Chapter 114 - The Funny Couple

Alexa controlled the urge to laugh at the absurdity she had just heard. 'Married?! What is the purpose of this bullshit?!' she knew she would have no answers now, and Lady Gwendolyn looked from one to the other, staring at Alexa for a while, and then turning her gray eyes on Magnus,

"And milord...?"

"As I said earlier, Magnus. Von Wuttenfal. From the royal family of the Kingdom of Holstein, on the coast of Lower Saxony," he looked away and to the Princess, motioning for Alexa to stand beside him. "Our destination was Normandy, but as you can see, we didn't get there. We can talk about our kingdoms soon, if you allow me to see on my young wife's needs first. She must be scared that she was almost burned alive…"

Alexa, now beside him, was already a little used to the variations in Magnus' level of sarcasm, but that was an unfamiliar experience.

"Despite the unusual situation and the tragedy that brought you here, I am grateful to meet the von Wuttenfal. I have heard of your kingdom once or twice, milord."

Magnus also did not make clear what his position in the royal family was, and Alexa could only assume that he was being cautious and wanted to remain as incognito as possible.

At the same time, the Princess didn't think the authoritarian woman was that innocent. Magnus mentioned royal family, so normally someone would be curious about how to treat them properly. But she didn't go into that.

"I continue to extend Tanbury's hospitality to you as long as you need to. And ... I will look forward to continuing our conversation about our kingdoms. Now, I have a great curiosity, so let me ask," the woman in red said, looking at both of them. Her expression was only slightly kind, but Alexa saw a strange gleam in her eyes.

"My people aren't stupid and I never thought I was either. Lady Alexa looked dead."

Magnus placed his heavy hand on Alexa's shoulder, squeezing lightly,

"As our hostess, I cannot deny this knowledge. My wife… was recently stricken with a disease. She passes out for hours ... Usually at night. And she really remains… immobile. I will take her to a doctor who I was informed to be able to cure my wife."

"Ahn..." Lady Gwendolyn stared at Alexa with her curiosity slightly tinged with compassion. Alexa added with her best dainty expression,

"We had high hopes, but ... It ended in a tragedy. We are sorry for the damage we caused. We will make up for you soon for all the sadness we might have caused."

"Don't be discouraged, dear. There have been a number of misunderstandings caused by ignorance, but it will all pass. Now, I will leave you. Your fellow travelers are where you left them, milord. I will ask my servants to find accommodation more worthy of your position. And we'll talk later, I have some urgent tasks to do." After saying it, Lady Gwendolyn left them alone.

Alexa looked at Magnus,

"What was that?"

"What are you talking about? If you're feeling well, go look for Romeo. I'm going to see Ulrich and Johannes," he deflected the subject, making a move to leave. But Alexa pulled him by the sleeve of his shirt,

"Not so fast ... husband," she took him away from the stairs, and seeing that the upstairs hallway was empty, whispered,

"You don't think this lie can bring us any more problems what benefits? You would be safer stating that you are a Prince. I would get help faster."

"Yes, indeed. But in addition to having to lick many boots and make my misfortune public, it would also endanger our mission. I honestly hoped you understood that already," contrary to what he was showing to the hostess minutes ago, he looked in a bad mood.

Well, it made perfect sense. Some nobles would show up to help, but that would come at a high price. The price Magnus called it humiliation. And maybe it would expose them. Still, "And did you really need to say we're married?"

"Unless you want to say that you are married to a bird. I'm protecting you, but you don't have to thank me," he mumbled. She was still gaping when they heard light footsteps, and Magnus clutched her, pulling her against his chest and kissing her hair.

"...!"

"Don't worry, my beautiful little dove. Everything will be all right. Don't cry!" the First Prince murmured, audibly, as he rubbed her back. But, well… 'Little Dove?!' Although being crushed against Magnus's chest made her heart flutter, she was uncomfortable. He pushed her away when servants, ready to help them, came closer.

A little later, after knowing the room where they would stay, Alexa warned Margrit, the same maid who had talked to her earlier, that she was looking for her pet bird and would try to find it. The woman was surprised by her request, but called a child to accompany her around.

