by Daris Howard
Strawberries had become a luxury in the south, and there was a big market for them. Corn was also something that sold well. Some Bernodians even made a business selling honey candy. As Alexander started ruling Bernodia, he used what tax money was collected to help build roads and bridges to further develop the trade.
Increased revenues in Bernodia made increased money in the treasury, and Alexander used that for the education of his people. There was a new invention, a machine called a "printing press", that made it quick and easy to print books. Alexander had no sooner heard of it than he purchased one for Denville Castle and was spreading books through Bernodia and then into the south. He hired tutors that would travel through the land, spending six months at a time in a village, teaching those who wanted to learn how to read. The people of Bernodia began to gain more wealth and prestige in the kingdom.
Louise missed Alexander and Marie during the times they were gone, but she knew he had to do the work. After Alexander had been shouldering his father's duties for about six months, Duke Reginald took a turn for the worse.
Louise sent Captain Jason Richins to Bernodia to bring Alexander and Marie back, not knowing how long Duke Reginald would live. By the time Alexander and Marie arrived, Duke Reginald could hardly speak. One of the last things he did was to make Alexander and Louise promise not to forget the people of Bernodia. He expressed his love to each of them. He took Louise's hand, thanking her for being part of his life.
Duke Reginald, just like his son, was always gracious and kind. She felt it was she who should be thanking him. He had raised a son that was such a great man, and Duke Reginald had been like a father to her.
Duke Reginald died, and they buried him near Denville castle, in a little cemetery that was on a rise overlooking the lake. Louise hurt to see Alexander's sorrow at the loss of his father. As far as she knew, Alexander had never been at odds with his parents as she had with hers. He had always been close to them.
Alexander tried to stay strong for their mothers, for Louise, and for Marie. Yet there were times he would go out in the gardens to be alone, and Louise knew he was crying. Since he had come to Winslow, he had started his own large gardens outside the palace walls. There were quite a few servants that worked with him, but he had things he alone worked on. He almost always took Marie with him, but after his father died, there were lots of times he went alone.
Alexander was always a pillar of strength for everyone else, never expecting anything in return. Sometimes it seemed no one was there for Alexander like he was there for everyone else. Louise tried, but she felt so inadequate. When Duke Reginald died, Marie wasn't yet eight. There were times she would miss her grandfathers and would run to her father and sob in his arms. She would want to know where they were, and Alexander would know just the right things to say. Soon she would be comforted and would go back to her activities, until the next time she needed some consolation.
Lady Margaret and Queen Ellen relied a lot on Alexander's strength as well. He was always there to brighten the day for them. Everyone relied on Alexander. He took on duties within the palace too, to help Louise, like presenting the medals at the dueling tournaments and other contests. She could still remember how proud Alexander was when a Bernodian, Captain Richins's young son, Jacob, won the national dueling tournament at the unbelievably young age of sixteen.
Alexander still traveled as far and wide as possible, taking Marie with him. Though he was now governing Bernodia and sustaining Louise as she ruled as queen, he wanted to meet as many people as he could. It would not be uncommon for Louise to hear a report of Alexander coming upon some elderly person, a child, a pregnant woman, or someone else in need walking down the road, only to put them on his own horse or in his own carriage.
She always wondered what she would ever do without Alexander. Every summer Alexander and Louise would take their mothers and Marie to Walsken. Those vacations were always such a wonderful time for all of them.
Louise had only traveled north to Denville Castle twice after Duke Reginald's funeral. The first was almost two years later. Alexander asked her to accompany Marie and himself to the Escondian Market. At first she thought she was too busy, but at the last minute, she changed her mind and went. She didn't even know what made her change her mind, but she was glad she did.
She left everything in the care of Lord High Chamberlain. It was so fun walking through the market again - a walk down memory lane. Everyone bowed and curtsied to her and called her "Your Majesty". She would have preferred to be there like the time when they were younger when she was not queen. They just called Alexander "Alexander" and not "Prince Alexander" or "Duke Alexander" or "Your Lordship" or anything. She envied him for that.
Gareg was still there, albeit he was getting older, saying he would continue to come until he couldn't make the trek anymore. He had some seeds from a plant he called a sunflower. He said that Princess Marie would love it. Louise laughed as Marie bought the sunflower seeds from Gareg at full price. Alexander let her bargain on her own, and she was no better than he was. She would bargain for beautiful necklaces and intricately carved jewelry boxes, but she always gave in to Gareg just like her father had.
Marie was nine years old - almost ten - and had her father's love for plants and people. She was already growing into a beautiful, young lady, with shimmering long, ebony hair of her mother, but she had Alexander's pleasant smile. Louise felt that Marie was going to be the most beautiful girl in the whole kingdom.
Since this was her first time back in many years, Louise had hoped to go to the mountain village. She wondered how Nell was doing. She would be a grown woman and probably have a family of her own. She may not even be in the mountain village anymore. Her grandmother was probably long gone. Louise wondered if Alexander knew what had become of Nell, but she never remembered to ask him.
