Roque

"You will have nothing more to fear from now on, Lady Saskia," said the Sovereign Prince of Kielstadt calmly, as he walked beside the girl. Alexa carefully chose where to step, on the soggy grass of the hill. She understood that the location of the conversation was strategically picked. Everyone could see them from afar, but they certainly couldn't hear them.

They were in Kielstadt's Campus Martius, with a privileged view of the castle, the city, and the sea coast. From there, even the port was seen. The Bride's ships, part of Cordelia's dowry, stood out for their bright and vivid colors and could be seen from there easily as well.

It was a little cold that afternoon, and she was hugging herself, feeling tired and miserable. The maiden was sure that this conversation would define her destiny, but the prognosis was uncertain.

From previous experience, Alexa knew that a powerful man simply did not need to follow any logic or ethics applied to the rest of his court. This was a man who built a cathedral but consulted witches. He arrested witches, but had children with them. She might even have thought that it was just rumored to denigrate him, but then she had seen it with her own eyes.

But what had she seen, exactly? Did the fact that he talked to the Oracle really mean that Prince Gutard listened to her, as Klaus seemed to believe? Or that he pretended to listen to her, just to make Sigrid tell more and more? No doubt the blind woman, even though she said she hated Prince Gutard, answered all his requests. Alexa still didn't know what the truth about the intimidating Kielstadt's Sovereign Prince was.

"I may have been overeager, Your Majesty. Only that, after recent experiences, the maid's murder made me uneasy. So I went to spend the night in the church, hidden away."

"Hmm, as I said, what I like about you, maiden, is how smart you can be. You are full of resources and have no qualms about using them. I wonder why your father allowed this kind of education."

"Well, Your Majesty, my father had great ambitions for me. I must say, with all due filial respect, that he dared to plan a grand future for me, far beyond our status. He wanted me to get married to an imperial house, and so he allowed me to study languages and archery, and he allowed me to question him on matters of commerce and relations between kingdoms. Due to the warlike climate that has endured for decades throughout the region, he also wanted me to be able to survive with my children, if necessary. Unfortunately, due to our family's connections with another family that came into enmity with the Megadux, we were unfairly punished. I was in the convent, because my father was preparing my wedding at that time; but perhaps I would have paid unfairly too, if I were at home," this story had been rehearsed so often that it came very naturally to Alexa's mouth. If I repeated it a dozen more times, maybe even she would start to believe it.

"It suits you. A palatial and stately life, as your father envisioned. It lives up to your intelligence and beauty. Furthermore, it is impossible not to recognize your nobility."

'What should I do now? Pretend to blush? Just thank him? What?'

Before her silence, Prince Gutard remarked,

"Unfortunately an English knight, even if he has a certain reputation, but doesn't even have a castle... That's not up to your qualities."

It seemed not a good course of conversation.

"Please, Prince Sovereign, have pity on this foreigner girl. I'm tired of hiding! Assassins are chasing me, but I don't know why!" she ran ahead of him and put her hands together in a pleading and anguished gesture, purposely a little pathetic. Something worthy of the teachings of Lady Eudoxia. According to her, powerful men melted with a little exaggerated and unfounded despair, coming from a beautiful woman.

The blond man, who looked like a giant next to her, took her hands in his, leaning down. She dared to look up slightly, and had the impression of seeing a corner smile, slightly embarrassed, on the sovereign's lips. 'Did it work?'

"Lady Saskia, tell me sincerely, don't you really know?"

'What could I say? Certainly not the truth. I can't trust anyone here."

"No, Your Majesty. I have no way of knowing."

"But we'll find out soon. One of the mercenaries who attacked you at the port is being questioned..." The Sovereign Prince released her hands and laughed suddenly, "not as Lady Saskia was, I assure you."

"But it got me scared, Your Majesty!" she wide opened her eyes in protest, but the Prince passed her, continuing to climb the hill. His heavy boots made splash splash on the soaked terrain, and Alexa tried to use his large footprints to step in, taking advantage of the now compacted terrain and the crushed grass. When they reached the top, he took her hand and placed her on top of a rock. Alexa knew that that place was where the Grand General supervised the armies.

Looking back, Alexa could see the beautiful city, Kielstadt, in its way the most beautiful Western city she had ever seen, with its dizzying towers and its apparent and opulent wealth.

A shiver ran through her body, thinking of what might come next. Prince Gutard had put her in the place of a Grand General, so that she could see all of Kielstadt and its magnificence. This had to have a reason.

"Lady Saskia, with your fiance, Knight John Blackrose, ... you don't know him carnally, do you?"

"OH NO!" Alexa didn't even have to pretend to blush, the reaction was very natural.

"So my son was the first?"

"The first?"

"Didn't you kiss my son?"

Alexa blinked, in shock. This was something she definitely didn't want to talk about. 'It wasn't like that! He kissed me; I didn't want to,' she thought, but thought it was inappropriate to detail and start such a technical conversation.

"Lady Saskia, this morning I made a decision to avoid a bigger problem. I cannot allow you to leave Kielstadt in this situation."

"But Sovereign Prince, I ..."

"Lady Saskia, I sent several messengers in search of Sir John Blackrose, to inform him that you can no longer keep your engagement to him, because you will marry a von Donnersmarck," he interrupted, staring into her eyes. Now Alexa was at his height, sitting on top of the rock, and started to feel a pain in the belly. 'Would I need to interrupt the conversation for something so embarrassing?' It definitely wasn't in Lady Eudoxia's teachings on how to charm a man and get him to do what you want. Furthermore, the Prince of Kielstadt's imperious tone was difficult to challenge.

"Your Majesty, let's take it easy, it was just…"

"Besides, I told you that I would give you a reward if you told me how to save my son. I never fail to keep my promises, my lady. Look at those vessels," he pointed at Cordelia's ships in the harbor. "That dowry is of incomparable wealth. Those ships can make this city the richest in Europe in a few years. But you, Lady Saskia, brought me an even greater dowry. You allowed my son not to die."

"Ah, well, that…" she was embarrassed, and even a little vain about it, but she still needed to work out the 'marrying a von Donnersmarck' part. The maiden certainly didn't want to be the wife of a man who had been widowed five times. Let alone cause a scandal by marrying Klaus in Cordelia's place. It was beyond ridiculous.

"So, Lady Saskia, in two days you will marry Alexander, whom you kissed on the lips when you arrived here."

"Alexander?!"