Alexander knew it was coming. Pacing around Quebec Castle, he heard many a conversation as he thought about his coming battle with Miltiades. This time would be different. Darius would be avenged Miltiades' reign of terror would be over and for the Canada lynx there would be no second chances… But what if there was? What if Alexander found defeat again? What if he was…
No! That would not happen! Could not happen!
Passing by a room, Alexander paused his pacing. Captain Smith, Miss Lombard, Mr. Cook, Miss Armstrong, Verna and Herman were all doing a wedding rehearsal in the ballroom and here the children, students and non-students alike, were putting on a make-believe wedding, with Alan, Gemma and the eldest Dupont boy making sure nothing got out of hand.
Alexander certainly knew things could get out of hand. How often had he heard stories read where some big climax involved a villain going "This wedding will not take place unless I get so-and-so" or some such thing. If Herr von Fell showed up tomorrow, saying "This wedding will not take place until I have Roxana back in my ownership, Gemma in my circus and the craniums of Alan and Alexander upon my wall" that would be nothing short of—
Turning his head to look behind him, Alexander saw what he thought to be the shadow of Herr von Fell's chimpanzee Beelzebub around the corner, in one of the exhibit rooms. Impossible! Impossible! He couldn't have been here! He couldn't! What was Herr von Fell doing? Sending in Beelzebub to assassinate Captain Smith?
Flattening his ears against his skull and narrowing his eyes, Alexander walked forward, ready to kill chase Beelzebub out of the house, kill him if need be. That albino chimpanzee was not going to harm his master, not by a—
Seeing that it was only the shadow of a statue, Alexander's ears went up and he let his open. So, it was not Beelzebub. He was not here. Wonderful!
Hearing some cries coming from the room that the children were in, Alexander poked his head out of the exhibit room and saw the boy who was in the role of the groom and the girl who was in the role of the bride running out in alarm. What had gotten them so frightened?
Running across the hall and into the room the children were in, Alexander jumped up onto a couch and looked around. There was absolutely nothing threatening here. Moving his ears back and forth as he turned his head, he tried to hear anything that could have been considered scary.
Nothing.
Looking to Alan in confusion, Alexander received the answer: "Bride and groom wouldn't kiss!"
Thus, did a question come to Alexander's mind. Who had been in the role of bride and groom? The room they were in was positively packed with people. Who was not here? All forty of the students must have been in here, was it one of the children who had come for the wedding? Who was it? Who was it? Who—
Feeling someone tie a ribbon around his neck, Alexander turned his attention to who was behind this. It was Padmavati Adhikari, the student whose family had immigrated to Canada from the Bengali Presidency. What was the meaning of this? Wherefore was she tying a ribbon around his neck?
Staring at the glasses-wearing girl, Alexander meowed as if asking: "Why?"
Padmavati, seemingly understanding, answered: "You should look pretty for the wedding!"
The wedding? What wedding? The actual wedding was tomorrow! This pretend wedding? It was over, the bride and groom went running the moment the time for them to kiss came up! There was no reason for him to be wearing this absurd thing!
Leaving the scene with a disgruntled look upon his countenance, Alexander made his way to the ballroom where the wedding was being rehearsed. There did he find Roxana, sitting next to the statue of Isis, as well as Cnut, Emma and even Herod and Cleopatra. Both the canines had found a place to lie down and the two great horned owls were watching the scene before them from on high, but the moment Alexander entered with that ribbon upon his neck, the two owls turned their attention to him and flew down to meet him.
While Herod stared with a most bamboozled expression, Cleopatra herself hooted at Alexander, almost as if asking: "Who did this to you?"
If not for Cleopatra's hooting, then Captain Smith, Miss Lombard, Mr. Cook, Miss Armstrong, Herman and Verna never would have noticed Alexander's entrance with the ribbon about his neck. Reverend Adams himself even gave the strange exclamation of: "Bodkins' Boots! What's this?"
Walking over to the humans, Alexander sat before his master, who immediately knelt down and untied the ribbon while uttering: "Either Hippolyta or Padmavati I'd say."
"Speaking of which, where are the young ladies and young gentlemen?" inquired Reverend Adams, his wig looking to Alexander's disturbance, much like an angry vulture.
"Well prepared." Verna assured the clergyman, watching with amusement as Roxana approached proceeded to sniff the ribbon in Captain Smith's hand.
With raised brow, Captain Smith inquired: "Do you want to wear this, Roxana?" Roxana's response was to give an annoyed hiss, to which Captain Smith replied: "I thought not."
Looking up at Reverend Adams, Alexander saw an old man, white of hair and somewhat thin of frame. With a huge, walrus mustache upon his face and a pair of spectacles, the old man gave a smile and said: "Hello!" Meowing, Alexander stretched up on his hind legs and pawed at the good-hearted counterpart to Reverend Skinner, a blackguard whom he had met before. "What's the matter? You have something to show me?"
"He seems to like you, Reverend." Commented Miss Lombard, smiling as she watched Alexander rub against the old man's legs.
"Animals often like me, Igraine." Stated Reverend Adams. "I'm not like Skinner whose very presence causes fear or aggression in most animals." Looking down at Alexander, the Reverend then said: "Now, now, my dear feline, what have you to show me?"
Alexander was now pawing at Captain Smith, to which the Veteran of the Second Boer War uttered: "Something to show all of us I'd say."
Meowing, Alexander then walked over to Miss Lombard and proceeded to rub against her legs. Looking up at her, he continued to rub against the legs of his master's fiancée and meowed once more. Holding back a laugh, Miss Lombard said: "Yes, yes, we're coming, show us the way!"
Doing as instructed, Alexander led the way, Roxana, Cnut and Emma joining him while Herod and Cleopatra perched themselves upon Captain Smith's shoulders. When they reached the room to see most of the children having departed for other parts of Quebec Castle, Alexander jumped up upon a couch and meowed at Padmavati as she, along with others listened to Alan read from "Celtic Fairy Tales", after which he looked around. Why could everyone had not stayed put? There was nothing here to see! Just Alan, Gemma, the respective children they were looking after, Padmavati and Olga!
Looking to his daughter, Mr. Cook inquired: "We miss anything good? Alexander seems to think we did."
As Alan ceased reading to allow people to speak, Gemma answered: "A play wedding was held with Elizabeth and Julius as the bride and groom."
"Agatha seemed rather sad that she wasn't the one playing the part of the bride." Commented Alan, scratching Alexander's neck as the caracal walked behind him on the back of the couch.
"What?" asked Verna, her eyes brightening up with interest. "You mean to say Agatha has a crush on my cousin?"
"I dare say it is mutual." Replied Gemma. "I've spotted the two spending an awfully lot of time together and even Julius seemed somewhat glum that Elizabeth was chosen to be the bride."
Pausing as he reached the arm of the couch he was upon, Alexander perked up his head in interest. Agatha and Julius? Really now? That was interesting.
Clapping her hands together, an action that caused Alexander to stare at her with wide eyes and ears erect, Verna exclaimed: "We must assign them as dancing partners for the wedding tomorrow!"
Smiling, Herman uttered: "I don't see why not? One of the boys can dance with Elizabeth!"
Sighing, Captain Smith walked out of the room saying: "Better go ask Owen if she had any dancing lessons."
As his master exited the room, Alexander briefly wondered who the boy was who would be assigned to dancing with Elizabeth. Then feeling Miss Armstrong's hand upon his back, the Northern caracal thought only about the wonderful company he was with.