Settling the Score
"And that's the deal," said Alexis, explaining everything that happened at the palace. "Galvin let me come back here so I could tell you all and collect my things, but I have to return quickly. I'm going to be living in the palace from now on."
"We can't let this stand. We have to get you out of here," said Sophia.
"If I leave, my family will suffer and die, and then Galvin will come after all of you."
"Then we'll all leave and return after Seraph arrives and deposes Galvin," Cyrilo suggested.
"That won't work. My family is being kept under lock and key and personally guarded by Gradius until the wedding. I can't leave them behind. If we leave, they die. If we rebel, they die. If we do anything, they die."
"In an enclosed space, with no way to escape the heat, Gradius is unbeatable," Aithorn muttered.
"There has to be something we can do!" Sophia tearfully exclaimed.
"There isn't. In three days, Galvin and I are to be wed, and for the sake of all of you and my family, I must meet him at the altar."
Sophia grasped Alexis's hands. "I won't let you marry him! I'll stop this myself if I have to!"
"If you try to intervene, you'll just end up getting you and everyone else killed. This isn't something you can save me from. I must deal with this myself, and I need you to trust me. I love you, and if you love me too, you'll stay out of this. I already have enough deaths on my conscience."
She placed her knight ring on Cyrilo's desk and left without another word, and as the door closed behind her, fresh tears poured from Sophia's eyes. She then turned to Noah's projection, silent throughout the exchange. "Noah, say something! There has to be a way to fix this! To put a stop to this madness!"
"My group is still too far from Colbrand to help. Besides, Alexis said to trust her, and that's what I'll do. She doesn't want you involved, and if you go against her wishes, it'll lead to nothing but tragedy. Alexis wants to bear this herself, so I will let her."
Sophia was left stunned by his words. "You can't be serious!" she shrieked.
"Sophia, trust me and trust Alexis. You heard her: her family is at stake, and if you do anything to fight what's happening, they will die, as will all of you. You can't help them or Alexis, but there are still more refugees to evacuate from Colbrand. They need you more than Alexis does. The best thing you can do is stay away." Noah then turned to Cyrilo. "I need to speak with Elyot. Would you mind bringing the gem to him?" The scowl on Cyrilo's face was her response.
"I'll do it," said Aithorn, picking up the gem and walking out of her study.
Sophia dropped to her knees, feeling like her bones had become jelly. This couldn't be happening. Alexis was condemned to a horrible fate, and not only was she doing nothing to fight it, but Noah was arguing against helping her. Had the world been turned on its head? She didn't know what to believe anymore.
The next three days brought a new fervor to Colbrand. Everyone was abuzz about the upcoming royal wedding, and preparations were being made as quickly as possible. Galvin was sparing no expense, continuing to drain wealth from the nobles and commoners alike to pay for the event. No one knew the details of Alexis being coerced; they were too focused on the absurdity of it all. For the controversial king to marry the woman who had called him a devil in front of the entire city was just the newest addition to the long list of outrageous events that plagued Colbrand. However, like all royal marriages, there was the hope for a sense of normality afterward, that the union could calm the climate of the nation.
At the Knight's Sheath, Cyrilo tried to continue her plan of ferrying beastmen and refugees out of the country, but found her efforts hindered by the sudden staffing issue. Lucius was dead, Alexis was in the castle, and Sophia had gone silent since the news. She sat locked in her room, the room she and Alexis shared, staring out the window with eyes left red from crying. Just getting her to eat was a trial.
In the palace, Alexis was in much the same condition. She was locked up in a bedroom looking over the city and spent her time gazing out the window. Maids brought her whatever she needed, but it was hard to eat while she felt sick to her stomach. At the very least, Galvin wasn't paying her any visits. Just as he had with Sophia, he wanted to build the anticipation and suspense, letting her stew in her dread.
Finally, the day arrived, and a grand festival was held in the streets to celebrate. Nobles were coming in droves to attend the ceremony, even if they were all complaining about how Galvin had screwed them. Not only were they paying for the wedding and the festival after being gouged with raised taxes, but they had yet to see a single return. All of the beastmen slaves they had been promised were used to entertain the crowds in the arena. Still, they had to attend, lest they end up being punished for disloyalty. Rumors had spread of the clergy's demise.
