“Thank you, yes,” Alec replied. He carefully lifted Jeswyne back over the wall, then he and the emperor climbed up, and left the arena surrounded by a throng of guards. Around them the crowd was moving restlessly in all directions, as people reacted to the stories of the occurrences inside the arena.
Alec jostled through the members of the retinue to take a place next to Jeswyne, directly behind her father.
She looked up at him as he bumped her shoulder, and smiled a warm smile. Alec’s hand crept over to find hers and clasp it tight. “Thank you for attacking the demon,” Alec told her. “It helped save my life. Of course it was stupid – very brave but stupid.”
“Alec, don’t spoil the moment,” Jeswyne reprimanded him. “How did you do that trick back there – moving around places like a restorer?” she asked. “I couldn’t believe what I saw.”
“When I found out you had been seized by Mikhail’s people, I wanted to travel here in a hurry, so I went to the energy realm and gained the ability to use that power.” He noticed the others around them listening closely. “Will there be someplace we can talk when we arrive at the palace?”
Jeswyne rose to speak closer to his ear. “If you promise that you’re not going to invite me to your bedroom like you did in your palace, I’m sure we can find someplace,” and she squeezed his hand, then gently removed hers from his clasp. “Is mother at the palace?” she called ahead to her father.
“She is, and your brother and sister are as well,” Sergey replied, and they continued to walk, concluding that the carriages would be unable to move through the press of people that filled the streets.
An hour later they arrived at the gates to the palace, and entered. Alec could imagine the relief the guards felt at finally leaving the crowded, unruly streets for the safety of the palace walls. “May I speak with your head of security?” Alec asked a man he had identified as a guard officer.
“That’s not the request we usually get from visiting heads of state, but perhaps your circumstances are a little unusual?” the officer answered.
Alec grinned. “We can agree they are unusual, I’m sure.”
“Let me show you the way,” his guide replied, and Alec waved to Jeswyne, then ducked away from the emperor’s cluster to follow the guard officer down a hallway. They entered a small office adjacent to an armory, and all activity ceased as several sets of eyes looked at Alec’s red robes warily, or with outright hostility.
A knife suddenly came flying through the air at him, and Alec reflexively engaged his warrior powers to catch the knife in the air before it reached him. The low murmur and shuffling sounds stopped instantly.
“No! He’s not from the Scarle house. He’s just wearing their robes!” Alec’s escort announced loudly.
There was a pronounced resumption of whispers and chatter. A man behind a desk stood up. “Well, you know how to make an entrance, don’t you?” he drawled as he moved around the desk.
“I asked to go to the laundry, so that I could get some new robes,” Alec played along with the congenial introduction. “And this is where we ended up.” He reached out to take the hand the man offered to shake.
“I’m Anatoli, commander of the Guard in the Palace. I’m glad you’re here shaking hands and not doing something else,” he said.
“And my name is Geni, Lieutenant Geni,” Alec’s escort introduced himself. “Please allow me to introduce,” he paused dramatically as everyone nearby grew silent and strained to hear. “The man who won the tournament today, then killed Scarle’s demon. This is Alec the Demonslayer, king of the Dominion, as I heard him introduced by his friend the Lady Jeswyne, whom he brought back to us today.”
The room remained silent for a moment longer, then erupted in loud voices.
“Let’s step across the hall,” Anatoli said loudly in Alec’s ear, and the two of them, followed by Geni, ducked into a separate office where they closed the door. “You’re ‘The’ Demonslayer from the Dominion?” Anatoli asked.
Alec nodded. “It wasn’t my idea originally, but the name stuck with me after a while.”
“How did you get here, to Michian?” Geni asked.
“I have certain, powers,” Alec evasively answered.
“So it would seem,” Anatoli said distractedly. “So why are you here? Why in Michian? Why in the tournament? Why back here in the working part of the palace?”
