Amused

"Can I join you?" Jakob asked, yet he sat down without confirmation.

It was early morning, or at least right before sunrise when light slowly seeped into the sky and brightness filled the earth. Alicia had woken up groggy in her royal chambers and was currently sitting by the balcony, facing towards the entire kingdom. She saw when the first of the citizens of Alfairia got up in the morning, or left their homes to get to work. She saw, or rather heard when the gates of Alfairia where opened as the curfew came to an end, and she saw when farmers workers went to tend lands. It was all peace and quiet, but that's until Jakob, Advisor Phillps' annoying nephew came.

"I brought coffee." He continued.

She quickly forgave his intrusion

She took a sip of coffee, before she suddenly noticed that he was still looking at her. With a scowl, she asked "What do you want?"

"A large display of gratitude or a declaration of love." He stated bluntly.

"Get the fu--"

"-- But a simple thanks will do." He said looking at her expectantly.

He stared at her until she finally cracked. 

"Oh gee, thank you, Phillips." She said, her voice with dripping with sarcasm.

"Did anyone mention how absolutely rude you are?"

"No, they didn't. But tell me, what brings you to my rooms this morning and exactly what part of that seems appropriate?"

He shrugged, eyelashes glittering in the rising sun as he glanced at the world before him. "Your lady-in-waiting let me in. She's not too happy about you making your own bed by the way."

"Normal people make their own beds," she, too, said with a shrug. "Hey where'd you get this coffee? Don't people here drink tea only? Gosh, this place is so medieval."

"Well, first of all, normal people make their beds and royals do not. So stop that. Secondly, it's the two thousand and seventeenth year of our Lord, sweetheart. We may be behind, but we're not that behind with the times. Also, to answer your question; no, we do not drink coffee; it's disgusting."

For a long time, Alicia looked at the young man, his features just so similar to his uncle's, and smiled wryly. Though he looked like him, Jakob had more sass and guts than Advisor Phillips could ever possess.

"You're such an ass," she said. "I think I like you. That's why I never chase you from my chambers."

He grinned.

"Well if being a donkey makes you feel better about me, then so be it." He said before she shushed him with a look and told him sit down and shut the hell up.

And he did.

But only for a few minutes. "So how is the husband/King search going? It has been a year, has it not?"

"I'm not looking for a husband, so you can get that out of your head right now. Besides that is none of your concern."

"Well, my dear. It is my concern as your future husband and as the King of Alfairia. I need to know how well you're failing."

She immediately thought of her study date with Reuben and scowled. He smiled and said with feign innocence "Not too good, I see. Well that's good news for me."

"And your aunt." She added.

"And my aunt." He agreed. "Why does Her Majesty dislike her so much anyway?"

"You know how she's like; power hungry, scheming, manipulative. She's your aunt, you know her better."

"But if the sight of her simply makes your blood boil, why don't you simply get rid of her?" He asked, slightly confused.

"I like how you think but I can't. I need your Uncle. I can't do this whole running the kingdom thing by myself as much as I hate to admit. Maybe I should poison her dish to just kill her off and make him stay?" She said, seriously.

"That," he said flatly " is not funny. Not amusing at all."

She smiled darkly with her eyes down to her coffee and quietly said. "I know, "

Alicia stood up and turned to him.

"But if I'm gonna be a killer. I might as well make it worth it, right?"

"But Alicia, it's not your--"

She held up a hand, silencing him.

"I don't want to talk about it. " she said, curtly.

He shrugged regretfully and stood, smoothing over his crisp white peasant shirt. "Breakfast then? In the dinning hall with the rest of the royals?"

"Do I have to?" She asked reluctantly.

"I know not. You are the queen. You tell me."

"Will---"

"Yes, my aunt Mavis will be there. She is a Lady, remember?"

Alicia grumbled unintelligibly.

"Fine. Am I good to go?" She said, gesturing at her sweatpants and sweatshirt.

"Um, no. Do wear something more...."

"Girly?"

"I was going to say queenly." He said, graciously.

She smiled approvingly.

"I'm glad we're on the same page."

It was crazy, but Jakob always made Alicia feel better about her situation in his no-nonsense way of speaking, his lack of humor, his dryness and his straight-talk. He always made her think of Lucian somehow and that made her upset and happy; upset, because she didn't need to think of him right now and happy because like Rocky, he was a person she didn't have to apologize to whenever she spoke her mind. Also, it helped that he wanted to be her king-consort so much that he made her want to believe that she was every bit a queen as it gets, despite her past, her mistakes, her (smoking) addictions and her abrasive nature. Jakob, in some twisted way, believed in her abilities as a ruler and monarch of the kingdom and that, in her eyes, made him an ally. Her only friend in the world. She'd never admit it though.

Would it make him suit for a king?

~~~~~ 

Thanks for reading.
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