Love Blood
POV: Alexandra
I was holding Lucien’s hand when Teddy said he found something interesting in his test results. Doc leaned over his shoulder and his eyes widened, “We sure did find something very interesting.” He looked over at me, “Do you remember losing blood at some point that Melody Maigny could have gotten a hold of?” I shrugged, “It could have been when someone tried to kill me in Tarn. I did lose a whole lot of blood then. Perhaps she collected it.” Lucien sat up, “She probably picked up the arrow too. Foolishly, Derek pulled the arrow out of you and threw it on the ground. Why do you ask about her blood though?” Doc drew in a deep breath and straightened up, “Well, we see here in the water magic test that King Lucien was affected by the taboo blood magic. Not only that but this blood magic was laced with some sort of love magic. This leads me to conclude and I suspect Teddy…” He stopped his train of thought and looked at Teddy who nodded at him. He continued, “That the blood used in the blood magic was Alexandra’s. How it was delivered is a mystery but I am not sure if this was Melody Maigny. It had to have been someone nearby though. Did you happen to see anyone near?” He looked at both of us and I shook my head. I looked over at Lucien who nodded, “The guard was nearby, the one we arrested. Are you saying he could possess blood magic?” Doc shrugged, “Only one way to find out, we would need to visit him and have a taboo detector. That would be a commission to Vanessa since she makes magical tools effectively.” I thought to myself that I would ask her to teach me how to make that tool since I had proficient fire magic and I hadn’t had a chance to use my lab for fire magic purposes.
Lucien sighed, “I suppose I should summon her here then. The sooner the better I suppose. It’s sometimes a nightmare to deal with her.” I placed my hand on his clasped hands, “I can go to her. She won’t give me a hard time.” He took my hand in his, “I will give you money for the commission since this is technically for the crown. I hate to send you so I can avoid her but she’s probably rightfully pissed at me.” I smiled at him, “She’s livid, dear Lucien. Fortunately, you now have facts on your side but we need to figure out the whole story. I will explain everything to her.” He sighed, “I really wish we could just take care of The Order once and for all but Grand Pretre insists that if we do that now, we will miss out on what she’s calling the big fish…whatever that means.” Teddy spoke, “It probably means that whoever you think is the head of The Order is probably not the head of The Order. He or she is probably a frontman and someone else is pulling the strings. Someone probably more powerful.” Lucien sighed, “If that’s the case, that is very troublesome. I probably need to go see Grand Pretre and ask her directly.” I nodded at him, “That’s probably best but don’t expect a direct answer. She won’t give it to you. It’ll probably be in some sort of riddle or indirect way of saying it. In the meantime, I’m left to wonder if I should be concerned about whether this blood magic can be used by someone else against you.” Doc shook his head, “Unlikely, the blood used in blood magic is bound to the user. The only one who can use the blood magic is that guard.” He turned to Lucien, “Which reminds me, you should probably get a hold of the General and let him know not to have female guards at the prison anywhere. He could escape using that magic.”
Lucien nodded and looked at me, “Are you well enough to come back to work then?” I nodded back, “Yes, I was going to see if you all needed help here.” He smiled at me, “Good because I have your first task. I will need you to go to the General and relay my message. I’ll write it up right now.” He got up and walked over to his desk and wrote out his orders on official stationery, signed it, and sealed it with the royal seal of gold and a lion head. He handed the orders to me, “Is one of your guards with you?” I nodded, “Derek is sitting at my desk, I think.” Teddy nodded, “Yep, he kicked his feet up on your desk and said he could see himself in Lex’s cushy position.” I rolled my eyes and smiled, “Well, I should probably get going. Soonest is best in this case.” I leaned over and kissed Lucien on the cheek, “Thanks for setting me straight.” I walked out of the door and into the Royal Scribe office, I looked over at my desk where Derek was napping. I reached over to Derek’s feet and pushed them off the desk. It startled him awake but he quickly regained his composure, stretched, and smiled at me, “Everything good, Lex?” I sighed, “I don’t know, is it? You’re an awful guard.” He faked like he was hurt, “You wound me, my dear friend. Perhaps, I should quit this thankless job.” I put my hands on my hips and sighed, “I might forgive you and thank you if you escort me to the Citadel. I have official orders to deliver.” He got up out of the chair, “Certainly. I assume you kissed and made up?” I nodded, “Looks like it. Now let’s go.” I turned to leave but I heard him chuckle, “I knew he wasn’t a bonehead.”