Louise also recalled the second time to Denville. It started with a dreadful day later in the summer. Alexander and Marie, now barely ten, had left two days earlier, heading to Bernodia. Louise was in court when Captain Jason Richins, exhausted and dirty, came bolting into the throne room unannounced and said there had been an accident. It had been a dry year, and they had come upon a small hamlet in the path of a forest fire. Some of the small homes were burning. The royal party rushed to be of assistance.
A frantic mother screamed that her little girl was in the fire. Alexander had rushed in after her. He had gotten the child out, but was horribly burned. They had taken him to Walsken, which was not too far away from the village.
Louise immediately left for Walsken. Captain Richins, though exhausted from riding straight back to Winslow, insisted on going with her, as did Lord High Chamberlain. They rode the rest of the day and all through the night, arriving at Walsken late the next day. She found Alexander burned and bandaged, unable to speak. Marie was there, tears pouring down her face.
Louise knelt by his side, and all she could say was, "Oh Alexander!" as she started to sob. He reached his bandaged hand out and gently touched her face. He took her hand in his and touched it to his lips to tell her he loved her. He reached out to Marie, who fell at his bedside sobbing. He touched his lips with his fingers and then he put them to Marie's face.
They buried him by his father in the cemetery near Denville Castle.
Chapter 14
The Change In Marie and the Terrible Foreboding
The whole kingdom mourned the loss of Alexander. Flowers poured in to Winslow, Denville, and Walsken. It seemed everyone in the whole kingdom knew and loved Alexander. Other things came in, too. There was honey candy, strawberries, potatoes, corn, books, and everything else that Alexander had so lovingly brought to his people.
The gifts far surpassed their ability to store them. When Louise asked Lady Margaret what Alexander would have done, the answer seemed obvious; they distributed the items to the poor.
Even though she still had Marie, her mother, and Lady Margaret, the loss of Alexander created an emptiness that was impossible
to fill. Lord High Chamberlain, who was just slightly younger than her own father, became her greatest friend and confidant. It was he who helped her recover from her grief.
It was not uncommon for her to be right in the middle of court when something would trigger a memory, forcing her to excuse herself, overcome with emotion. Lord High Chamberlain was quick to cover for her.
She was concerned about Bernodia. The rightful ruler was Marie, but Marie was only ten. She knew she, herself, couldn't cover both responsibilities. She made a decision. Ever since her coronation there had been bad feelings from her cousin, Tobias. He wanted some kind of appointment, and she thought this might be the perfect opportunity. He could govern Bernodia until Marie both reached her eighteenth birthday and was married.
He accepted it readily. She hoped the people of Bernodia would accept him. They were always suspicious of outsiders, but they had accepted her. She knew a lot of that was because of Alexander. She hoped, since Tobias was her cousin, the people would respond well to him. He became Duke Elnard, using his more formal second name.
For some reason, Matthew was much more restrained in his support of Tobias, and, in fact, advised against it, but she appointed him anyway. She just figured that during the time they were in the Royal Guard together, their personalities just hadn't meshed well.
She was glad to have that worry off of her mind, because she had more immediate concerns. Not long after Alexander's death, Marie began to change. It started with the gardens. She went out and pulled up all of her sunflowers. They were beautiful, and she and her father had been proud of them. They were taller than anything in the gardens, even though they hadn't even had a full season.
Louise knew Marie was just exhibiting anger at the loss of her father and thought she would eventually get over it. Louise tried to speak to Marie - to comfort her - but Marie refused to be comforted. She would say she was fine, but in the next instant she would strike out at people. Though she rode other horses, she refused to ride Yadee anymore, but beat a pageboy until he was bloody for an unintentional remark he made about her horse.
She even refused to dress the part of a princess. It started out gradually but got worse and worse. She refused to wear her beautiful dresses, but wore simple ones that made her look like a servant. Her grandmothers would love her and encourage her, but even they didn't seem to have enough influence. Soon she wouldn't wear a dress at all, dressing instead like the pageboys.
Once, Louise had tried to stop this by having all of the boys' clothes taken from Marie's room. She refused to change out of the one set of clothes she had on, and threw the dresses in the rubbish pile. She kicked the servants until they begged Louise to allow them to give her the clothes she wanted.
Louise, at a loss as what to do, felt she had to give in. Within a few years, Marie would strike at anyone and everyone. Louise wondered what had happened to her beautiful, sweet little girl. She found herself giving in more and more to Marie's selfish desires. Marie seemed to fight anything that reminded her of her time with her father.
She refused to read. She would hit any tutor that tried to tutor her. She would wrestle with the pageboys, who didn't dare defend themselves for fear of reprisal for inappropriate action toward the princess. They would take a real beating at her hands and were afraid of her.
To make matters worse, things were not going well in Bernodia. There seemed to be talk of an insurrection. Louise started meeting with Tobias at least every third month to discuss the problem. He kept assuring her that it was just because he was an outsider and that, soon, everything would settle down. Matthew suggested Tobias be replaced, but Tobias was one of the few close relatives she had, and she was afraid of upsetting him.
