The Broken Kingdom

by Andrew G. Wood

  The Broken Kingdom

  Book One: The Chronicles of Arandor

  Copyright© Andrew G. Wood

  2018

  ISBN-13:

  978-1721701940

  ISBN-10:

  172170194X

  All Rights Reserved.

  Special thanks to the following people for giving up their time to help and support me in writing this book :

  Claire Wood

  Adam Dakin

  Claire Kinrade

  Emma Carter

  Regions & Nobles of Arandor.

  Region House Main town/City

  Northern Marches Romley Whitmore

  Alborough Fallon Durston

  Alnor Casley Hingham

  Cardell Winter Norsall

  Casillian Isle Dalby Port Exley

  Muria Ashton Cannersley

  Eastern Range Mangilly Cottershill

  Scarwood Oakley Garley

  Endallen Elthan Bargsea

  Brenthellin Royal Lands Miranor

  Prologue.

  Lord Elthan leaned in a little closer, listening carefully to his sister, Loretta, as she gave the foretelling. Her voice far from sounding like a stereotypical female was deep, hoarse and raspy. A witch who had once been banished by their parents for delving and committing such dark satanic acts, but had now been welcomed back into the family home when her brother had taken control of Endallen, their ancestral lands in the kingdom of Arandor.

  Clasping her cold, pale hands around his own, Lord Elthan afforded himself a smile as the words came from her dark, deathlike lips.

  “Our time will come, dear brother,” she said, each word being spoken slowly and clearly.

  “The king and queen will die, and it will be our bloodline who shall influence and control the kingdom, as it has long been our wish to do so.”

  “You have seen this?” Lord Elthan asked feeling his hands shaking.

  “I have seen their demise…”

  As Loretta spoke, Lord Elthan made mental notes of what needed to be done for this future to become a reality. While foretelling was new to him, his sister had proved it to be something he could rely upon so long as conditions were met. As she uttered the instructions, a chill fell upon the room, a cold breeze drifting in through the partially open window and a strange smell within the air. Somewhat repulsive, Lord Elthan tried not to inhale too deeply as he knew it to be the stench of death. This was a warning and a sign of the dark forces he was committing to if he wanted this scheme to come to fruition. The hairs on his arms stood upright as he felt the surge of deathly magic wash over him, as if the devil himself were in the room with them.

  The reading was short and brief but to the point. As the room warmed and the putrid aroma dispersed, Lord Elthan felt almost relieved when Loretta let go of his hands. While her skin was soft, her touch was cold and unsettling.

  “You know what must be done,” she said as he slowly backed away from her.

  Lord Elthan nodded just once.

  Firstly, his son, Frederick would have to marry the youngest of the two princesses. In doing so, Lord Elthan could influence her thoughts with a little help from Loretta’s dark witchcraft. Once the wedding had taken place, the king and queen could be eliminated.

  “Rule through her!” Loretta said, her voice softening slightly losing some of its gravelly sound.

  “She will be no more a puppet on our strings,” Lord Elthan replied as he walked slowly over towards the window.

  He turned sharply, “What of the older princess and the young boy prince. They both stand ahead of us in succession?”

  “You must deal with both, dear brother. Failure to remove them from the line of lineage could spell doom for us all…”

  Chapter 1. A Royal Heir.

  Being a prince of the realm was a somewhat tiresome affair, at least for Luca. Although the youngest of three children to the current monarch, as the only male heir, he would one day carry on with that mantle. With two older half-sisters, both born to the previous queen and first wife to his father, Luca was the result of the king’s second marriage. At only thirteen years of age, he was somewhat younger than his two siblings, one of which was already married, with the other due to be similarly so in the next few days.

  To keep favour with the more powerful Noble houses, Luca’s father had seen fit to select his daughter’s respective partners carefully. Imogen, the eldest had been paired up with the eldest son of Lord Romley of the Northern Marches. A large area of the kingdom to the northwest, it was generally considered one of the better places to live. Although a close personal friend of the king anyway, Luca’s father had thought it best to keep him sweet by allowing lord’s eldest son to marry her. The second daughter, Elysia, whose wedding was fast approaching was to marry a somewhat surprising choice. While many had sought her hand in marriage, the king had seen fit to allow her to wed the only son of a lesser favoured nobleman.

  Lord Elthan of the peninsula known as Endallen had long been an advocate that his lands should be self-governing and not part of the kingdom of Arandor. However, with this wedding, Luca’s father, King Eldar, hoped to keep this large expanse of land within his own realm, without having to result in any threats or fighting. Naturally, such a choice had come with no small amount of disdain, especially from Alborough, an area to the west of the kingdom. Lord Fallon, who oversaw these lands had anticipated that his second son would be the one chosen for the princess's hand, but alas Eldar had rebuked the offer in favour of Lord Elthan and his son. While not best pleased with the arrangement, all were requested to attend the royal wedding, even those scorned.

