Detective Alexandra
POV: Alexandra
Lucien looked at me, “What was this idea of yours then? I mean since we will definitely need to narrow down who did this.” I nodded, “Well I thought, at first, it might be a good idea to speak with the Countess since she would know if there was anyone suspicious lurking about her home but the General said she fell into a coma. So then I thought of maybe asking someone who was very close by.” Lucien sighed and looked up at Derek then back at me, “This isn’t your job, my lady. Investigations are left up to the soldier and you decided not to become one. I think I will assign The Chalshin to be the lead investigator and bring back Private Kellen to escort you around camp.” I looked up at Derek who was a tall muscular man with dark features that a little girl would likely see as a villain. I shook my head, determined that I would assist in this case, “Respectfully, Your Majesty, the witness that I had in mind requires a delicate touch. This witness is more likely to be open with me since I already have formed a trusting relationship with her.” Lucien regarded Derek’s demeanor for a while then he was looking at me, “The child?” I nodded and he nodded back, “You are likely right. Alright, I will officially appoint you as a consulting investigator but don’t abuse your power. Malinus, draw up the credentials in case anyone should have an issue and Elder Edgar can be a witness if he so chooses of course.” Edgar nodded, “I will ask Enzo to reschedule our interview for tomorrow so Her Grace can focus on helping the investigation.”
Lucien sighed, “Just make sure it gets done soon. I know that this interview is imperative to the selection and needs to be done as soon as possible. No delays tomorrow, Your Grace.” I nodded at him, “Of course but even the council can agree that the murder of a noble is fairly a big deal, and finding the one who did it is important. We don’t know if this will be a pattern of behavior.” Edgar shrugged, “No way to tell if this wasn’t a form of revenge for the Count’s behavior either. That being said, it is a big deal and the Elder Council at the very least would like to have the perpetrator caught. If Alexandra is helping, that might win her some points amongst the members. That being said, His Majesty is right about the timing. We must absolutely get the interview done tonight or tomorrow. I will leave that up to you, my lady.” I thought about it for a time until I said, “I think I can do so tonight, I have to come here later on for my punishment anyhow.” Lucien shook his head, “I’m afraid that will have to be delayed. Your punishment was requested by you so that the General wouldn’t suffer alone. Since he is suffering on his own, I believe that to be proper punishment and I will consider your service in his stead as a punishment of your own. You can probably take that time to go to your interview.” I looked at Edgar to see if that would be acceptable and he smiled at me, “I think we can meet with Her Grace at that time. You can report your findings to us and we will report those to His Majesty during our nightly meeting with him.”
Malinus cleared his throat and placed the document in front of Lucien that he had asked for. Lucien signed the document and placed a wax seal on it then handed it to me, “You will present this to soldiers or anyone else that would give you a hard time asking questions. I believe if the General was open to getting you involved, he must see something in you.” Edgar nodded, “I find it wonderful that the General places enough trust in you that he can let you deliver messages for him. This is something I have observed that I must report to Enzo. We will convene later but remember, Your Grace, that I will be shadowing you the rest of the day.” I had totally forgotten that he was supposed to follow me around, the only reason he didn’t this morning was because he had some official duties to attend to. From here on out, he would be another shadow following me around. We would need to go and see if Lucy was awake. I rose from my seat, “Your Majesty, I don’t want to take any more of your time. I believe you are too busy for us to linger any longer.” Lucien nodded, “Yes, you all may go. I will see you all tomorrow.” We all bowed at Lucien and left the tent.
Derek threw an arm around me, “So where are we off to boss?” I rolled my eyes, “I’m not your boss, he only appointed me to the team. If you recall, he said you would be the lead investigator but the child we are going to talk to today may not open up to you like she would with me. I have an established relationship with her.” I started to walk toward the medical tent. Derek was walking with me and Edgar was following closely after. He stopped for a minute, “Just a second, Your Grace. I need to go into the supply disbursement tent quickly. Can you wait outside for me a bit?” I nodded, “Sure, we can stop for a little bit. I don’t know if the child is awake just yet.” He stepped into the tent but only briefly. He came out smiling, “Enzo has agreed to meet with you tonight for your interview. Let’s get on with this investigation then.” We walked the rest of the way to the medical tent and as we stepped inside, we heard a small commotion inside. Doc popped out of a private section of the tent, “I need some muscle in here!” Derek looked down at me and I nodded at him. He ran off to the private room and I turned to Edgar, “I think we might be okay with being alone here for now.” Edgar agreed with me and I poked my head around the divider to see if the children were awake. Lucy and Tilly were playing with their dolls with each other. I made my way over to the children and smiled down at them, “Alexandra! We haven’t seen you in a little while. Why?” Edgar chuckled, “I’m afraid I have kept her from you and I am truly sorry for that, my ladies.” The girls giggled at being called ‘lady’ and Tilly spoke, “Sir, we are not nobility. We can be addressed in such a way.” Listening to her say that and thinking back to how her mother treated me, I could see that she was taught the same way.
