Obligations to House Batiste
POV: Lucien
I excused myself from Grand Pretre, determined to write to Alexandra and her parents. I had this rising need to solve this for them. I wasn’t sure if it was because Darren was my oldest friend or because I was in love with Alexandra. I met Malinus near the dais in the church, “I need to make my way back to the office quickly. Reginald and Talia need to be summoned to Vellum and I want to write to Alexandra.” Malinus looked confused by my haste, “Surely, Your Majesty, it isn’t that pressing.” I shook my head and placed my hands on my hips, “I learned something up there that would shake up the nobility if I confirmed the information she gave me.” Malinus caught up to me as I strode hastily towards the door, “And this concerns my cousin? Can you tell me?” I sighed, “I’m not sure.” Pretre Jean stepped out of the tea room and nodded at that moment. I waved and in a hushed voice I said, “Your family is full of twins, yes?” Malinus nodded, “All of us, yes. My twin brother, Marcel, is in the Citadel as a scribe there. You, of course, know about Talia and Talon. If he ever got married to Vanessa and they had children, they too would have twins.” I looked him in the eye, “Did you never question why Alexandra was an only child?” He shrugged, “I figured Reginald’s genetics had some influence on that. Why did you find Alexandra’s secret twin?” He laughed but the laughter faded when he saw the serious look on my face. His eyes widened, “Who are we thinking this secret twin is then?” I looked around to see if anyone was there and leaned in closer, “We believe it to be Meldon Maigny.”
Malinus nodded, “He certainly doesn’t look like a Maigny either. That would make sense.” We walked out to the carriage and climbed inside, Malinus told the driver that we were in a hurry. We were quickly on our way and I was enjoying the noise of the horse’s hooves on the cobblestone. Malinus suddenly spoke, “I cannot imagine what Talia would think about gaining back her twin brother and a son all in the same timespan.” I felt my heart twitch in my chest thinking the same thing about how Alexandra would feel, “My concern is for Alexandra.” Malinus chuckled, “Of course, it would be. How was she around the boy when they met? Were they mortal enemies?” I laughed, “Quite the opposite, they were thick as thieves. The ease with which they got along makes much more sense now that I think of it.” Malinus smiled, “I don’t think you need to worry about Alexandra then. She’s got the strength of her father in her, she will handle this well. Talia, on the other hand, is a very emotional person. I cannot imagine learning you have another child after all these years.” I looked over at his crestfallen face, “You may be right, which is why I don’t believe I should be the one to tell her. I will pull Reginald in for a chat when he returns to Vellum and he will be best suited to inform his wife.” Malinus nodded, “Yes, I believe that is the best plan of action.”
We finally found ourselves in front of the castle so we quickly left the carriage and made our way to the office. We found my mother pacing in front of it when we returned. I had not seen her yet since I got back from the retreat because she had gone away herself to Mesha to deal with a few things for the estate. She smiled upon seeing me, “Lucien, I’m glad to see you so refreshed. How was your trip?” I smiled back at her and gestured to Malinus to go ahead, “It was great but I’m afraid I will have to fill you in later as I have a few pressing needs.” She nodded, “Of course, son, we can discuss this during dinner.” I kissed her on the cheek, “Definitely. I will make time to sit with you afterward as well. We can discuss in-depth.” She walked on and I turned my focus back to getting into the office. I walked through the scribe area and Malinus popped up and followed me. He would usually do this when an official summons was required. He placed the paper with the official letterhead in front of me. He had already filled out the names and titles of Reginald and Talia. I signed it, gave it my official seal, and placed it in the envelope then handed it back to Malinus. He bowed, “I will send a Toxzi Rider to Terre right away. Darren should be able to get a hold of them from there.” He left the room and I was sitting in silence staring out the window towards Blackwood. I had wondered what she was doing at this exact moment. Malinus told me not to worry about her reaction to the revelation that Meldon was her brother but I cared too much to be so flippant about it. She had had a lot on her plate recently that I was concerned about piling on more for her. Nevertheless, I had to tell her with my own hands.
I pulled out a piece of paper and poured my heart out to her. I had to ease her fears about my loving her should she be chosen in the Queen competition to be my wife, that I would love her but she didn’t need to worry about loving me back. I needed her invested in the idea of becoming Queen, not only for our future together but for Vellum. I expressed this to her with all of my heart. It was time for me to write to her the hard subject that was on my mind that I wished I could find another way to break to her. I knew that a letter was really not sufficient, at least for me. I wanted to be there to hold her when she found out that she grew up without what would have been her closest family member. I expressed to her that she would need to keep what I had to say in this letter a secret from everyone. It was hard to ask that of her but I wanted to be the one to break the news to her without her breaking it to her parents. It was my duty to reconcile any disputes between the noble houses and this would be probably the biggest dispute of them all. I expressed what I had learned from Grand Pretre and how I had not confirmed it yet. I told her that if she needed to write back, that I would obviously welcome it and that I was always open to being an ear for her. I wouldn’t be able to be a physical ear but at least I could be with her in spirit and a letter away. I finished the letter with love and placed it in a plain envelope. I would need this one to be discreet as possible and I would ask Malinus to deliver it under the guise of visiting family.
As if on queue, he entered the room. He smiled, “The message is on its way to Blackwood Manor in Terre. I imagine Reginald will get the message from Darren right away.” I nodded, “Yes, I’m anxious to get this resolved so that we can get Meldon to his rightful place. I wonder what this will do to the question of who is inheriting the role within the nobility though. This would be a possibility of keeping Alexandra from her title of Duchess.” Malinus shrugged, “Would it matter if she were to be named Queen?” I tapped my pen on the desk, “Well, it would actually since, in Vellum, a woman can hold her title despite being married to the King. Remember, my mother gave hers to Blake once he came of age to take it. Since Meldon and Alexandra are both of age, either could take the title. It really is up to Reginald to choose which of his children will inherit once he dies or retires.” Malinus shook his head, “I don’t envy him that choice but he would have had to make it had Meldon been raised as a Batiste.”
I lifted the envelope that contained the letter to Alexandra, “I have an errand for you, it would be best to get it done soonest. I will also need to write to Blake but that can be done after you get back.” Malinus took the envelope with Alexandra’s name scrawled out on the front, he smirked, “Love letter to the lady of your dreams, Your Majesty?” I rolled my eyes, “If it was, that would be none of your business. I cannot believe my own scribe is poking fun at me over my interest in his own cousin.” He shrugged, “I figured I would put my poking in now before your light-hearted attitude you have about you goes away with the weight of Vellum dragging you down to grumpiness.” I waved my hand and chuckled, “Be gone before I decide to punish you.” Malinus walked out of the room and I rose from my seat at my desk. I checked the clock on the far end of the room, it was almost time for dinner. I made my way to the dining room where my mother was already waiting. He rose from her seat and smiled, “Hello my boy. Do you have time for me now?” I smiled back at her and strode up to her to kiss her on the cheek. I took my place at the head of the table, “Yes, mother.” She placed her napkin in her lap and crossed her ankles then folded them underneath her as she had been conditioned to do from birth. She smiled up at me, “So how did your trip go? It looks like you are quite relaxed but how about Alexandra.” I nodded, “She had a relaxing time. The waters there did her wonders.”