The girl was Margrit's niece, and also a servant in the castle, and she must have been no more than 12 years old. Her name was Joan.

It was through Joan that Alexa learned, while walking towards the beach, that Lady Fairclough became a widow about 10 years ago and never married again. And that she had two children, Rowan and Jennifer. The girl didn't have enough political knowledge to explain how Lady Gwendolyn managed to remain mistress of the castle, however. Alexa was still intrigued, but maybe she had many allies in the surrounding lands.

"So your bird survived the shipwreck?" asked the girl, incredulous. The Princess nodded,

"Yes, the last time I saw 'him' was near the beach when I met a shepherd named Rufus. Maybe he's over there," it was Alexa's hope, in fact. She was intrigued and worried about it. Nothing would make sense if something had happened to Alexander. However, deep down she felt that he was alive.

After walking for a long time looking for Romeo and calling for him, Alexa realized that the girl was getting tired and at all times pointing out that it was going to rain soon, so she decided to come back. Her heart sank, thinking of Alexander alone and in danger in the forest, but then something caught her eye. Three stone tombs, next to each other, with crosses marking their location. A little curious, she turned away, but Joan took her hand, saying,

"We aren't going that way. They say there are ghosts over there," and the girl struggled to really pull Alexa and stop her from going. It was quite obvious that Joan was afraid of that part of the forest, so the Princess allowed herself to be guided back to the castle.

Then she heard a special trill, and turned, surprised and happy!

"Romeo!" and the little nightingale flew to her, landing on her raised wrist.

~ Alexa! ~

Alexander also seemed happy to see her, but said, knowing that Alexa would not dare to reply with the girl beside her,

~ I know you are in the castle. I'm at the watermill on the other side of the forest. A person ... Needs me there, ~ the lack of further explanation and the crazy idea that someone could 'need' a nightingale didn't convince Alexa. The Princess stroked the bird's head, making a soft voice to speak to it,

"Ah, you bad boy! Where were you? Doing what, uhn? You must stay with your mommy, that's what you have to do! I'll give you bread balls and everything you want! Where have you been, Romeo?!"

~ Stop it! You are not my 'mommy'! It may seem strange but ... I am helping someone. It's not a pain to help someone in need. You need to find out where we are and how to leave. In the meantime, I'll be there at the mill. See you later! ~ Saying that he flew suddenly, before Alexa tried to grab him and stop him.

"Romeo! Romeo! Come back here! Romeo?! No! Don't do it!" Alexa shouted at the bird, between tearful and angry. 'Ah, what an annoying Prince! How can he do that?!'

But thick drops of rain began to fall from the sky and she had to run with Joan back to the castle, still annoyed by Alexander's irresponsibility.

Upon arriving, the Princess didn't see many people around, and when she asked the servants, she knew that Lady Gwen was in her room. Apparently many would do the same for the rest of the afternoon.

Alexa went back to the room, where she found Magnus near the window, spying the rain through a crack. This room was probably one of the best in the castle, with solid furniture, and well decorated. She briefly related her conversation with Alexander, and Magnus snorted, closing the window with a bang,

"Typical of Alexander. We'll pick him up after the rain. I just won't ear-pull him because that's not possible," he said, and Alexa couldn't contain her laughter at the remark. Magnus gestured to a bathtub. Bathe yourself first, I'll do it after you. I suppose that, because it's raining the castle's people will only show up around dinner."

"Um, I had the same thought. 'When in Rome…'" She really wanted a proper bath, not just the precarious cleaning with damp cloths from before. The sea salt still itched a little on her skin.

But then, she realized that there was no screen or anything like it in the room. And most likely, the First Prince would need to bathe in the water she used first.

She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her cheeks burn, and then looked sideways at the Prince. Magnus stared at her, noticing Alexa's eyes on him, undecided.

When he caught on her uneasiness, he snorted and threw his head back in laughter,

"C'mon, life's so funny! My wife is ashamed of me seeing her n.a.k.e.d!"