Plight of the Perfect Prince

by Jason Paul Rice

  “Must be a Burke, no doubt.”

  Ryen clarified. “She is, but not from the main Burke family. Her father had a falling out with the Duke, so she comes from a very humble upbringing.”

  Ali-Samuel couldn’t understand. “So the same reason that my father got thrown out of the realm for?”

  “Ali-Stanley will argue she still has the Burke name and he does have a point. It wasn’t a very practical marriage as she brings no gold or soldiers with her.”

  “She must have the fairest features of any lady in the land, huh,” Ali-Samuel said with his hands cupped in front of his chest.

  Ryen said sternly, “She is a fourteen-year-old girl with barely any bosom and she’s pregnant as all get up.”

  “Ali-Stanley didn’t waste any time at all. How long have they been married?” Ali-Samuel asked.

  “Little less than half a year,” his uncle said unenthusiastically.

  “What’s she like?” Ali-Samuel wanted to know.

  Ryen seemed to be getting irritated. “I wouldn’t have any idea. The two of us have barely spoken to each other. She smiles and curtsies like a lady should, but that’s all I know of her.”

  Ali-Samuel set down his leather sack on a small table and said, “I want you to be the first one to see it.”

  “WHOA!” exclaimed Ryen as Ali-Samuel held the object in the air.

  His uncle asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

  “Well, let me turn it around on you. Depends on what you know. Do you know what the crown of Parismore looks like?” Ali-Samuel had a big smile on his face.

  “We heard he had died, but we all assumed that you had died too,” Ryen said.

  Ali-Samuel tilted his head and asked, “Even you? I would think you know better than that by now. I’m small but apparently indestructible.”

  Ryen shrugged his shoulders. “My confidence waned after the better part of a year passed, I will admit.”

  Ali-Samuel didn’t let it bother him. “No worries, good uncle, I do my best work when I am completely counted out. Hells, I’m used to it by now. You want to come with me to show the King our new crown for his throne?”

  “Sure, you know I always love to see his face when you stroll through that door. Alive again. He’s in a meeting with the close council right now as seems to be the case every time you return. Shall we?” Ryen invited his nephew to walk ahead.

  His uncle, always restless, moved in front and led the way and as they passed the Princess Hall, a small entourage approached. Ali-Samuel saw the most ravishing creature he had ever laid eyes on.

  The tiny girl with bronze skin and long, curly brown hair had full lips and green eyes.

  He couldn’t take his eyes off her, but she didn’t even bat a single eyelash in his direction. She kept staring and smiling at Ryen until they passed each other, when she looked away shyly.

  He turned to Ryen, “My word, uncle, she was staring at you like she wanted to...”

  His uncle grabbed him by the shoulder and raised his voice, “That is the Queen, wife of the King and that’s where it ends. Alright?”

  “Alright, fine.”

  This was one of the rare occasions that his uncle had ever snapped at him. They entered the meeting room and a familiar look came over the King’s visage.

  Ali-Stanley said, “My eyes must deceive their master. They said you were dead. They said the entire company had died in the War of the Nobles.”

  “You’re going to have to try harder than that to get me killed, good uncle.” Ali-Samuel laughed, although he wasn’t really joking. “Take a look. I brought a new decoration for the throne.” He pulled out the crown and set it down in front of Ali-Stanley.

  “My, my, is that what I think it is?” Ali-Stanley asked with wonder in his eyes.

  He plucked the crown off the table, sank to one knee, and proclaimed, “I proudly present the crown of Parismore for the glory and honor of Donegal and all she stands for.”

  “We need a new post for the back of the throne. A worthy problem to have indeed,” the King said with a huge smile on his face.

  “I would have brought his head along for the trip too, but I know you don’t like them.” Ali-Samuel laughed and everyone else joined in until the King shot a venomous look around the room prompting his council to stop.

  He and Ryen took a few more moments to compose themselves.

