Nightly Lessons Book I: The Book of Beginnings

[Peeker]

Lunch was, Aleksandr found, one of his favorite from the old days - cold chicken, and a glass of port for himself - the imps had apparently decided to give Alice a treat, and, it appeared, one of the few bottles of soda that they kept in the house had been opened for her. Since cold chicken wasn't exactly to her taste, they'd heated up her portion. There was also a strangely delicate addition to the table. One of Aleksandr's favorite inventions of the last century - the potato chip - served in a crystal bowl piled high between their place settings.

It was just as well - food eased pain. Whether the imps had known it was a good day for it or not, they were both treated to a meal they could enjoy, and decompress over.

...the hour had helped Alek. He'd regained some of his faculties, and felt far more in control of himself. The box he summoned in a fit of pique from the attic was almost forgotten by the old vampire.

Aleksandr was sitting down, sipping his port when Alice entered. He smiled sadly at her. "...I'm sorry for my temper before, love. I didn't mean to frighten you. ...please... sit and eat with me."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

"Good afternoon Sire..." Alice bowed softly as she entered, her destress still clear around her, but she didn't dear voice it. "..I.. trust you've enjoyed the silences and spare time away from this one..."

She walked slowly in, Klo having been left in the kitchen to eat so that the meal would be a little more formal and 'cleaner'.

Taking a seat at the opposite end of the table rather then next to him as she normally did, she placed herself at the inferior end and gently lay her napkin over her lap and folded her hands waiting for Aleks to begin eating.

'Eyes down, Alice...' she reminded herself.

She was really trying to appease him the only way she could think of. Playing the part of a completely obedient fledgling and hoping his anger would pass.

[Peeker]

Aleksandr smiled a little. It was good to know that she felt as bad as he had before - he really was proud of his Alice. She was a good girl - and left alone to her own devices, she seemed to do as good of a job punishing herself as he did.

"The silence has been appreciated Miss Harker." Alek agreed, playing along with her game. "I have been able to calm myself down sufficiently."

With a snap of his fingers, Aleksandr - his placesetting, chair, and all, found themselves sitting next to Alice, instead of away from her, a reflection of their usual seating for a meal.

"You know, if you were doing this just because you wanted to, it would be very pleasant.... thank you for trying though dear. That was very thoughtful of you."

Aleksandr daintly picked up a potato chip, and bit into it. "Mm." He patted her shoulder, gently.

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice flinched at his touch and kept her eyes down cast and set about eating her meal very slowly, her stomach being upset from her worry. She still managed to keep it down but not without some difficulty.

'eyes down... back straight, hands n your lap when your not using them...' she kept calling back on the list of table educate that had been in her first book on courtly mannerism that she had gotten from Aleks after she had calmed down enough to listen. 'Don't speak unless spoken to...'

The air was painfully quiet between the two before Alice dared to say anything at all.

"Thank you for the meal, Sire." she rose from the chair to give him a small bow and waited for him to excuse her.

[Peeker]

Aleksandr finished his meal, summoning the imps to clear the table. He raised his eyes, carefully studying Alice. "You did very well, you know. Almost made it look easy, dear. That, you'd get with just a little practice."

The man knit his fingers together, and leaned forward on the table. "....beating yourself up is only going to make you feel sick again, Alice... and I'm not going to be excusing you from the table unless you can pull yourself together. You look fairly ready to explode, dear."

The man stood up, his chair shifting to the proper place on the other side of the table as he did so. "So come on. Talk to me. The truth, hm?" He pointedly added, even now, not willing to pretend he'd forgotten about the mistake that had started all of this tension in the girl.

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice stood silently for a good minute, she was blinking back her tears over how much she was already hurting inside from worry. She just wanted him to forgive her of a stupid choice to get a little extra affection from the normal everyday. Not that he wasn't affectionate, but it was nice getting it without lessons mixed in.

"I... I..." She looked horrified that her eyes were beginning to tear up and quickly rubbed them away. "I just..."

'Damn it stop crying!' She yelled at herself but it was too late, the tears were already running.

Looking up, Alice looked tearfully at Aleks,wanting to run to him and hold him for comfort but she wasn't sure if he was willing to give it to her right at that moment.

"I'm sorry," She finally cried. "Aleks I'm sorry."

[Peeker]

Aleksandr opened his arms, and wrapped them around the girl. "If you wanted me to stay with you, you could have asked, beloved, but you do need to get your work done...." He held her tight, rocking slightly. "I know you get scared sometimes, but... Alice.... Please... I just can't have you lying to me. I love you and I trust you. Lying is.... the very worst thing you can do to me...."

In saying that, Aleksandr realized he had, in a way, sealed Alice's fate. This... was not something he could let a few attempts at manners and some tears of guilt fix. He sighed heavily, gently resting his chin into her chestnut hair. "You know I love you, right, Alice?"

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice held him close, thankful for the comfort he was still offering her. Sometimes she honestly wondered how he could put up with her stupidity. she let out a series of 'I'm sorry's barely listening to anything he was saying to her. She had heard it before and she hadn't forgotten.

She sniffed sightly as she felt him release a heavy sigh from his chest and turned looked up at him, her eyes slightly red from her constant rubbing them.

"You know, I love you, right Alice?"

His words sounded heavy, as he was stressing the importantace it had that she knew and understood this. She nodded her head, knowing she wasn't going to end her day without at lest one red bottom for the day, but strangely it didn't matter this time.

"I know..." she answered meekly into his chest, her grip on him still stronger and fierce as if she was afraid he would suddenly push her away. "I know Aleks.... i love you too..."

[Peeker]

"I know." Aleksandr said. He realized she didn't want to let go, and stood there holding her.

The imps flew about, thankfully minding their own business, cleaning up the table and resetting the room for the next meal. Kapad swooped down, and, seeing Aleksandr, suddenly froze and vanished - apparently, whatever prank he'd planned to play on Alice, he'd be saving for another time.

The man held his fledgling until her grip relaxed, and then, gently softened his hold. She looked as though her entire being was racing - whether it was her thoughts or her heart, she was preparing for something. Alek's lips pursed into a smile. He could read her mind, yes, but sometimes, asking was more fun.

"...what are you thinking, Alice?"

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice tucked her head deeper into him, taking all the comfort she could for the moment.

".... How much trouble I'm in...." She whispered. she renewed her grip a little, still as tight but more comfortable for the two of them. "Sometime I wonder..."

She fell silent for a second and looked at Aleks nervously, her eyes showing all her worry. "... why you do put up with me. i mean, you always talk so fondly about Gabrielle and I keep screwing up... I'm just worried that you'll regret taking me in..."

She felt a little better telling him that bit of nervousness she had held inside herself every since Mikeal had taught her to dance, the two them discussing the past about Gabby. In a way, she felt like she couldn't measure up to the same image.