Chapter 56 - The Bride's Parade

The furious knocking completely paralyzed the private event, and continued, since the door was not open. Feeling hyperventilate, Alexa stared at Magnus' father. Prince Gutard had an impassive face, betrayed only by a small, spaced out rictus.

Finally, Holstein's Sovereign said aloud,

"Tell Magnus that if he isn't at the Memorial Arch waiting for his bride, he must leave the city at dusk, never to return."

This was not addressed to anyone in private, but the Seneschal immediately came to the door, alarmed. The Countess and Duke looked equally embarrassed and uncomfortable, but remained silent. Only the fans with which the servants waved the Sleeping Prince could be heard. This and the rhythmic tapping of Prince Gutard's boot on the marbled floor.

"YOU WILL REPENT THIS!" This was Magnus's last cry in disgust from the other side of the door, followed by strange noises and then silence. Alexa imagined that Magnus had been restrained to give up the scandal, considering the calculated tone with which Gutard, the Prince, had intoned his order.

Looking at her trembling hands over her embroidered silk skirts, the maiden grabbed the fabric, trying to keep them from shaking. She looked down to avoid the Sovereign Prince's gaze on her. She could feel across the room that at that moment he was not at all satisfied at her, as he used to pretend. She was sure he suspected, if he didn't actually know, something about her and his Firstborn.

'Could it be that that madman really told his father about what he did, in an attempt to escape the marriage to Cordelia?'

"Please continue, Your Excellency," the Prince asked the Bishop of Holstein to resume Mass.

At that moment, Alexa started to think about the latest events. And how everything converged, so that Magnus was not around in the last hours before the parade and also, his brother's engagement. And she began to suspect the conscious involvement of her 'tutor', Father Di Borghesi, in this scheme.

If before, he got her consent by promising to help her leave, he probably realized that he would earn a lot more if he made her stay! But of course!

She peeked at him with the corner of her eye, and Blue Eyes responded with a beatific expression that could deceive anyone but Alexa.

But she would confront him as soon as possible; oh yes, she would.

There was no other interruption until the end of the mass, and after that Alexa was called to the side of Alexander. Then his father, the Sovereign Prince, put engagement rings on the couple's fingers.

Alexa this time could not disguise how much her hand was shaking, when the ruler took her finger to put the exquisite ring with the Holstein seal.

They're officially engaged now.

After that, a herald read the official proclamations, which would be posted throughout the city today, and the witnesses toasted and blessed the young couple.

A glass of wine eased her tension, however, when the effect of the drink passed over her entire body and relaxed her muscles. Oh! She could drink a little more!

The Countess suddenly surprised her, putting a hand on the maiden's shoulder,

"Young lady, you have only two days left of your 'maiden's life'! Join the other maidens while you can! There's a party going on outside!"

This unexpected intrusion caused the Prince to raise an inquisitive eyebrow at his older sister, but Countess Godiva patted Alexa on the back.

"Go, go, your friend, Lady Cordelia, must be missing you! Go and have fun!"

It was a subtle dispute between the siblings, and this time it was the woman who won. Alexa thanked the von Wuttenfal family, the bishop and the guests, and withdrew with her two chaperones as soon as possible.

In fact, the Countess's suggestion served her purpose: Alexa could not only avoid any ambush by Prince Magnus, but perhaps she could even escape Holstein!

°°°

In total, a group of eight people left Alexa with the castle, much to their despair: her two new friends, Maria and Edel, the guards and the servants. The noble girls were very enthusiastic, not in tune with the inner spirit of the Greek lady, and they kept talking merrily. Maria was the same age as Alexa, and Edel was only fourteen.

Maria gifted Alexa her own mask, saying that every year they had a party promoted by the 'Italian Court', that imitated the Florentine carnival. Alexa imagined that it was a party similar to the famous event of the Venetian Republic, analyzing the luxurious prop.

The Mask covered only the upper part of the face, and was made of starched lace dyed purple, and had gold stars glued all over, artfully. The girls praised when the maiden tried on the accessory, and Alexa was curiously wondering how she was looking like.

They were late for the event, of course, and then headed for Holstein's central square. Loud music could be heard from afar, as could the noise of the crowd.

However, it was not possible to ride in a carriage on the central streets, and the group had to abandon the vehicle to get to the roads where the floats paraded. Surrounded by the guards, the three maidens remained protected, looking at everything with interest.

Alexa remembered when she begged Iain and Locke to let her see the wedding festivities for the Prince of that kingdom. Ironically, there she was, participating in the event as an insider.

Soon, they could see the giant floats with beautiful, fantastic or extravagant sculptures, parading by the widest street in the capital and receiving enthusiastic applause from the spectators. She didn't expect it to be so luxurious and beautiful. Musicians came in front of or behind the cars, as well as circus performers, making amazing performances as the parade went on to the apotheosis site.

She saw the car where the Bride was standing, waving to the people graciously. The car was a large flower sculpture, from which her family waved and tossed confectionery and coins generously. Cordelia was in the center, in a prominent place, richly dressed, and wore an elaborate veil covering her face.

"Why is she hiding her face? She's the Bride! Everyone wants to see her!' But Alexa remembered that Cordelia was quite ill from a cold, and she must not be looking good. The Greek maiden lamented that Cordelia was ashamed of her face, in the great moment of her life. However, in retrospect, the situation of the unwanted bride must have hurt a lot for the poor and dear maiden. Alexa really couldn't know what it was like to be in the shoes of Magnus's Bride! It was intriguing that she and Cordelia were in such opposite situations.

Her chaperones waved to a group of nobles who were in one of the floats, and soon called Alexa,

"Come on, Lady Saskia! Let's join them! It should be fun!' The guards agreed that it was better if they were in a float, joining the parade, than in the middle of the crowd, and helped the trio to get on the float.

This float depicted an allegorical Garden of Eden, for some reason, and the young masked nobles on it distributed apples to the people. She started to pretend to relax and have fun doing the same. But her eyes kept searching for a way to get out of sight of the guards who were watching her.

The road took a sharp turn, before entering the main square, in front of the cathedral. After the corner, Alexa saw the sea of ​people and cars around the temporary building that had been erected to mark the end of the parade. It was a long sequence of arches decorated with flowers that ended in a high place, where under a larger arch, she saw the figure of a man, prominently. Magnus.

However, at this moment, her gaze was drawn to a strange movement on the cathedral roof. She scanned the structure with a watchful eye, ignoring the movements around her.

What was that? A man with a crossbow?

'A killer!'