Chapter 122 - A Matter of Faith

~ Mildred doesn't know that I'm a bird, and you shouldn't tell her, ~ said Alexander, as soon as he had the opportunity to speak to Alexa away from the blind peasant. The Princess was going to agree, but then she sighed heavily, deciding not to make things so easy for the Second Prince,

"Ah, of course. Are you sure it's something you should ask me for?"

~ Ah, don't be dramatic. The reasons are not futile. So far she has trusted me because she hears my voice. It's obvious that she will be much more frightened than she already is if she knows that she is talking to an enchanted creature. How do you think she will react? ~

"I have no idea," Alexa pouted, still divided by her pity for the poor girl and the awareness that Alexander had put them in an awkward position because of a local peasant.

At that moment, they were in the ruins of the old convent, waiting for the rain to die down. They sheltered from the rain under a ruined building with a roof. Alexa didn't have much choice but to say she wanted to take Mildred as a servant. Mildred's father did not object, but warned that it would put them in big trouble. Mildred was thrown out of the house with a bundle of clothes and a pouch of dried meat. 

Alexa wished to leave as soon as possible. Her hands itched and burn, and it was a bad omen.

~ But please listen to me. She told me she was punished because of her faith. She said she's not sorry, but she was afraid of not surviving. ~

"Hm," Alexa was struggling to not sympathize with Mildred, but she was feeling her heart bleeding for the girl. The last time the maiden trusted and had mercy on a girl, appearances totally deceived her. "Now look, Alexander, she'll soon find out that the voice she hears doesn't have a body when we get to Tanbury Castle. Perhaps you had better prepare her for it. It won't be good if she tells everyone she talks to strange voices."

~ Alexa, help me! ~

"You shouldn't involve yourself in this land's affairs. Now, what am I going to do with a blind and injured maid?"

~ You are becoming much more insensitive than I expected, ~ he replied, and flew to the top of the ruined building.

Alexa sighed, and looked sideways at Magnus, who was leaning on a windowsill watching the rain and lost in thought. She didn't want to argue or make Magnus mad at Alexander, so she went over to the girl, who was sitting on her bundle of clothes.

"Mildred, I need to know what happened, so we can help you. I see that your injury is recent."

"Milady, I'm glad to you for choosing me as your maid. But I fear it will only hinder your trip. Zand said you were shipwrecked and you are a long way away," said the girl. Alexa imagined that Alexander presented himself with a nickname so that his name would not denounce his noble origin. This would only make sense because the young peasant woman really had no idea what a noble Saxon might sound like, of course.

"Yes, Mildred. That's what happened. We are also in trouble now. We are guests of Lady Gwendolyn at the castle. We needed to find Zand ... and Romeo. My bird," the princess still didn't know what to say to the blind girl, so she was dubious.

But she realized that Mildred trembled after her words, wincing.

"Are you all right, Mildred?" Alexa already suspected what the problem was, but it would be better if the girl told them. And Mildred brought her hands up to her bandages under her eyes, her voice choked with tears.

"Milady… You and your husband are kind people. But I need to reveal something," said the peasant, shakily.

"Was it Lady who ordered this?" the Princess asked.

Mildred nodded.

"What did you do to make Lady Gwendolyn have your eyes plucked out?" Magnus's voice cut the brief silence that followed between them. Mildred was startled, and Alexa glanced and checked that, although attentive, Magnus had not even turned to look at the two.

"I professed my faith," and the girl pulled a cord with a wooden cross from within the modest neckline. Alexa suppressed a sigh, because it meant something that she already suspected.

'Why do I have to be involved in disputes of faith everywhere?' she thought, discouraged.

"So nobody is a Christian here?"

"They worship demons. The monk Peter said that the 'Ancient Gods' of this land, as they call it, are nothing less than demons, and the promiscuity of that land will be punished! But before that happens, Milord, Milady, we better get out of here as soon as possible!"

"What you are talking about is disturbing and dangerous, Mildred," Magnus said, coming closer. Alexa could not read anything in the First Prince's expression.

