Chapter 214 - The Troupe

The Princess had discovered with some humor that the troupe of artists blamed Prince Magnus for having canceled the 'grand marriage' to Cordelia.

Magnus was shocked to be charged so shamelessly by those people, and even more, at a time like that!

They had come to Holstein specifically to attend the festivities, and to be paid for their performances...

But everything changed suddenly, and they weren't paid, as they were not needed.

Charges and accusations increased and become louder, while the Prince just listened to them in silence, with an annoyed frown.

"You need to compensate us!"

"We invested our money to go to Holstein, now we are broken!"

"Yes, it's not our fault you canceled the wedding!"

"And then witches burned, and the city flooded, we couldn't even stay to make some money before we left the city!"

Alexa realized that Magnus was getting irritated, and put herself next to him,

"Be calm! This is not the time! Can't you see that these men have just fought for our lives? Bandits attacked us!"

She believed it was better not to scare them off by telling them about a sorcerer, let alone upirs, as she thought it would only lead to troublesome questions and panic.

"Tomorrow!" Magnus finally spoke, loud enough for everyone to shut up immediately. In fact, even the dogs that were barking were quiet, with their commanding voice,

"Tomorrow I will resolve on compensation for your frustrated efforts. But tonight... Break camp. This place is dangerous. You heard her. Tonight, in particular, is a terrible time to rest your heads peacefully in this place."

A woman who wore an Egyptian-style veil pointed to the skies, and Alexa felt a shiver. Dark clouds were coming in that direction.

"It's true! The sky was starry a moment ago! It's an omen!"

"Rain is always a bad sign for artists," someone grumbled.

A man with a pointed beard, dyed faded green, stopped in front of them,

"Well, Your Highness, fate has brought us together tonight, and there is some reason for that. I see that some of you are injured. We are miserable wandering entertainers, but not so miserable that we cannot share what little we have. Let's get out of here! I'm Beaumont, Your Highness, the leader of the Fantastic Montparnasse Company!"

Alexa found the group's title pompous and intriguing, but Magnus was not in a good mood,

"It's ironic that after charging me, you make your offer so generously. I will pay for what you believe I owe, and anything else! Now, if you like your life, move quickly!"

The group moved away to do just that, Dubois and Mirna went to look at the flying boat. The princess looked at Magnus,

"Are you all right?"

"Don't mind my appearance, I'll be fine tomorrow," he put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her closer to him to examine her.

"I'm fine," she said. "It was incredible and everything went well."

Magnus briefly stroked her face,

"We must get as farther from the sorcerer as possible, and the quicker, the best. Since it's not possible to fight him effectively at this moment, we will preserve ourselves and take your brother away!"

Alexa opened a smile. Magnus was being generous to her brother, and he was not usually generous, as he claimed.

"Stay close to Missy Inventor and your brother for now," he said, showing that he still had a lot to do. Alexa did not argue, she could help in other ways at this point, and they could not waste time.

When she reached Iacintho's side, Alexa asked in a low voice,

"Will the power of Volos reach so far? Will he come after us?"

"I don't know if he will want to get away from his protected lair that much. Especially after he lost part of his guardians, both in combat and fire. He's furious, that's a fact," his brother stared at the ominous horizon. "But he's not an idiot. Volos will prepare himself first, and he shouldn't go too far without being sure what he's up against. No doubt he didn't expect his upirs to be defeated so quickly…" Iacintho turned his eyes to Alexa, "Which leads me to intriguing questions about your Prince…"

Alexa didn't answer anything at that time, it wasn't the right time or place for this type of conversation. She was just relieved that all Volos would possibly do at that moment was to take out his frustration with a storm or something.

In just under an hour, they were leaving the area, and moving away from Alençon towards the south, with the caravan of artists. This made them move more slowly, but there was the extra security of being in a large group.

Mirna, who knew the area, indicated a spot where they could camp safely, and when the caravan finally stopped, due to tiredness, it was almost dawn.

The inventor wasn't happy to have to abandon her precious project, which she intended to show the King of France soon, in search of favor and royal sponsorship. But it wasn't possible to take the bulky flying boat, which was damaged on landing.

Magnus paid for one of the wagons in the troupe, and Paloma, the Seer, gave her colorful wagon to Alexa.

The singing triplets Titania, Portia and Virgilia, invited Iacintho to their wagon, and didn't accept no as a refusal.

Alexa thanked the psychic and was going to call Mirna to join her. But Prince Magnus took her by the hand, and got into the wagon, without giving the princess time to refuse or say anything else.

"I need help with my injuries!"

"But you said you were fine!"

"No, I said I'd be fine," he closed the door behind Alexa. And in a way, Magnus' sudden attitude, and now his hand closing the door behind Alexa's back, made her a little nervous.

"Errr ... Well, let's see what we can do, then," she looked under his arm, peering at the inside of the car. "Look, a crystal ball!" she was sneaking under his arm, but the First Prince grabbed the fabric of her dress,

"Don't be cruel! And nobody cares about a crystal ball," he brought her back. "Why don't you help me and we went back to what we were doing last night?"

"Pardon?" Alexa blinked, feeling her cheeks burn.

"Yes, nudge me to sleep! Let me sleep in your arms."

"Magnus!"

"What?" he played dumb, letting her go.

Alexa went to the center of the car, and he followed her.

The wagon had been painted in strong colors and had drawings of stars and suns, and also strange symbols that Alexa sensed didn't even exist.

But it was the most beautiful wagon in the troupe, which meant that Madame Paloma was well in demand, being a true psychic or just a fraud. A fringed curtain separated the bed, at the bottom of the car, from where she received her customers.

"Is there anything we can use to disinfect your wounds?"

Magnus was already taking off his bloodstained shirt, which he tossed aside. Alexa saw cuts and bruises. But the Prince was far from dying because of them ... As long as they won't get infected, of course.

The princess was sure the 'heart of stone' was the reason behind it. Only that she knew what kind of heart was in Magnus's chest, now.

She found a clay pot with fresh water, and also a cloth. That would at least help to clean the wounds.

Alexa had bent to get some water from a basin, when Magnus leaned against her body behind the Princess, turning on a warning sign in the Princess's mind.

"W… What's that, poking me from behind?" she turned, startled.

He laughed shamelessly,

"Don't you remember? You asked for it yesterday. Insistently."

"...!" she gaped, not even knowing what to say.

Magnus brushed a lock of hair from the princess's face,

"Please take care of me!" His smile was irresistible, but his shamelessness was unnerving!

"Be quiet, and I will take care of you. Keep your hands still, for starters," she dipped the cloth in the bowl with water in her hands, ready to start, if Magnus cooperated.

'How could he have all this vigor?' Alexa supposed that another man in his place wouldn't have all that stamina after a battle. 

"I really don't understand your behavior, and why you keep telling me these things..." she mumbled.

Again Magnus locked her with his arms, placing his hands on the wagon's wall behind her,

"No, don't even start it, saying it was all a dream. You and me and even Dubois and your brother… We all know it wasn't a dream. You're under a dangerous spell and we don't want you to get hurt, so… I promise I'll do it the way you asked me to!"

"OH! OH!" Her cheeks turned red, and Alexa couldn't hide her fl.u.s.tered mind and how she stuttered without even being able to respond to him.

"You look really cute when you pretend to be ashamed. I certainly love your s.e.xy game!" He smiled, bringing her close to him by the waist. The roof of the wagon was low, and the Prince had to bend his back a bit, which only made him look taller.

Looking up, Alexa gave a half-hearted smile,

"Oh, well, Prince, this problem has already been solved."

The winning grin on the Prince's face disappeared.