fanfiction emails working? :eyes:
review replies:
LPK9: He does majorly suck. Like, who does that?
Lenticel: For sure! There must have been something going on there. Our little exiles club indeed :(
Okuri-Chan: I'm so glad you liked the video! I thought it was hilarious xD
Cafos lifted the heavy knocker on the front doors of the manor, then rammed it against the stained wood a few times before stepping back. Behind him, Stephen gave Alexis's hand a squeeze. She squeezed his hand back. Her heart was pounding.
They had crossed through the grounds without issue. As Cafos had suspected, the guards hadn't deemed a valkyrie to be a threat. Alexis wondered if that would ever come back to bite them.
"What's our plan?" Stephen asked quietly as they waited for their knock to be answered.
"I'm going to request an audience with him." Cafos responded. "Say I'm here on Notch's business. Which… I might as well be." Stephen nodded, and they fell silent as footsteps came from within. After a moment, an older woman in neat, pressed clothes opened the door.
"Good morning." She greeted them. "Can I help you?" Cafos hesitated, then opened his mouth to respond.
"I-"
"Tell Lord Giles that his daughter is here to see him." Alexis interrupted loudly. Both boys spun to look at her, and the woman's eyes widened, studying her. Finally, she stepped back out of the doorway.
"Come inside. I'll fetch him." She gestured for them to follow, and the boys exchanged a glance before following her inside.
"Alex, are you sure about this?" Stephen muttered in her ear. Alexis took a deep breath.
"Yes." She whispered back. "I can't face him if he doesn't know."
"We could've waited outside while Cafos talked to him, if you'd wanted."
"Yes, but I trust that boy about as far as I can throw him." She whispered.
"I can hear you." Cafos hissed at them. Alexis just glared at him.
Eventually, the woman led them to a waiting room, where she directed them to make themselves comfortable while she summoned the lord. Alexis sat stiffly down on one of the couches, setting down her bucket and laying her hand timidly on the velvet cushions. She remembered this room, ever so vaguely. This was where her father met guests. She had never been allowed to be in here.
She remembered the older brother she'd had. Connell was a few years older than her, and picked on her, but he would also threaten and scowl at anyone who made her cry, and he would carry her when she got tired and didn't want to run around the grounds anymore. He would've been twelve when she was sent away. Had he approved of it?
Stephen wrapped an arm around her where he sat beside her, squeezing her against his side. She let her head fall against his shoulder. Maybe having Stephen made up for losing her older brother.
"Alexis," Cafos spoke up from a chair across from them. "You said Lord Giles was powerful. Anything in particular we should know about?" Alexis shifted, thinking back.
"Well," She said slowly. She remembered little of her father's abilities on her own, but she did recall hearing what people said about him. "He's exceptionally strong and fast. And he can… I'm not sure, track people somehow, even from long distances."
"Do you think we're in any danger from him?" Stephen asked, addressing Cafos. The valkyrie pressed his lips into a thin line.
"I have no idea how he'll react to having his disowned daughter show up on his doorstep. It's best to prepare for the worst."
The three of them waited in tense silence until the door on the other side of the room opened, and a man walked through.
He was an imposing man, with hair that was short and dark with streaks of gray, and he was dressed in rich, tailored clothes that matched the colors of his banners. His face was aged and there was a scar through one cheek that hadn't been there before, but Alexis still recognized him immediately. And, from the look on his face, he recognized her too.
"Alexis." His voice was stunned.
"Father." Alexis managed to keep her voice fairly steady, despite her heart trying to beat out of her chest. The man took a step closer, then sank down in the closest chair to the door, staring at her in disbelief.
"Oh Notch, you're alive." He croaked. "Oh Notch…" He buried his face in his hands, and Alexis looked on in bewilderment. This was… not at all the reaction she had expected. "You look just like your mother…" he mumbled into his hands. Alexis took a deep breath, then cleared her throat.
"How is she?"
"Dead." Her father lifted his head slightly. "She… passed away in childbirth eight years ago." Alexis's hand fisted in the hem of her shirt.
"And Connell?"
"I… he is well, I assume." The man kept his gaze low. "He… has not spoken to me in years." Alexis felt a small surge of pride. "Alexis, I know my words mean nothing." Her father lifted his head, eyes shining with unshed tears. "But I cannot… begin to say how much I regret sending you away." Alexis's jaw tightened, but he went on. "I was foolish, and power-hungry, and… it destroyed the lives of those I should have loved the most. I'm sorry." He clasped his hands together in his lap. "I thank Notch that you survived… even what I put you through. To see you here in front of me, alive and well, it eases my conscience."
"I didn't survive for you." Her response was icy. Lord Giles nodded, lowering his gaze.
"Of course… of course you didn't."
"Nor did we come for you to reunite." Cafos spoke up. Alexis gave him a small glare, but she was glad when her father's attention shifted to the valkyrie, a startled look on his face as if he had noticed him for the first time. "We need to know where to find an Aether portal."
"A portal?" Giles echoed. "What for? You can…" his voice trailed off, his gaze falling to the bloody bandages on Cafos' wing. The valkyrie's eyes narrowed, and Giles went on. "I… for what purpose?"
"We have vital information that we must deliver to Notch." Stephen answered him. The man's gaze shifted to him.
"What kind of information?" He asked. The trio exchanged glances, as if silently wondering how much was wise to tell this man.
"Have you heard of a man who has been making his way through the country killing valkyries?" Stephen asked at last. Giles sobered.
"I have."
"We encountered him." Cafos said lowly, gesturing to his injured wing. "He was seeking an Aether portal."
"I know this already." Giles said. "As does Notch. This killer waylaid the Lady Eydis of Belmourne, who has recently traveled to the Aether, in order to interrogate her." Alexis shot Stephen a startled look. "So this information is not as vital as you may think." Giles finished. Stephen set his jaw.
