Lucien's Own Prison
POV: Lucien
It was hard not to take on the role of King for the time being but at least I could advise my brother. I was confined to a few places in the castle until they could figure out how to help me out but it was very boring. The only ones who could access me were the family members and the Royal Scribes. I had word that Alexandra had recovered from whatever ailed her this time, I was beset with worry when I heard that Doc had to go visit her. I asked Malinus for reports on how she was doing, he assured me that she was fine and even gave her the day off so she could fully recover. I was waiting to hear about her day when she came in tomorrow, I decided I would pull her aside to give me a full account. I didn’t like that I couldn’t visit her. I had tried to advocate that I use the passage to Blackwood but Malinus said it wasn’t such a great idea especially since there were a few people that didn’t know about the passage coming in and out of the manor. It was prudent, I understood that but it didn’t make it any less painful to wait it out without knowing she’d be fully able to recover.
I was trying to read but I was restless so I firmly shut the book. I must’ve read the same line about a hundred times. I was in the library with guards outside the door since they were now allowing visitors to the castle but I had to disguise myself if I wanted to move about the castle. It was a hassle to do this but they didn’t want Melody to spot me and use that ill-gotten power on me. I got up to put the book away when I heard a knock at the door. Malinus strode in with a letter in hand. I didn’t recognize the paper or the seal on it. There was a perfume that accompanied it and I was worried it was some weird letter that Melody tried to slip past Malinus. She did that a time or two and each time she would spritz the paper with her perfume. It wasn’t a very good perfume either, in my opinion. This was sort of a pleasant scent that had a floral and woody scent to it. It reminded me of the perfume that Alexandra would wear, it was my favorite scent in the world. I had missed smelling it today so I was appreciative of the sender of the letter that Malinus was now handing me. I studied the paper and the seal but still couldn’t recognize them. The paper was a blush color that wasn’t produced anywhere in Vellum which meant that it was from one of the other realms. The seal had the letter “A” with a heart around it but the letter stood out more prominently embossed. I looked up at Malinus, “Who is this from?” He shrugged, “It was on Theo’s desk when he came in, not sure where it came from but it was addressed to you.” I cocked an eyebrow at him, “So you thought you’d give me a foreign letter without knowing the sender? It could be laced with malicious magic.” He shook his head, “I don’t think it is. Feels like a friendly letter and an important one. I have to get back though. His Highness is meeting with the Maigny’s on some demand or another they’re going to make I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes, “It’s likely they think they can push him over and get business concessions from the crown.” Malinus chuckled, “Well I’d say good luck to them then, he’s ruthless. Oh, he also has a meeting with Reginald after that. Did you want me to inquire after Alexandra?” I perked up at her name, “Be subtle. We don’t want to inundate him with questions.” He nodded and smirked, “I’ll be going now, Your Majesty. Enjoy your letter.”
I sat back down in the chair I had been occupying before and placed the book on the table next to me. I flipped the letter in my hands a few more times before I decided to open it. I held my breath, hoping it wasn’t a malicious letter, and started to read:
“Dear Lucien,
Do not be alarmed, I’m sending you this letter to inform you that I may have a solution to your unfortunate situation. You see, tonight is a very special moon. It appears the instrument of your salvation is on the mend now, she’s out walking in the woods as we speak. My friend, Hades, gave her the medicine that will help her. I will need you to leave the castle tonight and meet me at the enclosed spot on the map so that we can conduct a ritual with Alexandra to lift the curse of love that was unwillingly placed upon you. Please do not be late and understand it has to be tonight or your window of healing will be significantly affected. You won’t have this opportunity for a long while. Inform who you need to about this but understand you want to keep any spectators to a minimum if you want to ensure no one else is affected by the Aphrodite ability. I only have two more suppressors that can be used, so pick two people to accompany you tonight. We are meeting at 6. See you then.
Regards,
Aphrodite”
I was relieved to hear that Alexandra was definitely on the mend and that they could lift this stupid curse from me. I thought about who I could take with me to the ritual. It would definitely be Malinus but who else? Perhaps I only needed Malinus but she didn’t say whether or not she needed another person for the ritual. Perhaps there was a circle that needed to encompass me to lift this curse or perhaps she needed assistance that would require my two other people. I placed the nice-smelling blush-colored letter on the table and took the book I had been trying to read. I rose from my seat, straightened out the ornate blue suit vest I was wearing, and walked over to the shelf that I had taken the book from and placed it back in its spot. Malinus thought it was strange that I would choose to still dress like I was doing business but I told him that I wanted to keep my routine as I had before so that I wouldn’t be falling into bad habits. I insisted that I rise, eat breakfast, shower, and get dressed properly all at the same time every day until I can resume my throne duties. It is how I kept up the hope that one day soon I could relieve Blake of his regency.
