The Results
POV: Reginald
I shook Meldon’s hand, “Nice to meet you, Meldon. I assume you are here for the same reason we are.” He smiled and nodded, “Yep, I believe I don’t need to confirm based on what I feel in my gut. I held hands with Alexandra at one point and it felt like we had done so before like we did so in our mother’s womb.” He looked sympathetically at Talia who was quietly dabbing at her eyes with the tissue she held in her hand. The General strode out of his office which prompted Derek and Meldon to stand at attention. He looked at Talia and then me, “Your Graces, young Maigny, follow me. Chalshin, you will also come with me.” The four of us followed the General into a conference room where a young woman stood wearing gloves on her hands and various swabs sitting in front of her. She smiled at all of us, “Please be seated all. I will be conducting the test and with magic, we can confirm right away if you are the parents of Maigny.” She held up a swab and read the label on it, “Talia Batiste, please open your mouth and I will swab your cheek.” Talia opened her mouth and the young woman swabbed my wife’s cheek. She then walked the swab over to a tablet and rubbed it on a section of the tablet. She held up the next swab, “Reginald Batiste, please open your mouth and I will swab your cheek.” I opened my mouth and she did the same to me. It felt like she was trying to suck up all the moisture in my mouth. She rubbed the swab on another section of the tablet. She repeated the process with Meldon.
She smiled and held her hands up to the tablet and spoke, “ Revela veritatem tuam.” The tablet glowed blue and she picked it up to read what the results were. All of us in the room were waiting silently as she read the tablet. She looked at the General, “Sir, you said you need to talk to me about the results before we reveal it to all here?” The General nodded and rose from his seat at the head of the table, “Excuse me all, I need to verify the results and have them sent to His Majesty.” The two left the room and all of us looked at each other before Meldon cleared his throat, “So if it turns out that I am really a Batiste, would I go by a different name with you?” Talia sobbed off to the side and I spoke, “You’ll have to forgive her. The supposed loss of our son had taken a toll on her emotional state. It is never easy to lose a child for parents. To answer your question, you’d likely go by Ashton Batiste. That was what we intended to name you…that is if these results are confirmed.” He nodded, “I really don’t think I need the results honestly. I never was the greedy type like the rest of the Maignys and I felt an instant connection with Alexandra.” Talia wiped her face, “That’s what being a twin is like. You are connected to the one you shared a space with. She is your sister if you feel she is.”
The door opened and the General entered with some paperwork, “Your Grace, it looks like suspicions are confirmed with this test. Young Maigny is actually Young Batiste. Now we will need the consent of you, your wife, and your son to follow through with an investigation into how this happened. We can delay the questioning of events of that night out of respect for Her Grace. It cannot be easy to learn of a child being stolen from you upon his birth.” Talia nodded and smiled, “It hasn’t been but at least we know he is alive and well.” She smiled over at Ashton and he smiled back. Ashton spoke, “So I'm now Ashton Batiste then?” The General shook his head, “Officially you are still Meldon Maigny. Your parents need to fill out the birth paperwork for you and His Majesty has an official mission for you.” I looked at the General, “What mission would that be?” The General was hesitant to speak but finally said, “His Majesty suspects that perhaps the Maignys could be in The Order. He wants young Batiste to stay with the family until both investigations conclude. He will act as a spy within the household.” Talia reached over and squeezed my hand which compelled me to say, “All due respect to you and His Majesty but wouldn’t it have been best to discuss it with his parents first.” The General grunted, “His Majesty is thinking of your family in this. The Order is after your daughter after all.”
Ashton cleared his throat, “Can I say something?” Everyone looked at him and the General nodded, “I want to do this for Alexandra. She’s my sister and I want to help protect her and if this is the best way then I will do it.” Talia rose from her seat and walked over to Ashton and threw her arms around him, “I know I haven’t been in your life but I’m still your mother so I want you to be careful. If it gets too dangerous, you need to talk to the General to get you out. Right General?” Talia looked up at the General in a pointed manner that made him swallow hard, “Yes, Your Grace.” My wife could intimidate grown men who outmatched her in strength and power. The General then looked at me, “His Majesty would like the three of you at the castle to discuss the specifics. The Chalshin will need to rejoin The Batiste after her next class.” Talia sighed, “I believe they are coming out with the next to last Scribe rankings today. She’ll be anxious about it so make sure to be extra nice to her Derek.” Derek smiled, “Of course, Your Grace. If you all will excuse me then, I will need to leave now if I want to catch her.” Derek walked out of the room hastily. I rose from my seat, “Well if we have to go talk to His Majesty, I think we should head over to the castle then.” Ashton rose from his seat as well and helped Talia straighten up, “I agree, Father.” He offered his arm to Talia who graciously took it. We all three walked to the carriage and we were on our way to taking our short ride from the Citadel to the castle.
When the carriage pulled up the guard opened the door, “Your Graces, His Majesty is expecting the three of you. He is in the study downstairs. Please join him there.” Ashton climbed out first and then I did and we both helped Talia down. We made our way to the study and I knocked on the door when we arrived. Lucien firmly said, “Enter.” I opened the door and the three of us walked into the room. Lucien looked up at us and removed his glasses and waved at the table, “Please sit there and we can talk.” We did as he had asked and he took his place at the head of the table. He sighed, “So I’m assuming that the results confirmed what Grand Pretre said.” I nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty.” He looked down at his hands which were folded on top of the table, “So I am asking your family to sacrifice your son further, Your Grace. I know this is something that would be hard to do but something he said earlier today struck me so I need him for the mission that I have in mind.” Talia spoke this time, “We understand you want him to be a spy for you, Your Majesty.” He closed his eyes, “I’m sorry, Your Grace, but yes. I know this is a big ask of your family but it is in the interest of keeping Alexandra safe. The sooner we can root out the rot in the tree of the nobility the better.” Talia sighed, “I understand. Ashton has already expressed an interest in taking on this mission and I will fully support his decision. I imagine Reginald does too.” She looked at me and I nodded, “Yes, my wife is right, Your Majesty. He is an adult now so he can make his own decisions. He has expressed a desire to protect his sister and that is at the heart of what being a Batiste is. I can not tell him to go against his nature. That being said, I would like an assurance, Your Majesty.” Lucien smiled, “I would expect nothing less, Your Grace. What is it?” I looked over at Talia and then back at him, “If things get too dangerous for Ashton, you will need to let him out of the obligation.” He nodded, “Yes, I believe we can accommodate that. I will send the orders to the General to oblige your request.” Ashton then spoke again, “Your Majesty, with that all being said, I would like to ask your permission to let me take the lead on this investigation. I believe I know the direction this should go and I will do everything I can to make sure my sister, Alexandra, is safe.”