After a grandiose day of celebration and debauchery, the wedding would take place in the arena at sunset, giving Galvin the audience he so craved. At the castle, Alexis spent the whole day being manhandled by the assistants charged with preparing her for the ceremony. After being rinsed, soaped, and scrubbed harder than a greasy pan, she was fitted into her wedding dress, with several women working on her hair, pancaking her with makeup, and doing her nails.
She endured the humiliation silently, thinking about what was at stake. Then, once everything was done, the maids left, and she sat in front of a mirror, staring at herself. She had finally become the pretty little doll her father always wanted her to be. The door opened behind her, and one of the last people she wanted to see entered.
"Come to wish your future daughter-in-law good luck?" she asked, speaking to Ziradith's reflection.
Ziradith approached, sneering as always, and rested her hands on Alexis's shoulders. "This is all your fault. Everything that has happened has all been because of you."
"This coming from the grand architect of Uther's current nightmare. Just like Galvin, you're incapable of accepting fault for your actions."
Ziradith grabbed Alexis by the hair and pulled hard. "Don't give me any lip, you little bitch." Alexis withstood the pain without a sound, not wanting to grant Ziradith the satisfaction. Ziradith then picked up a brush and began fixing the broken hairdo. "If you had just agreed to marry my son years ago, none of this would have happened. But no, you had to make it all about you."
"Per your example."
"Silence. Because you threw a fit and refused to be a good pawn, I had to settle for your pathetic cousin, leading to that catastrophe at the academy. My plan was perfect, elegant, but you blew a hole in it big enough for that fucker Noah to step in, and now it's all a giant mess. Do you have any idea how much I've suffered because of you?"
"Your failures are your own, you miserable hag. You're just as much of a plague on this country as your son. How many people have you hurt and victimized because you wanted power? How many lives have been ruined because poor little Zira could never be happy with what she had? You set all this in motion, and all the pain you've suffered is barely a fraction of what you deserve."
Ziradith leaned her head over Alexis's shoulder, staring into her eyes through the mirror.
"I don't know what Galvin is trying to pull with this insanity, and he's long since stopped listening to reason or telling me his plans, but I'm going to enjoy watching him crush your spirit and finally put you in your place."
"Spoken by the wonderful mother who made him this way. Tell me something, all the times Galvin screwed up, all the times he raped and murdered innocent people, all the times he released that psychotic little laugh like everything was a game, did you see yourself in him? Did you see your own degenerate blood put on display for all the world to gawk at? Did you see your rotten reflection in his crazed eyes, realizing how much he's like you? Or did you see your utter ineptitude as a mother, how you failed so badly as a parent as to cultivate a monster like him and let him loose on the world?"
"Say whatever you want, I have what I need."
As the day grew late, everyone, including Alexis and Galvin, moved to the arena. They rode in an open carriage, Galvin waving to the crowds with his smarmy grin and basking in the attention, while Alexis sat with bleak eyes.
"Why aren't you smiling? Are you picturing your little sisters getting ripped inside out by ogre cocks? Because if you don't want that to happen, you'd better start acting like a proper trophy."
Alexis glared at him with limitless hatred, but he just giggled, overjoyed by her suffering. She put on a fake smile and waved to the crowd like he was, all the while fighting the urge to vomit. They arrived at the arena with everyone in the city sitting in the stands. Among them were Cyrilo, Sophia, and Daniel, with Cyrilo bringing Noah's harkonen gem so he could observe.
"Are you sure you want to be here?" Cyrilo asked Sophia.
"No matter what Alexis says, I will not let her go through this alone. The moment Galvin does anything to hurt her, I'll kill him with my bare hands."
"That won't be necessary," said Noah.
Sophia glared at him, still overcome with a sense of betrayal. The man she thought she could trust, the man she loved, telling her not to save Alexis, burned her like nothing else. How could he be so calm while this was happening?
Down in the ring, musicians played their instruments, doves and confetti were released, and bursts of magic were launched into the sky, all to entertain the crowd and give Galvin the extravagance and pageantry he loved. He stood at the altar, and beside him was the leader of the church, spared by Gradius after slaughtering his friends. The smirk on his face projected his certainty that all was right with the world. And as always, the Wassengel manacle was secured on his arm. Braziers burned throughout the arena like the final match of the tournament, and security was raised to its maximum.
