Chapter 172 - The Coven

"Don't worry, it doesn't take long to reach our friends at the port. And to be honest, it might be better if you stayed in there tonight," said Magnus, shoving Alexa into the coffin.

They were on the side of the road; it was getting dark, and he insisted that she would have a much more comfortable night and he had fewer problems than carrying an unconscious woman on his back in an unknown city.

"Stop! It's scary!"

"It's just a bed... for a long sleep. And you're a heavy sleeper, anyway," he forced two fingers on her forehead so that she finally lay down, and Alexa didn't resist this time. 

She didn't want that day to end, and it was with a tightness in her chest she woke Magnus out of his sleep after the meal in the barn.

The rain had died off and they should resume their journey. Because of the wagon and the muddy road, their progress was slower than expected, and the night came too quickly. 

During the trip, Alexa told more details about Lady Duvignes and her involvement with Duke Kurt, at Magnus' request. The Princess told what she knew, without being able to guess by the Prince's what he thought of all that. His face only let slip that, whatever his thoughts about everything he heard, they were dark.

As for Alexa, after her latest discovery about herself, her mind was more confused than ever.

"Good night," she said expectantly, and Magnus, who was closing the coffin lid, stopped for a moment to stare at her strangely.

"Good night, maiden. Try not to destroy my kingdom or my family during my absence."

She nodded, which made the Prince stop again,

"Are you agreeing with me?"

Magnus could not hear an answer from Alexa, as she was swallowed up in Alexander's body once again.

This time, she felt her body free from the effects of sleeping drugs and was fully awake. The wound site still hurt with movements, but at least Alexa was sure that the worst part was over.

While this was good news, it was also worrying, since, according to the White Queen's Shade, once Alexander's body was fully healed, possibly the soul inhabiting the body could not leave it.

What this meant, in its entirety, was difficult to answer, but Alexa didn't want to take any chances again.

'Alexander?' she called into her mind, as she felt like he was close by. Looking around, the Princess definitely didn't recognize the location. The room Alexander's body was in was spacious and beautiful, and it didn't look at all like the tower in the castle. But she had no idea what that place was, exactly.

But there was no answer.

The door opened and Helga entered, accompanied by the doctor and some servants carrying a tub.

The newcomers smiled when they saw the Second Prince sitting on the bed, and bowed as appropriate.

"It's a pleasure to see Your Highness in better condition," said the doctor, approaching the bed. "Your Majesty has appointed me as your doctor. I'm Herman Ceridom, a servant of yours."

The doctor was a thin, dark man with gray hair, a hooked nose and a peaceful smile, who probably looked younger than he was. His eyes looked tired, although they had an optimistic glow.

The Prince nodded, still in confusion. Balbo was nowhere to be seen, and Lex was left to ask Helga, while the doctor lifted his tunic to observe the bandages around his waist.

"And my dad? Balbo? Where are?"

"Your Highness, your father was here until the middle of the day, when urgent matters brought him back to the castle. Mestre Balbo has been absent since morning, as I heard," she explained while waiting for the medical examination. After Ceridom squeezed the Prince's belly, which hurt, and examined the external appearance of the wound, he explained to his royal patient,

"Now that the fever has ceased and your youth is trying to heal your wounds, know that if you don't make any exaggerated physical efforts, Your Highness will be fine in a few weeks. The more rest and peace, the better. The new southern doctors say that the sick, most of all, should avoid bathing, but I request that you continue to take them with the help of your servants, Your Highness. Some herbs will help to clear your body of any fever. We just have to keep the wound area dry."

In fact, Lex realized that, despite feeling weakened, with proper care it wasn't difficult to bathe with the help of a servant. She just felt distressed with her body, or rather Alexander's body, exposed. Ceridom later recommended the Prince should eat light meals and take brief walks until he fully recovered. According to him, the location was infinitely more favorable for his quick recovery, compared to Holstein. Finally, the doctor said that he would remain in the house until the patient's full recovery, leaving him after make sure the Prince was well.

These two pieces of information made Lex think they should be at Alexander's property, Ashgraufelsen. It would have felt better if Lex had Balbo to talk to, or at least knew where Alexander was. There seemed to be nothing she could do to find out how to revert Sigrid's spell to its original state, and that was worrying.