  He couldn’t get the vision of the new Queen out of his head. He had never even kissed a girl or experienced feelings for one. Many years ago, he had mentioned to Ali-Stanley that he wanted to marry a proper lady to uphold his duty to the royal family. The King had laughed and told him that no family patriarch would marry his daughter to a bastard full of traitor’s blood. He suggested Ali-Samuel should pay a whore to love him because that would be his only chance.

  There were always traveling whores near the front lines and plenty more in foreign lands, but Ali-Samuel never partook in the paid pleasures of the flesh. He had always wanted to get married and have a family of his own, but the desire to get revenge and capture the kingdom motivated him more. He wanted to get the power, then the lady and finally a son that he could pass his kingdom on to.

  Over the next week, Ali-Samuel became infatuated with the Queen. He followed her around and uncovered all the information about her that he could. She dominated his thoughts as he leafed through the Queen’s dresses and gowns one day.

  He had been shown the inner tunnels of the castle by Sir Oliver Wedgeword and had used that knowledge and his stealth skills to sneak into the King and Queen’s bedroom. He sniffed a pale yellow gown and the essence of rose blossoms made him smile. The Queen had an open area in the back of the room with hanging rods holding her formal wear.

  Ali-Samuel heard someone at the door and panicked. He pushed several dresses together and tried to hide behind them.

  I forgot to close that door to the secret tunnel, didn’t I? All someone has to do is glance in that area and I’m caught.

  He heard Queen’s voice, squeaky and angry, “No. I’m not going to stop following your around until you talk to me. You can’t keep ignoring me. I am your Queen.”

  The King replied, “I can do as I please. I am the King, if you don’t recall. What do you want to talk about? Have you disgraced me once again?”

  She explained, “I’ve already apologized for that and what was I supposed to do? You wouldn’t leave my side in Burkeville, but as soon as we were married, you would barely speak to me.”

  “I’ll admit I was overly smitten with you all the way up to the wedding. It was then that I realized it was a mistake and I had betrayed my sweet Parys. Seeing and talking to you only reminds me of how much I wronged her. You will still be a Queen with all the appurtenances. Look at your dresses over there, look how many you have.” The King pointed right at Ali-Samuel.

  Don’t look. Don’t look.

  “Shall we walk over and count them all?” the King suggested and Ali-Samuel’s heart thumped in his chest.

  “I don’t care about dresses and gowns. I care about you; can’t you see that?”

  “You care about me so much that you can’t control your loins,” he chastised.

  “What was I supposed to do? I married the King. It’s every girl’s dream, and yet my family wouldn’t come with me to the Capitol. I get to the King’s Castle and you disappear and nobody else would even talk to me because they resent me so much. And finally he came along and he was nice to me. He was the only one who was nice to me,” she uttered emotionally.

  “Stop talking about him. Just give over the name so I can take care of the problem and we can move forward,” the King said.

  She shook her head. “I will never tell you who it is. I’d rather let it gnaw away at you so it haunts you for the rest of your life.”

  “Mind you tongue and place, little girl. You’re my Queen the same as this is my crown. You could disappear and no one would bat an eyelash over the matter. Hells, they’d probably care more about the crown.
” He chuckled. “Have you any idea why I picked you to be my Queen?”

  “So you could tear my life apart? I could have been perfectly happy on our small plot of land in Burkeville.”

  “Keep it up and I’ll send you straight back to that manure field. I picked you because you have no power in the Capitol. Your family has no power throughout the realm. You’re at my mercy now and I’m not exactly known for that quality, so listen up. I will raise this child as my own under certain conditions. The word of this bastard child can never get out and he or she better have red hair or it could be an unfortunate end for Queen Emilia and the baby. Do you understand?”

  Tears ran down her puffy cheeks and she took a moment to calm down. Ali-Samuel silently contemplated whether to strike the king dead and claim his bride as his own. He stayed put and kept listening.

  The Queen’s voice lowered, “You’re threatening me? You’re threatening a pregnant fourteen-year-old? How dare you? What kind of a man are you? Only three people know about this and it will never get out. I can also assure you that the child will have a blazing head of red hair. I don’t think I wish to speak with you any longer.”

