Chapter 3

This time, Alexis wasn't in a large European style bedroom, but a small room that was connected to another huge bedroom, separated by a small door.

She recalled how luxurious that huge bedroom was and again wondered just where she was. It wasn't like anything she's seen before. She couldn't assume she went back in time because the quality of some the stuff she saw was amazing. 

This room seemed to be more of an office space, not loaded with papers or possible scrolls but clean, tidy and definitely well kept.

Alexis was roughly placed on a wooden chair before a large glossy desk, directly in-front of her was a view  of the blue sky through a smaller window compared to the last rooms, but the golden linings across the window made it clear to her, that this room, despite being small was well invested into. 

It must be an important place.

"It's my private study," her kidnapper seemed to answer her inquiring gaze. His red eyes gave her a stare she couldn't yet distinguish.

Alexis didn't bother replying to him. She didn't ask, but no matter how she looked at it this was man was an important person. The red cape draped around him, it looked to be velvet, but the way it shined in the sun made it hard to know, and then there was the gold jewelled crown that sat atop his head. The way they gleamed made it obvious of their genuineness. 

But regardless of his attire, he held a sense of authority around him. Even his stare was intimidating and every move he made kept Alexis on edge.

"Who are you?" Her lips quivered, she couldn't help but fear she got herself into a sticky situation. One that might be hard to escape.

"Who do you think?" He seemed quite irritated, that she hadn't realised sooner as he gracefully sat in the majestic chair on the other side of the desk.

"A nut".

He glowered back at her.

"How dare you, call me, Alastair-" he started his familiar rant only to be cut off by Alexis.

"Yeah, Yeah I know" she cut him off while rolling her eyes.

"Impudent girl" he cursed out loud and then spoke again, this time answering her question, "I'm an important member of the Kaedmen family, the Emperor of the Empire."

'So he was a nut' but despite her thoughts a smile traced her lips as she thought she might as well play along to her strange dream.

'No. I know what this is. I must have actually fallen from the window and this is what's happening to my brain right before it bleeds out. Gruesome', coming to her own conclusion she just played along.

"Well... why did you drag me here?" Alexis asked to the intimidating man who continued to glower at her as if daring her to say something again.

"So you actually have the brain to ask" his condescending voice back again, poking at her ego. "I've bought you here because as I said 'before' we came here, to my castle, I need your help with something."

'He did say something like that, but after that whole falling thing I completely forgot.' Alexis shook her head. The one thing she remembered was his awfully long name. She grimaced.

"With what? You look like you've got everything." She gestured to the extravagant surroundings. She couldn't think of anything he didn't have except maybe a decent personality.

"I do and it would be lowly of you to assume otherwise-" 

"But I didn't!" Her words of defence were just ignored as the Emperor carried on.

"Like I was saying, I have just one thing that you are supposed to change." His pride was at risk and he made it explicitly obvious.

"Why me?" Alexis wanted to question how far ahead the dream man might have thought. If he was just a figment of her imagination she assumed he wouldn't be able to answer, but contrary to her thought his lips opened and he spoke.

"Because you were the only brown haired, brown eyed person I saw about to commit suicide in that lousy world!" He was clearly fed up with her interruptions, "I've never met such a rude plebeian in my entire life!" His eyes might as well pope out their sockets with all the glaring he's done today.

"Did you even see any other people?" Alexis sceptically furrowed a brow.

The king ignored her and opened a cupboard in his desk. He reached out and pulled out a plain paper, placing it between them on the desk.

It had strange letters at the top and the rest was plain. The letters at the top glowed momentarily before they settled for a gold hue'd dark colour.

"I need you to improve the public's view of me." He spoke sullenly as if he wished he had never in his life had to speak such words.

"The public's view?" She thought of people similar to him in her own world and gasped. "Are you a tyrant?!" She almost fell over backwards in her chair, but managed to steady herself with the desk.

"How dare you!-" he started and again she cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah I know" she waved off his words uncaringly.

"If you weren't someone I needed so much I would have you beheaded through the oldest and most blunt knifed guillotine we have..." he muttered. His fists were now completely white, different to his already fair skin colour. 

"Scary..." Alexis shivered a little, but then again she was already dead, wasn't she?

"It will be." He narrowed his eyes as if he imagined the scene. 

"So why might people fear you, even though you're an Emperor and all" she drawled lazily wondering when this dream would become more interesting. 

She noticed a blue bird fly behind the Emperor and glanced at its colourful beak. It was a dark blue, almost navy and it seemed to glare at her. 

A silence loomed over them. It was heavy and most people would quickly say something like, 'you don't need to answer that if it's too personal', Alexis almost did as well, until she remembered this was a dream person. Not someone with actual feelings.

And so, she waited.