A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Um. Yes?"

"It's Rosella. Can I come in?"

"It's unlocked," Alexander replied as he shook his head. It seemed even something as simple as people knocking and asking to come in would take some getting used to.

Rosella entered with a tray balanced on one arm as she used the other to shut the door behind her. "I found some of those desserts we discussed at dinner and thought, the sooner, the better!"

She set the tray down on the bed, revealing two plates of cookies and mugs of milk. Sitting down on his bed, her legs and skirts drawn up under her, she handed over one of each.

Alexander picked up one of the cookies and studied it for a second.

"You look like you've never seen a cookie before," she noted as she took one of her own and bit into it.

"Not with chocolate," Alexander replied before doing the same. He'd never had anything quite like it, but it was good all the same.

"What about pancakes? If not, we'll have Father make you some; nobody makes them as well as him."

"We never had any kind of chocolate."

She made a face. "They didn't have any chocolate in Llewdor?"

"I don't know. Maybe in town, but he never bought any, at any rate."

"Who's 'he'?" she asked, and Alexander realized she still must know almost nothing of where he'd been the past seventeen years. All he'd told her on their way back to the castle was that he'd been in Llewdor, and then she'd been gone on her quest for the magic fruit, and after that, they'd all been asleep most of the day.

He dropped his half-eaten cookie back on the plate and stared down at it, his blanket clenched in one hand. How many times would he have to explain this?

"Manannan. He's the wizard who took me, so he would have someone to clean his house and cook his food."

For a moment, he heard nothing but the sound of Rosella's cookie (her third, by this point) being dropped back on her plate.

"But… I mean… why you?" She asked, bewildered.

"I don't know," he answered simply.

"So… that's what you've been doing all this time? Keeping his house in order? But he taught you magic, right? That's how you knew how to kill the dragon?"

Alexander couldn't help but almost laugh at that thought. "He would've killed me if he knew I was learning magic; anything to do with it was strictly forbidden. I learned it on my own, in secret."

"Even though he would've killed you?"

He moved his gaze to the fire in the hearth, and his grip on the blanket tightened. "He was going… going to anyway when I turned eighteen…" He could feel that old fear settling back in his stomach, the weight of not knowing if this would be his last day laying heavy on his shoulders…

He continued staring at the fire, except it wasn't the fireplace in Daventry anymore; it was the kitchen hearth in a mansion at the top of a tall mountain in Llewdor, and he had to hurry, had to finish getting the meal ready before he returned.

"Alexander?" a voice asked, and anxiety shot through him; he wasn't ready; the wizard had returned too soon…too soon…

A touch on his shoulder - light as a feather, but it mattered not - sent him careening backward until he hit the headboard with his shoulder. His headboard, because he was in a bedroom in Daventry, not the kitchen in the wizard's house. He looked up at his sister, who was staring at him with wide eyes. His sister was the one who had spoken, not the wizard.

"Sor… sorry… I…" he tried to say, but the fear remained in control rather than him.

"No no no, I'm the one who's sorry; I didn't mean to… you weren't responding, so I… are you all right? Should I get Mother?"

Alexander managed to shake his head. Another person, much less the Queen, was the last thing he wanted right now. "I'm all right, now. Sorry."

"Don't be; it's my fault, too many questions. Um, what about some water? Or you still have some cookies left? Or if there's anything else you'd like?"

He shook his head again. All he wanted was to be left alone and not have to answer anything else. To be able to escape to the familiar oblivion of sleep.

She moved his plate and mug to his nightstand. "I'll leave these here, then, in case you change your mind." She sat back down on the edge of his bed. "I know we just met, but I hope you know I'm here if there's anything you need. Or want to talk about. Or just want some chocolate; there's a lot more where those came from!" She gave him a gentle smile that made her look just like their mother.

"Thanks. I think I… just want to go to bed, if that's all right."

"Of course. Me as well; I'm still sore from all the running… and swimming… and climbing… and… well, a whole lot of things, I guess." And with that, she was right back to the Rosella he was becoming used to. "Good night, Alexander. Maybe I can give you a tour tomorrow, though I expect Mother will have you busy with some official business instead."

Both sounded just as nerve-wracking. "Good night. And thanks for the cookies. They were quite good."

"Well, here you can have all you want. Night!"

Rosella dropped the tray off in her room to take back to the kitchens later and went in search of their mother. She found the Queen in her office, looking through a stack of papers on her desk.

"Mother?"

Valanice rose when she heard her daughter and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I know I said earlier, but I'm so glad to have you back home safe. You'll have to put up with a few extra hugs for awhile, I'm afraid."

"I don't mind. How's Father?"

"Asleep almost as soon as you two left."

"Good, he needs it. Mother, I was just up talking with Alexander. Have you talked with him much?"

Valanice sat on the couch by the fireplace and patted the seat beside her, inviting her daughter to join her. Though she tried to hide it, Rosella could see the lines on her mother's face that always appeared when she was particularly worried about something.

"A little. Your father did, too, some. What did Alexander tell you?"

"That he'd been in Llewdor, that a wizard Manannan took him to have him keep house, and that if the wizard knew he'd been secretly learning magic, he would have killed him. And that he would be… killed… at eighteen anyway."

Valanice nodded. "Yes, that's what he told your father as well. It sounds like… like he's been through quite a lot."

Rosella bit her lip. She didn't want to break her brother's trust, little as it might be, or betray his privacy, but she was becoming increasingly worried about him. "Mother… while he was telling me this, he… well, he went rather still and stopped responding to me. He just looked so… scared."

The sorrow deepened on her mother's face. Valanice took her daughter's hand in hers and said, "I think we need to tread lightly with him. I know we all have more questions, but it might be best to let him tell more on his own time. And he doesn't seem to be used to a lot of… hugs and such, so maybe hold off on that for a bit, too."

"I, uh… noticed that." The shock of his sudden reaction to her touching his shoulder to get his attention had nearly sent her flying off the bed as well as him.

"I'm planning on consulting with Ren. We'll do our best to support him and show him he has a loving family now, of course, but… I think he'll need something more, something we can't necessarily give him."

Rosella nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

"You know, if you need someone to talk to yourself, your father and I are always here. Or I'm sure Ren could make time for you as well. You had quite the experience, too."

"Maybe later," Rosella answered. Right now, it was all so fresh, so new… she still couldn't quite seem to wrap her mind around all that happened. Her father was still recovering, and her mother was busy with so much already; it was just easier, for now, to think of her quest as a good story to tell. To not admit even to herself how much parts of it had shaken her.

They both looked at the door as a knock sounded.

"Come in," Valanice said, and Lord Bryant entered.

"Your Majesty. Princess," he acknowledged. "I hear we have you to thank for the King's improved health."

"It was quite the adventure, let me tell you. But the important thing is that Father will be all right."

"Lord Bryant, thanks for coming so late in the evening. I wanted to discuss announcing Alexander's return tomorrow."

"You haven't told people yet? The biggest news in the history of the kingdom?" Rosella asked, dismayed.

"Not officially. We've had… quite a lot going on," Valanice answered. "But we'll announce first thing in the morning, don't worry. And your father has quite the celebration planned already, I'm sure."

"A celebration sounds like just what Daventry needs," Rosella said. After everything Daventry had endured, they could do with multiple celebrations.