Chapter 100 - When Birds Migrate

Two golden eyes, even more so than Magnus's, stared at the nightingale intently.

The little bird was trapped.

He had landed absently on the edge of the bucket of water, to quench his thirst, without realizing that on top of some crates, a huge black cat was resting. The cat had descended cautiously and without making a sound behind him, and from a higher point, was watching him closely. Alexa only realized when she heard the voice in her mind, whispering,

~ Alexa, can you come here for a little while? Please? ~

Looking behind her, sitting on the tavern bench, the Princess noticed the trouble. The cat was short-haired and hunter-sized. His taut muscles were preparing for the leap. From her years of observation, she imagined that the chances of her husband escaping were slim. That yellow-eyed cat had every advantage. She nudged Duke Konrad sitting next to her, entertained with a roasted turkey leg,

"Konrad, look at that!"

Cautiously rising, Alexa tried not to trigger the attack. Romeo still had his back to the cat, but the nightingale seemed paralyzed, staring at the water in the bucket.

She was taking her first step towards the corner where the tense scene unfolded, when Konrad also interfered.

The turkey thigh swirled past Alexa, hitting the crate where the cat was on with a thud. It scared the puss, but also prompted the fluid movement of its lunge, jumping in the air over the rim of the bucket. Romeo, or rather, Alexander, took flight ...

But the experienced predator won over the inexperienced bird, snapping up the poor passerine, and starting its flight from its attackers with the nightingale between its fangs.

~HELLLLP! ~

"Shoo, cat!" Alexa tried to catch the cat, which had the advantage of being small and knowing its escape routes better than she did. The puss ran past her legs and disappeared into a hole in the wooden wall.

"Damn it!" Alexa barked, while she and Konrad looked at each other and left to rescue the body that housed Alexander's soul. By mutual agreement, each one left to one side of the inn. Although the other people in the party had seen it, no one moved as fast or as urgently as they did.

When the maiden stepped outside, feeling the chilly wind hit her face, she saw Magnus trying to capture the cat, which made a howling and frightening meow. The First Prince took off his cloak and threw it on the black cat, on a single movement. At that moment, Romeo managed to escape and tried to take flight, awkwardly. Then Magnus caught him in the air.

Defeated, the puss ran away and disappeared from their sight, losing its precious lunch to a Prince.

The Princess reached Magnus, who was looking at the bird from all sides. Romeo was in bad shape, covered in drool and looking scared and furious.

"That was close, huh? Didn't I already say that if you want to stay out of the cage, you can't get away from us?" the First Prince snapped.

~ I almost died and all what he thinks about is scolding me?! Cough cough! Did you tell him why I wasn't with you, Alexa?! Coff! ~ the bird shook its little legs and its head from side to side, closing its small eyes with a clear rancor. If a bird could express rancor, that's it.

"Don't be like that with him, Magnus! A tavern cat almost chewed him! How many Princes do you know who have had this kind of experience?" now that the fright had passed, the maiden saw the pathetic side of the incident. "He's mad at us. Your brother had walked away from us because…" she bit her lip to keep from laughing even louder, as that had been the primary reason for the incident.

"Because what?" the First Prince "polished" Romeo with the sleeve of his shirt, removing some of the moisture from the nightingale's feathers. He had not yet entered the inn as he had been solving practical matters of the journey, while Countess Godiva rested for a while and the meal was prepared and served.

~ STOP! Respect me! Don't do that! ~ Alexander shouted, while the bird was desperately hooting.

"You better stop, Alexander says he doesn't need any help with that," she acted as a diplomatic interpreter.

"Maybe it is better to wash it? Or does he prefer to remain covered in cat drool?" Magnus looked confused, but a little mean at the same time. "Indeed, when all this is over, Zand will have many interesting stories to tell."

"He was furious at us because of the turkey," Alexa revealed, placing her hand over her mouth this time. Magnus' eyes lit up and his lips twitched in a smile,

"Ah, does it mean that the very person who said his favorite dish was pheasant on wine gravy, and who used to hunt partridges and ducks, now does not keep up with the idea that humans eat birds? I'm startled!" the irony was clear and Romeo flew over Alexa's shoulder, despite they having fought 20 minutes ago over the meal.

