The Bell Tolls for Me

Isabella, Arthur, and Valerio stood in private chambers in the royal palace, monitored by none, not even the holy paladins. That was necessary for a conversation this candid.

"I'm glad that we finally get the chance to speak again," Arthur said to Isabella. After the vision that Isabella had, those simple words took on a different context in her head despite nothing suggesting they had no ulterior meaning. "It seems these opportunities come all too infrequently in the wake of your increased responsibilities."

Isabella nodded, very mindful of all her words and actions. She wasn't fond of the awkwardness between them, but explaining the vision she had after drinking Sosen's draught would only make things worse.

"I've brought you here to further insight into what we've discussed prior, last time we were alone in this fashion," Isabella explained, and then turned her head to look at her fiancé. "I'd like you to explore a possible solution to the wasting illness that I'd been inflicted with in my prior life. Its key lies in Valerio."

Arthur turned his head to look at Valerio, who was busy regarding the Archwizard's heir with some distrust. Valerio knew of Isabella's vision bestowed by Sosen's potion, and despite her assurances what occurred within had no bearing on her decisions, Valerio had come to mislike Arthur because of them. His possessiveness was both exasperating and endearing.

"Perhaps there's something I'm missing. I don't see how the Duke of the Isles can help us," he said, speaking as if Valerio wasn't there. "I'm aware that he has an unusual energy that doesn't entirely match with magic as I understand it… but I fail to see how the two might relate."

Arthur wasn't blind to the tension the duke brought to the table. She could tell that he was being particularly cold toward Valerio, speaking as if he wasn't even present. It was only natural to return disdain with disdain. Isabella hoped this wouldn't be a problem.

"The power that I bear is deeply entrenched with both the body and the soul. It can't be called magic in a true sense." Valerio held his hand out, and stirred wind. Arthur stepped back in alarm. "It's incredibly difficult for me to grow ill, and I'm possessed of an intense vigor that few others can match. Certainly not you," he finished pettily.

Isabella almost sighed upon hearing that last barbed comment, but quickly contributed, "It's for these reasons, Arthur, that I'd like you to make a study of Valerio's power to determine whether or not it might mitigate the symptoms I possessed. Restrained illnesses, intense vigor… I'm sure that you can see the application."

Arthur looked upon Valerio again not as a person but as a subject of scholarly interest. The spellcaster moved closer and held his hand out, placing it upon Valerio's chest. Valerio was somewhat guarded, but he didn't resist, enduring with gritted teeth and a grimace.

"My word… there are so many mysteries in the world…" Arthur's tone was favored by disbelief as he examined Valerio's body, moving his hand about his chest dispassionately. As he did, he spoke to Isabella, saying, "No matter what I learn, it… would be difficult to develop an absolute confirmation that Valerio's power could indeed help combat the wasting disease without having seen its symptoms firsthand."

Isabella nodded thoughtfully.

Arthur's hand rose to Valerio's neck. "Nevertheless, I would be more than willing to examine Valerio's body. Even if it doesn't provide any particular scholarly insight, I have little doubt it will lead to revelations on the field of magic."

Valerio finally pushed away Arthur's hand, made uncomfortable by his liberal touching.

"Then I'd like to see that happen," Isabella said decisively. "Provided you agree, Valerio," she gestured toward him.

"It's no trouble at all," Valerio said without hesitation.

Isabella could tell that it did trouble him a fair bit, but Valerio hadn't complained even once. That he would endure this indignity for her meant a great deal, and she certainly wouldn't forget it. She didn't think this would cause any problems vis-a-vis the elves, but he was still exposing his abilities and making himself vulnerable to Arthur solely for her benefit. After that vision, and after dealing with Albert, she felt adrift, fragile… but Valerio was ever constant in her life.

"I'll need to prepare… a great many things," Arthur said with the detached ponderance of a clinician. "I can clear my schedule for the day and begin immediately, if that's amenable."

"This'll take a full day?" Valerio said gruffly.

"Is that too much for you? I can manage a full day. Whatever happened to your intense vigor that few others could match?" Arthur said glibly.

Valerio narrowed his eyes. "I was questioning your skills, not my vigor. Time is of the essence. This examination needs to be done quickly."

"Then you couldn't have a better examiner," Arthur said confidently and pointedly. "I'll prevail upon my mother for help. I think the situation warrants it, and she spent more time in your estate than I have. That may provide some valuable insight." He gestured out the door. "I'll retrieve my implements."

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Arthur left the room, leaving Isabella and Valerio alone.

"Prevail upon his mother…" he snorted. "Listen to him," Valerio said once he was gone.

Isabella narrowed her eyes. "Need I mention the presence of your mother, Veronica?"

"I didn't prevail upon her. She simply showed up," Valerio argued.

