Nicholas,

It is hard for me to speak of my sister Alexandra, for in the small time that I have known her, she has caused me an inordinate amount of frustration and anger. I am not inclined to speak favorably of her for this reason and others, and yet I will try to explain as honestly as I can why I have reservations about her.

The singlemost feature that distresses me about Alexandra is that she is essentially morally retarded. I do not believe she is capable of distinguishing between right and wrong in even the most basic sense, save for the most obvious lessons we are taught as children. Like any trained parrot, she may repeat the lessons of morality, but fail to understand their truer meaning.

That she took Jack from me is no small crime in my own eyes, but as I have seen how she suffers under the yoke that is his wedding ring, I cannot help but be amused. She stole my route to power but was not up to the task of it. Perhaps I would have failed similarly, but I would have at least failed more gracefully. Her link to Jack makes her very dangerous, and the fact that she has been allowed to breed children for him gives me much cause for concern. It would have been better for all our sakes had he married dear, frigid Dahlia. What's done is done, however, and we can only resolve to be careful in future interactions.

Alexandra is a woman whose passions are firmly rooted in her genitalia, and even now in Amber City, she stands prominent in those secretive social circles that define themselves by sexual depravity, for how can these effete nobles help but admire a woman who surpasses even their own taboos. I doubt she spends her time with these people simply for the purpose of physical revelry; no daughter of Fiona would spend her time so fruitlessly. But certainly she is developing a power for ruling through her sexual nature, a concept not unknown to those on the Courts of Chaos. Unlike those women of Chaos, however, my sister lacks the cold-bloodedness necessary to translate this into effective power.

And now I hear that my dear sister is thwarted by Uncle Caine...in trying to get at you. Normally I would look for a subtle motivation, but I must bear in mind that she is but twenty years of age. Why would she strive so hard to be near you, my emperor? Given her understanding of power, I think the answer is obvious. She would comfort you in your time of 'need', hoping to rule you as she rules those few depraved nobles who have fallen under her influence. You and I may recognize the unlikelihood of this ever occurring, but I have little doubt that Alexandra has painted herself a rosey picture of how she might obtain power through pleasure...of how she might replace your beloved and ease your pain.

There. I've said it. Said what I wanted to avoid saying, but it would be no service to be coy about this. I hope this is all obvious to you, that what I write has already long since occurred to you. I write this not believing that I am revealing something new, but because I would not risk your being uninformed.

Having said this, I have one last morsel to share with you. But one day after your coronation, while you were sealed in your chambers and all of the city was mourning, while the dead were still being prepared for their tombs...I felt a fear for my sister's well-being. I had spent the night aiding the sick as well as I could, and I had seen no sign of her since the toast. I trumped her...and found that while I feared and all of Amber mourned, she was busy gleefully fucking the Avatar of Faerie...having let me through the trump contact that I might get a taste of what she had taken from me. I broke the contact...reeling from the memories...forced to recall my wedding night...and horrified that while so many should be in so much pain, she knew no better than to rut like a common bitch in heat.

Understand that I do not feel my sister is evil, nor that I feel she should be dealt with harshly, for she does not understand her error. She is no threat, in spite of her petty ambitions. Rather I simply want to warn you that she is morally bereft...and that in her failure to understand simple concepts of decency she will transgress.

There is another reason I write you this, Nicholas. I warn you for your sake...but also for hers. For I have no doubt that were she to make her move with you unprepared, it would result in her destruction by your hand. Forgive her, Nicholas, for I don't believe she honestly knows any better.

I pray you never need read this....

Whimsy