Chapter 129 - On the Road to Duncaster

After a day full of expectations, the Princess retired to sleep, and found the wall of blankets ready again in her bed.

Intrigued, Alexa looked at Mildred, who was rolling her third beads absently, and looked away at Romeo, pecking the bread balls on the table. Realizing that the only explanation was that the blind girl had struggled to make that mountain range separating the sides of the bed, Alexa asked,

"Mildred, were you the one who made this separation in bed?"

"Oh! Yes! I did, milady. Zand said he can't do it himself, poor thing. He said that you took a vow of chastity during this trip."

The Princess wanted to laugh, and glanced at Romeo, who had stopped pecking at the bread balls, wary.

"And I did. My husband will have to wait."

"Waiting increases love, they say," the peasant girl smiled.

Lying down, the Princess thought about how this unusual situation was getting more and more complicated. But her sleep came before she knew it, and waking up in the tower, her thoughts remained on the trip to Duncaster and Magnus's duel.

She was in no mood, even though she knew that several things were happening there. This melancholy was atypical to Alexa, but she felt pressured by several opposing forces at once, and unable to fight back. 

Alexa sat down in front of the Greek writings that Father Agnello had asked her to translate, forcing herself to decipher them, just so she wouldn't have to leave the tower tonight.

She tried to be very careful in the transcription, but it was difficult to understand, and nothing made much sense. Perhaps if the originals could be seen... 

But Father Agnello was not there that night, and Balbo could not help with that either.

The warrior only confirmed that the disease was spreading through the city very quickly, shaking his head to hide his fear, and saying,

"You must not leave, Your Highness. You cannot risk getting sick. Stay in the castle, at least," he asked.

Alexa didn't know if Balbo said that out of concern for her or for Alexander's body.

°°°

The dawn was slow to arrive this time, and the Princess closed her eyes ready to meet Magnus and Alexander again.

The Princess was only surprised to find that someone was glued to her chest and drooling on her tunic. But it was Jennifer, not who should be in bed.

But when she looked up and saw the Prince sorting some items on the table, using only a crack of dawn light coming through the window, she asked,

"What happened?"

"The little girl broke into the room in the middle of the night saying that she had a 'bad dream' and wanted to be close to you."

Alexa felt a little guilty for running away from the cute girl the other day, and stroked her hair, before getting up.

Romeo came in through the window crack, and Alexander said,

~The caravan going to Duncaster is already assembled in the village. I think we better hurry.~

It startled Mildred, looking for the source of the supposed page's voice. The peasant woman was sitting by the door, beside her meager possessions. Alexa imagined that the girl had barely slept in anxiety. She understood Mildred's feeling well. Although she had previously had selfish thoughts about how much the girl hindered them, now she was able to identify with Mildred's sad situation.

Lady Gwen and some people from the castle were also standing, and the Lady in Red made a point of accompanying Alexa to the village, to say goodbye and give her advice for the trip. The English woman treated it as a brief visit to Duncaster, to take the miller's daughter to a more suitable place. So Lady Gwen was telling Alexa what to eat and maybe, what to buy in Duncaster.

"Understand, Milady, there's nothing very interesting in that market, not for someone who lived next to a court. But if you can, visit Pete Cooker's pie house, you won't be sorry! And take these honey cakes to eat on the way, in case you feel hungry, my dear!" said the woman, with her usual slightly condescending tone.

'Wow, it's so kind of you, it doesn't even seem like I was trying to throw yourself to a supposedly married man! Your sad story to convince Magnus may be true, but I can't like you!' But Alexa smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Lady Gwen, acting as innocent as she could.

The lady lent one of her personal horses to Alexa. It was a great horse, and the Greek damsel knew a lot about horses to say so. She glanced at Magnus, who was giving the last instructions to his brave friends, Ulrich and Johannes. As soon as Magnus has finished, he came to the two ladies.

"As for me, I get a broken heart for having to accept that you go without me," he said so gallantly that Alexa felt melting, against her will, 'As if it were my idea! You're falling behind because you want to! ' Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Lady in Red barely hide a bored sigh. Apparently she wasn't used to having to hide her feelings, since she was the boss of everything around there.