  Luca, as the heir to the entire kingdom, considered himself a tolerable young man, although it had to be said his patience with some of the lower classes was wearing a little thin. Although rarely seeing his own mother and father, his every need was seen to by a large contingent of housekeepers and servants. Even afforded his own royal guards, Luca effectively wanted for nothing. As a future king, it was expected of Luca to be well educated, and as a result, he was forced to spend four hours each day learning. Having several different tutors to teach him the basics such as reading and writing, he also had others that taught economics, government and law, all of which he found quite tediously boring.

  With no friends to speak of, Luca even counted himself as a lonely child. While occasionally the younger family members of the nobility visited the palace at Miranor, he always tried to avoid them if at all possible. On the occasions that was not possible, he had often been forced to endure many hours playing childish games, pretending to be nice to people he didn’t particularly like. The Royal Palace was a grand place, and hence Luca not only had his own room, but several of them. Aside from his bedroom and lounge, there was a small study and library and even his own dining room. It was here that Luca spent most of his mealtimes, eating alone quietly while his serving staff watched on ready to be called should he request it.

  With the impending wedding nuptials, life in the palace was even more hectic than normal, meaning Luca was almost a superfluous figure among many. Having washed and had to wait before his clothes were laid out for him, he thought it best not to be too hard on the servant responsible. Though annoyed the man had not done his job, Luca considered the fact that many of the palace staff were having to attend to the large influx of guests. Instead, Luca felt he had been lenient and although had voiced his displeasure at having to wait, did so in a way that showed he was being a little forgiving.

  Sitting down at his dining room table, thankful that the kitchen staff had already seen fit to prepare his breakfast for him. Being as he usually had the same, it had probably allowed them to be prepared, and for a few moments, Luca contemplated having something different just to
keep them on their toes. However, the idea of waiting for his food did not appeal, and hence he decided to keep with what was being served. Two rashers of bacon, both of which had to be crispy, two eggs, fried but with the yolks still being runny and a piece of toasted bread which needed to be buttered. Served as always on the finest porcelain plate as would be expected for such an important figure as Luca, and eaten using the silver cutlery positioned so very carefully on the table. To drink, as per usual, was a choice of freshly squeezed fruit juice, which varied depending on the time of year, or tea, which Luca liked sweetened with a little honey.

  As Luca ate, dipping his toast into one of his egg yolks, he gazed up at the large portrait that dominated the far wall. An almost life-size picture of a young man that was actually Luca’s grandfather, albeit depicting him at a younger stage in life, possibly a year or two older than his current age. Dressed in a full military uniform with a sword hanging from his waist, Luca had often wondered why the painting needed to be in his dining room. Not only did the picture creep him out, he thought it something not befitting for his own rooms, but alas it was there on his father’s request and not something Luca could change. Perhaps when he was king he might have it taken down, but he thought when that was the case, he would be using the main dining hall as his mother and father did, so would probably not matter then.

  After opting for fruit juice and neglecting the pot of tea that had been made specifically for him, Luca shoved his chair back and got to his feet. Knowing his serving staff would clear away the table, he thought to venture down to the palace yard and see who was due to arrive today. With the wedding coming up, there was always a new face or two around the place, and although Luca had no intention of actually conversing with any of them, he liked to look on from afar. As was normal, the second he stepped from his own small section of the palace into the area defined as the general area, that part used by others aside from the royal family, two burly looking Royal Guards stepped in behind him.

  Luca gave neither man any more than a quick glance, more to make sure they were keeping up as to see the faces. One looked kind of familiar, the other, Luca felt must have been yet another addition to the ranks and was sure it was not someone that he had seen before. Walking swiftly down the wide marble staircase, his boots echoing out in the vastness of the place, he kept his eyes focusing forward. The large portraits on the walls had all been looked at hundreds of times before, none ever changed, although Luca knew that one day his own would probably join them. However, that day was probably some time off, and for now, the pictures were no more than dozens of long-dead relatives, seemingly following his every step with their vacant eyes peering down at him.

  In the main entrance hall, Luca stood off slightly to one side as the place appeared to be a hive of activity. With so many people about he was finding it hard to see, and decided to venture a little further back up the staircase to get an elevated view of proceedings. Spotting his mother and the youngest of his two sisters, he correctly assumed who the new arrival was, and probably the reasoning behind all the fuss being made in the foyer. In through the large double entrance doors stepped a somewhat diminutive figure. The only son of Lord Elthan was somebody that Luca could only describe as shifty looking. With dark, swept-back hair and a set of devious looking eyes that darted from left to right as he stepped inside, Luca thought the man a very strange choice for his sister to marry. While the reasons given were well known and had been explained to him, he was surprised that his sister had so readily agreed to the marriage.

  Luca, from his grandstand view on the staircase, observed how out of character Elysia looked now her fiancee was present. The typical, straight-faced young woman suddenly turned into a giggling moron, as she flirted outrageously at the new arrival. Taking a deep breath and shaking his head, Luca was about to turn away, no longer wanting to see his pathetic looking sister make an idiot of herself. However, just as he did so, he caught sight of her fiancee looking directly at him. Those dark piercing eyes boring into his mind as if trying to see what was held within. With the gaze fixated and locked, Luca glared back, holding the stare for several seconds before deciding the entire thing had gone on for too long and broke contact.

