3 The Bride

At dusk, after meeting Cordelia and her family members who were already waiting for her, Alexa could rest for a while in a chamber they arranged for her.

  She had to insist not to stay with either Cordelia in her chambers until the wedding day, or with other ladies. They provided her a small studio under a spiral staircase, climbing to a tower in the wing where the Flemish guests were staying.

The room was about ten steps wide with a bed, a table, and a chest beside a stained-glass window. It was enough for Alexa, and she had been in much worse situations, anyway. After bathing and getting clean clothes at the request of the Prince's bride, Alexa was instructed to visit Lady Cordelia in her room to change the bandages.

Alexa arrived, and Cordelia was with her cousins ​and some palace women. Her ladies were finishing to dress Cordelia in a white mourning dress, which Eastern noblewomen used to wear. Alexa, in contrast, wore a plain black dress.

Cordelia gently but firmly dismissed the visits so she could be alone with Alexa, and as the door was closed, said with a kind gaze,

"Come here, my friend, let me take care of your wounds."

Might Cordelia's goodness overcome the fact that she wasn't really a noblewoman by birth? 'Maybe all this kindness would be enough to start a spark of change in that spoiled and naughty prince?' Alexa wished it to come true, trying to be optimistic for a change. Cordelia had what was needed to be a good, wise mother to the next Prince of Holstein. Alexa sat next to her new friend and showed her palms.

The wounds were still open and were barely healing. Not burns as Alexa said earlier, but raw sores. Cordelia applied a balsamic salve, which provided some relief.

"Thanks for not talking about it, Lady Cordelia," Alexa murmured as the other maiden was bandaging her hands.

"When I lived in the convent, I heard about such phenomena. They are miracles. They're called stigmata."

Alexa just nodded. Using the opportunity, she pleaded,

"Lady Cordelia, after your wedding, I must leave without delay. My guardian, and the mercenary who escorted us, no longer live. The family of the man I shall marry can shelter me in England. Can you help me?" There was no other way but to distort the truth so no one would get hurt. Cordelia seemed the type who would keep her secret, if not out of gratitude, just for being a discreet person. But Alexa had only known her for a few days. How could she really know?

"Don't worry, Alexa, my friend. My family treasures you for what you have done for me. My father will contact your fiance's family. Just name them. He trades with Britain. He has already said that he will take care of it personally and deliver you to your fiance's house as the most precious thing. Like a new niece to him! He wants to give you a generous gift too."

'Oh, damn it! I didn't expect it! If one of Hansa's Masters decides he'll find my new family, it won't be long before he finds out the truth!' The damsel worried, but she said instead,

"Yes, of course! I am grateful. But this matter can wait for after your marriage, as I said."

"Oh, my dear! The death of the young prince! My father will discover, after this evening's rites, what the new schedule will be like. He will meet with Prince Gutard… But the Sovereign Prince must be desolated…! My father said Prince Alexander was actually the best-loved of my future father-in-law," Cordelia whispered.

'Hmmm, so was the second child actually the favorite? And he died?' Alexa reasoned, imagining an intriguing political scenario. But it was hard to establish a connection between the Prince's death and what happened in the villa. The attack of ghosts. What kind of dark secrets and future perils this kingdom held for Cordelia?

"Lady Cordelia, do you think people from Holstein are trying to kill you?" Alexa asked abruptly.

Cordelia widened her eyes, clearly thinking about it for the first time.

"D-do you think so? Do you think they could? But… the demons?! What kind of evil plot would it be that…!" the poor Flemish bride was so stunned and frightened that her eyes immediately filled with tears of terror, as she recalled the moments spent in that villa inhabited by evil spirits, from which they barely escaped alive. Out of sympathy, Alexa hugged Cordelia and put her head on her shoulder,

"No! Forget what I said! It was just a strange thought, and that makes no sense at all! Your arrival was so anticipated that even your groom, the Prince, was waiting for you on the road. Why would they want to do this? I'm just impressed with what happened, that's it. Please don't cry, dear Cordelia!"

"I'm scared, Alexa, my friend! The horror we've been through... May the Eternal Father have mercy on us! The reports I had about my future husband… just came true! He's not a kind man!"

"Oh…!" There wasn't much she could say about Prince Klaus regarding that, after what Cordelia herself had witnessed. Both knew this was a marriage like most royal marriages, with a single purpose: settle and secure alliances for power.

