Chapter 140 - The Sinner

It was him. Narses.

Her beloved and closest brother, which she believed dead. In her heart she had recognized his gestures and the way he walked, and now, she could see his face again. 

His eyes were no longer the same, however, and Lex saw in them more than shock and suspicion,

"Who are you?" Narses asked.

They heard footsteps approaching, and their attention was turned to the people coming in that direction, with torches. Lex took a breath, incredulous that her own brother wasn't recognizing her. Then the younger Dallassenos remembered that she was in the body of the Second Prince. As similar as they were, there were differences, and Narses seemed to be aware of them.

"Don't you know who I am?"

His gaze dropped to Narses' hand, which rested on a dagger half hidden by the cloak. Lex also saw something else that shocked her: Narses wore a white robe, characteristic of an ecclesiastical order. Lex's eyes widened,

"SAY IT! Who are you?!" Narses quickly grabbed Lex by the collar, with a look that could only be classified as disturbed. But at that very moment Balbo leaped out of the shadows, placing the tip of his sword between them. Lex remained motionless, facing both the sword and his brother. Narses had not yet loosened his collar, so the three heard,

"I received an intriguing call, but do I find a violent scene in this sacred precinct? What do you think you are doing?!"

"Narses, what are you doing?"

Prince Gutard's voice, followed by the voice of an unknown man calling his brother, was undoubtedly the last thing Lex expected to hear now. 

It seemed to have the expected effect. 

Narses released the Second Prince and turned to Gutard, bowing according to etiquette. Balbo put his sword away quickly and did the same thing.

The Holstein Sovereign arrived with two warriors, and the figure who had accompanied his brother to the cathedral. 

That unusual encounter still made little sense, but seeing that the brother whose death she had cried so much was alive, seemed to obliterate all the other details.

"Alexander, what are you doing here?" asked Gutard, not at all happy to find Lex in the cathedral in the middle of his secret meeting. Narses watched the Second Prince out of the corner of his eye, attentive to the information.

"I ..."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. My little brother Narses sent this letter, ignorant of the protocols. As I said, he has reason to believe that Princess Alexa is a relative of his. Please listen to him, I know him and I know he won't waste Your Majesty's time," said the other man in religious clothes.

It was not the rich and ostentatious clothes that Blue Eyes used to wear, but they carried the colors of an Order that Lex knew was the main one involved in the Inquisition trials. He was pale and with jet black hair that contrasted with the tone of his pale skin. His square face and thin, red lips gave him an aspect of strictness. The 'Second Prince' looked at Narses, who kept his head down waiting for Prince Gutard's decision. 

Lex at his side noticed Narses' mental agitation, reflected in micro movements and how much he was aware of what was happening around him. And mainly, Lex.

Gutard stared at Lex for a long time, and motioned for her to come to his side, which she obeyed, thus facing Narses again. 

Lex now feared that Narses would have his past and identity exposed. Was he in disguise? Was it a plan to escape and stay alive? 'He was looking for me! All this time he was looking for me! ' she concluded, feeling tears of gratitude come to her eyes. 'What should I do now?'

"Relative of Princess Alexa?" Asked Gutard, motioning for Narses and Balbo to finally get up. Narses's gaze went sharply to Lex, and he took a moment to speak.

"Alexia Zöe Saskia. The last news I had of her is that her fiance, the English knight John Blackrose, had sent her to England. So ... I have heard news that a girl with the same name got married in Holstein since Cologne, Your Majesty. And there is other news about her too ... But when I arrived they said the bells were ringing because of her death," he broke off, leaving several things unsaid.

"But she said all of her relatives had died," said Gutard. Turning slightly towards the 'son', the Sovereign Prince sounded curious and scathing "Alexia said that her family was accused of several crimes, for having been involved with heretics…"

Lex swallowed.

"She could have been wrong ..."

"Excuse me, but are you Prince Alexander? The one that people say is… sleeping, or sick?" his brother asked.