  Luca’s attention was diverted to several other figures following in behind the young lord, and was surprised to see four soldiers, all bearing the colours of the house they served. This was strange indeed, as under normal circumstances no person carrying arms aside from the Royal Guard were permitted to enter the palace grounds, never mind the palace building itself. Assumingly some special allowance had been made in permitting such a thing, although the situation appeared more than a little odd. Luca glanced behind him to look for any kind of reaction from the two men supposedly on duty and guarding him against any danger or possible threat. Unsurprisingly, the first man appeared a little on edge, the second and newer of the two more intrigued as to what was going on. It was while looking at him that Luca thought he spotted something else unusual. His own guard appeared to make a nodding gesture towards somebody in the foyer, and turning about to see who, Luca spotted those same dark eyes gazing back. This time, however, they were looking beyond him, and Luca suddenly felt uncomfortable being where he was. Something was not right, and although he couldn’t place his finger as to what it might be, he decided it was better to move and retreat back to his own rooms.

  Walking at pace and peering over his shoulder to see if the two guards were following as they should, he was glad when they both stopped. Guards were not permitted into the royal suites, although were positioned all around it. Thankfully, now free from his shadows Luca thought it better to do any more observing from the safety of his window. While being three floors up from the ground and looking out to the rear of the palace, overseeing the finely manicured lawns and gardens, it did mean Luca was unable to see any new arrivals. Yet he spotted his other sister, Imogen and her husband walking arm in arm around the outside edge of the largest lawn, seemingly chatting happily to themselves, uncaring as to what else was going on in the palace.

  In truth, Luca never really got on with any of his half-sisters. Despite the fact they both much older than he was, the fact he had a different mother somehow meant less of an attachment to them. Of the two, he supposed Imogen had always been the nicest of the two, not that he recalled that happening on many occasions. Elysia, at least on the few occasions they actually sat in the same room together, always appeared more distant from him, almost as if wishing he wasn’t there. It was because of this solitude that Luca was actually more than happy to live his life apart from the others, barely crossing paths with any of his family despite living in the same building as three of them.

  Very soon that number would be two, as Luca realised that like her sister before her, Elysia would also move out when married. Whereas Imogen now resided in the Northern Marches, Elysia would no doubt go and live with her new husband in Bargsea Castle in Endallen. While Luca had never been to either, he assumed them to be much of a likeness, and being as they were all part of the same kingdom, he presumed there was little point in bothering to visit anyway. In truth, Luca had travelled very little in his thirteen years. Even as a baby he had been left behind and cared for by the palace staff, probably another reason that he felt so little attachment to his own mother and father.

  With the sun beaming in through the windows to his living area, Luca watched as his sister Imogen wandered out of view. Four other people then strolled around the corner, appearing from behind one of the many hedges that bordered the gardens. While not knowing three of them, he did spot the face of another of the nobles among the number. Lord Oakley, dressed in what Luca could only describe as drab looking clothes, was the Lord of an area known as Scarwood. The smallest of all the kingdom’s regions, it was apparently mostly woodland and marshes, although the main town of Garley on the southern coast was supposedly quite nice.

  As a result of Lord Oakley only holding the smallest of regions, he was deemed by the other main
nobles as somewhat insignificant. Often ridiculed for being the poorest of their rather exclusive little club, the man did himself no favours by dressing the part. Walking beside him was a woman, whom Luca presumed to be his wife, although having never met her, could only guess as much. If that were the case, then he also deduced that the two other figures, a boy probably a little older than Luca, and a girl about the same age, must have been their children. Affording himself a wry smile, Luca wondered whether Lord Oakley had held any hopes of his son having any chance of marrying one of his sisters. Surely his father would never have stooped so low as to permit such a thing to happen. Yet in thinking that, the selection the king had made for Elysia was indeed a strange, almost troubling one.

  Bored of watching insignificant people wandering around what would one day be his garden, Luca ventured back to his bedroom. Since his departure, it was nice to see at least some of the staff had done their jobs, as he spotted his bed was now made and his night clothes cleared from the floor where he had left them. The two windows on the side were slightly ajar, blowing the curtains just a little as the cool morning breeze filled the room with fresh air. Unsure what to do next, and not having any studies until after the wedding, Luca was somehow drawn to the room adjoining.

  Stacked with books along one wall, it was actually but a fraction of the size of the palace’s main library, but impressive nonetheless. With windows running all along the top of one wall, it was actually quite a well lit and airy room, although somehow darkened by the multitude of brown furniture within. A large study desk, and chair, where he often sat to carry out his school work, and two large wooden storage cupboards, where all his parchment, quills, ink and a multitude of other paraphernalia was kept hidden from sight. Not wanting to do any writing or drawing, it was towards his books that Luca was drawn.