with her fingers, only to realize it was blood instead of tears.

Her nose was bleeding. There was only an explanation to it: the spell she had used had been so strong, her body wasn't able to go through it properly.

But Alina didn't try to fight it. Instead, she let the darkness take over completely, until it invaded every sense on her body.

It was easier this way.