When morning came, a great sorrow descended upon Quebec Castle. At the news of her passing, all of her grandchildren reacted in a certain way. Hippolyta's reaction, as dictated by her age of six years, was to break down in tears, Ian proceeded to start mumbling "It can't be true" over and over again and Alan slowly sat down into the chair behind him, his gaze averted from all others.
From where Alexander stood, he could see that Nana Smith's elder grandson was shaking, fighting the urge not to cry. Jumping up onto his lap, Alexander gently tapped his head against Alan's, an action that was responded to by the boy gently taking hold of the Northern caracal and holding him close, just as his uncle had.
When Gemma approached, Alexander made a small chirping noise alerting Alan to her approach. Looking up to the gardener's daughter, the captain's nephew let go of Alexander and stood up, causing Alexander to leap down onto the floor. The two adolescent redheads stared at one another, the boy with tears beginning to flow and the girl with tears already flowing. When they embraced, Alexander then turned his attention to Hippolyta, sitting in the corner of the library, holding her legs to her chest and crying into her dress.
Alexander approached the young girl, tapping her left elbow with his head to alert her to his presence and watched as she looked up to him with a tear-stained face. Climbing into her lap, Alexander waited patiently until he felt Hippolyta hold him close just like her father and cousin. As she sobbed into his fur, Alexander looked out the open door to see Nana Smith being taken away. As he watched this, the Northern caracal could only wonder one thing.
Why?