Chapter 188 - Crimson

"Hey, calm down, calm down! What happened this time?" Alexa heard Magnus' voice calling her, and she couldn't help but smile with the joy of knowing that, after all, she had once again survived. And elsewhere, far away, her brother knew that she was alive.

Even if in a very intriguing situation.

Looking around, she noticed that her coffin was on the carpet of a luxurious and fragrant room, and that Magnus was clean, shaved and in clothes more in keeping with his social status. The candles were already lit, and in the distance she heard the muffled sound of laughter and conversation.

The Prince crouched in front of her, confused.

"I don't understand. You have tears in your eyes, but you're also smiling ..."

"Bad things have happened, and good things have happened ..." She accepted the Prince's outstretched hands to help her up.

Alexa took a deep breath, drawing a lot of air into her lungs.

How good it was to breathe!

Out of the corner of her eye she peered at the prince's torso, imagining it perfectly matched the vision she had in her involuntary Petite Mort. Her l.u.s.tful vision... and that, just remembering, made her face burn.

"What was it this time? Why aren't you speaking?"

Rubbing her face, Alexa turned to him, and told the facts, beginning with Jette's visit, the marriage annulment request, and the tragedy at the ossuary. She pursed her lips,

"Who could guess the witch would prepare a trap for those investigating her past?"

The Prince listened in silence, and when Alexa finished the report, with the arrival of her brother Narses, he took her chin with one hand, raising her face to him.

Magnus frowned,

"My old man will be fine. He's as strong as an ox… and has a lot of stamina, too. As for you ... Your secrets never end, do you? Was your brother in town? Your brother who should be dead? "

Alexa swallowed hard. She had completely forgotten she had hidden that fact from Magnus.

"Ahem, I forgot to tell you..." she gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Did you forget? Of course you did."

"Are you more concerned with the fact that my brother is alive than with the accident that almost killed us?" Alexa countered his sardonic reply.

"No, Alexa. Because you are alive. My family is alive. I'm this kind of indifferent bastard who doesn't care."

"No, you are not like that. You cared about Ulrich, Johannes, Dieter, and the others."

"Believe me, they were very close. Enough to know what kind of treatment they would have if they died before me."

'So mean!' Alexa shrugged, looking around again. "What happened during the day? This place looks like a…"

"Brothel? It looks like one because it's one, cherie," he reached for a garment on the bed, and lifted it by the shoulders, which made the dark blue dress look very small. "Where else would I find a comfortable room, a good bathtub ... in short, everything that a nobleman can enjoy, in a city like this?" he nonchalantly explained, but there was a sarcastic tone in his words.

"Your vast knowledge of such things doesn't amaze me at all," she raised an eyebrow, a little annoyed but remembering the promise of the night before.

It seemed a distant moment, a dream indeed, because the man in front of him was not the same as yesterday's.

"You must have had a very relaxing day, as I suggested ..."

Magnus held his breath, the shadow of a smile showed on his face, and he dropped the dress with contempt,

"It wasn't the best option ... It was the only option. I felt like a von Wuttenfal again when washing the dirt off my body, Princess." he went to the door. "Do you want me to call for someone to help you?"

Alexa refused, checking first at Romeo, and after, going to the screen where she had seen the steaming fumes from a porcelain bathtub with warm water,

"I will join you when I am ready. As a piece of advice, don't 'relax' too much to the point of making your body languid… We have a journey ahead!" Despite trying to sound nonchalant, she reproached herself not only for her voice sounding harsh, but also for remembering her vision of the future, and getting even redder than an apple.

"Nothing will make my body languid and sated but the woman I want," he slammed the door behind him.

'Oh my God, how are we going to be able to travel along this way?!' Alexa could no longer deny that being alone with Magnus for so long would result in an obvious outcome. The outcome she foresaw in her Petite Mort.

She took a long time taking care of her toilet, and to her surprise, she found that her body was taking on more feminine proportions.

In front of the mirror, she poked her 'mounds of shame' with a finger, and found them softer and fuller.

Was it her impression, or did her waist and h.i.p.s become more shapely?

Maybe it was because she now really knew what a man's body looked like, in details, from living in Alexander half the time? Or was she really developing as a woman, albeit belatedly?

