Chapter 247 - Two Brothers, Side by Side

"I'm sorry ..." Alexa said, stroking Magnus' face. They were lying side by side on the bed in Schwartzhoffhausen. The next day would be very exhausting, there would be a mass and the archbishop would come for the ceremony. Magnus would be very busy.

All of this after fleeing from his captors and finding ways to reach Holstein even before the news of his escape arrived.

And Alexa had just told almost everything ... Including about Alexander. Magnus' eyes had gone dark and cloudy, and he started to stare at the ceiling while listening to her, his Adam's apple twitching nervously from time to time.

"What will we do, Mags?" she asked anxiously. The first light of the day streamed in through the curtains, but they had not slept yet.

Magnus didn't respond right away, just said,

"That was the most bitter thing I could have swallowed." And after that, he fell into another thoughtful silence.

Alexa sighed. She could imagine that her lover's mind was bubbling like a cauldron with everything he had discovered. And Magnus' beloved little brother proving to be in fact a lich, or demigod, capable of controlling Holstein's darkness! This painful truth was maddening.

Although Alexa wants to ask many other questions, mainly about what Magnus would do about their marriage, she remained silent. She knew he was thinking about it too. 

In addition to the political complications for the Prince, they had no idea how to deal with Alexander. What he wanted, and what he would do, that was unfathomable for Alexa.

At that moment, have a few hours stolen to just sleep was what they could do. Rest their eyes and bodies, in each other's arms. Alexa hugged him and murmured,

"No matter what, I know where to come back."

°°°

In the early afternoon, Alexa was on the opposite side of Duke Kurt, near Prince Gutard's coffin. Magnus had insisted that she be in the ceremony.

"If you owe nothing, Alexa, why should you hide? It was my uncle who committed a mortal mistake, which broke the trust my father put on him for the second time."

Still, she kept her gaze off, under the veil that protected her face. Her brothers were not there. Or at least, Iacintho was certainly not there, although she could not see Narses at that moment.

Her older brother was taking care of Father Agnello, and supposedly, Narses was looking for Charlotte… 

Maria, her first lady-in-wait and a lovely companion, had come with her family from the country for the funeral. The young Lady was beside her, helping the Princess and keeping her company.

Alexa didn't know if Maria just knew nothing about what had happened recently, or if her pure heart just didn't care about the rumors. It was good to have someone on that lonely bench!

A commotion near the cathedral door caught her eye, and the two young women discreetly looked back.

Those people coming in were… Countess Godiva and Duke Konrad?!

Alexa got to her feet immediately. Although it was only natural that they came, Würtz was not at war?! What did that mean?!

The haughty Countess and her nephew approached the majestic bier where Gutard's body rested. The woman's abrupt gestures were enough to reveal her pitiful state in the face of a sibling's death. 

Godiva was the oldest of all, and as far as Alexa knew, the Countess's only living brother was Duke Kurt. And he went to her. Konrad stroked the aunt's back, trying to comfort her, and Alexa joined him in this task.

Just when the Countess hugged her younger brother Kurt, sobbing, Alexa and Konrad walked away a little, and the princess could ask,

"Konrad, sorry, but I'm surprised you came! I thought you couldn't do so because of the Burgundy's threat…" she left the question hanging. He whispered,

"Alexa… When Alexander arrived with reinforcements, the battle didn't last more than half a day. The Burgundian army, or what was left of it, fled shamefully." There was something in the Duke's tone of voice that showed more than awe or relief. It also let slip what Alexa interpreted as fear and suspicion.

'Poor Konrad! Doesn't he know yet that he lost his best friend forever?' Alexa thought, and held her hand as a consolation.

"Alexander came back with you, I suppose." The idea he had returned so quickly was at the same time relief, for having won at least that battle was a good thing. And on the other hand, it was scary, because Alexa knew that soon the brothers would have to discuss the future.

"Yes. He and Mags met at the cathedral door..."

After learning this, Alexa could not ignore the information, and was about to get up again to go outside, when the von Wuttenfal brothers entered, side by side.

Magnus was dressed entirely in white, in mourning for his father, and Alexander was still in his armor, carrying the enemy flag in tatters.

She had never seen them side by side, with their differences and similarities. Magnus, taller and stronger, dark and imposing, had the apparent strength of a natural-born king. Alexander, slender, small and blond, looked like an archangel in his armor of pinkish hues, his face impassive and mysterious.

Both of them had such penetrating and frightening looks that it seemed that they would turn those to whom they looked directly into a statue of salt.

It was an impressive sight.

The von Wuttenfals gathered for the mass service of the former Sovereign Prince.

Alexa had no idea how the other relatives of Gutard were feeling at the moment, but she believed she knew that Magnus was frustrated and diminished by having been absent in what he could deem a useless, deceitful journey. While Holstein was dismantling amid intrigues, wars, and supernatural events. 

She could have sworn she felt his resentment and his self-judgment tearing him apart, just to see Magnus' contrite face looking at his father's coffin, and the enemy flag captured by his younger brother, as homage.

Alexa knew how proud Magnus was, and as much as he liked to show indifference and rebellion, he was responsible and disciplined. But above all, he was a warrior Prince, while his younger brother, according to Holstein's tradition, was educated as a diplomat. 

How was it possible that Alexander had led a one-day battle and won? As much as there was a context, there would be the comparison, and the worst, the question: where was Holstein's firstborn while the kingdom was falling apart?

When the service was finally over, the two brothers looked at each other, face to face, while Alexander handed the kingdom's flag to his older brother to fold over Prince Gutard's coffin.

Alexa saw them measure themselves again, in silence, on top of their father's coffin.

Although the Princess knew that Alexander was Orcaius, she did not want the two brothers to fight each other!