  Emilia stormed out of the room and Ali-Stanley screamed, “Guards.”

  Two men entered and said simultaneously, “Yes, your highness.”

  “Take me to see my first wife down in the crypts; at least she doesn’t talk back.”

  Ali-Samuel breathed a heavy sigh of relief and quickly lowered himself back into the tunnels. He got lost and wandered around aimlessly trying to find a familiar area. He found a trap door overhead with the words ‘Powder Room’ written on it. He knew where he was now and thought about which direction to go when voices started coming from the powder room.

  He recognized the Queen’s voice through the sobbing and pushed himself up using the wall. He placed his ear to the wood.

  A man spoke, “What did he do now?”

  “Aside from threatening to kill me and our child, oh not much,” the Queen said.

  “Alright, just stop for a moment. He’s not going to do anything, I’ll be sure of that. You didn’t tell him it was me, did you?”

  He recognized the voice and couldn’t believe who it was.

  The Queen said, “Of course not. Although I had half a mind to tell him off.”

  “We need to bury this. I care for you greatly and our baby even more, but it’s in the best interest of both for us to cease contact with each other. I’ll find some friends for you,” Ryen Wamhoff promised.

  “Wait? What? You’re the only one who is civil to me. I can’t lose that,” she pleaded.

  “This child has a chance to grow up as a Prince or Princess. We shouldn’t be selfish and take that away from him or her. I’d love nothing more than to tell the entire kingdom the truth and Ali-Stanley would reward me by immediately placing a bounty on the child’s life. We will always know and it can be a beautiful thing when two people share a secret. Let’s share this secret.”

  Emilia paused before speaking. “I can keep a secret so long as you don’t abandon me. You owe me that much.”

  “Absolutely, in time, you will feel better about this, I promise you. And I will always love you as a person and you will always keep a special place in my heart,” he promised.

  Ali-Samuel’s mind tried to process all this but he was having trouble. He decided he better get out of the tunnels before someone spotted him and started asking questions. He stepped through a side door that led outside of the southern wall.

  About an hour later, Ali-Samuel walked down a hallway in the castle. Queen Emilia and several guards approached.

  He got very nervous and blurted out, “My Queen, is everything alright?”

  She slowed down and answered, “Yes, thank you.”

  Ali-Samuel stuttered, “I was thinking that...that...if...perhaps...”

  “Perhaps another time,” she said, appearing as if she was going to burst into tears as she darted away.

  The curt response crushed Ali-Samuel Wamhoff. He went to bed that night and cried for the first time.

  He curled up and wept all night long. He didn’t realize he was in love with the Queen and the slight rejection from her broke his confidence. The spiteful man planned to tell everyone who would listen about her and the royal bastard.

  Ali-Samuel got out of bed after barely sleeping and got dressed. He prepared to leave as a knock sounded at the door. Sliding the spy slot up, nobody appeared. He moved closer and looked down. His heart almost exploded as the Queen stood outside his door.

  Ali-Samuel hastily stepped back and pulled the door open. He bowed and said, “My Queen. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I need to apologize. I was extremely rude and dismissive yesterday and it’s not how a lady should act.”

  Ali-Samuel had never been more nervous in his life. “I don’t know what to say. I am in shock. A King or Queen taking responsibility for his or her actions, careful now, you’ll get run out of the Capitol exposing virtues like that.”

  The joke was met with a shy giggle from the Queen and started a new friendship that Ali-Samuel hoped would grow into much, much more.

  One week later, the two were nearly inseparable and Ali-Samuel had fallen deeply in love with the pregnant fourteen-year-old Queen of Donegal. They sat at a long table, across from each other with big smiles on both of their faces.

  Ali-Samuel looked around the empty hall and asked, “How come nobody wants to play with us?”

  “I’d rather have it this way. The ladies about this castle cluck like chickens until they’re red in the face and ready to pass out. You can’t hear anyone because they all try to talk over each other. I’ll take our quiet conversations every day of the week.”

