The Priest

One of the priests, lean and short in stature, with big dark eyes on a thin parched face, stepped through the audience and stopped beside Captain Gunnar,

"There's a rumor, Captain, that this 'maiden' appeared from thin air near Lady Cordelia. And now the two are suddenly very friendly towards each other after the tragedy that struck the Bride's entourage!"

"Ahhh!" the maiden snapped her tongue in annoyance, "Father, none of this is a lie. Yes, this maiden met Lady Cordelia just as hell came to earth, and for that, I have only to thank. It allowed us and a few other people to escape the evil clutches of the fleshless spirits."

"What's up, Father Romuald? Is it also said that this damsel is not what she seems to be? Not a noble, much less… a maiden?" said Prince Klaus in a slightly aggressive tone, leaving his place to return to the center of the room. Alexia just couldn't figure whether he was directing his somewhat aggressive questioning the priest... or her. Looking away to Captain Gunnar, she realized that the officer was growing impatient with people intruding on his interrogation.

"We only have her word here, and this foreigner young woman… What is she doing here? What are her intentions? This is what we all want to know. We are still intrigued by this girl's resemblance to Prince Alexander. Even their names are similar. It can be a mockery of an evil spirit with an innocent face. Do not forget the Prince's mother was…"

"Enough! Enough, gentlemen!" said the Captain, rising at last and addressing no one in particular. "Your intrusion is not making things any easier. Be quiet until I finish asking what is needed. If you can't keep quiet, then I ask you to retire!"

Alexa shook her feet eagerly. She wanted to be sleepy, but despite the tiredness, she was quite alert and tense. Her ordeal wasn't over yet.

"Maybe then we can hear the maiden's narrative of how she met my bride's entourage and what really happened. I know other people have been heard, but not Lady Saskia. Shall we, Captain?" At first, the Prince seemed to ignore the prerogatives of the Royal Guard Captain totally but granted him authority in the end.

'You whimsy bastard, so full of himself,' thought the maiden.

"Yes, Lady Saskia's accounting is important considering what we have heard from the other witnesses. And that's why a group of priests are here," said the captain.

"Now that I've arrived, I think I can help with that," a soft voice with a strong Florentine accent spoke from the back of the room. Everyone looked over, and the path cleared to the newcomer's entrance.

He was also a priest, dressing in the style of Rome. This man must be related to Klaus by blood, judging by his features, the damsel figured. But he was thinner, darker-haired, and had piercing blue eyes that stood out in his light tan complexion.

The arrival of this priest deeply angered about half of the room, or so she thought. And even among the priests, Alexa noted, there was a respectful resentment towards him.

In any case, he, like Klaus, ignored any embarrassment and came to her, extending a rosary of ivory beads for the maiden to take.

Alexa quickly wondered if he was the eye of Rome on this court, and if so, what would that mean to her, a foreigner from East. 'Is he testing me to see if I'm a demon or something?' Carefully she took the rosary he offered, and nodded in appreciation.

The Father turned to the Captain, saying, in the same soft, modulated voice,

"Good evening, Captain. In the face of the good news tonight, we all have to calm down, don't we? As a confessor to the Princes, I thought it was my obligation to offer help with this 'conversation' with the Constantinople's young lady. I certainly want to make sure this young woman doesn't feel intimidated or abandoned by God just being alone in a foreign kingdom."

The Captain took a breath again, Alexa knew he was deeply offended but probably couldn't retort to this person. The priest must be really important in the setting of that court.

The military replied to the cleric,

"In fact, it's possible that in the presence of a confessor Lady Saskia will feel more comfortable. You will probably be able to ask more specific questions, and deal with a maiden with the due respect," clearly this was a criticism to the other priest. "And so, I also think the presence of so many people is unnecessary. Since the confessor of the Royal Princes and even a representative of the Wuttenfal are here, that's enough."

Alexa, who had gained the sympathy of the majority there, was not pleased to see them retreating among low murmurs. But the presence of the Blue-Eyed Father, of whom the maiden did not yet know the name, did not soothe her at all. Despite his soft speech, her intuition told her he was as dangerous as Prince Klaus.

Now that she, the Priest, The Prince, the Captain, and two guards were the remaining in the room, Alexa really thanked her for being wrapped in a blanket. She felt cold for no reason.

The three men in front of him were silent for a moment, until the priest said,

"Lady, your arrival has come at a dramatic moment for this kingdom. I would say it was even a blessed arrival. We would all be murderers of an innocent soul. I was close to him performing the holy rites of Extreme Unction, and I wasn't able to see the Prince was alive. As many others didn't, too."

Alexa nodded, listening, thinking it would have been a great tragedy indeed.

"If His Highness Prince Klaus weren't so sure I resembled his brother somehow, I would not have been taken to the bier, Father…"

"Gianpietro di Borghesi, a servant of God," said the priest, and Alexa understood why the priest was treated with deference. He had the surname of the wealthiest and most influential family in Florence, which in turn, was the most prosperous city on the Italian peninsula. "Yes, my young friend. If nothing of what you went through had happened, by noon today, we would be burying a prince alive!"

Alexa pursed her lips in horror at the mere thought of such atrocity and torture.

"But we still don't understand what came upon the retinue of Prince Klaus's bride, on their way to Kielstadt. Your testimony is crucial. We are still trying to understand how several people died. Only the Hand of God protecting your lives can explain the fact two maidens have escaped the horror…"

"Maybe not the Hand of God…" Prince Klaus said mockingly, stretching his legs and scratching his leg inside the high boots.

"It's about time," said the maiden, aiming at the Prince, "for me to tell my version of the events."

She straightened in her chair, taking another breath.

"I do not know whether or not you will believe it, but that's what I lived for two nights ago."

The maiden then said,

(CONTINUES)