She desperately thought of words of solace that weren't blatant lies and really could soothe the other maiden's heart.

The howling sound of heavy rain and violent gusts of wind lashing the thick walls of the castle gave Alexa chills. Having spent most of the day inside the vast, labyrinthine castle, she did not recall having noticed the rain before, especially with the buzz of frenetic activity swapping the festive decorations for symbols of mourning. She knew the castle was packed with visitors, the guests to the Prince's wedding.

A sudden bolt of lightning broke out, followed by a roaring thunder, so close that the two maidens jumped in unison, embracing each other even tighter.

"Cordelia, is there a possibility that you can ask your father to cancel the marriage?" Alexa asked, stroking the Flemish girl's light hair with her bandaged hand as she tried to calm her down.

"I… I never thought of that."

"So think about it."

"What if his mistress wants to kill me?"

"Oh, that." Alexa would say that Cordelia was highly imaginative, but imaginative would naively believe that the prince had no mistress at all. "That probably means it will save you a lot of hassle… I hear so," she added quickly, realizing Cordelia's puzzled look. "Listen, friend, the convents in the East are different. I was prepared to marry a man from the East, so I know many... different things."

"How different?"

"Hm, just… different," Alexa held Cordelia's hands gently. "After you give him a child, everything will be alright. You don't even have to be near him at all."

"Yeah, that's what they say. But…"

"But…?"

"But until then…" Cordelia buried her face in her bony hands. It was really unlucky that she lacked grace or charms, and Alexa didn't think Klaus would have mercy on Cordelia.

'Oh my god, what are you doing with these girls around here? Look at how she trembles!'

"You shouldn't worry so much," the maiden told the bride.

"Stay with me! Be my friend! "Cordelia fiercely asked, panting. Alexa was taken by surprise, and stared at the other maiden with a quizzical startled gaze.

"You are different from the women I know, my mother, my cousins, all of them! You are smart and fearless! You," the words unexpected sprouted from Cordelia's mouth.

"Cordelia! No!"

"Please, I beg you! Help me! I'm going to die here, I feel it!" the taller girl grabbed Alexa by the shoulders with her skinny hands, which was unpleasant, but Alexa endured in silence. Cordelia's big eyes were teary and pitiful.

'Oh no…' Alexa felt her heart soften, which wasn't good at all. "Cordelia, I need to go…"

"You have to be the godmother of my first child !!!" yelled Cordelia frenziedly. Alexa inhaled deeply, at the unusual scene when an absurdly strong flash illuminated the entire room in a fraction of the time.

Several things happened before the eyes of the Byzantine maiden as if time had stopped for a moment and everything had been suspended in the infinite ether for the duration of a heartbeat,

Thump.

A glimpse of the future flashed before her, and in it, poor Cordelia was trembling while she held a knife and pointed it to someone, holding a little bundle against her chest. A twisted, desperate grimace played on her face, her gaze bright and mad.

Thu-thump.

Around Alexa, in that very room, the Shades watched behind the veils that covered their dead faces, all of them surrounding and watching the two girls.

The candles in the room went out in unison.

Alexa stepped out of her little moment of transcendence, just in time to realize the inevitable: the lightning had struck the stained glass window of the room! A spurt of wind, rain, and broken glass was spat furiously against them. In her mind, a woman's angry, loud, arrogant scream mingled with the chaotic sound of glass and thunder.

Alexa threw herself on the other girl, forcing Cordelia's body and face against the mattress. There was no time for anything else.

Just as the sounds stopped, Alexa stopped pressing Cordelia against the mattress and raised her own scared face in the dark.

Their hearts were beating so loudly that they could be heard even in the torrential rain outside. They both faced each other in terror, now kneeling and still embracing, in the middle of the bed.

"Don't move, Cordelia. You'll get hurt," for some reason, she whispered, perhaps knowing the ghosts of the castle watched it all.

They were surrounded by shards of colored glass all over the bed, the rain still hitting them violently, but they could not move without the risk of being cut.

As if a bubble separating them from reality violently burst, normal sounds returned. The air was breathable again.

The maiden then heard the hurrying footsteps outside; men and women attending in at the urgency of the accident. Before they were separated and rescued, Alexa whispered in the bride's ear,

"Yes, my dear, I will stay and be with you until you give birth to your firstborn."