The Lost Duchess

Intro

The room was quiet enough to hear a feather hit the floor. The day had already been busy enough before the visitor had arrived, unannounced and unexpected. As much as she had wanted to turn him away, the look on her assistant's face had been enough to convince her to see him anyway. But she certainly hadn't been expecting news about her sister's death fifteen years ago. Especially not from a noble that had disappeared without a trace with his father. The whole situation had been ridiculous and she had tried to send him away... until he had uttered that phrase...

"Excuse you?" disbelief was etched into the air as the words left her. She was sure it was written all over her face as well, but she didn't really care; she needed to hear it again.

He sighed and brought his elbow to rest on the arm of the couch, his posture one of leisure. It contradicted the grave expression he wore. "Martilian is alive. And so is Liennia."

"You're a bit late if you're trying to collect a reward. I stopped offering that after the first five years. They're dead," she couldn't allow herself to hope. Hope had nearly bankrupted her. Hope had nearly driven her insane. Hope had driven her to absolute desperation. She couldn't allow herself to even consider that she'd given up too soon. "James, please see this young man out. And notify his family of his visit. I'm sure they'd be happy to know their heir has returned."

"Jalena, you have to trust me," the use of her given name broke every rule of etiquette she'd ever learned and tore the last of her patience to shreds. But before her assistant could even move, he was on his feet and only a foot away from her. He snatched her hand from the crook of her arm, he sounded desperate as he spoke, "I can't reveal how I know, but I'm telling you the truth. They're alive."

Rage boiled inside of her as he took her hand. She snatched her hand away as she tried to contain her emotions, "I have no reason to trust you, nor do I believe that I should. You disappeared years ago, show up on my doorstep, tell me that there's more to my sister's death, that my niece and nephew are alive without any proof whatsoever, and tell me to trust you?! If you don't leave now I will personally make you disappear!"

James, her assistant, was next to the young man as she shouted, but suddenly he stopped moving. Quickly, her rage left her as she realized that Cyrus had raised a hand toward the mirror. At first, the mirror darkened, then shimmered as if the surface was water, and an image began to appear. As they watched the image became clearer, showing a dimly lit hospital room. Monitors could be seen surrounding a bed and faintly beeping. As she stared at the image, amazed at the quality and the fact that it included sound, she nearly forgot her anger.

"What is this?"

"It's Martilian's hospital room, where he's been for the last seven years."

Jalena moved closer to the mirror, focused on absorbing every bit of information she could from it. As she watched, the focus shifted from the entire room to the bed. An audible gasp left her as she saw the young man lying unconscious. His hair was the unmistakable red that belonged to her family, and the more she looked, the more she realized that it was indeed her nephew. He was alive. He'd been alive this entire time!

"Where is he?"

"Your Grace, how do we know he's not showing you some sort of illusion? This could be an elaborate trick," James spoke desperately as he gently placed his hand on her arm.

"It's not an illusion, it's an advanced scrying. It's only capable of showing the present, no matter how remote the area is. It's a spell that hasn't been invented yet."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? A spell that hasn't been invented yet?"

"It means that in this current time, it hasn't been made. It won't be for a few more years."

"So you mean to tell me that you also know a time travel spell that won't result in death as well? Astonishing how you seem to know all these interesting spells and yet you can't tell us anything but nonsense about them or what you're doing here!" James had moved toward the young man and now only stood a few

"I can't tell you or the entire world could be in danger! Use any spell you want, but I'm telling you the truth!"

Jalena turned back to face Cyrus and calmly pulled James away from him. "Is there a way to verify that he is actually alive and that you're telling the truth?"

Cyrus looked as though he might cry, instead sighing in relief, "Yes. It's the hospital that you visited near your former husband. There shouldn't be any legal repercussions in bringing him here except for the bill and his information being verified. A genetics test should suffice."

"Very well..." she paused for a moment, considering her options, "James, make the necessary preparations. We'll be retrieving my nephew as soon as we can. I don't care what strings I have to pull, but he will be back here in the next week."

"Yes your Grace," James gave a short bow, scowled at Cyrus, and left the room.

"What about Liennia?"

"That's... a lot more complicated..."