In Search Of
POV: Alexandra
I had taken a visibly shaken Vanessa into the house and calmed her down after Dana proclaimed that my uncle had disappeared. My only hope was that he wasn’t kidnapped by The Order and brainwashed or cursed by them again. Many possibilities were running through my head and I had an internal panic attack. Outwardly, I was giving off a vibe of rationality but that was because I really didn’t want Vanessa any more panicked than she already was. She was likely running scenarios in her head as well and it did her no good to verbalize what I was thinking. Blake was standing behind me when he cleared his throat, “I hate to seem like the most rational one around here but I can help you find him. You forget that I have spies everywhere.” Vanessa looked at him, “If you can deploy them as quickly as possible, that would be great. I really hope that he wasn’t caught by The Order.” Blake reached into his pocket and pulled out the Mesha stone, “It’s me.” A voice came through, “Yes, Your Highness?” He spoke looking directly at Vanessa, “I need someone to find the whereabouts of Talon Esperanza.” The voice came back, “As you will it.” Blake put the stone back in his pocket and looked at me, “The operations commander’s instinct will be to contact the spy on The Order. We’ll know very shortly if he has been captured. In the meantime, why don’t we have something to eat?” He nodded at Dana who hesitantly looked at me, “Yes, Dana, we should have lunch. Could you put that together?” She curtsied, “As you will it, Your Grace.”
I looked at Vanessa who was staring at the basket in her hand, “I refuse to believe that he left on his own for so long. We had plans today and we have been getting along just as we had before.” I patted her hands, “I know Ness, we will find him.” We heard a buzzing noise in the room and Blake pulled the Mesha stone out of his pocket, “I am here. Speak.” The operations commander said, “He is not at The Order, I have sent a tracker out to Her Grace’s home. He should be there shortly.” Blake said, “Good. Thanks.” He put the stone back in his pocket, “At least we know that he is unharmed by The Order. Is this a relief to you Alexandra?” I sighed in relief at the news and nodded, “That was my biggest worry. I just hope we find him well.” He sat down at the table, “I will join the tracker just as soon as we are done eating. I hope you don’t mind the small delay.” Vanessa sighed, “I wouldn’t send anyone away that is helping me out on an empty stomach. I do ask that you do your best to find him quickly though. I think I speak for both myself and Alexandra.” A thought had occurred to me and I had to ask, “Vanessa, when did my mom leave?” She looked at me, “Yesterday afternoon. Why?” I scratched my temple then looked over at Blake, “I think he had intended to leave when he did. If that’s the case, he may not be in trouble but hiding. We have to remember that he’s been through something that I would deem tragic. Imagine being brainwashed to murder your own niece and other unspeakable out-of-character things.” Vanessa furrowed her brows, “He gave off an air that he was fine though.” Derek cleared his throat, “It’s the Citadel training. He would likely have a steely face but hide his true feelings underneath the surface. A good soldier always maintains an air of indifference, that is the first thing we are taught and this is reiterated throughout our service. He likely didn’t want to alarm anyone. Your Highness, may I accompany you?” Blake sighed, “I would but your duty is here with Alexandra. You need to keep her protected.”
Dana emerged from the kitchen with a tray full of sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade. She set them down, “I’m sorry it isn’t fancier, Your Grace. I figured time would be of the essence in this situation.” I smiled at her, “You read the room perfectly, Dana. Thank you for your expediency.” I thought to myself that I would need to reward Dana for her hard work and thoughtfulness when things settled down a bit. We all insisted that Blake take the first of the food so that he could leave quickly. I assured him that I would invite him over again for a luncheon once everything was settled and my uncle was back home. He quickly took his leave once the tracker showed up. I invited Vanessa to stay the night so that she could hear anything as we heard it. Blake had left us a Mesha stone that was in his communication circle. Blake and the tracker did not contact us all night so we were worried that whatever happened to Talon had happened to Blake. Derek was on the verge of riding out to the Citadel when we finally heard the stone buzz. I picked it up, “Hello?” Blake spoke on the other end, “Alexandra, sorry it took so long but we are still tracking him. I didn’t want to leave you in the dark and make you worry so I came back to let you know that I am well.” I sighed with relief, “Luckily, you got us just in time. Derek was about to send in the guard. We thought something might’ve happened to you.” He chuckled on the other end, “As you can hear, I am quite well.” I asked, “Do you know the vicinity of where he is?” There was a long pause at the other end of the line and then he spoke, “We do but I am trying to confirm his exact location.”
