Alexius: Leavetaking of Cousins

Alexius nodded as Corwin returned to pick up Harri, Bleys came to pick up the Twins, and the rest of the adults came back as well.

"Good night." he said to his non-Castle bound kin, giving nods down the line. He smiled especially to Cori and to Harri, and Crispin along with them "I will see you tomorrow, no doubt, lest Father gives me additional duties." That was always a threat and a possibility, however unpleasant.

He nodded to Random and his mother, and headed out of the dinner area back toward the Royal portion of the Castle...

Temptation was too much for Alexius to resist.

Almost as if he had feline rather than piscine genes, his steps carried him past his own room to the rooms occupied by Prince Martin. Slipping inside, he walked to where the book lay. A small, relatively low sorcerous light was one of the first things Master Lorius had drilled into him, and he used one now so that he could read more of the forbidden book, seeking more references to Martin's strange correspondent.

Quote: I woke up with the strangest woman today.

And no, not like that. You know I'm teasing.

The fever had gotten worse overnight, and after I found a place to lay quietly, I wondered if I would ever get out of this jam. Genes or no, it just seemed to be getting worse.

Then I woke up, and my bandages were changed, and this girl was cooking breakfast.

I think you'd like her, Vi. A bit of a loudmouth, but what a talker...

Vi. Vialle. It had to be. It made too much sense. Martin had apparently had secret correspondence with Vialle.

But who was THIS girl, now? The one who was cooking breakfast for him. One mystery tentatively solved, another begun. Alexius decided to take a chance, and took the book back with him to his quarters.

He managed the passage quickly enough, shooing out the weary maid so that he had complete privacy.

Quote: ... She came from the Black Road, the one I'm tracking. Funny, that. She looks human enough... She certainly acts it.

But what I feared was right. They're heading your way.

Black Road.

A chill went down Alexius' spine. What did Martin think he was doing, tangling with their like?

His eyes cast up to a cuckoo clock on his wall, gauging how much more he could possibly read and still remain reasonably fresh in the morning for the hunt and what lay behind. At the very least, he thought, a page or two more before sleep had to claim him.

Quote: I asked Dara if it was war. She wouldn't say... but she wouldn't deny it, either. She saved me, and yet, she has every intention of going back with her people on the road.

I don't think she knows what she's doing either.

She told me to stay away from the road... That was what was keeping me from getting better. Something in it, it keeps us from healing. I'm going to try to find Amber another way, but I don't know how much I have this walking thing down.

I asked her to look for you when she gets there... to make sure you're alright. To keep you safe. She said she would.

And there it was. He closed the book and put it in the first drawer of his dresser and changed for bed.

Alexius fell backward on the bed with that casual air that teenagers have for their own limbs and bodies. As he laid in the bed, it all started to arrange itself in his mind, the pieces slowly coming together.

The fact that he was far from sleepy was an indicator of just how upset he was by the disturbing revelations. Had Martin a relationship with both the Queen AND Dara Helgram? Although he had not met the latter, he could hardly not know of her and her role in things.

In spite of not wanting to sleep, in spite of all the things rolling through his mind, Alexius finally found his eyelids growing heavy, and his mind clouding over...



He woke up, freezing, shaking... His covers were kicked off, and his body was covered in a sheen of sweat. Images still gnawed at his brain... His mother, his brother... Images that made his stomach twist... and one nagging, terrible question...

The book goes past the stabbing... after Brand drew the trump.

If Brand didn't put the book in his mansion, who did?

Outside the door, a maid cleaned and hummed a Rebman tune.

Then the morning comes.

Alexius felt physically ill. Last night's revelations, filtered through the subconscious of dreams had come to the fore. It's not something he ever could really talk to Martin about, at least not for a century or two. Just sending his mind back to the thought was bad enough.

Alexius finally reached a standing position on the side of the bed, still shaking. Where did that book come from, and why? His hand held against the bedpost, steadying it.

A peculiar thought occurred to him and that made him shiver, although not as bad as the images of Vialle and Martin. Did *she* have a role in this? Surely, though, she might know about the journal, too.

"Good morning" he finally croaked aloud to the maid outside the door.

The door creaked open, and Lina, the Rebman maid imported from his motherland, popped her head in. "Prince? Your mother said--"

Her eyes widened when she saw him. She stepped into the room, a motherly concern washing over her, even though they were only a year apart in age. "Highness? Are you ill? Your parents bade you break your fast with them, but I can say you are sick..."

Alexius shook his head at first, the response to which of her questions it was not immediately clear.

"No, no I will be all right. Just had a bad night,that's all." Alexius' voice croaked almost like a frog. "I'll be there for breakfast, never fear." Lina was good to him, and he appreciated it.

She gave him a soft smile, then return to the door. "I will tell them you will be along..."



Walking down the hall, his stomach feeling slightly more grounded, Alexius found could make out voices coming from his parent's suite.

"You could at least answer a Trump now and then! Then, you'd at least show up when something happened!"

"I miss one dinner and you're flying off the handle at me?"

"Boys... please... not today..."

Alexius furrowed his eyebrows at the voices. Clearly one had to be Dad. The other, he'd guess, was Martin. But what were they fighting over?

He continued on his way, still taking it easy after his stomach upset. Besides, if he did make it breakfast first, it would have the patina of normalcy. It might be the best defense he had.

Alexius continued toward breakfast, hoping it wouldn't be that bad of a row.

Breakfast was set, sparking and orderly and utterly unihabited. It gave him a few moments to take deep breaths before Random came in, followed by Vialle and Martin. All three were stonily quiet to one another while they greeted them.

Random looked over Alexius, giving him a queer look, then frowning. "Break into the left over wine, kid?"