House Of Madness

Chapter 25 Fairy Wine

Alice woke up before the sun, which meant it was pitch black outside.
After she went to her impressive wardrobe to get clothes she went to the bathroom.
Upon returning she found Nik loudinfg on her bed.
It had scared the shite out of her, "Jesus!"
Nik cracked a smile, "my clothes look good on you."
"These are yours?"
Nik's smile got bigger, "not in the way you think. I picked them out."
Alice breathed a sigh of relief, she had thought for a minute she was wearing Nik's actual clothes.
Nik leped from her bed, "the party is at eight, we have much to do until than. Follow me."
Alice didn't want to... but, "what party?"
Nik was walking a mile per minute facing away from her but Alice knew his smile had grown.
"The party tonight, the one I will officially be crowned king."
Alice felt herself stop walking, "and I have to go to this?"
'This can't be happening!' Alice thought, 'the one and only fae party I've been to was the Harvest and I don't want a repeat!'
"Well of course, it would look funny if the king didn't have a date."
"Date!" Alice squealed.
"Yes, every king needs a pretty thief on their arm."

"It's really not that hard."
Nik had thought it was important for Alice to learn how to protect herself.
After all, she would be a lamb going into a lions den tonight.
"Sorry, I haven't had a hundred years to practice!"
Alice wasn't wrong in her mock, Nik may have only be four years older than her but in reality he was actually one hundred and four years older than her.
"The fact you only think I've had one hundred years is insulting.
I've had training since I came into this world."
Alice rolled her eyes as Nik called, "again! What kind of spy can't defend herself?
None! I need a spy that knows basic self-deafense!"
They had been practicing for hours, Alice was exhausted.
"We're done for the day, your form is worse than it was and you haven't thrown a decent punch since an hour ago."
"Than why didn't we stop an hour ago?"
Nik smiled, "perseverance. A skill every spy needs, including a soon to be human spy that will work to deceive fae.
We'll have lunch than we will get you a dress."
"A dress?" Alice questioned having forgotten what tonight was.
"The ball, in other words a big party when I am celebrated as king."
Alice's eyes went big, "can't you find someone else? Anyone else?"
"Of course I could, any person would beg to be my date."
Alice breathed a sigh of relief, "good. It's decided than."
Nik laughed, "I could pick anyone which is why you should be flattered that I chose you."
"Choose someone else! I am to be your spy! Not your arm candy!"
Nik took a step towards Alice and moved a piece of her hair behind her ear.
Alice couldn't breathe, "what if in being my spy you have to be on my arm?"
Alice didn't hesitate, "I would refuse, I would hate that."
Nik brought his mouth to Alice's ear, "you're a liar.
You would love it, I would make sure you did."
It was clear as the clearest day that Nik hadn't been talking about Alice being on his arm anymore.
"In your dreams", Alice said with sparks dancing in her eyes.
"I have a gift of making my dreams a reality."