"Ah, my dear husband. I can't wait to return to your side! I didn't even leave and I miss you already!" she said in response, cringing inwardly for saying such sweet stupid things in front of everyone. And for whoever was saying it. But the farce had to continue. Alexa knew that they had to pretend to be very much in love so that he could leave without delay. Now that he thought about it, even those compliments on his eyes ... maybe they had an audience that day?

Magnus moved towards her and hugged her in public, placing her head on his chest. 

'Ah! Stop! What are you doing?! I'm nearly dying of embarrassment! ' all the blood in her body had gone to her face and ears, and she was grateful to have her face pressed against his shirt, even if she was almost suffocating inside his hug. She had the impression of hearing Lady Gwen's voice, walking away,

'Ah, what an overwhelming passion!'

"Can you stop trying to kill me with your hug, Your Highness?" she murmured, while standing still in his arms.

"Get this girl over with, and I'll be with you guys tonight. If necessary, tie this Samaritan bird around your wrist. And buy him a cage," Magnus instructed in a low voice, slowly letting her go. At least the last comment was funny, although the princess knew it was quite serious, from Magnus' part, at least.

Then they left with the caravan. Her heart was filled with a bad feeling as she left Tanbury.

At first, Ulrich and Johannes were by her side, but then they went to stay with the two warriors who escorted the small group of peasants who would sell their surplus at the fair, one at the rear and the other at the forefront of the small caravan. Mildred came on a mule that Magnus rented from a peasant, behind Alexa, and was walking softly attached to the horse that the princess was leading. 

Alexa had noticed that the group was smaller than she imagined, and Mildred confirmed that normally many more people traveled to the fair. Alexa could only conclude that many peasants preferred to stay to watch the long-awaited duel. 

Alexa would also like to have stayed.

She tried to talk to the peasants about the fair, their products, and their daily lives, but all without exception were elusive. The princess was slightly offended. This sometimes happened, when her charisma didn't work like a charm to the hearts of the peasants, but it was very rare. She could only believe it was because she was helping Mildred, and as the miller himself said, she shouldn't be meddling into local affairs.

But Alexa couldn't help but be resentful.

The caravan took a secondary path to avoid crossing Baron Brentford's entourage en route to Tanbury, which Alexa lamented. She was curious to see him in person and find out what Magnus's opponent and Lady Gwen's supposed oppressor was like. 

After an hour or so, the Princess was told it wasn't more than two hours left to reach Duncaster, and it already bore Alexa. Mildred and 'Zand' happily chatted in whispers about something that Alexa couldn't really understand, without the peasant even imagining that she was not talking to a human being, but a bird.

"Zand, can you come here for a moment?" Alexa called, and had to repeat it three times, as she didn't want to attract the attention of the peasants or appear to be talking to herself. Luckily, they were well away from her.

~ What is it, milady? ~ He sounded a little mocking when he called her a milady, but Alexa ignored it. When the nightingale landed on her shoulder, she said,

"Alexander, I met your uncle, Duke Kurt," she commented in a secretive tone. "I think he is living incognito in Holstein. I could listen to rumors, but I think you could tell me the truth, instead of leaving me in the dark."

Alexander gasped,

~ My father's brother? In Holstein? It's impossible! ~

"No, it's not. I saw him with my own eyes. He was not a Shade, either, but a very lively person, "the Princess commented, whispering. "C'mon! There must be some reason for Father Agnello to be so cautious, and at the same time, he seems to have some resentment against him. Last night the Priest shied away from telling me details. 

~Alexa, I don't know my uncle. He left Holstein before I was born. I stopped thinking about it a long time ago, since nobody talks about him. Only the eldest nobles, and still not much. I just imagine that he's on bad terms with my dad. Not even Aunt Godiva talks about him. Which means…~

"He did something bad, didn't he?" Alexa completed, deducing with the information she had. That was quite a reason he had a spy inside the castle, of course.

~ It's difficult to point out what it is, however. See, he's the only man alive besides my father in his generation. My grandfather had two wives and five children who reached a.d.u.l.thood. Six women from their first marriage. My grandfather's second wife had three children: Gutard, Kurt, and Odila, Konrad's mother. As far as I knew, he was a canny Prince. He helped my father to govern in the early years, and to raise money for the cathedral that was my grandfather's life goal… ~ Alexander was explaining, when his little bird claws stuck on Alexa's shoulder. 

She turned to scold him, but stopped when he said,

~ Alexa, we're about to be attacked! ~