In addition, there began to be major problems with the Esconodians. There were frequent incursions across the northern border by their armies. She was having to increase the spending on the military, and it was taking money from the domestic needs of her people.
Then there were the assassination attempts. They had never had any before. The attackers were always Esconodians, but she had a nagging feeling that they were really brought in by her own people. If her own people were trying to assassinate her, there must be some problems in the kingdom. This troubled her deeply.
During one of the assassination attempts, Captain Jason Richins had been wounded fighting against an overwhelming number of attackers. He had been able to hold them off until his son and Matthew had arrived to thwart the attack. But Captain Richins had been so severely wounded that he could not longer function as Captain of the Guard. It was decided that he would retire to a home farther in the south to recover. Both he and Matthew suggested Captain Richins's young son, Lieutenant Jacob Richins, be advanced to captain.
Louise had, at first, been leery of that appointment. He was so young. But as she watched him more and more, something stirred within her. The young lieutenant was calm, kind, and loved to learn. The Richins were Bernodians like Alexander. Jacob Richins reminded her so much of Alexander.
Sometimes, when she was alone, she would speak aloud as if Alexander were there to answer her. Sometimes she felt as if he truly was there. One day, while contemplating the captain of the guard situation, she had been talking aloud as if to Alexander. As she walked down the hall, she came upon Lieutenant Richins sitting by a window reading a book. She was taken aback. His blonde hair and demeanor were so much like Alexander's. She stood for the longest time watching him. She finally whispered, "Alexander?"
Immediately, Lieutenant Richins jumped to his feet, bowing in embarrassment for not having seen her. She felt so awkward at her own thoughts that she just smiled at him. "At ease Lieutenant. Lieutenant Richins, have you nobility in your heritage?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"You carry yourself as if you did."
He then said something that caused memories from a yesteryear to wash over her. "Prince Alexander told me that a man was more noble in how he lived than how he was born."
Louise found herself choking back tears. "When did he say this to you?"
"When he awarded me the medal for the dueling tournament when I was sixteen."
Louise could talk no more. She hurried to her room and cried. She realized she had only considered the young lieutenant's capabilities based on his age and birth. It was he who had to remind her of the creed Alexander lived by, and what her father reminded her of before he died. She should have looked at his heart, for her own Alexander was the supreme example that higher birth was not the most important thing. She wondered if somehow Alexander was reminding her again.
The appointment was made, and the young lieutenant became Captain Richins, as his father was before him. He defended Winslow well, and he trained his men superbly. Assassination attempts became more frequent and more intense, but the young Captain Richins seemed more than up to the task, keeping the palace well defended. She continued to watch him, and something continued to gnaw at her.
It was early in the morning of Marie's seventeenth birthday, after laying awake all night wondering what to do to help Marie, that the answer came. It was as if Alexander had spoken to her again, telling her the answer to her problem with Marie. That answer lay in her past with Alexander, and was right under her nose. That's when she knew the answer was to be had in a special assignment for the young Captain Richins.
Chapter 15
News Spreads Like Wildfire
Jacob left the queen, and found himself wallowing in self-pity. How could this have happened to him? As he walked down the hall it seemed that even the walls were whispering and pointing at him. He thought it had to be his imagination, but he was sure once he heard the word "tutor".
As he walked across the courtyard, he found John and Edward searching for him. The three of them had become friends while they were at the academy together. At 16 he had been so much younger than the other recruits, having received his appointment by winning the Royal Sword Fighting Competition. No one younger than twenty-two had ever won it befor
e.
Most of the other, much older recruits, had treated him with great disdain. Only John and Edward had stood up for him, even though they, too, were much older. They had became fast, loyal friends, and the three of them had worked hard together and moved up through the ranks quickly.
Now, as they approached him, he wondered how to break the news to them. He felt he needed someone to commiserate with. But if he expected it from his friends, he was sadly mistaken. He hadn't even spoken before John did.
"Hey, Captain, we heard the exciting news about your new assignment."
Jacob was shocked. Surely they couldn't have heard about the tutoring yet. He had barely found out himself. He acted innocent. "What assignment?"
Edward grinned. "Royal babysitter."
John and Edward broke out into riotous laughter. Jacob just rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha, ha. I am just overcome with mirth. How did you guys find out so fast anyway? I just learned of this myself."
"News like that travels fast," Edward said. "It was probably around the palace before you left the throne room."
Jacob tried to act as nonchalant as he could muster, given the circumstances. "Well, I'm not the royal babysitter. I'm her teacher, and, of course, her bodyguard."
Edward laughed. "Yeah, and I'm a duke. The truth is, nobody else can do anything with her, so the Queen is getting desperate."
John got a falsely grave look on his face. "Yeah, kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel."
Both Edward and John burst into laughter again. Even Jacob smiled, and it made him feel somewhat better, but not much.
Edward finally became more serious. "What are you supposed to teach her?"
Jacob cleared his throat and tried to act stern. "I am supposed to teach her literature, how to dance, how to defend herself, and how to be kind and think of others."