Know Who to Count On

Chapter 9: It's All About Perspective

Melody stared at the ceiling of Count Alexis' room as she lay on the sofa, mulling over everything that had happened that morning. It all felt like a dream, even though it started as a nightmare. She had confronted Jonathan to save Sarah...a memory that already felt distant and not her own. Like she'd watched everything happen from outside her own body. And then a flash of red and Alexis was standing over her with fury in his eyes. She'd been trying to regain her breath at that point and only had that brief image in her mind and it terrified her. She could feel the anger flowing out of him somehow, but when he'd picked her up and then spoken to her here in his room he'd always been so gentle...

Logic had reasserted itself after her emotional breakdown and Liara and Alexis had asked for a moment to discuss things in the other room. She had been instructed to relax, an order that she found hard to follow at the best of times. She was embarrassed by her words to them, her desperation as she asked for help. Life is tough, you've got to be tougher. She had been tough in the room with Jonathan, but had crumbled after the fact. It didn't make sense to her.

Pushing herself upright, she looked towards the door to the bedroom and wondered what they were talking about. How to help her, she assumed, but she didn't think there was anything they could do to improve her treatment here. As long as she was here with her family, she would never know peace. They're both smart, so they have to have figured that out. Which means they're probably discussing how to take me home with them.

That shouldn't be too hard, maids left House Banselva all the time. She'd have to let Mrs. Stonewright know, of course, but then it would just be a matter of getting her to a point to meet up with his party as he left. Liara was quite skilled at sneaking, so it should be easy for the tricky girl to find a way to get Melody out and to a rendezvous point. This was the kind of thing she'd thought of in the past, a way to 'run away' that ensured her safety.

The thought suddenly occurred to her that if she did this, she'd be riding in the carriage to Blackridge with whichever sister he decided to marry. She grimaced even thinking about it. Perhaps she could ask to ride with Liara or something. She hated to put Liara out like that, but being trapped in a carriage with one of her sisters seemed like some form of torture. It depended on which sister he chose, though.

She sighed, her brain already hurting from trying to puzzle it all out. She was about to delve into her mental turmoil again when she spotted the book from earlier on the floor near her feet. It had nearly been knocked under the sofa, but luckily it was just in her line of sight. She reached down to get it, figuring she should get it off the floor. Once it was in her hand though, the temptation to open it was all she could think about. The title indicated it was an overview of all types of magic. Alexis asked me if I knew magic. Why would he ask me that? Did I do something that made him think that?

She decided to risk opening it. Deep within her, something fretted what Alexis would say if he caught her reading it, but everything she'd seen of him so far indicated that he wasn't someone to be upset by such a small indiscretion. He seemed more like the people she read about in stories that didn't let much get to them unless it was something that hurt people. He seemed like a hero, strong, handsome and brave...

She shook her head to try and remove the sentimental thoughts and opened the book to the first chapter. Reading Harglian was always a bit of a challenge as she had to almost read everything twice to get it fully translated in her head. Still, she expected this to be an informative read as the Harglian people were nomad scholars who traveled the world to gather information. Many of their writings were used as teaching materials by tutors in Caldrath, translated copies of course. Perhaps what she was looking at now was an original book that most mages of Caldrath would have a translated copy of. To have one in Harglian seemed an unusual choice for Alexis, but perhaps he was also a connoisseur of obscure literature.