I walked over to the large window on the side of the room, this window overlooked the garden that sprawled out to the point of meeting the base of the mountain. I was contemplating if Aphrodite meant for me to bring two people with me on this outing or if she meant to just say two so I wouldn’t bring more than that. I also realized that I wouldn’t be able to bring a carriage with the staff with me. It would have to be horses for me and whoever came with me. It wasn’t like I could write back to her. I was holding up my elbow with my other hand and rubbing my lips in quiet contemplation as I stared out at the scenery below me. It was turning into fall so some of the normal greenery was turning a rusty color that indicated that fall was close to fully taking over. I heard a knock at the door and Blake walked in with Malinus, Teddy, and Panshad.
I must’ve been standing there thinking for a while since I knew that my brother had two meetings this afternoon. Blake smiled as he approached the large table in the middle of the room, “Brother, you look like you’re lost in thought. Thinking of our beautiful friend?” I shook my head, “No, I was thinking of a letter that came today. I’ll tell you about it later. Is there something you needed?” He nodded and sat at the head of the table which made me flinch since that was ordinarily my seat. I strode over and sat to his right and he nodded. He held up his hand and Panshad placed a stack of papers in his hand. He looked up at her, “Thank you, my dear friend.” He placed the stack in front of me, “I had a visit from the Maignys, they are petitioning the Elder Council to cancel the Queen Competition on the grounds of this declaration.” He pointed at the top paper and I looked down to see my writing. I picked it up and it was spewing some nonsense about how no one could compare to the beauty of Melody and how I wanted to marry her the soonest. I suppressed a gag and held the paper like it was some disgusting piece of trash, “So why did they bring this to us then?” He sighed, “They wanted me to act as the negotiator for the engagement contract. They tried to open the negotiations now and they seemed very confident that the Council would side with them.” I looked up at Malinus who shook his head, “This could serve as evidence of your supposed love for Melody but the Maignys don’t know that the Elder Council knows of their blood magic trick.” I nodded, relieved that the Maignys knew something we didn’t. Blake shook his head, “You never know with those people. Best not to rest easily, Brother. I’m having a spy check it out…with plausible deniability of course. I see that look on your face and I understand the lecture that is coming my way. You can save it.” He was right, I was going to lecture him on how a King, or regent for that matter, must operate within the law. On the premise that the spy didn’t know the order came from him, I was okay with that. It was how Blake operated, he was cunning enough to deal with the slippery and twisted Maignys.
Blake took my silence to continue what he came to talk to me about and pulled out the other stack of paper underneath the awful letter. He sighed, “Reginald came to see us about the earthquake. He concluded it was our little friend that was sent away from the castle. You know the short one with the massive crush on you? I’m going to send the Citadel to send someone undercover to understand her motivation for doing so before they arrest her. That’s the first thing he came for, I just need to know if you agree with this approach.” I nodded, “Certainly, find out why she threw this hissy fit and we need a little more evidence it was her. I’ll read the report later. What was the other thing he came for?”
Blake leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table then clasped his hands, “He was informed by Talon that there’s some strange sort of magic in the Blackwood Deep going on. He was petitioning the crown to appoint Talon as a special investigator to figure out what it was. It was intriguing to me since I had a similar report last night from the old hag.” He was talking about Dorothea, no doubt. I tapped the table in thought until I snapped my fingers, “I think we should team him and Dorothea up. She can get him out there quickly and they can work together to figure it out.” He shook his head and had a look of concern, “Don’t you think that would be dangerous for her?” I raised my eyebrow and smirked, “Why? Are you concerned for her?” His eyes widened and he vigorously shook his head, “Uh, no. I just don’t want to be blamed by Mordred should something happen to the old hag. She’s one of his after all.” I chuckled lightly and pushed myself up from my seat and walked to the window, “Then Malinus will write the King of Witches for permission for her kind assistance. That all being said, I need you and Malinus to accompany me tonight.” I heard him speak directly behind me, “What for?” I turned to him and smiled, “We’re going to lift this blasted curse from me so I can get back to my life.”