Whatever it was, Alexa felt beautiful again. Although she shouldn't have, the Princess tightened her corset tighter under her clothes.

Alexa liked what she saw in the mirror. Lady Eudoxia showed her how beautiful she was, but she didn't always feel that way. Flashing a smile, she poked her dimples playfully, more and more pleased. No beard!

Should she be ashamed of being happy to be alive? No! She was thrilled, because, on the other side, her brother would look after her and Alexander! And right here... She would have a quiet night, for a change.

Even the brocade shoes fit perfectly, and her heart fluttered as she remembered Prince Magnus had sized her feet the other day.

Seeing a small pot on the vanity, she opened it, and saw that it was the vermillion paste the women in the house should use to put on makeup. Naturally, she knew that makeup was reserved for artists and people of ill-repute in the West, but her curiosity about texture and effect won out. With the tip of her finger, she applied some of the crimson dye on her lips, and looking at herself in the mirror, she had the impression of seeing another Alexa: an Alexa that she didn't know, but was truly enticing!

Stepping out into the hall, she expected to see red lanterns, and obscene noises coming from the rooms, but she only came across an elegant hall, and a couple of liveried servants immediately came to take her where she was expected.

Alexa didn't see anyone else on the way to the room where Magnus was waiting for her.

Being in a brothel was not a problem, she had been at many brothels in the east. As for Palazzo Ottieri, she had never seen anything but her own room.

They opened the doors and Alexa entered a large and well-decorated room, with damask curtains and fine woods, and nice paintings on the walls. Magnus was sitting at the table, sipping his wine thoughtfully, while a musician played introspective music in his vielle1, in a corner.

The Prince got up at her arrival, and came to the door. His gaze fell on her face, especially her lips, and she saw the confusion and a slight frown, which Magnus masked with a kind and unusual sort of smile,

"I was thinking about how you can handle all of this."

"I don't know how, actually. I just like to live and I will do my best to do that," she replied, feeling her heart pounding because of the closeness between them.

The Prince allowed her to pass, coming after her with his hands behind his back. Alexa sat down at the table and he sat across from her.

"Is it what we will do today?"

"Yes, we will relax, eat, and drink ... And tomorrow we will continue on our way."

"I wish I could enjoy the scenery, at least."

"But you will be in your coffin, and you can only go out at night," Magnus winked at the princess.

She laughed, "And you must carry me around. Luckily, I don't smell."

"There were times when you didn't smell good, princess, if you remember!" he poured himself more wine, with a playful smile.

"I am also thirsty! Give it to me, don't play your games!" she demanded, feeling a strange euphoria that compelled her to be as charming as possible.

Magnus shook his head. "Not now, you shouldn't start drinking early."

"I thought you would like to feed me ..."

"Hmmm ..." he was pondering her words and, leaning over the table, ran his thumb over her crimson-stained mouth, removing the paint.

'Why is he doing this? Didn't he like it? ' she mused.

Alexa bit his thumb lightly, startling him. She giggled as he waved his finger in the air, wiping it off with a cloth. The musician got out of tune for a moment, and apologized.

"Don't bite me!" he chastised her.

"I'm hungry and thirsty!" she justified.

The musician was having problems with his vielle, and excused himself. As soon as he left, servants from the house came in with dinner, and while they were serving the table, Captain Dubois arrived.

Alexa was a little disappointed, although she didn't want to admit it even to herself. There was only the feeling that a wonderful moment would be lost with the friendly captain's arrival.

He also seemed in a good mood, and greeted both the Prince and Princess. Magnus motioned for the captain to join them at the table.

"Your promise to the Princess will have to wait, Captain Dubois. Today dinner and drinking is on me!"

Alexa didn't really understand why Magnus seemed so content, even with the news from Holstein. But she lifted the glass waiting to be filled with wine by the servant.

The three had their glasses up, ready to make a toast, when the door to the room was opened abruptly. A burly and extravagantly dressed woman, accompanied by four huge men carrying swords and wooden stakes, invaded the room.

The guests looked at each other, sensing the imminent danger.

The woman pointed her finger at Alexa, and shouted in a squeaky voice,

"Destroy the lich!"

"Uh?!" medieval fiddle