“I like the emperor, or more specifically, I like his daughter,” Alec said significantly. “If there is something I can do to help you weaken his enemies and protect him and Jeswyne, I’m available.”
“Using your ‘certain powers?’” Anatoli clarified.
“Exactly,” Alec agreed.
“Tell me a little more about what you can do,” Anatoli suggested.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Alec replied half in jest. “I’m a good swordsman, and I can heal injuries, to mention the main talents.”
“And he can move around like a restorer,” Geni added.
Anatoli looked incredulous
“I can,” Alec confirmed, “but not over long distances. And I can only go someplace I know – a place I’ve been to before and can visualize.”
“Such as?” Anatoli prompted.
“The arena, an inn on Mulberry Street, a small lawn on the Indige property, a parlor in the Scarle compound,” he listed a variety of locations.
“You could just appear in the Scarle compound?” Anatoli confirmed.
Alec nodded.
There was a knock on the door. “We thought you might want this,” a guardsman passed in a golden robe. “And the emperor is wondering where his royal guest is; they’re being seated for dinner.”
Anatoli and Geni looked at one another. “Perhaps I should lead him to the dining room,” Geni suggested. Anatoli agreed, while Alec shrugged out of his red robes and into his new golden ones.
“Do you have a bandolier of knives I can wear?” Alec asked. “I’ve grown accustomed to them.”
“Take him to the dining room and we’ll have the knives delivered,” Anatoli told Geni.
“We’ll talk tomorrow, your majesty,” Anatoli told Alec. “Is that true by the way? Are you really the king of the Dominion?”
“When I left I was,” Alec said with a laugh.
He and Geni began to walk down the hall. “Geni, would you take me past Jeswyne’s room on the way?” he asked.
His escort looked at him. “It’s not at all on the way to the dining room, but we can go if you insist.”
“I think I’ll insist,” Alec confirmed.
They passed startled maids and guards as they cut through official and residential portions of the palace. “This hallway is the imperial family’s,” Geni said at one point. They walked to a room in which numerous maids were working. “Since this is getting cleaned up, I suspect it’s being prepared for your friend.”
Alec heard the suspicion in his voice, but concentrated on looking around the room noting the details and the decorations. “Thank you. That’s fine. Let’s go join the dinner,” he said, and they moved onward to a formal dining room, where a table was set for twelve, and only Alec was lacking.
Alec thanked Geni and stepped to the table. He was seated across from Jeswyne. “My apologies,” he told the gathering as he took his seat.
“How did you manage to get lost?” Jeswyne asked loudly.
“I wasn’t exactly lost,” Alec told her. “I just took the long way around.”
“Your highness, rather than allow my daughter to harangue you, please allow me to introduce my family,” the emperor said. He proceeded to introduce his wife, then Jeswyne’s brother and her older sister, both of whom were married and had their spouses at the table, then Sergey introduced his own sister, a duchess, and her husband, and their two adult children.
“This is exalted company,” Alec said politely. He was beginning to feel exhaustion setting in after the day’s many adventures.
“If I may ask, why are you here,
your majesty?” Jeswyne’s brother, Eduard, asked as the first course of the meal was served. “Why did you come to Michian, and why did you help the emperor whose armies are in your country?”
Alec gave the simplest answer he could. “After I sent Lady Jeswyne back here to Michian, I learned from General Bronson that Mikhail’s forces had taken her captive.” He looked up, across the table, holding a steady gaze into Jeswyne’s golden eyes. “So I came to rescue her.”
“And everything else you did – the tournament, rescuing the emperor, fighting the demon?” Jeswyne’s mother asked.
“Those were the things I had to do to save her,” he replied.
“And what will you do now?” the Duchess Bogdana asked.
Alec paused for a moment, and Jeswyne spoke. “We should show better manners to our guest and not subject him to such a barrage of questions, I think.
“You’ll stay here for at least a few days, won’t you, King Alec?” she asked. “There must be much you can discuss with father about ending the war and so on.”
