The King of Witches
POV: Alexandra
I spoke with Celia until it was time to go have dinner but given that I had no appetite, I went back to the sleeping tent alone. The General insisted that he post someone at the entrance to my tent though. Since Alita got to eat before anyone else, she was assigned to me to be relieved by Jess or Derek when they were done with dinner. I sighed as I lay in my cot and sat up after a while, “I know you are listening.” The voice came over my brain like a strong wave in the ocean, “So now you know the two truths of my life. What will you do?” I found a way to ask him questions without opening my mouth a while back, “It isn’t up to me to reveal the truth but I really don’t understand why you haven’t told her.” There was silence and hesitancy with what he said next, “I don’t feel worthy of her. I had to leave her from when she was so little that I feel like I had abandoned her. I was going to tell her who I was when I came back but when I saw how great of a woman she grew to…it just made no sense to throw my particular brand of drama into her life.” I sighed and got up to pace around the room, “You want to know my opinion on the matter?” He said right away, “Please. You are a woman wise beyond her years. Not to mention you seem to have a knack with relationship insight.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head, “Consider who you’re speaking to, Mordred?” He laughed, “You’re right but please proceed with your assessment.” I spoke to him with firmness, “No matter how put together a woman seems, she will always need at least two things in her life if they are available. She will need her mother to give her advice in life that only another woman could. She will always need her father to be her strength when she cannot stand on her own. My daddy is my rock and I bet, at times, Vanessa could use that from you. I’m not even going to mention the power you hold. How were you going to withhold that information from your niece?”
He cleared his throat, “You know that I consider you more of a granddaughter right?” I shrugged, “I suppose but in terms of the actual family dynamic, you are an uncle. I’ll let you decide our relationship though. I will really need a gramps soon since my maternal grandfather is long gone and my paternal grandfather isn't long for the world. You seem immortal though so you’re suitable for my whole life.” He laughed heartily, “Have I ever told you that you are a girl after my own heart? I have two daughters and yet I feel more connected to you.” I was startled at his admission that he has two daughters, “So are we not going to acknowledge that you have two daughters? Is Vanessa the older or younger sister? I have questions.” He sighed, “It was a Freudian slip but yes, I have two. Vanessa is the younger of the two. The other one is well aware of who her parentage is but she is unaware of Vanessa. I don’t like to talk about her because she has a wicked heart. I have not acknowledged her as an heir to my family’s estate, and I likely never will. I have the official documents entailing my daughter Vanessa will inherit her father’s title and my granddaughter will inherit her grandfather’s estate. Whisperia has asked for nothing since she is not entirely mentally stable.” I grunted at this, “Mordred, that’s not entirely a nice thing to say about your sister.” He sighed again, “She’s well aware of her particular illness, that is why she chooses to isolate herself. In Vellum, mental illness isn’t so stigmatized as it is in Terre so it really isn’t insulting to call her mental illness out. I will have to tell you her story, later on, she has a very good reason for being the way she is. I fully plan on visiting my father before the masquerade so I will have the time to tell you. His Majesty, King Lucien has found out about my standing in the Coven and has asked me to make myself known to Vellum at the masquerade. I would like to spend time with you when I visit, just us.”
I sat in silence as I thought about what I wanted to say to him at this point, “I have one condition though if you choose to take it on.” He scoffed, “Ever so ruthless on my poor heart, child. You may ask.” I bit my lip as the message rolled off my brain to him, “You need to talk to Vanessa and tell her the truth.” He grunted, “I thought you said it wasn’t up to you to tell her?” I sighed, “It isn’t, that’s why I’m asking you to tell her.” He sighed, “You ransom your presence from this poor old man? I am wounded.” I rolled my eyes, “Oh please, you know that it doesn’t affect you that much. It wouldn’t hurt you to have a relationship with your daughter. Don’t let her find out after you are gone. She will resent you more. I know her. She’ll understand why you couldn’t be there.” I could hear him draw a deep breath, “Of course, you are right but I fully expect to get a full day out of you, just the two of us.” I walked back to my bed to lay down, “That might be hard since Lucien has ordered that I be guarded at all times until we deal with The Order.” He chuckled, “Let me take care of His Majesty. I have something I want to show you and something I must do with you then. I have to get going though, my sweet child.” I heard my tummy growl, “That’s fine, Mordred. I need to eat now, I think. Be careful.” I heard nothing back from him and thought it was for the better, communicating in such a way was mentally exhausting and after the day I had had, I didn’t really want to expend more energy.
