Chapter 80 - Honor

Alexa sneaked out again, trying not to be seen, and squatted among the tall rocks on a scree part of the cliff. The plateau at the end of the cliff was not very extensive, it was only a few meters long but would allow a duel to be carried out without interruption in a more private place. This place was outside the castle walls, which turned away from the rough sea and was strategically perched on the eastern part of the cliff.

The sun had not yet risen, but purple hues tinged the horizon, as a few people, all men, gathered there to watch the duel of honor.

The Princess positioned against the sea wind, so she could reasonably hear what they were saying. But Lex couldn't get any closer than that without being seen.

As a challenger, Prince Magnus was already there, with his friends and trusted men, waiting for Florian's arrival. Naturally, Holstein's court got offense on his words, and the Polish entourage could have a lot of problems if Florian didn't show up. But this was very unlikely, since the Baron was known as an accomplished warrior.

The Princess's mind wandered, and the memory of Michalis, her older brother, came to her mind, sharp and painfully.

'Honor? Sometimes honor only causes us pain. Locke, you were a wise guy,' the Princess reflected, 'What is the difference between dying for your honor, when what is honor changes with each city?'

°°°

Lex was in his eldest brother tent when Michalis came in with a big smile, "So there you go, rummaging in my things! Didn't want to play dice with the men? Or to party around? The merchant is happy about you. I bet if you ask for the horse you used to win the race for him this morning, he'll give it to you!"

"I doubt it, brother! That horse is special! And I already have more horses than I can handle!" the youngest of the Dalassenos was flattered by his victory in the race, but there was another subject that bothered Lex.

The slaves came to help Michalis undress for a bath, and Lex waited that he was relaxing inside the tub to get closer. Some time ago, he had stopped feeling comfortable with the male nudity which he had always been exposed to. Since Lex's body had started to change under boy's clothes, actually.

"You are here because you have something to say to me. Either you'd be stuck to Narces' tail, or around poor Iacintho, being yelled at. That's why Iacintho doesn't like to travel with us. He says you get him mad, always messing with his stuff and whatever, hahaha!" the older one laughed aloud. Lex's big brother was a spontaneous, broad-shouldered, strong man. Everyone who looked at him said that Michalis resembled a lion, hence his epithet 'Michalis the Lion.'

In fact, Michalis and Lex didn't have that much contact. This was probably because of a 16-year difference between them. The eldest of the Dalassenos was a warrior by profession and vocation. Unlike Bryennios, their father, he was unable to be subtle or political. He was loyal and passionate, admired by everyone who knew him.

"Well, I'd say that to Dad or Narces, but they won't be back until tomorrow and ..."

"It's not about ..."

Lex denied shaking his head, and putting his big brother at ease, at least on this part.

The men had had a hard time when Lex thought he was dying because of his bleeding and aching female part. While Narces laughed loud and his father was embarrassed, Iacintho played the doctor and solved the ignorance issue.

Then they gave him a slave, Martha, who officially 'initiated him' and used to sleep in Alexios' bed. The girl, who was only a year older than Lex, helped with what was needed about 'female parts'. It was a frightening and confusing moment in Lex's life.

But Martha was pregnant, Lex found out, and therefore the slave girl became unable to continue traveling with the men.

When they were reunited with Michalis, the older brother laughed a lot at the situation, as the men would undoubtedly think Alexios had impregnated the slave. Michalis' wife, Tarsila, was shocked to learn that her young 'brother-in-law' was actually a girl. But that was not the case. Tarsila had taught him what Martha didn't know either.

Lex approached the tub and whispered in his brother's ear, "That man, the emperor's younger brother. He keeps calling me to his tent, or to teach me archery properly! He says he wants to give me an armor ... I don't like him. He always tries to touch or sniff me!"

Michalis paled and his expression changed from grinning to calculating. Lex still didn't know what Michalis knew, only his intuition told him he should tell the family right away. They were traveling with great generals, and Lex was aware of that man's importance. Doukas was also an important general himself.

"From this moment on, Alexios, until our father returns, you are my shadow and you do nothing away from me," it was the instruction said in a worried tone.

Now, looking into his brother's eyes, the youngest asked,

"Do you think he knows? Or that he suspects of something?"

Because of this birth gift, which according to a belief of hundreds of years, was inherited only by the men of the Dalassenos house, Lex lived a boy's life. In ancient times, they offered the young Dallassenos girls who developed these gifts as a sacrifice to the guardians of the thresholds between the living and the dead. But Bryennios could not kill his daughter when he found out she had the gift. Alexa Zoë became Alexios before she could understand what was going on.

As a boy, his gift was not only accepted, but would be developed by the rites of the Order of the Lazarites. An order that, despite the Christian name, maintained the belief in the Orphic rites and the Eleusinian Mysteries that secretly survived Christianity.

"No, Lex, he doesn't know. Maybe if he did, he'd lose interest. This man's habits are not well regarded by the Patriarchs and even by the Emperor, but everyone pretends to ignore his preferences," his brother revealed. But Lex already sensed that, too.

Things didn't go as planned, however. That night, when attending the banquet offered by the merchant, Doukas bought the champion horse and offered it to Alexios, in front of everyone. The paid sum was exorbitant, and the emperor's brother made an obscene joke about how Lex rode the stallion. The spicy comment drew malicious laughter from some, but received the uncomfortable silence from others.

Michalis said,

"This gift must be refused, if it causes that kind of libidinous memory, General Doukas."

"Ah, the virtuous Michalis! The Lion of the Dalassenos! Surely he must consider himself morally superior to others, as if the Dalassenos were untouchable creatures. Do you consider yourself above ALL mortals?" Doukas raised his voice as he spoke, visibly irritated by the dry and flat refusal of the eldest of the Dalassenos brothers. As a brother of the Emperor, Doukas undoubtedly knew why the Lazarites were so important to the Emperor of Constantinople. But at that moment, he wanted to induce Michalis to pronounce something that offended the Emperor in front of witnesses.

A trap of words that could cost her brother's life, Lex knew.

(TO BE CONTINUED)