Assignment
POV: Alexandra
Immediately after the assembly, there was a reception. I was holding on to the stone that my brother had given me hoping I would feel the buzz soon. I was worried for him and had hoped that he would be safe. I was approached by Melody as soon as I entered the hall. She narrowed her eyes at me but gave me a fake smile. She spoke through the fake smile, “Don’t think for a second that I will concede him to you. Get ready to fight, bitch.” She then embraced me as one of the elders walked by, “May the best woman win, Your Grace!” She then pushed me away as soon as no one was watching, “You’re vapor, cow. Watch your back because I’m going to make your life a living hell when I am Queen.” I rolled my eyes as she walked up and heard Jess say next to me, “As if she can be Queen. You’d have to be blind and dumb to rank her over you any day.” She was crossing her arms and glaring at Melody.
Just then I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Rayla Ligidew smiling at me, “Your Grace, I hear that you were very gracious to my brother the short time he stood with you. I’m happy to see House Batiste is still living up to their warm reputation. Unlike some, I heard what Melody said to you earlier and that was incredibly rude. I want you to know that I personally don’t want to become Queen. I’m merely participating because I was obligated to. I don’t plan on trying so hard but just know that House Ligidew will always stand behind you once you kick Maigny ass. We, all three of us here, know who would make the better Queen amongst the remaining candidates who actually care to win.” Jess smiled at her, “I agree with that totally.” Rayla turned to Jess and smiled, “Congratulations on your upcoming engagement by the way. I am hoping the man who asked for you is someone you truly love.” Jess blushed and looked down at her feet, “Th-thanks.” Rayla giggled at her, “Based on that reaction, I’m thinking I can absolutely give you my wholehearted congratulations.” Jess looked up at her and smiled, “This is a dream come true.” I giggled, “She’s only had a crush on him since she was a little baby. It’s sweet to see such a conclusion to their story. Rayla sighed and turned to me, “It looks like I am being summoned by my father. It was nice chatting with you both. Hopefully, we can get together for tea sometime. I have a question about my brother, Your Grace, that I hope you can help me with being your soul lineage is special.” I knew instantly that she was referring to her brother’s love life. I didn’t know if I was entirely comfortable disclosing my suspicions about his preferences.
The rest of the reception went as most do, lots of schmoozing and having people kiss up to you in hopes that they get on your good side as a potential future Queen. I got to speak with Nystasia about when she would be able to move into Blackwood. I also had to discuss with her what sort of diet she required and if she required anything else to make her stay in Blackwood more comfortable. We determined that she would need to eat only fruits, vegetables, and fish. She asked if we have a conservatory and requested that we set up a bed for her there. She had been staying in a corner of the greenhouse at the castle and would have liked to stay with nature. My father let her know that there was actually a space in there that was set up for Whisperia when she was little so all we would need to do is stock the space with anything else she may need. She was excited about the prospect of exploring the forest and she expressed a desire to go meet Whisperia. Jess was hesitant to tell her she would introduce them considering Whisperia wasn’t exactly sociable whereas Nystasia was a social butterfly. I had suggested that she invite Whisperia up to the manor for tea and they could meet on neutral grounds. Jess was amiable to do that more than she was to bring her to Whisperia’s tree.
When we returned home, I was exhausted from having to face down a false accusation and hear the whispers around me during the reception. I immediately came home and laid down to take a nap. I knew that I would need to get up early the next day to meet Sylphia and Lucien in the Fateful Fields so that Sylphia could take Litha’s parents to the Seely Realm. I was commanded by Lucien to assist in stripping their abilities away from us. I knew that I would need to get more rest than I had before. I was told by Grand Pretre that this would be a very draining task that would take a lot of magic. I would need the stamina. It didn’t take much for me to fall asleep, it happened as soon as my head hit the pillow. A few hours later, I woke up to hear the doorbell ring. I slowly pulled myself out of bed, curious to know what it was that brought someone here at night. Dana was holding an envelope in her hands and was reading the cover of it. She noticed that I was there so she held the envelope out to me, “It appears this is for you. It just came from the Council Hall.” This had to have been the instructions for my first task. I opened the letter while Dana looked on in curiosity. As I read the contents aloud:
“To Lady Alexandra Batiste, final candidate for Queen:
First, let me extend my humblest and most sincere apologies that you had to go through that public trial. You were unjustly accused and there is no excuse for the actions of this council. Please know that this was taken to a vote and there are some that voted against this action.
As for the other reason for this note, please note that I have been assigned to assess your performance for your daily tasks. As such, Elder Enzo has been assigned with planning your daily tasks. Your first task is to carry out your duties to strip the abilities of the former Count and Countess of Delnaro and provide a detailed report to me before noon. A Toxzi rider will be sent to you at noon. If your report is not done by then, you will lose points towards your overall score.