"One might argue that makes it worse." Isabella walked up to him. "I don't need friction, Valerio." He looked away until she grabbed one of his big hands, whereupon his dark eyes devoted their full attention to her. She stood on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek, then said quietly, "Be good."

Where once there had been a tense expression and clenched jaw, there was now only a smile. The immediate reversal amused her, and she laughed. Their moment of carefree bliss was soon interrupted by a knock at the door, and they both stepped away from each other.

"Enter," Isabella called out.

Alice walked in, Randolph peeking in for a brief moment before resuming his guard. "The Archduke Felix has arrived, Your Highness, alongside his daughter," Alice said with a bowed head.

"Send them in," Isabella said decisively, then looked back at Valerio after Alice left. She walked closer. "Cooperate well with Arthur. This may be our final resort. Given my father's ability… given my link to him, through my heritage… given Bernadetta's ties to his rise, now just barely revealed… it seems impossible to maintain a grip on the royal court," Isabella said solemnly. "As before, I may be stricken with the wasting illness. The interregnum council will enthusiastically welcome the return of Edgar 'the Great,'" she finished, saying his sobriquet contemptuously.

Valerio said nothing, but worry was etched into every part of his face at the mere idea.

"I'll try to work with Felix to prevent it, of course," Isabella said. "But… Sosen helped put things into perspective. I shouldn't try to win the royal court." She shook her head. "I should try and win the kingdom. If indeed Edgar does come, given his ability, there's no way I can mount a defense with any chance of winning. Yet… a retreat need not be the end of the war. That will be my strategy. If I cannot best them here, I must retreat, thereby drawing Edgar out of hiding to win the war."

Valerio closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them and veritably lunged forward to hug her. He held her tightly.

"Why can we not leave now?" Valerio asked her earnestly. "Abandon all of this, everything, and leave Edgar to rot away slowly. Forget this politicking, forget this constant tension. Come with me to live among the Ithilian… or to the Republic of Ambrose, even. I could take you on great voyages to countless places I've visited, and some I've not. We could know nothing but happiness to the end of our days."

Isabella returned his embrace. "We cannot leave for the same reason, I suspect, that you have helped the elves all these years, even at the cost of surrendering your own soul," she pointed out, then sighed into his shoulder. "The more I think of it, the more convicted I become. My father was a bloodthirsty, uncaring tyrant who achieved his aims not by prudent statecraft, but by ruthless suppression of dissent lent by his unnatural abilities.

"If he ever assumed the throne… I can predict what he would do. The Veymontists would be ruthlessly persecuted. My brothers and all their descendants would likely be executed. My sisters would be sold like chattel to nobles even if they don't meet the same fate. The tensions bubbling beneath the surface would explode, perhaps by his design, and Edgar would reassert authority as he always did. War. Brutal, brutal war." Isabella finally pulled away. "And Abigail, Alice, all of the great new companions I've met in this life… I cannot predict their fate. My happiness alone is insufficient compared to the needs of Dovhain."

"I fear for you," Valerio said, his voice betraying the slightest tremor.

Isabella smiled bittersweetly. "We have that in common."

Valerio looked to have more to add, but another knock came at the door. Shortly after, it opened, and Archduke Felix walked in alongside Abigail. Isabella and Valerio comported themselves, regarding their guests without a hint of the emotion displayed seconds earlier.

"We've much to discuss, Your Highness," the archduke declared, then waited for the door to shut before continuing. "I've begun a robust investigation following the events that transpired recently, and come to a grave conclusion. Your cousin… is a figure of tremendous concern. From what I could tell, she was fated to be yet another of the many mistresses that your father took during his reign," Felix explained to her.

The archduke laid out papers containing correspondence between the Baron of Caldwell and her father, King Edgar. She didn't have time to read them, but Isabella saw Bernadetta's name mentioned a great multitude of times.

"The price that your uncle eventually named was funding for a bridge, and the right to collect tolls on it," Felix continued, placing down a final letter. "I retrieved these letters from Caldwell."

Isabella inhaled deeply as she scanned through the papers. "Did you have any chance to interview her father?"

"Neither of her parents are alive. They died in an accident three years ago. I'm told Bernadetta I didn't attend the funeral." Felix gathered up the papers. "Ultimately, she was never sold to the king. What exactly happened is murky, but the royal court ceased communication. That bridge was never built. My agents visited the spot that it had been planned personally, but no sign of it existed."

"When?" Isabella inquired.

"About six years ago."

That roughly coincided with the period of time that Bernadetta began visiting with Isabella. Her cousin had always been older than Isabella by about four years. Meaning… all of this trouble took place when Bernadetta was sixteen. Isabella assumed she had come here under the auspices of a chaperone, but had the young girl escaped from home?

Isabella felt that she couldn't afford sympathy, so she asked, "What have you discovered about her operations here?"

"Enough to say for certain she has ties to Edgar the Great," Felix said bluntly.

Isabella took a deep breath. It was time to learn who her cousin truly was.