The First Task
POV: Alexandra
I had returned home with both Derek and Nystasia in my carriage. Derek had been away from the manor for a couple of days trying to set up his engagement with Jess. He had not asked her to marry him but he was fascinated by my tales of how men in Terre get engaged to their prospective partners and he wanted to set something similar up for Jess. Engagement ceremonies amongst nobles were always so procedural and official. Derek wanted to surprise Jess with something beautiful and special. I thought it was nice that he always wanted to treat her special, she could have done much worse. I joked with her that perhaps she could have ended up with a male version of Melody. She shuddered at the thought and said she would never be attracted to someone like that. If she hadn’t been a bit of an empath, I might have rebuked her since anyone could hide their true self from someone. We finally got to the manor and Derek helped Nystasia take her bags to the conservatory where Dana had set her room up and supplied it with requested items. We usually weren’t so accommodating to guests but this was a foreign princess from a place that we had been at war with for a time.
Nystasia insisted I did not need to help her settle in since I had the report due to send out to Elder Edgar in an hour. I ran into Ashton on the way to my room. He looked at me concerned, “What’s with that look, Ashton?” He sighed, “Oh it’s nothing to worry about for now. Mother says you have a report due at noon so I don’t want to take up too much of your time. We can discuss it after you are done.” I smiled and nodded at him, “Always so considerate, brother. I will seek you out once I have sent it off.” He gave me a smileless nod and walked off. I had wondered what made him seem just a little bit distant from me but I shook it off for now and walked into my room. I went over to my desk and pulled out the pen and paper. I thought to myself that I wished that computers and printers were a thing here so that I could just type it up and print it and be done in thirty minutes. I sighed at the thought of quickly writing a report via pen and paper and started to write. I didn’t want to leave out any details so I laid out an outline of everything that went on. I then crafted a report from the outline and with about fifteen minutes to spare, I re-read through the report to make sure all the details were addressed. I had wondered what the basis for comparison would be but I was sure Edgar would know the details to compare it to.
I placed the report in an envelope with a short note to Edgar about my thanks for his kind letter and consideration of my report to him. I was still kind of upset with the council for placing such a claim against me that would have been considered treason but Edgar was always so nice to me that I didn’t want to take anything out on him. I sealed the envelope with my official house seal and addressed the envelope as my mother had taught me when it came to official correspondence. I hopped up from my chair and briskly walked down the stairs to wait for the Toxzi rider to show up. Exactly at noon the doorbell rang, I went to answer it but Dana ran out of the kitchen and opened it before I could get to it. She didn’t want anyone opening the door but herself and if it wasn’t her it would be one of the maids. The rider stood outside carrying his helmet in his hand and the bag slung around his shoulder. He smiled at Dana, “Hello Ms. Dana, I have come to see if Lady Alexandra has any correspondence to send to the Elder Council.” Dana looked back at me and I stepped forward, “I do Balthazar. Please make sure this gets to Elder Edgar with my kindest regards.” He smiled at me and bowed, “I sure do hope you win, Your Grace. I think you’d be the most gracious of them all and I could say that I am well acquainted with Her Majesty. I will be off then.” I smiled at him again, “Please have safe travels.” He turned and mounted the Toxzi and they took off. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that my first task was out of my hands now.
I looked at Dana and asked, “Have you seen my brother?” She nodded, “He told me to tell you to find him in the back garden. He’ll be waiting for you there.” I turned to walk out towards the backdoor to join my brother in the garden. As I walked out of the backdoor I noticed that he was sitting at the garden tea table looking off into space in quiet contemplation. I sat down in front of him and snapped my fingers in front of his face. He snapped out of his quiet stupor and blinked at me then smiled, “Oh, sis. Sorry I was just thinking about some things.” I raised an eyebrow at him, “Did something happen during the rescue? You’ve been acting kind of off.” He sighed, “We’ll get to that in due time. I want to know how the assembly went. I heard there was drama but no one was willing to tell me about it. Mother said it wasn’t her story to tell and Father just shrugged and said ‘Ask your sister.’ So what happened?” I bit my lip remembering the feeling of embarrassment, frustration, and full-on anger. I sighed, “Well, to the pleasant stuff first. Your best friend is soon to be engaged. Lord Kellen asked for permission to start negotiations. Lucien says they will do their talks tomorrow. I guess it was arranged by Duke Chalshin and some members of the Elder Council to take Jess out of the competition so this could happen. He promised some small favors to enough of them that she was voted out. She seems much more relieved that she won’t be forced to marry Lucien. She believed that she wouldn’t have made a good Queen.” He shook his head and chuckled, “She was probably the most suitable….err…no offense sister.” I smiled at him, “None taken, I thought so too but it wasn’t her destiny according to her. She told me Grand Pretre predicted a different future for her.”