I poked my head out of the tent at Alita and smiled at her, “I know I’m being an inconvenient brat but my body is telling me to eat.” She laughed, “Nah, you’re good, Alexandra. I was just going to poke my head in and ask if you were sure you didn’t want food.” I smiled at her, “Great minds think alike.” I stepped completely out of the tent and she escorted me to the tent. As I stepped inside, many of the soldiers stopped what they did and turned to look at me. I knew at that moment what it was like to live in a fish bowl. I shrank a little and whispered to Alita, “What is going on? Why are they staring at me?” She giggled, “You don’t notice, do you?” I furrowed my brow and shook my head, “Notice what?” She pointed down to my feet and I followed her point to the medium-sized black and white dog sitting next to me. She continued, “Not many have seen a shadow dog and they are a legend amongst the Citadel because our first General had a shadow dog familiar like you do. The soldiers see that as a sign of great power. You will be seen with the greatest of respect from these soldiers here.” I looked at Sebastian who had risen to his feet to stretch, yawn and then scratch his ear. I giggled, “He’s probably hungry too, I haven’t fed him a long time.” I walked to the food line and was immediately offered the biggest cut of roast beef to share with my dog. I walked over to where Jess and Derek were sitting. They both smiled up at me and Derek spoke, “Look who decided to join us. How are you? Are you feeling better?” I nodded, “Yeah, I just need a little time to think about some things I’m finding out here. It has been an exhausting day but also very rewarding to help so many.” We sat eating for a little while talking about what we had experienced throughout the day. Derek sighed sadly, “It’s kinda sad we didn’t find more survivors in the Kastilidan manor though.” I muttered under my breath, “No big loss there honestly.”
I smiled at the two but they just stared above me like they had seen a ghost and I heard a firm voice say, “What do you mean by that, Your Grace?” I looked up to see the General looming over me. I felt my heartbeat jump into my throat, “Uhhh, it’s just I found something out from the housekeeper today that leads me to believe they weren’t really good people.” He sat down next to me, “Care to elaborate? You’re not in trouble with me but I am curious what they did that would render such a harsh judgment from you. You don’t seem the type to just throw out an opinion like that.” I cleared my throat, “Have you ever heard of contractual servitude?” He nodded firmly, “It is a trade that King Thierry had made illegal during his reign.” I inhaled sharply, “Well apparently, the Kastilidans wanted to operate outside of that law.” I placed his hands on the table and clenched his hands, “That’s a rather lofty accusation. Is there any example you can think of that would make you think this?” I was starting to get frustrated that he didn’t believe me but I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly and I realized that I would likely react the same way if I had been in his shoes. I sighed, “My own uncle was a victim of their crimes.” He sat up straight, “What?” I nodded, “They took him from the rubble of the castle and placed him in servitude to The Order.” He shook his head and sighed, “That isn’t proof though. We’d need to find proof. This stays amongst us here but we had suspected that this was a practice at Kastilidan Glades recently but we couldn’t find proof. We are trying to find any documents in the rubble to see if they left anything.” I stood up from my seat, “I have an idea if one of you can escort me.” The General stood up from his seat, “I will take you. Lead the way.”
I cleaned up my food, tossed some of the leftover meat to Sebastian, and placed the trash, dishes, and trays in the places they belonged. I stepped out of the tent and took a walk to the medical tent. I spotted Celia in her bed reading a book and walked over to her, “Good evening Celia. How are you feeling?” She tucked the book next to her and smiled up at me, “I am doing better than I was. I imagine you aren’t here for a casual chat considering you have the General with you.” I nodded and took a seat at her bedside, “You said the Kastilidans were selling contracts to others. Do you happen to know where Count Kastilidan left those documents and receipts?” She nodded, “He had me hide them in his special spot. I’m not sure if you can find it. He had a stone wall on one part of his office which was a facade for a safe. You might be able to find the safe if you clear the rubble from that area. He kept meticulous records on who came into contracts with him and where they were sold to. This will give you all the evidence you need of the trade along with the families who they dealt with. Oh, there might be something in there that you might find really interesting in regards to your family, Your Grace.” I gasped, “Are you suggesting that my family has purchased such a contract?” Her eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously, “Oh no! Not what I mean at all. I mean to say that there is a name amongst the records that you may or may not know. His name is Ashton Batiste.”
