4: Darken War

5: James

I looked over to the kids, happily playing with Lilliana and her child, Leo by the fireplace. i sat at Alexander's desk, looking over documents and such, it's getting close to the harvest festival. i had hoped that my wife would be back in time, but knowing her. 

i sighed then looked over to the fireplace, hoping that she would contact me soon with any updates.  

Lilliana looked over at me. "Everything okay?" 

"I am not sure," I told her. "I have a really bad feeling about this mission."

"You know she will be fine right?" Lilliana placed her child on the floor with the other kids and walked over to sit in the chair across from me. "She is the Great Dragon now, there's nothing she cant manage anymore, plus she has the others with her."

i nodded. "I know, but still..."

At that moment the door to my office swung open and there stood Alexander, looking rather mad. 

"What are you doing back here so soon?" I stood from the desk, looking behind him. "Where is my wife?"

"That's why i am here." He walked over and flipped through some files. "There's to be a war. the king of Dourhold is being controlled by the gem of the kings twin."

"So let me guess, she stayed behind." i did not hide the annoyance in my voice.

"you would be right there." he pulled a sheet out showing the current records of our army. "Thorne and Alana returned to gather their armies." 

"and you didn't try to stop her?" i crossed my arms. 

he gave me a side eye look. "Do you really think that i have the power to tell the Great Dragon what she can and cannot do?"

"your her brother, she would listen to you." i tried to hide my anger. 

"no, that's just it." he pushed me aside so he could sit at his desk, he started to write something. "it is because i am her brother that she wont listen. i have only my chosen powers, which is not very useful to her right now." he looked up from his papers. "and honestly, i trust her choices. if this is what she needs to do then she will do it. you need to have more trust in your wife."

i sighed. "its not that i dont trust her." i sat by the fire, back to it. "its that i have already lost her so many times. i just dont want anything to happen to her."

"how sweet." i hear her voice come from the fire behind me.

"how long have you been there?" i turned and asked. 

"long enough to hear Alexander say he trusts me and you to say what you did." she smiled through the flames. behind her i could see a short, older dwarf lady working on some sewing.

"whose that?" i asked concerned. 

"that's Helga." Alexandria glanced back it her. "if i am going to be here as basically a prisoner, they want me monitored at all times so i don't use my powers to trade secrets."

"Wait." i know i sounded mad with that one. "what do you mean by prisoner?"

"Well love." she did not sound worried at all. "Where my powers are strong enough to destroy kingdoms, it would not be fair to have me join in a war. so i am staying here so they know that i have no way to join. so i will not be able to share much with you during our talks, i am to mostly just talk to you and my children during this time."

"Why would you do that Alexandria?" i did not hide my anger talking to her. "if our side had you then we would win, why keep yourself out of it?"

"James dear. Alexander knows the rest." Helga looked up from her sewing. "and honestly dear, i am tired of fighting in wars. if i keep doing this i fear it will be my life again, just like my first life." she looked down at her hands then back up at me. "take care of the children, i will be okay."

with that she ended our connection. 

i looked over at Alexander. "Tell me."

he sighed deeply. "For some reason the kings advisor can use the gem. Alexandria used her powers to stop him from taking us over, that's why only she can do this. she needed us out of the way to be able to do what has to be done."

"i see." i stood from the fireplace. Lilliana was now back to playing with the kids so i sat in the chair she had been in. "i will send word to my fairies, ill get them to follow Thornes orders."

Alexander nodded, going back to his work, dipping his quill into the ink pot. "That would be best. that dwarves cannot use magic so we have no fear of magic sickness to our troops." 

"Good." I looked over at what he was writing, just letters to his commanding officers. "Is a war truly going to happen though? what if she gets the gem in time?"

"And what if she doesn't?" he looked back up at me. "i trust my sister fully. however, no one is undefeatable. what if something goes wrong and she does not get the gem in time? we need our armies ready just to be safe. and us rulers need to stay out of the reach of that gem by all means, we cannot lose our kingdoms to him."

he folded the letters and walked to the door. "get these to where they need to go please." he said to the guard and the door and turned back to me. "follow me."

we walked down the corridors and down several flights of stairs. we arrived at the door to the dungeons. 

"Why are we here?" i asked, really not wanting to go down there.

"Unfortunately there are documents down there that we need." Alexander also shivered then opened the door, grabbing a nearby torch to light our way down.

when we got to the bottom of the winding stairway we walked for a bit and stopped at a cell labeled cell 13. he placed a skeleton key into the lock, it creaked open. 

"Astraea." he spoke the word and suddenly the wall fell into the floor, revealing another door. he placed the key into that lock and pushed the door open. he looked back to me. "this is where i was possessed by my father. this also may have some answers that we need."