Heart of Darkness

Alexander’s grandma was the epitome of beauty. It shouldn’t be surprising. He must have inherited his looks which now made her wonder what his parents looked like. A whole family of rare jewels?

She did notice that demons had good looks. Lord Rayven would be considered very handsome, Lord Quintus was probably already using his looks to use his other manly tools, and Lord Valos looked like a rich handsome aristocrat. But Alexander and his grandmother were something else entirely.

Roxana watched her fascinated and a little nervous as she came with a tray and served them tea. Alexander gave her a certain look after staring at the cup. He didn’t want her to drink it.

Well, they could not build trust this way so she picked up her cup. Alexander frowned and she gave him a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. It is not poisoned.” His grandma told him, coldly.

Roxana took a sip without hesitance while thinking back on what Alexander told her. She could see why he wasn’t fond of his grandmother. She was strangely detached.

A part of Roxana wanted to scold her. How could she have not visited her grandson once in five hundred years? How could she have left him alone right after he lost his parents and even made him feel bad about it? What kind of grandparent was she? Now, thinking of it she slowly became angry and had to remind herself that she was here to mend their relationship, not scold anyone or fight.

“I have arranged a room for you.” His grandma said.

Roxana blinked confused. They hadn’t even talked about anything else yet and she was talking about staying with her? Roxana wasn’t even sure she wanted to.

“She isn’t staying here. Roxana wanted to meet you and that is the only reason I brought her here.” Alexander told her.

His grandma shook her head at him. “I am trying to help you.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Alright.” Roxana smiled, putting down her cup. “I would love to stay here for a few days. I am currently staying with a friend. Perhaps after.”_.

She knew she would have to talk to Alexander first.

The grandma turned to her. “I hope your friend’s place is a safe place.”

“It is.” She smiled.

“Well, as long as you are safe, I have no problem.”

What a strange way to phrase it, Roxana thought. Maybe she would never get along with this woman. There was just something about her that was annoying her.

“You two should just stay and live here.” She spoke to Alexander.

It was the way she talked, as if ordering him and expecting him to listen.

“Let’s go, Roxana,” he said standing up.

Roxana looked up at Alexander and then at his grandmother. She picked up her cup of tea with a shake of her head. Roxana felt heartbroken by this.

She stood up to leave but then she couldn’t help herself to say something. “Grandma. You are meeting your grandchild after five hundred years, don’t you wish to hug him?”

His grandma looked up and Alexander grabbed her arm, shaking his head. “Let’s go!” he told her finding this useless but Roxana felt like she couldn’t just give up.

“Perhaps you have very good reasons for not visiting him all this time but your grandson has been all alone. He had no parents, or grandparents or siblings, or anyone to support him. He did not even have himself for full support since a part of him was missing.”

She slightly pushed Alexander away feeling a bit heated by all of this.

“He lived in guilt and sorrow. In confusion and in apathy as a result of not being complete and he was punished for it. A little warmth and care can change someone’s life completely. That is how I managed to survive and be happy despite having been separated from my parents. I found out that my father passed away recently.” Tears burned in her eyes.

“It is painful to lose a parent and I can’t imagine how painful it is to lose a child. But your grandson is here and he is a good man. Where I come from, grandchildren often represent a second chance and grandparents are the family’s treasure. I wish for you to have it.” Roxana said with a smile.

His grandma’s face didn’t look as cold as before. Now she looked a bit confused and a frown settled between her eyebrows.

Roxana curtsied. “Thank you for the tea.” She said then took Alexander’s hand to leave. She didn’t realize she was walking fast and dragging him with tears streaming down her face until he stopped her.

“Roxana.”

She looked around and wondered where she was even taking them.

Alexander looked at her worried and pulled her close. He took her face between his hands and wiped her tears. “Don’t upset yourself over this. I have you now. I don’t need anyone else.”

“I ruined everything.” She breathed.

“No. You did not.”

She couldn’t help but continue to be upset. She took a deep breath to calm down. Alexander drew her into his arms and hugged her.

“You miss your parents,” he said stroking her hair.

She did. She didn’t want to judge his grandmother. Perhaps living that long and being a demon made things different, but she had worked so hard to find her parents. How could people break relationships so easily? How could people ignore a loved one in pain? She really hoped the grandma had good reasons and that she would change her mind.

“I need to go to work. Will you be alright?” He asked her.

“I’ll come with you.”

She expected him to protest but he didn’t. He allowed her to change into her man clothes and then took them to the castle. She looked at him with a frown before deciding to go pick up her weapon.

“You agreed to easily,” she said.

“Well, I just missed Rox.” He smirked. “I am sure you heard the rumors that I have a thing for boys.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Yes, admiration.” She corrected as she took notice of Lord Amore and Lord Quintus coming toward them.

“You are late, your Majesty,” Lord Quintus said as they neared. “And someone is having female emotions called mood swings.” He nodded toward Lord Amore beside him who looked a bit annoyed.

Female emotions? Mood swings?

“There is a female here,” Alexander reminded.

“Oh,” He turned to her. “Rox is among us. Remember when he educated us on how to please a woman?”

Roxana wished to punch him.

“Oh no. That was not for you, My Lord. You could possibly not lack education on how females function. It is your specialty.”

“How did you know?” He said sarcastically.

“Well, when everyone in town has seen your manly tools and half of them have tested it,” she shrugged. “It is nothing new.”

Both Alexander and Lord Amore looked at each other while they held back their laughter. Lord Quintus shook his head. “You and I are like twins, Rox. You will see eventually but I am on your side.”

“That is very kind of you,” she smiled.

He reminded her of Fanny, somehow. The way he spoke and behaved. He dressed lavishly as if he woke up and thought, let’s show off my wealth. He just needed a fan in his hand and he would look haughty. Thankfully, he didn’t speak that way but she felt like she could certainly ask him about the latest fashion and for advice on how to dress.

“I need to go back to work,” She said and excused herself.

******

“I like her,” Vitale said.

“Now you do when you were the one against her staying here,” Zarus said.

“I still am. Look what she is causing. This man is late.”

“Well, I still have other things to attend. Lazarus, you take over.” Skender said.

“What?…Wait!”

Skender vanished to find Lucrezia. Once he arrived at the cave he waited for her.

“Skender,” She beamed when appeared. Why was she happy? “How was your meeting with your grandma?”

“Not good. There might be a demon involved with the shades. An archdemon, staying hidden. Perhaps using the same methods as you are. I need to find him.”

She frowned. “I see. What are you suggesting exactly?”

“I am sure you have more resources than I do,” he told her. “And you are smart enough.”

“You realize I am not powerful enough?” She tilted her head.

“I do. You need me. You do the brain work, I will take care of the rest.”

She smiled. “Are you negotiating with me now?”

“Is it a bad offer?”

“No.” She smirked. “But we will have to work together in secret. There are people who won’t be happy about your newfound power, no matter what side.”

“You will have to disclose more information.” He told her. There were clearly many things he didn’t know and he couldn’t fight with a blindfold.

“Yes. There are some things you should know.”