Ever your eternal servant,
Elder Edgar”
I had not anticipated needing to send in a detailed report to the Elder Council but this made sense. Lucien said the Queen handles a lot of paperwork and correspondence between the Citadel, the Council, the University, other educational systems and most importantly serves as a diplomatic figure for the other realms. Since the Queen is a diplomatic figure, she has to hand in detailed reports to the King on her trips and visits to other realms. It was a good thing that in school, I was a bit of a book nerd so I was very good at research, observations, and reporting. This should be easy enough for me to finish and hand in the report. I turned to Dana, “Is dinner ready? I would like to eat as soon as possible so I can go back to bed. I have an early morning.” She sighed and shook her head, “Unfortunately, no. We are about an hour away from dinner since it is slow cooked.” I smiled at her since she looked tense, “That’s okay. Is it possible for me to go in there and make myself a sandwich?” She smiled back at me, “I can do it, my lady. I know exactly how you like them. I will bring it to your room when it is ready.” I nodded at her, “Thanks, Dana.”
I walked up the stairs and saw my mother standing at the top of the stairs waiting for me, “Was that your first task?” I nodded, “Yeah, they want me to write up a report by noon about the stripping of the Delnaro's abilities.” She nodded, “That should be easy enough for you. Who did they assign to you?” I handed her the letter to read, “Looks like Elder Enzo is planning the tasks and Elder Edgar is the one who will analyze me.” She carefully read through the letter, “I know you want to be married to Lucien. I believe these two are your biggest allies in the council. Enzo may have been stern during that sham of a trial but it was his duty which he takes seriously. I guarantee that he is one of the ones Edgar references here that voted against that trial.” She handed the letter back to me, “I had no doubts about that. He seemed to keep giving me apologetic looks when that was all going on.” She leaned over and hugged me, “I imagine you have to get to sleep early since you are having to travel out early.” I nodded, “Yeah, I won’t be having dinner with everyone. Dana is making me a sandwich for dinner so I can eat quickly and go to sleep.” She looked at me with respect, “I’m glad to see you taking these responsibilities more seriously.” Dana was walking up the stairs with a tray in her hands. I turned and went to take the tray from her and she shook her head, “Sorry, my lady, I would like to set this up on your tea table in your room.” My mother nodded at me, “She is right. You need to let her finish the job that you have tasked her with. Many in Vellum take pride in their jobs, don’t take away their ability to finish a job well done. Something to keep in mind should you become Queen.” Much of the sound advice that my mother gave me had me thinking of what she would have been like as a Queen herself. If it weren’t for the fact that she had a terrible temper, she would have made a great ruler. I smiled and hugged her then turned to follow Dana into my room.
After eating my sandwich and the fruit that Dana had cut up and put in a small bowl beside my plate, I crawled into bed and was immediately able to fall asleep. My dreams that night were no different than any other night. I was dancing with a tall stranger with long blonde hair in a mask under a spotlight and was immediately pulled away by another stranger with short blonde hair. I had assumed, at first, that the man with the long blonde hair was Lucien and the man with the short blonde hair was Blake. Now that Lucien had to have his hair cut and it wasn’t growing back very fast that the stranger with the long blonde hair was not Lucien. I thought once I had heard of the masquerade fall ball that this would play out then. It was possible that the one who is pulling me away was Blake or Lucien. I was left to wonder who it was with the long blonde hair. This dream had faded away to a dark place with silence other than dripping water. I started to look around to see if I could find out where I was. I finally realized that I was blindfolded when I felt a finger run down my cheek. I heard a whisper, “You’re finally mine.” With that chilling voice and the declaration, I jolted upright in my bed awake.
I hopped out of bed and walked over to the window and found that the sun was just below the horizon. I knew that I had to leave as soon as the sun just came over the horizon which meant that I had to get ready. I didn’t think it would be appropriate to come to Fateful Fields in jeans and a sweater. I went over to my wardrobe and pulled out a blue pants suit and a white silk camisole. I put on my clothing and decided against high heels since they were not only the bane of my existence but I would also need to walk a considerable distance from the road. I finally finished getting ready and the sun was just peaking over the horizon as I stepped outside. I climbed up into the carriage and stared out of the window as we pulled away from Blackwood Deep, the walls of Tarn, and out towards the meadow to the west towards Fateful Fields. We came up behind the Royal carriage shortly after. An hour later, we were finally in Fateful Fields. I climbed out of the carriage to see Sylphia, Nystasia, and finally, Lucien climb out of the carriage. Ahead of them was a Citadel carriage that had contained Derek, the Delnaros, and the General. We all gathered to take the hike to the portal. Nystasia pulled her arm around me as we walked down, “Are you ready for this?”
