Petrea nó Cereus found her Dowayne without trouble. Aliksandria was where she always was: squirreled away in her office. Aliksandria nó Cereus had been Dowayne for over a year, and it seemed that she had yet to leave that office. While Petrea’s heart went out to her friend, she did hold some measure of resentment towards her. There were so many other duties to attend to, and Aliks had been almost entirely absent since Dowayne Gerault had died. Petrea was tired of making excuses, tired of handling everything in both her own role as Second and those of the Dowayne. She thanked Blessed Elua every day for Aimee—her right hand.
Petrea knocked lightly on the closed door and entered before Aliks had a chance to answer. The entire room was littered with papers, scrolls, books, and ledgers. The sheer amount of paper shocked Petrea. She had not entered this room in…she couldn’t remember how long…but it had certainly not been this disorderly the last time. Behind the massive wooden desk sat Aliks. Her hair was tied up messily, her face drawn, her fingers ink stained. And her eyes. From the dark circles below them to the blankness in her gaze, Aliks looked less like a Servant of Naamah than a beggar in the streets.
“Aliks?” Petrea said quietly. She was, at the sight in front of her, now questioning her decision to interrupt the Dowayne, but needs must, and this interruption was truly critical.
At her voice, Aliks started and dropped the parchment she was perusing. “Oh, Petrea! I’m so sorry, I did not hear you enter.” Her voice sounded tired and unused. She cleared her throat and offered a weak smile. “Please,” she said, gesturing around the room. “Come in. If you can find a please, sit down.”
Petrea gazed around the crowded and messy office as she stepped in. She moved a stack of ledgers from a sofa and sat. Her eyes scanned Aliks’s face. Yes, this needed to happen. “Aliks,” she said slowly. “Please come sit with me.”
Aliks nodded and stood from her chair. She stretched her neck and shoulder, working out the kinks that had surely developed from hunching so long. Striding over to Petrea, she sank down next to her friend. She took one of Petrea’s hands. “What can I do for you, love?”
Petrea reached up and undid Aliks’s hair to run her fingers through the tangled strands. “This is too much, my dear,” she murmured. “You have to stop. You cannot go on like this.”
Aliks sighed, her shoulders slumping. She closed her eyes and leaned into the soft touch of Petrea’s fingers massaging her scalp. “I know, Petrea. I know. But there is just so much. You cannot possibly imagine how terrible things truly are. How much Gerault lied. How much he cheated the House. It is going to take me…years, I fear, to untangle us from this web that he has left me in.”
Petrea made a soothing sound as she continued to gently work through Aliks’s hair, scratching her nails against Aliks’s scalp. “You’re right. But, love, this is not the way.” She gave Aliks a shake, and Aliks opened her eyes. Petrea’s voice was firm as she continued. “Aliks. You have been hidden away in this office while the rest of the Night Court spins around us. Things in the City are happening that you have no idea about. We cannot have that.”
“I know! I know!” Aliks began, but Petrea held up a finger to stop her.
“Aliks,” she said with great seriousness. “You are the Dowayne of Cereus House. The First and Foremost of the Houses of the Court of Night Blooming Flowers. You—we—cannot have you absent. We are floundering. We need you.” She paused. “I need you.”
Aliks blinked. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. It was as though this was some great revelation. “But you…you…I have heard that…you are doing so well! Everything I hear is so positive about you! What could you possibly need from me?”
“Aliks! I have been scouring the Night Court for other Seconds to advise me! What do you think they will be saying about that? I am constantly making excuses for why no one can meet with you! I have turned to Aimee for guidance time and again—”
“Aimee?” Aliks interrupted, puzzled. “What does Aimee have to do with this? She is not the Second.”
Petrea clasped her friend’s cheek. “You have no idea of Aimee’s strengths. But I do. And I tell you now that she is likely the only reason I am not the laughingstock of Mont Nuit. And to be fully honest with you: I am not the Second, we are the Second. Aimee and myself.” Aliks gasped, and Petrea nodded. “It has taken both of us to lead in your absence. With no training or assistance from you, I have turned to Aimee to be my partner as Second,” she said sharply.
Aliks’s face fell at her friend’s admission. “Oh, Petrea, I am truly sorry. I had no idea!”
“Of course not. You have not left this office, save to sleep.” Petrea’s voice then gentled. “But that must change.” Aliks bobbed her head in agreement. “If nothing else, we miss you. You are my best friend. You are Aimee’s lover. We miss your company. You have abandoned us in a time when we should all be coming together. We need you. And you need us.” Petrea waved her hand around the room, indicating the mess. “Do you really think that you would not do better with this if the three of us worked on it together?”
Aliks shook her head, her eyes falling to her lap where she still clutched Petrea’s hand. “No. But I cannot ask this of you. I cannot let either of you into this mess. It is mine, as Dowayne, to clean up.”
“You and I both know that is simply not true.” Petrea squeezed Aliks’s hand. “The job of the Second is to be the Dowayne’s shadow. To protect and prop up the Dowayne. To assist the Dowayne in all matters of the House. You know this. I know this. Aimee knows this. We are not prepared to let Cereus House sit in ruin any longer. Things are afoot in the City—no, the country—that may cause instability. And as goes Cereus House, so goes the Night Court. We must have stability and strength within these walls.” She raised her chin. “I suffered at Gerault’s hand with only my love of this House to keep me sane. I will not see my House fail. Not now. Not again. Not ever. Now,” she said, rising. “Go take a bath and change your clothes. You are dining with Aimee and me in an hour.”
“But, Petrea, I cannot leave this—” Aliks began.
“I will accept no excuses,” Petrea interrupted. “We begin planning tonight.” She placed a kiss on her friend’s brow. “I will see you in an hour, love.”
With that, Petrea turned and walked out of the room, leaving her Dowayne sitting on the sofa, quite stunned.