Breakfast with Royalty
POV: Alexandra
I sat down next to my brother but I was confused as to why he was here. I looked at him to try to do that thing where twins communicate differently. I had always been a twin but just never knew it so I figured it wouldn’t be too hard. I stared at him and he chuckled, “His Highness invited me here. There was movement last night so I came to talk to you, His Highness, and His Majesty about my mission.” It dawned on me that Ashton was still doing what Lucien had sent him to do. I was so focused on Lucien that I had completely forgotten that I still was in danger. Sylphia cleared her throat, “Alexandra, I have to say that I am relieved that you are still amongst us. Imagine my shock to know that His Majesty fell and bumped his head. I trust he is well.” The Queen Mother and Blake leaned forward expectantly, “He is well. The doctor said that he needs only one day of bed rest. I was planning on rejoining him upstairs after this. He still needs to be looked after and the doctor believes it was under my watchful eye that His Majesty is doing as well as he is.” The Queen Mother reached for my hand and squeezed it, “I have to thank you for your time and care of Lucien, Alexandra. It truly has not gone unnoticed by me. I just wish we could recognize you officially for that.” Blake nodded, “It truly is a pity. Alexandra would be known as the savior of our King.” I waved my hands and shook my head, “I have no need of official recognition. I’m just happy to help someone who has helped me countless times and is still doing so.” My brother patted the top of my head, “I have a lot to thank His Majesty for so I am glad that my family is paying him back well.”
Nystasia blurted out, “If I had it my way, His Majesty’s payment would be a Batiste as a wife.” Sylphia nudged her sister and shushed her. Blake’s jaw clenched at the announcement by Nystasia. I would need to find a way to ease him off of being in love with me. It wouldn’t end well for him to still be in love with me if I ended up being his sister-in-law. I sighed quietly and the only one that heard was Ashton who leaned forward to whisper, “What troubles you, dear sister?” I leaned my head on his shoulder, “I was just thinking about how I could be the cause of a rift in a family.” He looked over at Blake and nodded, “We need to find a way to help him move on. He’s a good fellow and always willing to help you but a heart wants what a heart wants.” Sylphia spoke again, “Anyhow, I thought you two should know that my sister and I made our choices as to who we want to eliminate. I’m to understand that there is a certain lady that begged me to take her out of the competition because she was in love with Meldon Maigny. I assume that is you. I’m well aware of your situation but I assume Alesha Baltiliard doesn’t know your true name just yet?” He blushed and was at a loss for words so I sighed and said, “He has to keep it a secret as much as possible for now. I know this is hard for him not to be able to tell his love that he is a Batiste but he was ordered.” Nystasia leaned forward, “Would it not be possible to at least tell her? I think if she truly loved him, she would keep his secret.” He shrugged, “I’m tied to my oath and until His Majesty tells me I can tell her, I will keep it from her. It breaks my heart but I know this also keeps her safe from the danger I would likely put her in if she knew. The people that are after my family are very dangerous.” Sylphia sighed, “I suppose I understand. Fae are all about love as an emotion so I will grant her wish and eliminate her. She seems like a good woman and she mentioned that she was a good friend with Alexandra.” Ashton nodded, “She’s been one of the ladies who welcomed Alexandra to this world and her council has been invaluable to my sister.” Sylphia looked at me for confirmation and smiled when I nodded, “This solidifies my decision then. I will grant her wish. I believe this will be announced at a court gathering when His Majesty calls it.”
Blake looked over at Nystasia and asked, “And who will you be eliminating?” She smiled, “I had thought of Lady Kellen and taking her with me to Vellum but I understand that Alexandra would miss her both as a best friend and bodyguard. An excellent one she is, she’s amazing. Too bad she’s in love with that Chalshin guy, lucky guy.” Sylphia rolled her eyes, “Get on with it.” Nystasia laughed, “Oh I had someone else in mind but Grand Pretre said I can’t eliminate her. Which sucks because I don’t much like her. She’s arrogant and I didn’t like the way she was batting her stupid eyes at Lucien. She thinks she can use her looks to gain influence and I hate shallow people like that.” Nystasia was talking about Melody without a doubt. I was told that Seraphia had asked the princesses to leave the thought of eliminating Melody from the competition. Sylphia sighed, “You know exactly why we can’t touch her, it was explained to us in detail. We don’t want the consequences but for the spirit’s sake spit it out. We’re all growing old just waiting to hear your decision.” Nystasia glared at her sister and stuck her tongue out, “I will get to it when I feel like it. Don’t rush me!” She cleared her throat and continued, “Then I had another lady who begged me to eliminate her from the competition because she was madly in love with another gentleman at this table.” Sylphia leaned her head onto her hand, pushed her food with her fork, and muttered, “Lady Delnaro, no doubt. Get on with it. I’m bored.” Nystasia placed her arms across her chest and the glass of water that was sitting in front of her started to levitate. Sylphia grabbed it and firmly set it down, “You won’t be splashing water on me today, sister. I won’t allow it and you WILL be punished if you try that again. Do you hear me?” Nystasia shrunk back into her chair with her arms still across her chest and her lip stuck out, “You are such a killjoy, you know that?” Sylphia shrugged, “Sure but we don’t have all day for the whole story. You heard Alexandra that she has to get back to nursing the King.” Nystasia sprang up from her seat, “That’s right! Sorry, Alexandra. I’m going to eliminate Lady Kastilidan, she was a jerk to me too and I just don’t want that as a Queen when she has to deal with Seely.” Sylphia beamed at her, “A very wise decision, sister. I was going to suggest her if you didn’t choose her. She was too uppity talking about how when she was Queen she would do this and that in relation to the Seely Realm. I didn’t like that arrogance. Only one other woman discussed such things with us and we cannot eliminate her. That was uncouth. It’s infuriating that we cannot eliminate both.”
Ashton rose to his feet, “Well ladies, I hate to leave you but my sister and I are done with our meal and I would like to go see His Majesty now.” The other two Vellum royals rose from their places at the table as well but before they could say anything, Sylphia said, “Don’t mind us. Go see how His Majesty is. But I must ask if we are allowed to visit.” The Queen Mother smiled, “Of course, Your Highness. Lucien holds you in such high regard that he would be upset if we kept you from going to see him.” Sylphia and Nystasia both smiled and waved. As we left the room, we could hear the two women bickering quietly. I chuckled to myself and wondered what my life would have been like if I had the privilege to grow up with my brother. I took his arm and wrapped my arms around it and hugged him. He smiled down at me as we went up the stairs towards Lucien’s room. The Queen Mother and Blake were ahead of us and Blake looked back, “You seem far more content than I have seen you be so in a while.” I smiled up at him, “Of course, I am able to spend time with my brother without any worries. To me, this is a gift.” Blake smiled, “Well then we need to see about getting him home to House Batiste then.”
We came up to Lucien’s door and Blake knocked on the door. Malinus came to the door and smiled, “I was wondering when you all would show up. He’s just finished eating. He was anxious to see his loved ones.” I believe he meant me but he didn’t want to upset Blake. We all came into the room and Lucien smiled. His mother grabbed his hand and smiled at him. She touched the small bandage on his head, “Are you in any pain?” He shook his head, “Very little. Alexandra took great care of me.” Blake smiled, “That’s because she is the most caring person in Vellum.” I shook my head, “I wouldn’t say that. I was just diligent in following the doctor’s orders.” The Queen Mother looked back at me, “Even so, dear, I don’t believe Lucien would be doing as well as he is if it wasn’t for your care. I’m wondering how it healed this well though. It looked really bad last night.” Just then, a knock sounded on the door and Malinus opened it to reveal Grand Pretre.