"Yes, this is Prince Alexander. And who are you?" Asked Gutard. Alexa held her momentum in simply throwing herself into her brother's arms and revealing everything, mainly because she wasn't sure if it could cost Narses' life.

"I am Narses. A sinner who would not may even tarnish the name of a Princess," replied his brother. Lex wasn't used to his bitter and contrite tone, and trembled with anxiety. The man who accompanied Narses said,

"As I said, Brother Narses belongs to our Lay order. He is a member of Militia Jesus Christi. His admission to our tertiary order was a request from Cardinal Albizzi," said the religious that Alexa still didn't know who he was, but clearly acted as a superior. If Narses was a lay military order, it meant that he wasn't ordained or a friar, but a warrior of the faith, she recollected. 

Another shocking fact was the name of Albizzi, who Alexa imagined to be the kind man she met in Venice, and who promised to help her by asking for the absolution of the Dallassenos' accusation as heretics, directly to the pope. Formerly an archbishop, he was now referred to as a cardinal. Lex was happy that Rinaldo could not destroy his reputation after all.

"Narses Dallassenos? This is you?" Gutard wanted to make sure. Lex's brother nodded,

"Yes, Dallassenos is the name of my family. Your Holiness, the Pope, has granted me and my family papal forgiveness. "

Lex remembered that the despicable Ghirardino Figa worked very hard to prevent the rise of a Pope who was against the interests of him and his associates, trying to use Narses to do so. 

Alexa didn't know if the new Pope was the same person who Narses refused to kill, but the fact that they received papal forgiveness meant that they were no longer wanted as heretics.

"Alexa Saskia was actually Alexios Dallassenos?" Gutard went straight to the core, placing a firm hand on Lex's shoulder.

"The Saskias adopted my little sister and went to a convent for a long time. When the Saskias were also chased, Alexa had to be removed from there. We went to Venice, where… we parted. Alexa became engaged to Sir John Blackrose, and was supposed to be going to England."

Narses didn't look at anyone, he just looked at the floor. His answer seemed to follow a predetermined path. Memories of the facts came as a flood to Lex's mind. All she wanted to know now was how Narses had survived and what had happened to him when she was a prisoner at the Pallazzo Ottieri. And all this time? But one thing was certain: it was not an easy time for his brother.

"There were rumors that Narses and Alexios were murderers, as well as heretics," the Prince seemed to relish the fact that he could interrogate Narses without difficulty. 

Lex was still confused about the big change in her brother's personality, always so proud and lively. He almost looked like someone else, in replying,

"I have committed sins, Your Majesty, but believe me that they created many rumors about the Dallassenes that were not true. My sister and I were maligned in many ways, as were the rest of my family. Our history is not well known in the West, but believe me. My sister was just a child when all of this happened. Her suffering was immense."

The man with Narses interrupted,

"In fact, Your Majesty, the rumors about the 'Dallassenos brothers' were absurd and unreasonable. 'Invisible killers', they said. 'With diabolical pacts to fly at night ...'" he chuckled. "I know Brother Narses and his history of suffering and penance. The Pope personally heard his confession. And he asked us to trust this man as a person reborn and mortified by his past actions. Shouldn't we all open our hearts to receive him?"

Gutard nodded slowly,

"I think so."

There was something strange in the words of the hard-eyed religious, and Lex wondered what Father Agnello would think of this man, if he met him. In fact, ...

"Sorry, but I don't think I heard your name yet," Lex asked candidly.

"Reuben. Reuben Van de Velde, Your Highness, and serve as Prior of the Dominican Order of Rhineland and above. "

Although the religious tried to minimize with a soft tone of voice, Alexa knew that he wanted to impress the Holstein's Sovereign.

"I heard that the Church insists that Alexa is indeed dead. Did you declare that your sister is dead, Narses Dallassenos?" asked Gutard.

"It wasn't me, although the Bishop insists that yes, she's dead. In addition, he sent letters to the Priory ... about intriguing facts in Holstein. Many of them involve Princess Alexa. But that is why we want to hear from His Majesty," said Prior Reuben, looking at Prince Gutard.

"Where's Princess Alexa?"