I shushed him as we walked out of the office but when I turned I smacked into a broad chest. I looked up into the eyes of Renier. He smiled down at me, “Your Highest Highness, it is good to see you up and about. You look much better than you did before. Are you going home? I can help escort you back. Oh, not that I feel that this young man is not capable. He seems to be.” I shook my head, “Your Majesty, I have asked His Majesty to let me come back to work and that is what I am doing. I’m delivering a message to our Citadel.” He stepped back and waved his arm, “Don’t let me keep you but let me say this. I am going to assign you a guard from Seely as well. His Majesty, King Lucien, has agreed to let me station a guard with you. It is a symbol of goodwill between our two realms since we share a precious person. I hope this will not inconvenience you.” I shrugged, “I suppose it depends on who you send to me.” He smiled, “Jheelis has agreed to be your guard as well. He is very skilled with a bow and a sword. He might even be able to teach you how to use the bow if you choose to. You are proficient in fire magic, I hear.” Derek spoke up before I could, “She has the second-highest proficiency in all of Vellum. Second only to His Highness, Prince Blake.” He smirked down at me, “Is that so?” I reminded myself to smack the crap out of Derek later for revealing that nugget to Renier. I sighed, “It is. Why do I need fire magic?” He looked over my shoulder to Derek and then back at me, “Fairy bows require the use of elemental magic. I was assessing which kind of bow we could have made for you. It seems like the Blaze bow will be a good starting point…that is if you want to learn.” I nodded, “I think I do. I would love to know how to protect myself.” He bowed and smiled, “Excellent, I will send word to have it made. Please don’t let me keep you any longer. You have a job to do and you must do it to satisfaction.”
He turned and walked down the hall toward a room that I assumed was Cal’s room. I had not seen him since the night he came to my house and attempted to help rescue me. I wondered why since he told me before he left that he would visit. I would have to go talk to him later to see why he didn’t visit since he had the freedom to do so now that his father paid respects to mine. Since that night, my father was softening to giving his consent and it took a lot to keep him from doing so. I asked my father to keep any of his emotions in check until I came to see Lucien. He agreed but he told me about what Lucien had told him. I wasn’t willing to judge him so harshly, not when I knew that Lucien was around Melody and that usually spelled trouble. I knew she was willing to do anything to become not only Queen but Lucien’s wife. Everyone knew how she felt about him and this thought process appealed to my father enough that he exercised restraint. I told him not to do so would most definitely play into The Order’s intentions. He definitely didn’t want that. It would make things easier for me to drop out of this competition but it wouldn’t completely take the target off my back. Besides, my grandfather once told me that anything worth doing is bound to have difficulties and would make me stronger in the end. After what I just went through, I felt that my head and heart could use a little toughening.
I shook the thought out of my head as we made our way out of the front door of the castle and into the carriage that awaited us. We took the Batiste carriage since it was already there even though we were on official business. It was a short ride and I would much rather walk but it wasn’t safe in a city like Tarn. I didn’t have the freedom to roam about the city while I was under threat from The Order. We were at the Citadel in no time. We walked into the reception area and the soldier that was sitting there rose, “Your Grace, welcome to the Citadel. I am under orders to bring you to the General any time you visit.” The soldier took us straight to the General’s office and knocked. He asked us to stay out while he announced our arrival. He came out shortly after, “Go on ahead. He’s happy to receive you.” We stepped into the office and he rose from his seat, “Your Grace, it is good to see you up and about. I heard you were quite ill. What brings you here? Business from the castle, I assume.” He waved at the orders in my hand, “Yes, I am to deliver these orders and ask that you enact them right away.” I held the orders out to him and he took them from me. He immediately opened it, read it, and nodded, “Indeed.” He looked at Derek, “Go to your brother and let him know to pull all females from the dungeon and tell him this is by order of the King. This is to be executed immediately and quickly as possible.” He offered me a seat, “In the meantime, Your Grace, why don’t we have some tea? I asked the soldier that escorted you here to get my assistant to make us some tea. Will you have a seat with me?”
I took the seat on the black leather couch in the room that he had pointed me to. We began to talk about my adventures in Seely and everything that happened since. He sighed, “I was hoping Lucien wasn’t being a big idiot. Good to know it was blood magic. It is troublesome that someone would use your blood to get what they want though. That is despicable.” A knock came at the door and Toby entered the room pushing a cart, “Sorry it took so long, General. I had been baking some cookies for your afternoon tea when I was ordered to step it up for our mutual friend here.” He smiled at me and began to place the snack tray in front of us then placed each piece of china in front of the General. He turned to get the china and the tea. He placed the kettle on the table before setting my china in front of me. As he set to place the china in front of me, I could smell a familiar scent wafting through the air. I couldn’t place my finger on it until he started to pour the kettle into my cup. I inhaled the scent of his cologne and my eyes widened at smelling the distinct citrusy smell I had smelled before in purgatory.