He nodded and smiled and he sat silently and blinked a few times after a while, “So any other good news? I already know you made the cut that was the only thing I know.” I shook my head, “No that’s it. Nystasia stood behind to help me realize my destiny or so I’m told. I’m not sure what that means entirely. Now I have to tell you the crap part of the assembly and reception.” He nodded urging me to continue so I took a breath, “Well someone had the audacity to accuse me of attempting to murder Lucien when he bumped his head that night that Loki tried to kidnap me.” He jolted and leaned forward, “What?! That’s crap! Is Lucien going to punish the liar?” I shrugged, “All I know is they sent him to the Citadel for questioning but I don’t know much more. I didn’t think to ask Lucien earlier either.” He patted my hands that were folded on the table, “I’ll find out, sis. Since the offense was against my family, it shouldn’t be hard for me to get a status report. I’ll just need to find out who is questioning him. So what else?” I cocked an eyebrow at him, “Oh that hag of a fake sister of yours was on my case. She essentially said that she was going to take me down. I’m sure she’s going to try her hardest to do so too. I did meet Toby’s sister properly and she was lovely to me.”
He nodded, “Rayla has always been a sweet girl but I doubt she wants the crown as much as Melody does. She’s also not interested in Lucien like you are. She’s actually interested in a Maigny, Melody’s cousin Bylas to be exact. He is a lesser noble so I’m not sure if her father would allow it.” I sighed, “That’s just sad. I met Bylas today and he seemed like a good guy. I will never understand this feudal system here in Vellum. I am so used to people marrying who they want and not because of power or position. I wonder if Seely is like this when they have matriarchy.” He shook his head, “Not with their daughters, no. Their sons on the other hand…” I grunted, “So no matter the realm, someone is sold off for power.” He shrugged, “At least you’ll never see our father do such a thing. If he was seeking power though, he’s fortunate that you fell for the most powerful of all.” I laughed and shook my head, “No, the most powerful is Grand Pretre. Even Lucien answers to her.” He nodded, “That’s true but unless you lean that way and she wasn’t celibate, that’s the best way to gain power.” I cleared my throat, “You’re starting to sound like your fake dad.” He gasped, “Oh! I hadn’t realized but you’re right. Was that all?” I nodded, “Everything that was significant. There weren’t any other requests though Lucien did tell me before I left Fateful Fields that one of the candidates requested to study at the Great Magi Academy.” He blinked at me like he didn’t know what that was so I sighed, “It is Lune de Minuit University but in the Seely Realm. As you can imagine, presently he cannot grant that request. He sent a letter with Sylphia to get the request in with the Queen.”
He nodded then leaned forward, “Well I guess it is my turn then.” He clasped his hands tightly on the table, “So we waited until we knew you were well into the assembly before we made our move. True to her promise, Ms. Dorothea got us directly into the cell. Tyleesh was chained to the wall. It was a very smart move on The Order’s behalf knowing that they would be scarce on guards. I should have known Marquis Maigny was savvy enough to think of that. He’s very cunning and calculated.” I sighed, “Don’t tell me he didn’t get rescued.” He widened his eyes and shook his head vigorously, “No he’s been rescued. Let me continue. So of course, Dorothea was just as cunning and reached into her bag. She poured some potion on the chains and they eroded. He was unconscious at the time but he woke up long enough to weakly protest the rescue. He said they would send W after you and Panshad. He then passed out. We were going to portal out when a figure showed up at the bars. He was one of the undead warriors. He smiled at me with a chilling smile…” He shivered as he said this part and I reached over and grabbed his hands. He unfolded them and held my hand, “He…he said to give his regards to Alexandra Batiste. That he was going to come for you soon. I didn’t want to stick around to get acquainted with him but I know he’s seen my face and will likely rat me out to Marquis Maigny. I sent my report to the General.” He was squeezing my hand and he had a fear in his eyes that I had never seen before. I tried to change the subject, “So where is Tyleesh now?” He loosened his grip a little, “He’s recovering in the East Wing. Grandfather insisted that we set his bed up in his room so he’d be there when Tyleesh woke up.” I sighed, “Well I hope he recovers soon so Gramps can see him again.” I heard a weak voice call from the backdoor of the house, “Alexandra, you’re unharmed…” I looked up to see Tyleesh leaning against the doorway and he smiled at me weakly.