"It is a personal matter as well." He said. "As this killer is my father, and I must hear from Notch himself what he did to deserve an order of execution when I was an infant." The lord's eyes widened, studying him more closely.
"...I see." He said at last. "I… am afraid I don't know the location of a portal myself." Alexis's heart sank. So they had come here for nothing.
"Then we will go to this Lady of Melbourne." Cafos said decisively. "She clearly knows more than you." He stood, and Alexis stood with him, pulling Stephen up as well.
"I wish you luck." Lord Giles rose to his feet, his gaze lingering on Alexis. "If there is anything I can do to make your journey easier, please let me know."
"Clothes." Stephen spoke up suddenly. "New clothes and boots." He gave Alexis's hand a squeeze. "For her." Alexis frowned, hating the thought of accepting anything from this man, but her father simply nodded.
"Give me an hour, and it will be done. Can I provide you with a meal?" Giles asked. Stephen looked to Alexis for this, and she scowled, but she couldn't deny the allure of a hot meal.
"Yes."
"Alright." Lord Giles nodded, gesturing for them to follow. "Come with me, please."
Alexis tugged at her tunic, frowning at the sleeves that were tight on her arms.
"Feels weird." She complained.
"Think about how nice it'll be to not be tripping over your clothes." Stephen told her in between bites of his dinner, and she grudgingly nodded.
"I guess." Alexis had rejected the first set of clothes her father had brought her, refusing to wear a dress. The lord had had to hunt down a set of boy's clothes that would fit her, and had eventually come up with an old set of her brother's, along with a pair of new boots. While she seemed fairly disgruntled by the whole interaction, Stephen couldn't stop smiling at the sight of her in new, well-fitting clothes and comfortable shoes.
They had taken their time eating in the lord's kitchen before hitting the road again, Cafos leading the way. Lord Giles had offered them a ride in his carriage to the next town, but Alexis had firmly refused. Neither Stephen nor Cafos had argued with her. They understood not wanting to be around such a man, even if he did appear to be remorseful.
They hadn't made much distance the first day, and had made a rudimentary camp just off the road as the sky began to darken.
"How much farther do we have to go?" Alexis asked, still plucking at her clothes.
"Belmourne is not too far from Blackhaven." Cafos told her. "On foot, it may take a few days. We'd be best off following the roads."
"Alright." Stephen nodded. "That… it isn't dangerous for us to be seen, right?"
"Herobrine probably isn't looking for us." Alexis pointed out. "I hope. And neither is Lucius, because he thinks Cafos is hunting us." Cafos frowned a bit at the reminder.
"You should be right…" He mused. "But, let's remain on our guard either way. If possible, let's stay close enough to the roads to be able to use them as a guide, but far enough away to stay out of sight."
"I'm alright with that." Stephen said. The group lapsed into silence, and he returned to his thoughts, musing over his outburst earlier that day in regards to his father.
When he had petitioned Giles for more information on the basis that he needed to know if his father was judged fairly, he had only hoped that the plea would have softened the lord's heart to their cause. The more he thought on it, though, he realized that it hadn't come from nowhere. Despite what he had seen heard of his father, that he was treasonous and a murderer, Stephen still suspected that there was a side of the story he was unaware of. Perhaps it was just a side-effect of having his whole world turned upside down in a matter of days.
Either way, he wanted to hear the truth straight from Notch's mouth. Surely, even if his mentor and the man who raised him had done so, the sovereign King would not lie to him.
"How long do you think your wing will take to heal?" Alexis asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. Cafos shrugged, frowning down at the piece of bread in his hand.
"I've never been run through before, so I don't know. It's not a large wound, but I can't imagine it would be any less than a couple weeks before it's usable."
"Well, that's inconvenient."
"It is."
"You can fight without being able to fly, can't you?" Stephen cut in. Cafos side-eyed him.
"You know I can. My only concern is that I would try to use my wings instinctively, and sabotage myself."
"Better stay focused, then." Alexis remarked. Cafos gave her a tired look.
"I'll do my best, princess."
"Don't call me that."
"Should someone keep watch while the others sleep?" Stephen suggested. "Just in case we should be attacked?"
"Set up a watch, you mean?" Cafos asked. "Sure. It can't hurt. I'll take the first shift."
"I'll take the second one, then." Stephen said.
"That makes me third," Alexis stated, and the boys exchanged a glance. "What?"
"I think you should sleep through the night." Stephen told her. "Cafos and I have been trained to function on less sleep, but you'll need your strength."
"Excuse me?" Alexis crossed her arms. "Is this because you know I'm a nobleman's daughter now? I'll have you know that I spent plenty of nights sleepless on my own, and had to get up the next day or I'd die."
"It isn't that we don't think you're capable," Cafos broke in before Stephen could protest. "But you've had an exhausting day. That aside, it isn't your birthright, nor your experiences, but your lack of training that makes us preferable as watchmen." Alexis chewed her lip, and Stephen braced himself for another round of argument, but to his surprise she relented.
"Alright." She said, "I guess." Huh. Maybe she was worn out.
"Good." Cafos nodded. "Go to sleep, you two." He stood, crossing over their small campground to seat himself on a fallen log, and Stephen nodded, laying down on his side in the leaves.
It was impressive, he thought to himself as Alexis slumped down beside him, how quickly they had grown to trust the valkyrie. A month ago their relationship was strained at best, due to their shared allegiance to the Sons, but that had devolved quickly into all-out war once he escaped with Alexis. Now, he found as he stared at Cafos' back, Stephen trusted him to watch over them while they slept. If only because he was in just as much trouble as they were.
Stephen shut his eyes, and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.