After trimming a few shrubs while chatting with Hydrangea, Alessandra led them inside and to her private study.
"Sit, I'll call a servant for some tea." She ordered and walked to the wall to pull a cord for the servant.
Bastian sat on a beige divan and Hydrangea sat next to him, her arm and knee touching his. He smiled and grasped her hand.
"I take it you've not had a typical honeymooning." His mother said as she arranged her freshly picked flowers in a vase.
He saw Hydrangea blush and he rolled his eyes at his mother's question, "No, mother. We have not."
She glanced his way and smiled, "Oh, don't take that tone with me. It's simply the Primals' will. I'm sure you two have grown closer because of your journey."
He smiled and turned his head to look at Hydrangea, "Indeed we have."
Finishing with her flowers, Alessandra moved and sat on the couch across from them.
"Well, I'm certainly glad to see my son has found a woman capable of handling him. Janyi knows I won't not be able to forever."
"Janyi?" Hydrangea asked from beside him.
Alessandra smiled, "My respective Primal. I serve her, and in turn she has watched over me."
Realization dawned on Hydrangea's face and her eyes met his and asked the question, 'Did you know this?'
He nodded.
"Isn't Janyi the Primal of motherhood?"
Bastian sucked in a breath, but released it when he saw his mother's calm expression.
"Indeed she is. The Primal I originally chose to serve was-"
She was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Enter." She called in a clear voice.
A maid walked in with her head bowed.
"Would you fetch us some tea, please."
"Of course, your majesty." She curtsied and left the room.
"Now, as I was saying; the Primal I originally served was Danaliq, the Primal of wisdom and grief. I'd always admired her, I still do. But…" Bastian watched as a shadow dimmed her expression, "After three years of Union, Esteban and I had still not borne any children. I… had not borne any children. So, the high priest suggested that I request to serve Janyi instead of Danaliq." She paused and took a breath.
Bastian had always known the fact that his mother had never had any other sons, or children, besides him weighed heavily on her shoulders. He always felt a little at fault for it; he'd made her life rather miserable.
"After a period of three days, after I'd dedicated my reign to her, Janyi came to me in a dream and told me that I would bear Esteban one heir, and one heir only. So, I set out to be the best mother I could be to my Bastian." She smiled at him and he looked down at the table between them.
His mother had always been good to him, even while he was an ass; which was most of his life. He sadly could not blame his father for those misdeeds, although he had learned some of them from him, most of them had been generated from his own boredom and freedom.
"Now tell me, why are you here?" His mother broke into his thoughts.
"Ratri-kar sent us-" "Samadur sent us-" They answered at the same time. They met each other's eyes and he nodded for her to speak.
"The Primals sent us." She answered clearly.
Alessandra nodded, an amused smile on her lips, "I see. Why did you travel to Viskogorny?"
Bastian blinked, "How had you known we were in Viskogorny?"
She smiled, "I have spies everywhere. Same reason I knew you didn't like each other when you were unified."
He frowned, "What else do you know?"
"Nothing concerning what we're speaking of right now. Why did you travel to Viskogorny?"
"Hadok-"
The door was knocked upon and his mother stood and opened it for the servant. She walked in and placed the tray on the table. She began to serve the tea and his mother waved her away.
"Oh, that's alright. I'll serve the tea."
The servant straightened and curtsied then left the room.
Alessandra sat took her seat again and began serving them a red tea. His mother's favourite; rosehip tea.
"Hadok said that Viskogorny was our best option." He continued, "But once we reached the Tzar, he told us that his situation was too precarious, what with the Emissaries of Deliverance."
"And now the Tzar and Tsarina have been wiped off the map." She added in a monotone voice.
Bastian faltered, "You know that they're dead?" He met his mother's grave eyes and knew the answer.
Clearing his throat he was about to go on when Hydrangea continued for him, "We left Domkorolei just a few days before the attack. The Tzar and Bastian had decided that we would go to Selva to seek help. And as you can see, they didn't want to help us."
"Yes," Bastian agreed. She'd skipped over the part where she'd pushed to go, a fact for which he was grateful. "The Tlataoni wanted to imprison us until the opportunity arose where he could take Mathuba and Cadarama at the same moment."
"I see…" Alessandra said as she stirred her tea.
Bastian reached forward and grabbed a saucer and a cup for Hydrangea and she thanked him with a smile before taking a sip.
"Well. Lords Stone and Gaul have been causing plenty of trouble while you've been away."
Bastian could see a calculativeness in her eyes as she relayed what had occurred since their absence.
"The first thing Stone did, besides announcing that you were dead to the people, and telling the Premiers you were in fact not, and that they were to hunt you down, was imprison Lord Fischer and Lord Darkson. Second, he sent… guards here to protect me. More to dissuade you from coming here. But, they have since left as it is believed you were both killed in Domkorolei."
"You did not believe us to be dead?" He asked curiously.
She shook her head with a faint smile, "No. You were not killed in the coup and at many other points in time. I did not think the Primals would let you die so easily."
He nodded. His mother was certainly a woman of great faith.
"Now, let me see…" She muttered as she began her narrative again, "Ah, yes. Following this, Lord Stone began to negotiate with the Sultan of Mathuba regarding his youngest daughter, Doris? Dhalia-"
"Daphne. Her name is Daphne." Hydrangea interrupted quietly. He raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He thought back to what she'd told him in the Cenote.
"Yes… Daphne. The poor girl. From what my spies tell me, she's being kept in the Queen's wing and is not allowed out unless to meet with Mathuban delegates." She sighed frustratedly, "The reason for the marriage is for insurance. Lord Stone is hoping Daphne will bear the Sultan an heir within a few years, and once their first son is born, she is to kill the Sultan and allow her father to seize Mathuba."
He felt Hydrangea's fingers tighten around his own and he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
"But.. the interesting thing to note," His mother went on, "Is that Lord Gaul has been strangely quiet. From what I've come to understand, he's contrived plans of his own."
"What do you mean?"
"He's oddly supportive of Stone's daughter's marriage to the Sultan, oddly supportive of Cadarama allying with Mathuba, even if it is a false alliance."
Bastian pondered his mother's words for a few moments. "His wife and child were killed by Mathubans." He stated.
Alessandra nodded, "Indeed they were. I believe he has hidden intentions." She took a sip of her tea and the study filled with silence.
"And what of you? Are you safe?" He asked with disquiet in his eyes.
She smiled mirthfully, "I am very safe. Hugh is here to protect me, along with a few other loyal soldiers. And no one would dare to touch me." She finished with a cunning smile.
He nodded and patted Hydrangea's hand before he stood to take a turn around the room.
"Did you always feel you deserved your title?" He heard Hydrangea ask and he smiled softly. He hoped his mother could answer some questions better than he could.
His mother answered but he hardly caught the words as his eyes fell on a map laid out on a desk. Samadur's words echoed in his mind once more and he dashed to the door.
"I need to… I need to go investigate something." He said as he met Hydrangea's curious and almost worried eyes.
She nodded and said that she would see him in their room. He nodded goodbye to her and his mother before closing the door and sprinting to find Hugh.