Helga brought him soup, and whispered to the Prince's ear, when there was no other servant or guard in the room.

"Your Highness, Lady Duvignes is missing and His Majesty has ordered Master Cerdán to find her at any expense."

Lex scratched his head. She didn't expect that they would take long to search for Charlotte since her husband had attempted against a prince's life. The affectionate way in which Gutard acted with his youngest son come to Lex's mind, and it brought a smile to the Prince's lips.

The von Wuttenfal weren't easy to understand.

The Prince was in the last spoonfuls of a delicious soup when an elderly servant entered the room. He also had kind eyes and his face showed happiness to see the Prince awake and recovering.

Lex would like to know the names of these people! It seemed that they liked Prince Alexander, and she felt a little guilty for not being him. And it reminded her that she should be even more cautious as these people really knew the prince!

"Your Highness, I am sorry to interrupt your meal. We received a messenger, notifying that Princess Cordelia and an entourage of six people will arrive at the castle in about half an hour. They… expect to be received by Her Highness Princess Alexa, Your Highness!"

"But…!" Lex made a sudden movement to get up from the chair and immediately regretted it, the whole central area of ​​his body reacted painfully. She had totally forgotten about that! Her plan to unmask Cordelia and the witches that surrounded her was underway, but not everything was ready!

"We haven't met Princess Alexa yet, Your Highness," recalled the seneschal, as if Alexander was static from not remembering that fact. "The day before yesterday some chests with the Princess's belongings arrived to Ashgraufelsen, and I put them in the next room. But no one has warned us when your wife will come, Your Highness," the way the butler spoke seemed to hint the lack of respect for his position as the administrator of Prince Alexander's house somewhat offended him.

"To be honest, I don't know her either," Lex regained his presence of mind as he looked at Alexander's loyal servants and winked, "She's in a convent now, that's all I know. This is necessary, as you can see, since even I am not sure. But I will need your help, as the mistress of this house are not around to receive my new stepmother."

If Prince Alexander didn't receive his stepmother properly, after the formal invitation, it would be a terrible affront and, of course, would put a stone in their relationship. Making it more difficult to set up a situation to unmask them.

"First of all, however… Everyone should tell Princess Consort and all her entourage that Princess Alexa is living here as the mistress of the manor… but that she received a messenger and is preparing to leave. Have a simple coach with a coachman and a page prepared, and wait for my new instructions," Lex saw that the butler looked confused, and said nothing but agree and state that he would make sure they followed this order in its smallest details.

Lex barely had time to write the necessary messages and dispatch them urgently to Prince Gutard, and to dress with Helga's help to receive his guests. This was already part of the plan.

What wasn't part of the plan was that there was no team of people, including Gutard himself, waiting to act.

The Second Prince went down the stairs with Helga's help, grimacing to contain the pain with each step.

Ashgraufelsen was a mansion older than Magnus's brand new residence. Although Lex had not seen the house from the outside, she could only swear from the inside it was a beautiful, solid place and that she would rather live there than in the stunning and corrupted Holstein castle.

Although not as luxurious as the older brother's estate, the manor was so different from the capital's castle that it could belong to another kingdom.

Especially when it comes to Shades. 

The walls had German style tapestries and elegant decorative paintings and Alexa tried to imagine what it would be like to live there next to Alexander ... yes, next to him and not on his body. It was difficult when Lex now knew that, no matter what happened in the end, and regardless of the feelings in her heart, Alexander had asked for the marriage to be annulled.

Lex just felt Alexander's presence. The Princess just didn't know why he didn't answer her calling. She didn't understand the behavior of the soul of a living human, and had recently discovered with the Mildred's strange case, and even Florian's, that she knew little about the dead souls as well.

Hearing the carriages arrive in the front courtyard, Lex prepared herself for yet another act of this charade. However, contrary to what she had planned, she was not in complete control of the situation, this time.

In the main hall, the servants were finishing lighting up candelabras, illuminating the pictures of ancestors, paintings, and armor of warriors. The highest ranking servants lined up so that the Prince could receive his guests.

After a few moments, the main door opened, and Cordelia, her mother and Sister Ludovica, accompanied by a relative and two chaperones, came in, looking at everyone and everything with unveiled curiosity.