~ I expected a little more empathy from you, but I see that I will have none. However, I'm even more disappointed with Konrad, who says he prefers lamb but is feasting with the turkey in front of me! Do you have any idea how horrible it is to see this scene? Would you be happy to watch each other eating human flesh?! Well, it's scary for me! ~

"Alexander is impressed to see a huge bird being roasted with its rinded skin and then broken and ripped and eaten with voracity. That's what he said earlier and is now repeating," Alexa explained, now keeping all seriousness.

"I wonder whether, when he becomes a human, he will eat insects the rest of his life," said Alexander's older brother, in a serious tone. I couldn't tell if it was a legitimate concern or a provocation. Alexander did not respond, however.

Then they heard a new desperate meow from the cat and Alexa decided to run there.

She found Konrad holding the cat by the scruff,

"Where's that bird, you mussel?" he released the animal away, and the puss ran again, while the young Duke searched around for the bird's whereabouts. Without looking at Alexa he said,

"The cat isn't with Romeo anymore! Did it devour my cousin? My God, how could we let this… happen to Zand…" he looked frantically at the ground, looking for clues and feathers.

~ Is he crying? ~ The Second Prince asked, inflating the b.r.e.a.s.t vainly.

"Konrad, don't be like that. Don't worry, he's gone to a better place now ..." she couldn't resist deceiving Alexander's cousin just a little. But Konrad dropped his weight on the cold, muddy floor,

"Alexander… What did I do? If I hadn't ..." he covered his face, without looking up.

The maiden realized that she should not have lied. She thought it would be funny but Konrad believed it.

"Ah, well, I was kidding, Duke… He's here, look. Magnus rescued him," her heart warmed when she saw that Alexander had a true friend in his cousin, Duke Konrad. Romeo flew to Konrad's hand, and pecked it, Konrad in return pressed the bird's head with his finger, and they were "fighting" pecks and fingers with each other, while laughing. At least Alexa heard her husband's laughs and grumbles, since no one else did.

Magnus stopped beside her,

"I see that everything is back to normal, except for the fact my brother is a nightingale. Zand and Konrad went back to being the usual idiots. And will you, Princess, continue to sneak into carriages and climb towers?"

"Whenever necessary," it was still strange to know that she was officially a Princess. All she knew was that she had died, and returned from death. According to earthly laws, her marriage would have been dissolved, right? So, she wasn't married to Alexander or a Princess, anymore. 'I definitely needed to talk to Alexander about it.'

But there would be a more propitious time for that, at some point in their trip.

Returning inside the inn, she finished her meal with Magnus, who told him they would reach the Duke's castle in the early evening, if his aunt didn't stay so long.

"Be patient with her, for a Lady like her even brief trips are boring and uncomfortable," she said, and he mumbled something about having no other choice.

They left after half an hour, continuing their journey towards the kingdom where Konrad was an important Duke. It would be the first night away from Holstein, and the first night of the journey to Languedoc.

After crossing a bridge, the border soldiers greeted them, and the entourage entered a plain of vast, newly harvested fields. In the distance, the maiden saw the castle that towered the Duke's lands. The orange sky was turning violet, making the horizon even more beautiful. It was a significant contrast to see that castle on the plains when Holstein had a castle on high. Romeo was on Konrad's shoulder, further ahead, while Alexa rode alongside Magnus. Looking at him, the maiden broke the silence,

"May I ask you something ... intimate, Magnus?"

He raised an eyebrow, sardonically,

"What can be so interesting in my intimate life now, Alexa?"

"I… just wanted to know what you thought of… well," was an embarrassing question, "about your father's decision to change the deal with de Wits. And marry Lady Cordelia," she finally said, looking at him curiously.

"Hm, it's an agreement that benefits the region and will bring a lot of power to Holstein. It doesn't really matter who she marries, does it?"

"I think she cared," Alexa remembered how Cordelia seemed delighted with the idea of ​​being Magnus' bride when she entered his private chambers. Up to that point, the maiden didn't imagine that Cordelia had a favorable opinion about Magnus, since she had expressed it differently. But now she was just confused. The more she knew about Cordelia, the less it made sense.

"Whether or not she cared, I don't care. She will be my father's wife, and I am honestly relieved about that. It doesn't matter what you say. I'm not obliged to like anyone just because everyone does," he snapped, but then exclaimed,

"Alexa?! Are you alright?"

But Alexa was no longer listening. When the atmosphere started to turn blue and the magical time came, she felt herself being swallowed up again by the darkness.

"Magnus ... Ahhhh!" she still reached out to cling to Magnus, but nothing could stop her fate.