Her father looked abruptly around at her. “His majesty had already negotiated an armistice with your army commander, before he came. Your armies don’t seem to want to fight against someone named the Demonslayer,” she told her father and the table.
“I can’t blame them,” Jeswyne’s sister chimed in. “So Jeswyne, please tell us about your adventures. How were you treated?”
“Mikhail’s people treated me appropriately,” Jeswyne replied.
“But what about, you know, the barbarians, the Dominion folks,” Elyzaveta asked. “You were there for how long? A month?”
Jeswyne turned crimson. “They treated me fine. It didn’t seem that long.”
“She had her own retinue,” Alec filled the silence. “They told me that they missed her very much when she left; everyone was very fond of her.”
“Well, you certainly seem to have treated her very well!” Sergey tried to ease the embarrassment. “She seems to have blossomed tremendously under your care. She doesn’t even squint any longer.”
“Alec healed my eyes. My vision is perfect now,” Jeswyne told her father as another course of food was set before them.
“When you say healed, you mean he gave you medicine that improved your eyesight?” Eduard tried to clarify.
“No. He touched the bridge of my nose and used his healing power. He can cure anything – any illness or injury. They say you’ve brought people back to life, haven’t you Alec?”
Alec looked down, embarrassed by the turn of the conversation, then looked up at Eduard. “I have been blessed with a gift of healing, and can help many situations.
“But please tell me something about what happens here in Michian next,” he changed the subject.
“Well since the tournament was today, tomorrow is the day of the heart,” Elyzaveta said with a smile, and laid her hand atop her husband’s, who was next to Alec.
“In more prosaic terms, tomorrow is the day we will see how the populace feels about the events yesterday, and we will begin to move against Mikhail,” the emperor said.
“You should show the people how you will move against Mikhail,” Duchess Bogdana’s husband spoke for the first time. He was a burly man who had the appearance of a military bearing.
“The people won’t respect you if you don’t retaliate after they set a demon lose in the arena,” Leonyd continued. “You need to erase that threat to your rule, and be respected for your strength.”
“I agree,” Alec spoke aloud before he realized. He looked around. “I will help in that battle.”
The last dishes were cleared away.
“I will speak to Anatoli about this,” Sergey said.
“I already have,” Alec decided to admit. “I’m sure he is planning the appropriate steps, if you will authorize them.” Alec had decided he liked the head of the guards, who had seemed to him to be a no-nonsense man, one who reminded Alec of Rubicon. “I won’t be here long, but while I am I will try to be of use.”
Jeswyne’s head turned, and she looked at Alec with alarm.
Shall we retire to the parlor for tea?” the empress suggested.
They all rose, and Leonyd and Sergey converged on Alec as they walked down the hall. “You both feel that I should attack?” the emperor asked.
“You have to – now more than ever,” Leonyd said forcefully, and Alec nodded.
“Your majesty, just a moment, please,” Alec said, tugging on Sergey’s sleeve and pulling him back behind the rest of the family.
When they were alone, Alec spoke. “I wish to ask your daughter to marry me. Will you approve?”
Sergey looked at Alec. “How long have you two known each other? I’ve seen the way you look, and there’s more than a few occasional meetings in your history.”
“We were stranded together for a long time. Everything was honorable, but we are very fond of one another. At least, I am fond of her,” Alec replied.
“There’s no easy way for me to stop you, is there? If this is what Jeswyne wants, I will allow it,” Sergey said. “But you are not to force yourself upon her affections.”
“I won’t, of course. Thank you,” Alec agreed and the two of them joined the others in the parlor.
It was a large room, with a sitting area of couches and chairs, as well as a formal table to the side, where a ceremonial tea set rested upon a table. Alec pulled a servant aside. “Is there tea in the tea pot on the table?” he asked, pointing to the side table.
“No sir. It’s only used for ceremonies,” the man replied.
