Chapter 233 - Scaffold

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Please wake up! Forgive me, but Your Highness needs to wake up!" 

A distant voice called her, but Alexa wanted to continue sleeping. In her dream, she was walking along a path of petals towards the door of the Fortuneteller's wagon, where Magnus was. Ah! She knew they were now married and could repeat all their lovemaking again and again! She longed for it!

But even though she struggled to sleep, she couldn't keep the reality out of her head. Opening her eyes, she took a deep breath, regretting having woken up.

"Your Highness, please forgive me! Duke Kurt demanded that I do this!"

She sat up, making a face. 

The servants had dismayed expressions, lined up in front of her bed, and Bertha was beside the bed, waiting for the Princess's reaction.

"What can he want now?"

"Your Highness. The Duke brought the doctor and the royal midwife with him."

"...!" Alexa's eyes widened, stunned. "What the hell, what does he want with that?"

"Your Highness… Do you want us to send a message to the Prince Regent? He's in the Field of Mars, gathering the army."

"Where's my tutor, Father Agnello? Or Balbo?"

"Ah ... We can find out, Your Highness!"

"Please! Fast! And send someone after my brother too!" Alexa still didn't understand what the Duke could want with this, but her guts were not at all happy about it. It couldn't be good, so early in the morning. But well, it wasn't so early in the morning, but past midday, to be honest.

He was certainly there to see if she was really pregnant. But was that possible, so soon? Or did he doubt Alexander's word?

Well, that was really confusing.

Moments later, the door to Princess Alexa's chambers was opened for the small group to enter. Duke Kurt, Cordelia, Charlotte, an elderly woman with a scrutinizing gaze and the doctor Ceridom were there, staring at her with at least some real embarrassment on their faces. Alexa considered that, if the Princess Consort was right there even with the express orders of the Prince Regent forbidding her to be close to Alexa, it was something very serious and which required her presence.

After morning greetings, Alexander's uncle spoke, and his expression reflected his displeasure.

"Early in the morning the bishop sent me a letter asking about Princess Alexa's marital status ..."

"Marital status?"

"Was the marriage consummated? Wasn't the marriage consummated? " he summed it up barely managing to control the irritation in his voice. But to amend his harshness, he smiled,

"The Princess is aware that the marriage annulment was requested, and it was just one step away from being sent to Rome… I don't know if the Princess is aware, however, of what was agreed between our family…

Alexa just wanted to disappear, she didn't want to explain about it! She felt so lonely and miserable all of a sudden! She was being asked if they had consummated the marriage. Yes, she had, but not this marriage to Alexander! And if the Duke was referring to the promise that Prince Gutard made, about Alexa being able to choose between his sons... If only it were that simple. She knew who she wanted, but she also understood the consequences of saying that right now, openly. Magnus wasn't even there. If she made public that Magnus and her were married 'secretly', it would be disastrous!

"No... Can we wait a moment to have this conversation?"

"Your Highness, many decisions depend on your response. In order for the claim for annulment to follow the previous allegations of Prince Alexander and Prince Gutard, the consummation of the marriage would have to be refuted. So I ask, has the marriage been consummated? "

Trying to buy some time, Alexa asked,

"If the marriage had been consummated, could it not be annulled?"

"Is it your wish that it be canceled?"

'Damn bastard, why such a direct question?' At the same time that this seemed like her exit door, Alexa could see that there was a trap on the other side of the door.

"I am embarrassed by all of this. Badly waking up and already being summoned to give such important answers. "

"What makes me happy is that Princess Alexa is not an ordinary, squeamish or fragile woman as many believe. She is an enlightened woman, with great knowledge and courage, and who is not easily intimidated, "replied Duke Kurt promptly. 

'Smart asshole, you really want me to take a stand! But I wonder: what do you get out of it?'

"Yes, as I had already talked to Alexander, it's my wish to cancel the marriage. It's also his wish, as he stated to his family and to the Church," she said.

Alexa saw Cordelia slightly open her mouth, and Charlotte held her breath.

The Duke put his hands back, and said,

"Alexander told me that he changed his mind about this, and that he thinks you would change your mind too. He says Your Highness is pregnant…" Kurt scratched his eyebrow, looking away from Alexa. 

The princess shrugged her stomach instinctively.

"If so, everything gets complicated, Alexa. Maybe you want to talk to more experienced women before we make anything official? The consummation of a royal marriage must be recorded accordingly in the books of the kingdom. As an enlightened woman you should know this. We will need to know the approximate day and time of consummation, since there were no witnesses. Or ... Was there no consummation?"

Alexa felt sweat dotting her forehead, she knew that no matter what she answered, the fact would be checked. They would discover that she was no longer a v.i.r.g.i.n. This would lead to an endless cycle of questioning.

"I ..." she had no choice but to buy some time with what she could. "It's better not to send the letter to Rome, and wait for the end of border conflicts to think about personal matters. This is a subject that can wait."

The Duke nodded, assertively. "Well then. What about the consummation record? "

Alexa thought for a while. The last thing she wanted to do was register that she slept with Alexander when it didn't happen. A piece of paper might not mean anything to a creature like Orcaius ... but it would mean it to men, and it would mean it to her child. 