  “Me too. We’re looked at as the castle outcasts, but that’s the way I see all of them. I have a grand plan to remedy that by the way.”

  “Oh, really, and how is that?” she asked in anticipation.

  “I can’t go into the particulars, but rest assured, I will take care of you,” he vowed.

  She smiled. “Good. You better not leave me like everyone else. Seems like as soon as I start to get along with someone, they suddenly disappear.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. They will have to pry me away from you,” Ali-Samuel said with a laugh, but he was dead serious. “Did you see the crown I captured?”

  “I did. It’s magnificent,” she commented.

  “That’s to show you my prowess in capturing crowns. That crown pales in comparison to the one I will eventually place on your head,” he said.

  “Is that a promise?” she asked, shifting around in her seat.

  He shook his head. “No, my Queen, it’s a guarantee.”

  He had never been so happy and didn’t want to leave the sleazy Capitol now. Ali-Samuel hadn’t realized that everyone had noticed his new, cozy friendship with the Queen and they all talked about it. Many thought the relationship to be sexual, but Ali-Samuel had only kissed her hand.

  Two days later, Ali-Samuel was called into the close council meeting. He walked into the room and wondered what it was all about. King Ali-Stanley dismissed his councilors.

  The King said, “Sit down, please.”

  “What’s going on?” Ali-Samuel wanted to know.

  “As suggested by your Uncle Ryen, we think you need to get back out to war. There’s been an uprising in Bear’s Gate and I am sending you and Sir Jermar to squash it.”

  “The Child Knight? That’s who you are sending me with?” he asked.

  His heart was slowly shattering into thousands of pieces as the King continued, “The child who bested almost every knight of Fox Chapel in the last tourney. You mean that child?”

  “A tourney is much different than real battle, not that you would ever know,” Ali-Samuel said.

  “Watch it now. I could call for my guards and you’ll be dead,” the King threatened.

  “They’d never make it in time.” Ali-Samuel placed a knife on the table a
nd stared into the King’s eyes.

  I should do it. He gets whatever he wants. He treats her like a privy bucket. He doesn’t deserve her. I would treat her like the Queen she is. This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted. I don’t need anything but her.

  “Do you really want to risk high treason? Am I worth it?” the King questioned.

  Ali-Samuel picked up the knife and slid it back into its sheath.

  The King breathed a sigh of relief. “So can I count on you to carry out your duty to the realm?”

  Ali-Samuel stared blankly at the King, who repeated the question. Ali-Samuel stood up and drew his sword. He knew what needed to be done. He looked at the King and sank to one knee.

  He held out his sword and spoke with a broken heart, “You can count on me to serve my duty, my King.”

  The King smiled and said, “Alright then, you leave immediately. I’ll have the guards show you to the stables.”

  “That’s very kind of you, uncle.”

  The smug smirk on Ali-Stanley’s face made him wish he had killed the King. He only caught a quick glimpse of Queen Emilia as the guards hurried him along. Her face was red and tears streaked down her face.

  I’ll always love you. You won’t know it, but everything I do will be for you and only you. I have a feeling you’ll soon forget me but I will always remember you.

  Ryen held the reins to his nephew’s horse as Sir Jermar and the rest of the men waited for Ali-Samuel.

  His uncle smiled and said, “I’m jealous, nephew. I wish I was headed back to battle.” He extended the reins to Ali-Samuel.

  He snatched the leather straps from his uncle and jumped up on the horse.

  He leaned down and whispered, “I know, Uncle Ryen. I know it was you who got me sent away this time. I also know your little secret. I overheard a conversation of yours, that’s how I know. She never told me and she wasn’t going to ever tell me. I thought you might like to know that. She’s a good girl. Does the right thing. Now you get to stay here and wonder about what I’m going to talk about when I’m away at war. You know how the men love to talk and hear stories. Try to sleep well as you wonder about what stories I am telling.”