After lunch that consisted of soup with bread they went to a little shop.
"Bring out every dress you have", had been the exact words Nik had said to the sale lady.
She had bowed and said, "I'll make her look like a princess."
Nik's reply was instant, "make her look like a queen."
Alice felt like a doll, playing dress up.
She wanted to see Kit, Terrett and Nivens, her family.
She dreaded the moment when they would find out about her new deal with Nik.
"Come out, love." Nik called.
Alice was in a light pink satin dress that puffed out at the bottom.
Before the sale lady could say anything Nik called out, "next!"
A yellow dress, than a purple one, none of them were right.
Alice was done, "none of them are going to look good on me because none of them fit me!"
That was true, even though the dresses were all in the smallest size they were all too big on her.
"Don't worry love, I can hem it with magic."
Alice snapped, "don't call me 'love!'
"Pass", Nik said like she had asked him instead of demanded he stopped calling her that.
"I'll pick one", Nik had gotten up from the lilac chesterfield he had been sitting on.
He didn't acknowledge the plain sales woman when he got up, let alone for the last hour at her every attempt to flirt with him.
But he had acknowledged her now, "where is the rack of dresses, "I will pick one."
Nik ignored Alice, and followed the woman to the dress rack.
Alice told herself no matter what the dress looked like she would hate it.
She couldn't have Nik's ego any bigger and if he ended up finding her a dress that's exactly what would happen.
'Besides, he's old.
He'll probably pick something really conservative and dated.'
Boy was she wrong, "what the fuck is that!"
Alice yelled at the dress Nik was holding.
Dress was a very generous term, it was just a scrap of black fabric.
"Try it on", Nik said with a wicked smile.
"No."
Alice wanted to blend in as much as possible.
It was bad enough everyone would be looking since she was Nik's date, she didn't need to draw more attention to her.
Which is exactly what would happen if she wore the dress in Nik's hand.
Nik's smile dropped, "is there something wrong with the dress?"
There wasn't, not really.
Alice had seen the way men looked at her, she wasn't blind.
Victor in particular had seen her in way no man should see a child.
The real reason Alice didn't want to wear the dress was because she didn't want men to look at her like that.
Even as a sickly child men always looked.
If she wore that dress it would only give them an excuse.
"No one will touch you", Nik had hit the nail on the head.
He could always read Alice, he knew he was right that she feared male attention and he couldn't blame her.
Men were fucking awful.
"I swear to you no one will touch you."
Alice thought she was being stupid and paranoid but that hadn't stopped her panic words, "what about when I'm working?"
"I will always have eyes on you, I always do. If anyone touches you it will be the last thing they do."
Alice was pathetic, she didn't want a protector.
Least of all from the psychopath that murdered his own guards and threatened to kill Ari but she allowed herself comfort in that moment.
"Try on the dress", Alice took the dress and went back to the changing room.
It hadn't fit like a glove, it was still a little big.
Particularly in the boob area, 'just another reminder that I'm flat.'
It was too embarrassing, 'all the cut-outs in this dress just showed what I'm missing.'
"Come out, love. I won't bite... yet."
Alice's heart was beating really fast, she needed to think of a way out of this.
This had been about to tell Nik that it ripped and the dress was unwearable but before she could he open the changing room curtain.
Nik was at a lost for words, for the first time in his life he had let himself look at her as a woman.
A beautiful stunning woman, "this is the dress."
Alice couldn't believe her ears, "it doesn't fit!"
Nik cleared his throat, it fits all right."
Alice had tried to close the curtain but ended up failing since Nik had grabbed her.
Nik started firing off every fashion spell he knew, the dress took Alice's shape almost immediately.
The dress had chosen Alice just as much as Nik had chosen the dress.
When Nik was done, the dress fit Alice perfectly.
Alice looked in the dressing room mirror and for the first time Alice hadn't seen a scared little girl.
She saw a woman.
A beautiful tall woman in a black satin dress with a slit to show off her leg and a slit down the middle of her dress.
The slit down the centre of the dress that accentuated what she had.
"We better get it before Kit takes it for herself", "I wouldn't dream of it."
Alice turned around and saw Kit, she ran full speed at her.
"Watch the dress!" Kit lectured.
"How? What are you doing here?"
"You're not the only one in need of a dress for the ball tonight."
"So you're going?!"
"Well of course", Kit said with her signature Cheshire smile.
"Zade tell Alice she looks beautiful in this dress."
Zade came into the shop with a small smile on his face, "you look good", he wasn't looking at Alice when he said it.
"Stop facing me dumbass! Face her", Kit said to Zade with a scowl.
"I don't think I will", Zade said with fire lighting his eyes.
"Where's Grave?"
He had been staying with Kit much to Zade's dislike.
"He's around here somewhere-"
"Because heaven for bid, we couldn't leave the bastard at home", Zade said with a growl.
"You would miss me too much", Grave Fletcher said with an enormous smile.
He examined Alice from head to toe, "you look wonderful.
That's not saying much since you always do."
Nik growled a low growl and it only made Grave's smile grow.
"Alice and I have matters to attend to. I would say it was nice to see you lot but that would be a lie."
"Niki you always were a funny one", Kit said with that same smile that made everyone smile.
"Niki?" Zade mouthed to Alice, which made her laugh.
"We'll see you tonight. I would advise you not to get help from the sales lady.
She is utterly useless at her job."
She most definitely heard that.
"Duly noted and Nik?"
"Yes Kit?"
"If you harm one little hair on Alice's head I will cut off your dick and feed it to a demon fae. Don't look at me like that Alice, demon fae eat anything."
Nik didn't say anything as he grabbed Alice's hand and left the shop.