"Let the Prince Regent's record be registered. I don't want to be touched, "she made a dismissive gesture, and the midwife spoke for the first time,

" Forgive me, Your Highness. I promise to be brief and careful!"

"NO!" 

This time, Duke Kurt's gaze was icy. "The Princess is making a big mess, at an unnecessary time. I hope you are aware of the moment Holstein is going through and losing focus with these kinds of problems just do us harm!"

"So, just forget about me here! Just forget that I exist!" she exclaimed, aghast.

"Your Highness is getting nervous, but needlessly," Charlotte said softly, seeing the expression of disgust on the Duke's face. "These intimate matters need to be dealt with here in the West… They need to be recorded, in the royalty. Please understand that, if His Highness The Prince Regent has that impression, we should be able to appease his doubt. We cannot neglect a pregnant woman, let alone a princess expecting the Prince's first child."

Alexa felt deeply unhappy, but she shook her head stubbornly, gathering the tears she could to defend herself,

"Please, get out of here! I don't want any of that."

The situation was untenable while The Duke waited for a moment for her to change her mind, but Alexa just kept quiet and with her arms crossed.

"What the hell, no one is intimidating you like that to cry your petals out! These are straightforward and honest questions, and the fact of not answering is very strange!"

"After everything that happened in this city, in this castle and with this family, who could blame me for wanting to be cautious? I already said: Let it be registered as what the Regent ordered. Let it be decided as the Regent decided. If he doesn't wish to send the letter to Rome, let it not be sent. If he wants to announce me pregnant, let it be announced."

With no room for argument in the face of the Princess's stubborn and closed stance, the Duke withdrew, followed by the others.

Alexa took a deep breath, wiping tears from her face, feeling like she was on fire for being in this situation! She didn't even doubt that this was a ploy by Alexander himself, to force her to accept the situation she was in now.

Bertha, the head of her chambermaids, entered shortly afterwards, with her hands on the white apron,

"Your Highness, a messenger has returned from the city. Your tutor, Father Agnello, is watching the hanging of the troubadour Jette Alegoria. And he asked the Princess to go there immediately."

Alexa raised an eyebrow, restless. That was unusual and even for a person used to morbid things, of very bad taste. She knew that many people liked to watch executions, but she was definitely not one of those. She also couldn't imagine the Florentine priest was that type of person either.

Thinking that way, she figured there must be a good reason why he wanted her there.

Fully covered by a cloak, Alexa arrived in the downtown accompanied by an escort. It was impossible to get rid of the guards and at least she managed to come in a discreet carriage. 

A small crowd had gathered around the Execution Square, and they were watching the scaffold with interest. From a distance Alexa saw Jette, in a beautiful outfit of flashy colors, and the rope around her neck, speaking loudly.

"Is she… reciting poetry?" Alexa asked while standing next to Father Agnello. The priest was standing directly in front of the scaffold, holding his rosary. He was staring at Jette, but Jette just looked at the horizon, without looking at anyone. 

The priest didn't answer, but his page, a boy from the Italian court, spoke after he bowed respectfully.

"Your Highness, forgive me for clarifying. The priest is praying for the troubadour. The troubadour was convicted of treason, but used a favor from the Prince to obtain one last wish: to recite her incomplete last work before she died. She's been talking nonstop for an hour or so."

"Oh!" Alexa turned to Jette.

"Overwhelmed by the warrior of irrefutable deeds, the Dark Lord lays and sleeps…"

Alexa was paying attention.. Was she talking about Orcaius?

The princess understood that at that point in the narrative of the troubadour's unfinished epic, Jette tried to tell the whole story of Holstein. The true story. She must have spent a long time researching different sources to have so many interesting facts, narrated in a mesmerizing way in elaborate verses and perfect metrics. Jette was a true artist ... But she had incurred the fury of her patron. She had committed an inexcusable crime.

One verse caught the princess' attention. Within the troubadour's intricate poetry, there was mention of the Gates of Hell in the depths of Holstein, guarded by a three-eyed bitch... There the greatest treasure of the Hell King Orcaius was kept. Unfortunately, Jette passed this point very quickly, advancing in her poetry without returning to that intriguing detail.

The poetress's voice was already breaking, and sometimes she apologized for a part that was not well elaborated, going on to another. But her strength was running out, as was her voice.

In any case, Jette's poetry was not being well understood by the people who had gathered to listen to it. Despite her popularity, her epic gradually became dull and dark for the commoners, who lost interest and began to ask for the troubadour's death. That was an easy and quick show.

"Faster! We don't have all day!"

"Jette! It's boring! Sing for us that other song! 'Catina of the Friendly Thighs' ballad!"

Alexa bit her lip in anguish, at the irreverence of the people. Jette's humiliation was cringeworthy.

Jette looked at the priest, and wiping tears from her eyes on her shoulder with a nod, the troubadour raised her head and began to sing, in her broken voice, the libidinous song of a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e named Catina.

The scaffold opened, and Alexa closed her eyes.