Alex felt suffocated. She couldn't breath and all she wanted was out. Out of the nightmare and out of the chaos that was her life. She awoke with a start and JC was startled awake. "It's okay Alex," he said, putting his arms around her once more. "I'm right here. Nothing bad is going to happen to you." She shuddered slightly and snuggled up closer to him. "Lexi, do you want to tell me what you saw?" he asked gently. She didn't say anything for a few minutes. Finally she whispered, "Everyone was in pain, I could hear them. But I could only see you, laying there in agony. Then the picture shifted and...and it was Dain that was standing over you and I couldn't do a thing."
She began to shake with sobs. "It's okay Alex," he whispered into her hair. "Dain is gone and nothing is going to happen to me or you. I promise." She looked up at him into his sincere blue eyes. She leaned up and kissed him gently, needing some more assurance. Deepening the kiss, Alex forgot about her problems, only thinking about how she was safe in JC's arms.
Arianna and Chris opened the door, but stopped when they saw Alex and JC. They backed out and quietly closed the door. "I guess she's better," commented Chris. Arianna laughed and kissed him as they walked back down the hallway.
Alex sighed as she sat on her balcony, relieved to finally be out of the torn and ruined wedding dress. JC was reluctant to leave her alone, but she insisted. She stood up and walked back out into the hall where JC was waiting for her. She laughed and kissed him, always loving the feeling of his lips on hers. They walked down the hall and into the sunroom to see Roald, Cythera, Roy and Karen waiting for them. They sat on a couch facing them and glanced at each other nervously. "What do you have to say about this?" asked Roald, staring at JC almost refusing to look at Alex.
"All I have to say is that I love Alex and I don't know if I could live without telling her that before she was married." Roald looked over at Alex. "And what do you have to say?"
"That I love JC and I could never be happy if I wasn't with him." He watched them both closely, as if they were hiding something that they didn't want him to know. Waving his hand he said, "Leave us and we will talk to you later." Alex and JC left quickly, wanting to escape the tension in the room. They walked down to the royal garden, trying to forget the fact that both families would be discussing them at that moment.
Alex turned away from the bush that she was looking at to talk to JC. Her eyes grew wide and she pulled both of them down as an ax buried itself in the ground next to them. JC jumped up and grabbed the hands of their attacker, twisting them behind his back. Alex almost broke down when she saw Dain. The remainder of his operatives in the castle had set him free. He had come to kill JC and Alex, but she had seen him.
Guards ran out of the castle to them. They led Dain away and prepared to transport him to another kingdom where he could no longer harm them. JC went to Alex and she pulled him to her. "It's okay Lexi," he assured her. Things were just too much for her to deal with all at one time. She cried at the fact that she had almost lost him. He picked her up and carried her back into the castle, not lifting her face from his chest.
Roy stopped them as he carried her to her room. "What happened?"
"Dain tried to kill me, but she caught him in time."
"What?!" asked Roy with disbelief. "Well, at least he'll be gone for good, you have nothing to worry about now."
Alex didn't stop crying, so JC hugged her closer to him. He turned and walked down the hall and went into her room. He put her on the bed as she calmed down. "Lexi, as much as you don't want to hear this, I think that you need more rest." She shook her head. "I can't. I don't want to see anything more." JC sat down next to her. "If I promise to stay with you will you go to sleep?"
She looked over at him and slowly nodded. She laid back and he laid down next to her, putting his arm around her waist. He could feel the tension leave her as she calmed down. "My father will kill us if he finds us like this," she mumbled. "I don't really care," replied JC. They both fell asleep in each other's arms.
"I don't care, I need to talk to Alex," said Roald as he walked down the hall toward her room. He opened the door, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of the two of them asleep in the same bed.
While it was completely innocent, his anger began to rise. Alex seemed to whimper in her sleep with fear. He could see JC's arm tighten around her and she became quite once again. He softened when he saw the effect that they had on one another.
Closing the door behind him, he turned and walked back down the hall.
Nineteen