Going across the stunning gothic corridors well guarded by impassive warriors, the maiden was welcomed into the Princes' Wing, and taken to Prince Alexander's chambers.
Alexa tried to look her best to give the sovereign of those lands a good impression.
Fortunately, due to her achievements, the Greek maiden found that during her absence the previous afternoon she had received several gifts from grateful people. In addition, when she arrived in her room, there was a maid sent by Prince Klaus to help her change.
However, Alexa had never really gotten used to someone else dressing her since her mother had died, and since she spent much of her life hiding a secret, she simply couldn't stand anyone seeing her nudity.
So she dismissed the maid, "for she had no such habit. At the convent in Antioch, we were taught not to need anyone to get dressed," had been her explanation for her maid.
Wearing a deep green dress and the proper symbols of mourning, she entered the chamber, finding great activity inside Prince Alexander's quarters. Nuns, guards, and finally the Sovereign Prince, who was sitting near the youngest son's bed.
For the first time, she saw him in the daylight, and up close. He was truly imposing, with a shrewd expression in his green eyes that had the same feline expression she'd seen a few times in Klaus.
The maiden bowed at a good distance after being announced. Her eyes darted to every corner, only finding luxury in every detail. She could say nothing about Prince Alexander's personality just by looking at what was exposed.
"Leave everyone, only Lady Saskia stays," the Sovereign's dry, harsh voice commanded. Like cockroaches, people evacuated the place, and he had her to approach.
He sat carelessly, as he did the other time, in his chair, but Alexa was not mistaken.
The fabric stretched across his broad shoulders and stiff thighs showed plenty of action-ready muscle and strength, and he looked like anything but a man who liked indoors or hours of reflection. He was as handsome as his offspring, but as much as his firstborn, his personality showed under the Apollonian features and transformed his expressions with toughness and malice.
Alexa looked away to the bed where the Prince was asleep, now without the majestic shroud, but still no less beautiful. Naturally, her curiosity drew her to him, but she waited.
"Lady Saskia, you saved my son. If not for your arrival, he would have been sentenced to death.'
'But you thanked me with an interrogation session, and possibly a hanging, not gold, 'she thought but kept her head down.
The Prince of Kielstadt, however, got up and came to her, and placing a lead-heavy hand on her shoulder, carried her to the side of Alexander's bed.
The sleeping young man looked identical tonight, with his serene face and almost imperceptible breathing.
"You knew what he had. But you didn't even tell what you knew," the Sovereign's voice was soft, but Alexa was not mistaken.
"Your Majesty, I am a daughter from a distant kingdom's respectable family. I'm now alone and exposed. The situations that brought me to Kielstadt were not happy, and I arrived at a strange time. Since I didn't know anyone, I was afraid for my life. I was afraid they would get me wrong."
"Is it your fear that they will burn you like a witch just because you are a foreigner?"
"I profess Christianity as I was taught in my land. My family's closeness to people who believe in the Koran and in the Torah was for business reasons, so many things I know come from other lands and cultures. My family struggled for having relationships with people who were condemned by the Church. But my father was innocent. He sent me away to get married. I know I risked a lot by saying out loud that your son was alive. Maybe at this very moment, they plan to kill me. The enemies of this kingdom, I say."
The sovereign's strong fingers gripped the flesh and bones of Alexa's shoulders.
"I believe you. You are an exceptional young woman. Anyone who knows less would think you are related to my son, for you look alike, except that you are a maiden. I can only believe that... the angels sent you here. You saved Klaus's bride and also Alexander's life. Tell me now, Lady Saskia, how did you know? Was it a poison? Was it witchcraft? How do I get my son back and how am I going to punish who did this?"
Alexa swallowed hard. In fact, if it was as Iacintho had shown her, eventually the sleeping Prince's beautiful mortal body would writhe like a flower after being torn off.
"Your Majesty, I don't know…"
"Fear not, Lady Saskia. I am a desperate father. God will not hear my prayers, and will not bring my son back. But he sent you to save my innocent son!" he didn't have a desperate or nervous tone, but Alexa pondered that he wouldn't say those words, putting himself in a pleading condition if it wasn't really true for him. Prince Gutard was clearly a man full of pride.
'Not quite, as much as it flatters me,' she well wanted to answer, but in fact, she was afraid, "Well, when I was in the convent, sometimes Sister Galena was called in to help a doctor. She was a knowledgeable woman, but age was making her blind, so I used to lead her to him. More than once I've seen people in this situation," the maiden blatantly lied as she kept her gaze on the handsome young man's face.
"This doctor? Could he get people out of this state?" was Prince Gutard's next question.
Alexa held her breath. If she said no, Prince Alexander would be abandoned to his fate.
But the Sovereign Prince noticed her hesitation. Again his fingers dug into her shoulders, and he said,
"Lady Saskia, if you give me a thread of hope about how to get my son out of sleep, I will reward you like you never imagined. My son's life is in your hands once again. If he dies..." She could feel the eyes of the Shades upon them, even if she didn't see them now, watching the scene carefully. She felt the suspense with which they awaited her answer, and she didn't believe when the words came out of her mouth,
"There is a kind of poison, Your Majesty. A poison that causes this effect. I guess your son ingested this poison!"