I remembered what Mordred had said about the magical tool and how it would need to be recharged within two days after I returned from my trip. I panicked, “Blake?” He asked, “Yes?” I started to tear up at the thought of my uncle freezing to death, “I am going to need to find him soon or he will die. I have to recharge his magical tool or he will grow cold and freeze. I suspect that is why The Order hasn’t bothered to get him back.” He spoke to his tracker, “Did you hear Her Grace?” The tracker spoke, “Yes, Your Highness. Please ensure The Batiste that we are very close to finding him. She needn’t worry about his well-being.” I spoke again, “You’ll need me to go to him once you find him. Is that okay?” Blake sighed, “I suppose there’s no stopping you once you get that idea into your head.” I laughed, “I care a great deal about that guy. I just don’t want him to be hurt, okay?” He laughed too, “Gotcha, I will contact you once we find him then I will make my way to Blackwood to escort you to him.” I nodded even though he couldn’t see me, “Sounds good, Blake. I appreciate you.” Then the stone stopped its glow to indicate that Blake had hung up. Was it hung up? Vellum communications were weird for me and I was wishing we had the same as in Terre. At least then, I could GPS locate where Blake was and go to them. It was frustrating having to wait by the stone when I could have gone and helped my uncle right away.
Another few hours had passed where we heard nothing and I was wondering if that tracker guy had lied to us about being close to finding him. Vanessa was with me in the study trying to read a book but kept closing it shut hard and pacing the room. I couldn’t blame her, if this curse was not on me and Lucien had disappeared, I probably would be doing the same thing. I tried to remember what it felt like to be in love and how I would act if it was threatening to get taken from me. I thought to myself that Vanessa and Talon’s story was different. They had been ripped apart before by a malicious scheme and she thought he was gone forever. I couldn’t possibly begin to know what she was going through this time. This was why I found it best to leave her to herself. Jess, on the other hand, had no such plans. She kept offering her a drink or a shoulder to cry on. Vanessa would just stare at her and curtly tell her, “No.” Seeing her this way, I knew then why it was that Vanessa and my mother were best friends. She didn’t have the same temper that my mother had but she did process her emotions very differently than the rest of us. I remembered what usually kept my mother calm when she had lost Talon the first time. I walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a book, “Vanessa, can I share something with you?” She looked up, tears forming in her eyes, “What?” I sat down in my chair, “I’m going to read to you a story that I wrote when I was younger.” She furrowed her brow, “No offense, Xan, but I don’t think I want to hear a story that a child wrote.” I raised my eyebrow at her and gave her the best Talia stare that I could. It must have been effective because she plopped down. I began, “There once was a young woman who was lost in the darkness but one day she met a man who brought her light.” I continued the story until the end and when I looked up Vanessa was asleep. Jess smiled at me, “That was an interesting story but I really don’t understand how that calmed her down.” I shrugged, “I have no idea either but I did this for my mother when she was grieving Talon and it seemed to work.
We sat in silence for a while watching Vanessa sleep and I had wondered if I would need to do this once again for both my mother and Vanessa if we didn’t find him in time. I was horrified that my brain went there and I shook the thought from my mind. I got up from my seat and took the book back to the shelf. I stretched up to place it and felt the buzz in my pocket. I hastily pulled it out, “Blake?” He sounded tired, “I found him. I’m on my way to get you.” I gasped, “How close are you?” He said, “Very. Please be ready for me and summon a carriage. I don’t want you walking in the open that far.” I nodded at Jess who ran out of the room. To my surprise, Vanessa was still passed out in the chair. I rang for Dana, “Have one of the men take her to a more comfortable place and make sure she has a jug of water by her bed. She’ll probably be thirsty when she wakes.” I ran out the door and luckily the coachman was getting ready to take the carriage out to pick up some things from Tarn so I was able to hop in the carriage. We rode a small way out of Blackwood until we came upon a visibly exhausted Blake. I helped him into the carriage, “Blake, you look so tired.” He leaned on me, “I haven’t slept since we left the retreat.” I sighed, “You didn’t need to overwork yourself.” He shook his head, “Talon is a hero to my family so this is what I could do to repay him. I already told your driver where we are going.” A while later the carriage came to a stop in a field. I looked out the window and saw the portal to Terre. I looked at Blake who cracked an exhausted smile, “He went to Terre. A place called Denver.”
