Crazy Duke and Fallen Queen

After getting down from the ship, the first sense that is hit is smell. The port is filled with the odour of fish.

Thankfully, I don't feel nausea this time. It seems that it's passed the time I would vomit only at the hint of fish in the room, let alone this strong stink.

Alexander is relieved as well.

His face regains colour, and he inhales a mouthful of fresh air the moment his feet touch the ground. His shoulders return straight, and his lips smirk.

«Finally!» he exclaims while turning his face to the sun, eyes closed to feel the warmth.

Then, he remembers me.

«Come here, Dora,» he says while reaching out for my hand. «Let's go explore together.»

How does he know about Dora? I haven't dreamt about any moment when I used that name. The first time I told anyone to call me like that was a few weeks before the end of the war.

I ventured into the harbour and sat at a table alone for the whole evening, until a waitress sat by my side. She asked me why I was sad, and I muttered something about the siege.

When she offered me her hand and said her name, I had to find something that didn't sound too regal.

In the end, Dora is a common name.

«There is a tavern nearby where I used to come before the surrender,» I inform Alexander. «It's better to avoid it. I don't want to be recognised.»

After considering the matter for a split second, he nods with conviction.

We leave Diogenes and his men behind as we walk towards the city centre. The roads are clean, and there aren't many people around.

All in all, it seems peaceful.

I was expecting to find more beggars and veterans on the streets.

«Where should we go?» I ask Alexander.

«The temple where we got married the first time,» he states. «I want to see it again.»

«Do you remember that day, or you got drunk like during the Autumn Hunt?»

«I was sober, my Duchess. But I wasn't as happy as when I married you the second time.»

«I guess it gets better with experience,» I tease him.

He chuckles, bowing over to leave a light peck on my cheek. Then, swift like wind, he straightens his back.

«We should get married more often,» I continue.

«You might be right.»

The central square is crowded, like always when it's market day.

A mass of people with different traits and clothes is walking or talking in groups. I'm glad to see some merchants advertising their business.

Among that group of people, a few Ethirians talk with local vendors. I can recognise them by the clothes they wear.

«The man there, the one with the green jacket, is the governor appointed,» Alexander whispers, pulling me closer. I lock our arms and continue to stroll with plain faces.

Alexander is dressed in his usual attire, which makes us recognisable as Ethirians. My gown isn't easy to locate as it's in between two different styles, but my hairstyle is imperial, no matter how simple.

In Polis, women don't tie their hair up like this. They always leave at least part of it free or braided.

We cross the square, almost blinded by the white buildings, and we walk into the temple. It's silent and dark, as the sun rays are filtered by the coloured glass. The dust has settled down, but this isn't anything unusual in my city.

People go to pray only when they can't find another solution. As such, all the temples were full of people during the war, especially towards the end.

After the peace treaty, and after seeing that their prayers have been fulfilled, they returned to spend money in other ways. Religion isn't something that has deep grounds around here.

The high priests have always complained about that and asked me to solve the issue. Yet, a Queen can't just order their subjects to believe in something. And it's the church's duty to make their faith appealing.

People go where they see either entertainment or a deeper meaning.

«You were beautiful that day as well,» Alexander whispers, observing the place where we must have stood while exchanging the vows. «I regret not paying attention, but I wasn't exactly in the right mood. I had just been sold off, so I didn't like you that much.»

«When did you start liking your Queen?» I asked, even though it's rather easy to guess.

It must have been after sharing her bed.

«It didn't happen overnight. At first, I was charmed by you. You were so delicate, even if powerful. And you showed me kindness.»

«I was just polite,» I point out. If he was my husband in Polis, I would have made sure he settled and had all he needed.

I would have been busy all the time, though.

«Well, it worked,» Alexander whispers, not to bother the silence of the temple.

«And how did you conquer the Queen's heart?»

He crooks his mouth, thinking for a while.

«I'm not sure myself, Thea. But I guess it was in bed.»

Oh? I pass like a lewd ruler if he says things like this!

«It can't be,» I spit out, narrowing my eyes. «There must have been something that she liked in you. Even though it's hard to notice.»

Maybe, she fell for his feelings. I couldn't resist the sweet waves of love I felt in the dreams, so how could she?

Bed activities might have played a part in it, but my current Alexander is another league with respect to the first one. That man couldn't count on his technique alone to woo a woman.

«Maybe, we were just fated,» he adds.

Oh, fate brought us together, but we chose each other. It wasn't destiny that made me accept him.

«No,» I mutter, shaking my head. It's easier if it was bedtime for real.

«We're not?» he replies, widening his eyes and crooking his mouth, displeased.

«We're not fated, Alexander. We were forced to marry, but we could have continued living each of his life. We didn't need to love each other, right?»

«It makes sense,» he sighs, now relieved that I didn't mean to reject him.

We light a few candles to illumine the death's path, and then we can leave. My candle is for Queen Theodora and her Consort.

In the end, I can understand both of them. I know how felt one and what moved the other. It must be enough to stop worrying about it.

I should avoid thinking about the past and focus on the future.

«Elias will have your mother's eyes,» I say once out.

Alexander's arms clench mine, maybe surprised, maybe scared.

What have I said that it's so shocking?

«Thea, you... You remember?»

«No, I don't.»

«But... I've never used the name Elias, how do you know?»

«You wouldn't believe me even if I told you,» I voice, using pretty much the same words he did when we argued. «You would think of me as crazy, and I don't want to scare you!»

«Don't joke, please.»

«The dreams,» I say. «Do you remember what the High Priestess said when she came to visit us?»

«Oh, that,» he sighs. «I thought the visit to the temple triggered some reaction...»

«Actually, I started having weird dreams soon after our marriage. At first, they were just flashes and images, mostly about me. I saw myself from your point of view. Oh, well, I saw Queen Theodora.»

«And Elias?»

«I dreamt about him as well.» I nod, remembering the beautiful child that ran to... to Alexander, not to me.

«I always wondered why his eyes were so blue. I had to be born again to realise it's my mother's eye colour,» he comments, smiling nostalgically.

«There's a hall with her portrait in Stoneyard.»

«There wasn't when I lived first. That room was locked, and the paintings of my parents were burnt the night they were executed. I've never seen her face in my first life.»

«How are we going to call him this time?»

«Elias already has a name, Thea.»

I sigh, relieved, and Alexander chuckles.

«Sometimes, you make me feel like a merciless tyrant.»

«You pretty much are.»

«What about your dreams, by the way? Have they become annoying?»

«No, they haven't. I've dreamt about the bloody banquet and my death, but only once. Most of the time, the dreams are about the happy moments or your younger years. I've seen your sister as a child, you know? She's almost the same as now...»

«Yes, that's true,» he chuckles. «Martia didn't change much through the years.»

«She's still a child, Xander. Even if she acts like an adult, she's only fifteen.»

«Ah, wait, if you dreamt about it, then you believe me now. Don't you?»

«If I didn't, it would mean that my mind is crazier than yours.»

«So, you won't believe your uncle just yet.»

The Ambassador is still innocent in this life. He hasn't done anything to me. Not yet.

But he's made Alexander suffer.

«I will have his head on a platter, one day,» I reply.

Not for me, though. For my husband and my unborn child.