I settled into the chair between the two girls while Edgar settled into the chair on the other side of Tilly. I turned to Lucy, “In truth, Lucy, I am here today on orders of His Majesty King Lucien. He thinks you can help me solve a problem.” The young girl looked up at me with a look of awe in her eyes, “His Majesty thinks I can help? How?” I pulled a small notebook out of my pocket, “Do you think you can answer some questions about the day this accident happened?” She nodded, “I think so.” I smiled at her and gently patted her head, “Okay but if you find that this is difficult to talk about, just let me know and we can stop. Okay?” She nodded and I wrote down the first question I was going to ask her before I spoke, “Where were you on the day of the accident?” I knew the answer to this question but I wanted to refresh her memory with this question. She looked over at Tilly who was having a conversation with Edgar then she looked back at me, “After breakfast, my mommy told me to go play outside while she baked bread and cleaned the house. I didn’t go far, I played with my bear just outside of the door in case she wanted to call out for me to assist her.” I nodded and wrote down what she said and the next question, “Do you remember anything different about that day at the manor?” She looked up, thinking about what was going on that day, and finally nodded, “Yes, they made a big deal about how House Ligidew was sending someone over for trade. They said they wanted to trade some of their grain for some of our steel for something the family was working on.” I wrote this down and wondered who it was they sent and if that person was an earth magic user and wrote down my next question.
I took a deep breath before I asked the next question knowing that it would likely upset her but before I could ask, a larger commotion was coming out of the private suite. I heard Doc yell, “If you don’t lie down, I will be forced to put you in a coma.” The General wearing a hospital gown came bursting out of the private room holding on to his side, “I don’t care what you THINK you’re going to do. I won’t be in bed while my men and women are out here working hard.” I smiled at Lucy, “Can you give me a minute? I’m going to go talk to that ridiculous man over there for a second.” She giggled, “Don’t punish him too badly, Alexandra.” I winked at her, “The only thing I can hurt on that big guy is his feelings.” I briskly walked over to the General and placed my hands on my hips, “What do you think you’re doing, Ronan?” This tower of a man looked down at me, “I’m trying to go do my job.” I waved at Derek, “Well, I heard from His Majesty and he believes you should rest. He is appointing an interim to replace you temporarily while you recover. I don’t think you want to piss him off by defying his orders. Do you?” He made a hmph sound, “Well what about the investigation on the cause of this incident?” I grabbed his arm and started to escort him to his private room, “Derek and I have it covered.” He chuckled, “You?” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the order Lucien gave me and handed it to him. He gasped as he read the letter, “Okay, well, I guess I should go rest then.” I rolled my eyes at him, “You think? The more you go galavanting around, the more you risk opening your stitches and you will have longer to recover. That does no one good, not to mention this outburst has taken Derek away from, not only his post by my side but also his duties in this investigation.”
I got him settled back down and he sighed as he got into bed. I turned to return to my spot next to Lucy when Doc followed me out, “Thank you for your assistance, Your Grace. I’m not sure many people in all of Vellum would be willing to scold the General. I think that took both courage and diplomacy.” I laughed, “You just have to know how to wrangle a bear like the General. It helps that I think he respects me.” Doc patted me on the shoulder, “Still it was a sight to behold. Thank you for that. Now I have other things to get to. I have to check on the Countess to see if she has any changes.” Before he walked off, I asked, “I heard she was back in a coma, I thought she was on the mend.” He shrugged, “It was so odd, not long after you left her room, she was back to sleep.” I thought about my ability and had wondered if my Healing Heart had anything to do with her being awake. I told Doc, “I can swing by later to see if we can get a repeat if that’s okay.” He shook his head, “We are running a few tests today but you can certainly come by tomorrow.” I nodded, “Okay I will see if I can be by in the morning then.” He nodded, picked up his clipboard from his desk nearby, and walked off to the Countess’s private room. I turned back to my spot by Lucy. She smiled as I sat down, “Did you get that big man to calm down?” I nodded, “I just had to tell him that the King would be angry with him and he went back to bed.” She laughed, “It goes to show that His Majesty is such a good King that even big guys would not want to upset him.” I pulled out my notebook again and smiled at her, “Indeed he is. Now I think I will ask you my last question but you need to know you don’t have to answer if it is too painful.” The girl hugged her bear tightly next to her, “I have protection and I am strong with you near so I think I will be okay.” I nodded then asked, “Did you see anyone use magic in front of the manor that day?” She nodded, “I saw that lady that House Ligidew sent over flick her fingers and sparkles fell to the ground, and then I saw her run off.”
