Chapter 70 - Peas

"THIS. IS. SIN!" the Florentine priest repeated for the umpteenth time, as he circled the couple. It was close to midnight, and their confessor seemed to realize that he would have a hard work ahead regarding those two.

Kneeling on grains of peas, Alexa and Magnus kept their rosaries on their fingers, murmuring the prayers of their penances with frowned faces. They were there in those positions for hours.

'I shouldn't have listened to the cheese-maker, or yearned for Magnus. The old woman was right about praying soon after, for the sins committed. But it seems that it is compulsory, nowadays…'

"This damned cauldron of witches must be buried down!" the priest grunted with hatred, talking about Queen Swan's hot spring. Father Agnello had admonished them for hours, and questioned them about every detail of what had happened, leaving Alexa confused, embarrassed and deeply miserable. Magnus was also contrite, and the maiden was sure there that the Prince heartily believed in the damnation of hell and absolution by penance.

"You are young, and beautiful, and you have spent a lot of time together lately. That's only the Devil using your empty minds! Even so, your spouses will be other persons, and they deserve respect and loyalty. Two people who are bedridden right now, needing your dedication and charity, and what? You two are being selfish and libidinous! Giving in to temptations and..."

Although the punishment seemed light, at first, Alexa was cramping and thought at any moment she would fall to the side, exhausted. Lex paid regard to every word and even wondered if it had been a kind of local spell as it was being implied by Blue Eyes… 'Really?'

But mainly, she realized that Blue Eyes had a specific focus at that moment: the Prince. Intriguingly, the proud First Prince of Holstein had not rebuffed the reprimand or the preaching. Prince Magnus didn't justify himself or disdain his cousin's reproach, but knelt in silence and obedience, and prayed fervently. This fact left the maiden completely stunned.

Whenever Lady Saskia failed in her litanies, the Father pulled her ear when she stopped praying. Alexa could recite the words and profess the Christian religion, but it puzzled her mind. Ever since she was a child, she had learned about the rites that her family had kept for centuries, as Bringers of Light. The maiden just wanted to find a place for herself! She wanted to live, in peace!

When she was in the convent in Antiochia, under the tutelage of Lady Eudoxia, Alexa saw how the noblewomen who 'loved' someone were thrown there, by their families, forced to become nuns or to have a worse fate if they rebelled. Lady Eudoxia was an exception, a woman who lived as she wished, but even she, with the death of her lover and protector, had nowhere to go with any dignity other than a convent. Lady Eudoxia no longer had a family, nor would she ever have.

'My beauty is gone, and so is my lover. What option do I have? Spend the days pretending not to know that people hate me, outside and inside this place. And the nights, dreaming off ... about my glory days that were long gone. That's what love brought me, little cousin: a lonely end; a future on a headstone that will never be visited,' once the lady confided in one of her rare introspective and self-reflective moments.

Only when tears came to the Lady's eyes did Father Agnello take Alexa out of punishment. But The Prince had received a greater penalty, so he must stay. Taking the damsel to another room, Blue Eyes went on,

"Lady Alexa, if this is a plan, whatever it is, stop it now. Rest assured: this is the last chance you will have. Your last chance for redemption. So far I have done my best to fulfill our deal, and to save you. But I'll be your enemy if you disown all common sense and decency, and bring other people down to your own damnation."

The maiden listened silently. Blue Eyes was just a priest, but she was no longer a fool not to realize the power he had over the Von Wuttenfal family. Whether he wanted to save the Wuttenfal from the contact with witches, or whether he just wanted to ensure that the Di Borghesi continued to have a great influence on Holstein in the future, she still didn't know. Alexa just knew that she still didn't fully understand his ethics.

"Tomorrow at this time, you will be a Princess, Lady Alexa. Married to a young man who is bedridden today. If he dies without you having consummated the marriage, the marriage may be annulled. However, you are left unprotected again. There will be no reason for you to stay in the kingdom, but you have nowhere to go. Don't persist on scandalous behavior, or this court will ask your head. And even more so, do not attract Gutard's fury. He loves his two sons, but he loves the kingdom his family has built even more. And he loves nothing more than those two things. Today you have his benevolence, but you have already seen how capricious he can be," the caustic tone was clear in the priest's speech, but his words were sensible and logical.

Whatever Blue Eyes was going to say next was interrupted when Prince Magnus himself entered the room, without knocking,

"Lady Saskia will marry my brother. She will have a home in Holstein. When Alexander recovers, they will be very happy," he said gravely. And right after that he searched Alexa's eyes with his, saying. "Lady Saskia won't have to worry, I'll get myself the person who will bring the cure for Alexander."

Before she could open her mouth to say something, the First Prince nodded and left them, having said everything he needed tell.

There was a barely contained smile at the corner of the Father's lips, she noticed. Sighing, she tried to convince herself, just as Magnus had convinced herself, that this was the right thing to do.

°°°

They returned to Holstein at dawn, and arrived in the capital with the first rays of sunlight. During the silent ride and the final decision about the future, Alexa had still reflected with a heart full of doubts. But Magnus's words had an intrinsic meaning that made her feel good.

Upon arriving, Alexa was told that Lady Cordelia wanted to see her. Eager to hear of the other Lady's recovery, the Greek maiden went immediately to Cordelia's quarters. Before knocking on the door, the damsel hesitated for a moment. But shook her presentiment away, knowing that she felt it because she felt guilty. However, Lex had made an important decision and promised herself never to leave anything remotely close to that happen in the future. And the maiden knew that Magnus had decided the same.

A lady that Alexa had not yet seen opened the door. The Greek maiden thought she knew all Cordelia's attendants and aides. As almost all of them had perished in the villa, the Bride had been supplied with servants by the royal chambermaid. That went to the back of her mind, however, as soon as Alexa entered the Flemish maiden's quarters.

Cordelia's mother got up from the chair beside Cordelia's bed, dropping her embroidery hoop. Alexa realized that Cordelia was waking up, and imagined that maybe she had come too early, even though it was almost time for the morning Mass.

The women in the chambers looked at her strangely. Lady Saskia realized that there were more different women in there. Even a nun in a full habit was next to Cordelia's bed. It worried her. 'Isn't Cordelia getting better?'

Alexa bowed and greeted them, but they were grimly silent. The maiden realized that something very wrong was going on, but when Cordelia's mother approached, she was unprepared.

In fact, she wasn't prepared for the loud slap that hit her in the face, or the words that followed,

"You little bitch! What do you think you are doing?!'