“Would you please set it now? We’ll have a ceremony momentarily,” Alec answered. He walked slowly about the room as the others chose their seats and prepared to have tea served to them.
Jeswyne, Alec saw, had arranged to sit alone on a small divan suitable for two, and she nodded her head imperceptibly towards him, beckoning him to come.
The servants were discretely placing provisions on the ceremonial table, and Alec judged it was time to take action. He walked over to Jeswyne, and stood beside her. “May I have tea with you, Lady Jeswyne?” he asked.
“Certainly, your majesty,” she responded demurely.
“Your highness,” Alec spoke loudly enough for the emperor and everyone else to hear. “During our time together in the Dominion, the Lady Jeswyne taught me the etiquette of your tea ceremony. Now that I am among you, may I have the privilege of performing that ceremony with your daughter?”
Sergey looked at Alec’s formal smile, and Jeswyne’s downturned face. “Yes, please show us my good daughter’s works.”
Alec held out his hand to walk her to the table. Jeswyne took his hand and they strolled over, where Alec held her chair, then began removing his weapons, presenting them one at a time to Jeswyne, then setting them aside, as the whole family watched in fascination. She gently touched each blade in acknowledgement, until he was finished and sat across from her. He placed the tea leaves in the pot to steep, then strained it silently into the other pot.
He stood, walked around the table to stand at her right side, and poured the golden brew into her cup.
“Does he realize what he’s doing?” Elyzaveta asked loudly.
“I should know. This is the third time we’ve performed this ceremony,” Alec replied aloud.
There was a murmur among all the members of the family. Jeswyne placed her hand atop Alec’s. “You don’t know what this means,” she said.
“I do know,” Alec said quietly. “The third time the ceremony is performed is a confirmation of our intention to be married, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Alec,” she paused. “Are you sure about this?” Jeswyne replied. “Are you ready?”
He placed the teapot back in its spot, and returned to his seat.
Jeswyne rose, and stepped over to pour his tea from the left. Another murmur rose from the family members, and Alec noted that servants were discretely entering the room to stand against the walls as witnesses to the unexpected
event.
“Do you think I came all the way from the Dominion for anything less important to me than you?” Alec said as she stood beside him. She looked down silently at him, then returned to her seat.
Alec rose and walked around to pour her cream into her cup. “But what about Bethany? How can you become engaged so soon after her death?” Jeswyne asked.
“She came to me in a dream. She told me it was right to follow my heart with you,” he felt a tear forming in his eye. “She approves of you, I know it, and she wants me to enjoy life again.”
He sat down, and she stood to serve his cream.
“Besides,” he told her. “I made a promise that I must keep.”
“What promise is that?” she asked, a puzzled look on her face.
“I’ll show you tonight,” he promised with a wink.
“Alec!” she hissed. “We’re in my father’s palace. You have to observe our rules.”
She returned to her seat.
Alec stood to pour her honey. “No one will know that any rules are broken,” he insisted, and took his seat.
“I don’t think even you can do it,” Jeswyne replied moments later as she poured his honey.
They sat in silence for several moments, until Alec moved to place his cup in front of Jeswyne.
“When you go to your room, put on a party dress,” he said.
“I could stand in the middle of my room in my birthday suit, and you’ll never know,” Jeswyne taunted as she placed her own cup in front on him.
They sipped their cups of tea, their eyes locked upon one another over the fine porcelain rims.
“I look forward to the chance to see your, curves,” he answered as he replaced her cup.
“My door will be bolted from the inside tonight, Alec. But if you carry this out correctly, perhaps the time will come,” she said playfully as she returned his cup.
Alec saw the eyebrows exquisitely arched in triumph as they sipped tea again to finish the ceremony.
Alec stood and offered his hand to Jeswyne, they faced her family, and bowed together.
The servants around the wall were smiling and began to clap in applause. The sound continued for several moments, until Alec began to lead Jeswyne back to the sitting area.
Preserving the Ingenairii Page 39
