Discovery
POV: Lucien
I stared at the book Darren had just handed to me wondering just what it was that I was going to find out about Loki within. I looked up at him, “Is it something we can use to lift Alexandra’s curse?” He shrugged, “Who knows? It could help but it could very well make things worse. I think it depends on what you find out and how you think you should use it. I will say that whatever you find in there, you might speak with Grand Pretre and Mordred about it. It could help them in a way to figure out how to lift this wretched curse from my granddaughter.” I nodded, “Okay, thanks, Darren. I will give it a read as soon as I leave here. I’ll return it after I am done.” I tucked the book onto my lap and he shook his head, “You can keep that one. I have another copy. I bought this one in town today so that I can give that to you. You never know when you’ll need information on the Gods.” I smiled, “Very well. How are you otherwise, Darren?” He smiled, “Oh I couldn’t really complain. I am retired so I don’t have any worries and most of my family is well. I just need my grandchildren to be where they need to be and happy. For now, I just have to hope that Alexandra can be curse free and that Ashton can come back to his family. I have to thank you for bringing him to us again, Lucien.”
A knock sounded in the room, Darren shouted, “Come in!” Alexandra poked her head through the door, looked at me, and smiled, “There you are. I might’ve known my grandfather would bring you into his lair to plot devious plans.” Darren laughed, “I could never. I’m gentle as a kitten, little rose.” She laughed, “It’s always the quiet ones Gramps, You’re probably hanging back and plotting the demise of the world.” Jess shouted from the other side of the door, “That’s rather insulting to all of us quiet people, Xan. How dare you?!” She laughed and walked into the room, “You all know I love to poke fun of you sometimes.” I smiled at her, “I hardly think if anyone was plotting to destroy the world, Darren would be the last one anyone would think did it.” She tapped her temple, “And that is precisely why he would get away with it. That being said, you are so right. Gramps is the most gentle person I know and wouldn’t harm a fly.” She walked further into the room and sat next to me. Jess also walked over to the area where we were sitting but opted to stand.
Alexandra turned to me and smiled, “What do we owe the honor of having the King of Vellum in our humble abode.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the two envelopes and handed them to each woman, “These are the invitations to the reception of the envoys.” Alexandra looked down at the envelope in her hand and furrowed her brows. I reached my hand over to her and patted the hand that was holding the envelope, “You needn’t fret, Xan. The Queen of the Seely Realm has decided not to send an envoy representing the King.” She sighed with relief, “Oh thank the Gods, I really didn’t want to do that greeting. It doesn’t seem very decent.” I nodded, “I agree, I was thinking about canceling the event altogether.” Jess also sighed in relief, “I am grateful that you thought of us, Lucien. I really didn’t want to do that greeting but I didn’t want punishment from the Seely Realm.” I shook my head, “Who made you think that you would be punished by the Seely Realm?” Jess looked at Alexandra then Alexandra looked at me, “My mother said it was possible.” I sighed, “Likely it is because your mother hasn’t interacted with them in a while, the possibility of a Vellum Realm resident being punished by the court is not a thing anymore. We came to this agreement that punishment for insulting a member of either court would be handled by the monarchy of the realm the resident is from. Ultimately, if you insult the envoys during this reception, your punishment would be up to me. Unfortunately, this would also have to be discussed with the Elder Council since they are somewhat overseeing this competition. I believe the ground rules are that it would be immediate dismissal from the competition and additional punishment to be discussed amongst the competition council and myself.”
Alexandra leaned back in her seat, “Well, we just need to make sure we don’t insult anyone then. I’m hoping it won’t be hard to get through this reception without doing so.” I smiled at her, “I doubt this will be hard for either of you. You both turn on the charm in these situations and the fae love charm. Just remember your etiquette and a few other small nuances and you will not have any issues. If you have any questions, ask Her Grace or you can write to me and I will do my best to write back to you in a quick turnaround time.” Both of the women smiled and looked relieved, Jess spoke, “Not that I necessarily want to win this one but I also don’t want to be punished. It would be one thing if it was just you handing out the punishment but it is quite another to have the council consider it. Alexandra might now know this but they tend to be rather harsh.” Alexandra winced, “I can imagine especially if you pissed someone off on the council. I know that Melody pissed off Elder Edgar at the very least. I was a witness to that one.” I sighed, “You were also her victim so she deserved the lashing that she got.” I heard the clock in the room chime to signal the hour which meant that it would be improper for me to be there any longer than I had been. I rose from my seat, “Pardon me for keeping you all but in the name of propriety, I must leave now.” Alexandra rose with me, “I will walk you to the door, Lucien.” I saw Jess smile at me and wink, “I’ll stay here, I think. There’s a book I want to see if it is here so I can borrow it.” Darren rose and placed his arm around Jess and looked down at her, “Shall we find it together?”
I offered my arm to Alexandra to escort her to the door, she giggled, “I think it is supposed to be me escorting you to the door.” I laughed, “I should think that would be rather awkward and technically you taking my arm is, in a sense, escorting me to the door.” She smiled and nodded, “I suppose you might be right. Let’s go then. I don’t want you to have to improperly stay later. I have to say though, this isn’t a thing in Terre. People hang out until they feel like going home.” I smiled, “What it must be like to hang out, as you say, without people talking and spreading rumors unjustly. Sadly, society here is very much like a bunch of busybodies.” She nodded, “It reminds me of the Regency era of Terre. Things were always about propriety. The only difference is that I can be alone with you without a chaperone.” I shook my head, “It wasn’t so long ago that that was a thing here. I believe our grandparents had the misfortune of being watched like that. Our parents were the first generation where they had a more relaxed environment. I hope the future generations won’t have such a hard time but you never know amongst the nobles, especially with these ones that want to keep things in the past.” She sighed, “The Order members…I hope that you have luck trying to find them. My brother seems to really think the Maignys are part of it. I hope for their sake they aren’t.” We stopped at the door and I looked down at her, “You would hope that even if you are their target?” She shrugged, “I guess I have hope in the people here and empathy for even Melody.” I shook my head, “I wouldn’t have empathy for her, she would quite literally stab you in the back if it meant she could take the crown. She sees you as a threat to her plans. She’s always had her eye on me.” She giggled, “I guess I will have to be your knight then.” I laughed, “It wouldn’t suit you but I appreciate the thought. I must be going now.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek, “Sleep well Xan.” She smiled, “Good night and safe travels, Lucien.”
I stepped out the door and climbed into the carriage still holding the book that
Darren had given me. Luckily there were illumination crystals in the carriage so that I could open it up and read it. I opened the first page and it seemed like the book was in alphabetical order so I turned to the page Loki was supposed to be on. On the top of the page, it read: “Loki: Personality, Habits, and Weaknesses.” I started to read about his personality which was no shock. He loved to play tricks, got jealous easily, and was very cunning. It was no wonder that he escaped our grasp for so long in reading about his personality. I read about his habits and how he would always gravitate to where debauchery happened unless an object or person of his desire was to be had. This would marry up to what Grand Pretre said about eventually coming back for Alexandra and we knew that he likely went to the Seely Realm. The King’s court was all about debauchery. He only had one weakness and that was the object or person of his desire. It would be very easy to leverage Alexandra to capture him. It occurred to me that there was something we could do during the reception to capture him but it would need consent from Alexandra.
