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answered at length.
    Alec closed his eyes and focused his Healing energy inward, recreating the blue pigment he had used while running away with Caitlen in the beginning of the winter.
    Bethany clapped her hands. “That is so fun to watch! It’s perfect! Let me escort you to the palace to present you to the Princess!” she insisted, and so they walked together through the streets of Vincennes, people looking at Bethany appraisingly as she was accompanied by a Jag. They were admitted to the palace that Caitlen had insisted on re-occupying, and Bethany showed Alec the way to the private wing, where the scars of the occupation were being covered and hidden by paint and repairs.
    “ Just down this hall,” Bethany gestured, and as they turned a corner they saw Rahm and a companion not far away, standing outside a large door, while in front of the two Guards Caitlen stood holding hands and chatting with a handsome stranger who Alec did not know.
    Before either Bethany or Alec could digest the situation, Caitlen caught sight of them, her attention drawn like everyone else’s to the bright blue hue of Alec’s skin. “Bethany? What are you up to?” she asked, motioning the two of them to approach.
    “ We’re just passing by,” Bethany said, as Alec tugged on her hand to pull her away from the awkward scene.
    “ Come here!” Caitlen called. “Bring your friend! We want to see what you’re up to,” she said with a cheerfulness that sounded forced to Alec’s ears.
    He and Bethany exchanged glances, then both sighed as they walked to see the princess.
    “ This is the chief of your bodyguards, isn’t it?” the stranger asked Caitlen, motioning towards Bethany.
    “ This is,” Caitlen concurred. “And there’s hardly anyone I’d trust more to protect me than Bethany. Bethany, this is the Viscount Whilky, from Wellings,” the princess made the introduction. “He’s been at court for a few days now, here to discuss how his county can contribute to our work.
    “ And who’s your friend?” Whilky asked. “Shouldn’t he have bowed to the Princess by now, or do his talents exempt him from good manners?” the man asked with an air of superiority.
    With gritted teeth, Alec bowed slightly, jealous and offended that the nobleman was here in the private wing.
    “ We’ll be leaving now. We were just taking a tour of the palace,” Bethany said, and she started to drag Alec away.
    “ Won’t he even talk?” Whilky asked. “Let’s have some entertainment for the princess. Make him sing a song for us!”
    Alec was looking at the man through slitted eye lids, close to letting his frustration and disappointment emerge in violent action against the arrogant nobleman. With another deep breath he focused on his Spiritual power, seeking serenity.
    “ No, he won’t sing,” Bethany shot back, nearly as upset as Alec by the situation. “His accent is too strong to really do our songs very well,” she shot a triumphant glance at Caitlen, then felt awful, as she saw the realization dawn on the princess’s face of who the Jagine with the accent really was. Caitlen’s polite smile was replaced by a look of stricken panic.
    “ Your highness, would you like to have my Jag tonight?” Bethany asked, impulsively seeking to fix the blunders that were piling up in the marble hall.
    “ What?” Whilky sputtered. “She doesn’t need a Jag tonight,” he insisted.
    “ I’m sorry Whilky, but I think I do want to try the Jag this evening. I’ve never really had one before,” the princess apologized to the nobleman. “Can we have breakfast tomorrow to wrap everything up? Bethany, would you escort the Viscount to his suite?” the princess dropped the nobleman’s hand, and stretched her finger toward Alec.
    Alec refused to take her hand. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, he brusquely shot past her, opened her bedroom door, and disappeared inside the room. As Bethany started to take Whilky by the arm to lead him away,