"I swear on my mother's grave, it is true. When the Red Lady married Lord Fairclough, the secret cult gained strength. After he died, everything came out in the open. They killed those who remained faithful to the Church, others had to flee ..."

"And you ...?" the girl was probably only a child when Lord Fairclough died, if the dates were correct. Alexa wanted to understand how much fantasy was and how much could be a reality, in Mildred's account.

"My mother died at that time. My father didn't care much, and soon he converted to their service ... But when I go to the Duncaster fair, I try to go to church! I confess and obey the commandments! And at the fair…"

"When and where is this fair?" Magnus questioned.

"On Friday, in Duncaster. My dad and I are going… we went, I mean, twice a month."

Magnus scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat, calling,

"Zand, keep Mildred company, Milady and I need to talk."

~ Are you cold, Mildred? ~ Alexander asked, from where he was. The blind peasant turned her face to where she thought she was hearing the voice, with a smile on her face. Alexa sighed, imagining that this was just complicating the situation, and got up to go with Magnus to a distant corner to talk.

"What can we do?"

"Who knows, ask these monks for help to put her in a place where she is safe. At that moment, in smaller numbers, we must maintain our facade of ignorance. As soon as we leave here, I can even send letters about it to the Church. But it would be just stupid when we have so few swords at our side."

"You didn't even doubt her," she looked up at him, impressed.

"Exactly as I never doubted your lack of faith when you stepped on Holstein," he winked at Alexa. "They left this girl alive as a sample of what happens to those who challenge this cult. She was a fool, for showing her faith, don't you think?"

Alexa didn't know what to think at that moment of Magnus' words. But he seemed just as penalized as Alexander for Mildred's situation. She had given up on finding any logic in the First Prince's actions.

"But what is our plan, then?"

"There's not much that a blind woman with no family can do in this dire world, Alexa. Only charity can save her. So we have to find the people who can help her. The monks, probably. In the city Mildred mentioned. Perhaps she can be taken to a convent. I don't see a better destination for this poor thing."

"I wonder if the situation was reversed, if she were the pagan, what would you do?" Alexa wondered aloud.

Magnus just looked at her coldly, without answering.

"We shouldn't go stay long in Tanbury, and now with this girl as your maid, things might become riskier. With luck, they'll realize that we just want to leave and don't bother us."

"If it weren't for that "Red" wanting you to duel for her. A woman capable of having a girl blinded just because she professes another faith must not be an understanding hostess..." her guts told her that Magnus was underestimating the problems they could face there.

"We'll see. I just want to get out of here and continue our search as soon as possible. If she needs a duel, maybe she can hurry things up."

The Princess opened her eyes wide,

"Don't tell me you want to duel!" the realization that Magnus had not considered leaving Tanbury before dueling surprised her.

"I don't want people telling a von Wuttenfal ran from a duel!" he raised an eyebrow in defiance.

"It's so vain," she protested, incredulous.

"It's my family's name," he replied, putting an end to the conversation by turning his broad back to Alexa.

"Agh!" irritated, she closed her fists but there was nothing she could do about it. That thorny situation looked like a mire of which the more one moves, the more one sinks into the mud. Only one thing was certain.

To save a single life, they were risking them all.

She looked at the girl talking to the bird, probably believing she was talking to a flesh-and-blood boy. Then she glanced at Magnus, who had gone back to watching the rain with a dark, grim face.

Alexa felt very lonely, suddenly.

Her opinion didn't matter. Alexander had decided something for everyone, and Magnus didn't listen to her either. Furthermore, it seemed that the simple fact that Mildred was a Christian with some character and a martyr of the faith, placed her on a level that Alexa could not reach. That of a trusted person, for both.

Tears trickled down her eyes without realizing it.

Was it forbidden to wish to survive?

Alexa could no longer understand why she was doing what she was doing. For two Princes who at times seemed to like her, and at other times seemed to despise her.

'Do any of them really like me?' she wondered.

But the approaching troop of horses interrupted Alexa's thoughts.