The King's Descendants

by Robin Simmons

  Damara turned quickly toward Brianna and threw her arms around her sister.

  “I am so glad for you, Brianna. You will make a great queen of this land.” And then turning to Edward stated, “You are getting a woman of great character, I hope you understand her worth.”

  “That has been made evident,” Edward replied smiling.

  Damara turned back to Brianna, “This makes what I have to tell you much easier. I did not want to leave you so soon after all that has happened, but Duke Crestlaw wishes me to come and stay at his castle. I wish to depart tomorrow with Lucinda and stay there.”

  Brianna smiled and hugged her sister, “I can not tell you how glad that makes me feel. I was going to ask you to stay with us, but this is an answer to my prayers.”

  “What do you mean?” Damara asked.

  “You were always the quiet one, in the background. I prayed someone would see your worth. But I never imagined that Duke Crestlaw would be the one.”

  Damara blushed as Edward stood amazed. Would wonders never cease! They walked back to the castle and Edward had the servants show Damara to her room, for she was in need of rest. He then invited Brianna to the royal garden and they sat alone together, enjoying the silence.

  Brianna finally spoke; “When did you decide, Edward, that I would be your queen?”

  Edward smiled, “After you stood up to what you perceived as injustice and asked me to leave your house.”

  Brianna was exasperated, “I was rude and inhospitable...”

  “You were honest,” Edward interrupted. “I was looking for a queen who would be strong enough to speak her mind if she felt there was injustice, even by the king. You possessed those qualities, Brianna. You are what I have been searching for, but knew it not until God brought you into my life. That is the main reason I could not let you die at the hands of Sucinord. I prayed and asked the Almighty to show me the wife I needed to rule this land properly, and he led me to you. I could not believe he would do that just to take you from me. I also believe now as Duke Prescott told us that there is hope to save the kingdom yet.”

  Brianna had tears in her eyes, “Glenfair is so small compared to the Sabatol kingdom, yet it is so much greater. There is love and justice in this land. A land where the people really love their king and dukes. I am not worthy to be queen.”

  Edward took Brianna’s hand, “You were meant to be queen, Brianna. Not of the Sabatols, but of Glenfair. I believe that is what God wanted all along.”

  Brianna said no more but sat in silence at Edward’s answer. They sat there for a while and then it was time to head back to the great hall for supper.

  The next day Lucinda and Damara prepared to leave for the Crestlaw castle. Edward, Brianna, Adriell, and Pi were there to see them off. As they prepared to leave, Edward handed a folded letter and the king’s signet ring to Lucinda. She took the letter but frowned as Edward handed her his ring.

  “Give this to Jason when you arrive,” Edward instructed. Lucinda nodded and the two rode out of the castle and headed north. When Edward, Adriell, Brianna, and Pi were back in the great hall, they all looked at Edward, curious about the sealed letter.

  “Sit down, all of you please,” Edward spoke. “I will tell you about the sealed envelope. We live in perilous times. Because of that I felt it would be prudent for Jason to bring here the map the ancients made that is kept at Rock Spring. That is why I sent the signant ring. It opens the chest at Rock Spring. It is also necessary to speed up certain things that normally would take a slower pace. I have informed Duke Crestlaw that in two weeks there is going to be a royal wedding here at the castle. Brianna will be the next queen of Glenfair.”

  “How wonderful,” Adriell exclaimed. “I always wanted a sister.” Brianna and Adriell hugged.

  “You have chosen wisely,” Pi stated in a motherly fashion.

  “Since everyone approves,” Edward said smiling, “We have a wedding to plan.”

  Adriell grabbed Brianna’s hand and tugging on it said, “Come, we have much to plan, and only two weeks.” Both went off together laughing and talking. Pi and Edward watched them leave.

  “I am happy for you Edward, she will make a most notable queen that will be remembered for many, many years into the future.” Pi said this with such nostalgia and admiration that Edward froze with the implications. She had come from the future, did she know something he did not?

  “How many years, Pi?”

  Pi did not answer. Instead she changed the subject.

  “What is the map of the ancients? I have never heard of that before.”

  “The map shows the location of secret places the ancients used when they constructed the castles and began the kingdom of Glenfair. I do not know if there will be anything there that can help us against Sucinord, but we should not discount anything that could be useful. It was this map that led my father and uncle to Brickens’ Falls and the discovery of Andronicus. When Jason comes in two weeks, I would like you to look at the map with us.”

  Pi nodded and rose from her seat and as she left she whispered quietly, “Brianna will be remembered many, many centuries into the future, Edward.”

  Lucinda and Damara rode side by side. It seemed the topic they both discussed was Lucinda’s brother, Jason. Damara wanted to know everything about him. Lucinda found this most amusing, but did not mind talking about her brother either. She felt he was a great duke, and had followed in the steps of his father and grandfather. Many generations of Crestlaws had been dukes of the northwest. But none had forgotten the debt they owed to the Kallestor royal house. Damara was very interested in the story of how the Crestlaws had received their dukeship from the Kallestors. After Lucinda finished the story Damara was amazed. Such generosity prevailed in Glenfair. In her land, people grabbed power by force. Glenfair was so different than anything she had known. Damara was so glad to be a part of this great kingdom, to be added to its rich histories.

  “Tell me, Lucinda, what happened to your parents?”

  Lucinda paused for a while, “I do not know how to tell you what happened to them without taking a very long time to explain. Since it will take us a half day to reach our home though, I will tell you. You should know something of our family before you become involved with us. We have special gifts, given to us by our ancestors and God. What I am about to tell you will seem like a fairy tale, and impossible to believe. But I swear, it is the absolute truth.”

  Damara did not say a word, but her eyes were wide with anticipation. Lucinda began with her parents, Raven and Rebekka, and the secrets they found at the top of Brickens' Falls. She failed to tell Damara nothing of the events that took place leading up to the premature deaths of her parents, and Raven and Rebekka. When she had finished, Damara looked at Lucinda with fear and apprehension. Was she the brunt of a joke, or did Lucinda really mean all she had said.

  Lucinda saw the doubt in Damara’s eyes. “I will prove to you what I say is true. No matter what happens, keep riding in the direction we are headed. Do you understand?” Damara nodded, but was not sure she understood at all. Lucinda closed her eyes and vanished right out of the saddle. Damara had been afraid when the assassin attacked them. But a new fear took hold of her that was much deeper and darker than she had ever experienced. The horses kept walking and Damara kept staring at the empty saddle. She was not afraid of being left alone, nor of being lost. What she really feared was the fact that everything she had heard Lucinda tell her was true. She kept riding north until there was a small outcropping of rock by the river. On the rocks sat Lucinda, waiting for Damara to come. She rode up and stopped before the rocks.

  “Everything you told me was true,” she said. More to assure herself than Lucinda. “You can travel as your mother could?”

  Lucinda smiled, got back on her horse and said, “Yes I can. The other’s have the gifts as well.”

  Damara’s mind was racing, and then it dawned on her. “That is how Adriell knew Brianna was all rig
ht. She spoke to Edward with her mind.”

  Lucinda nodded, “You are starting to understand.”

  Damara continued; “Edward, has the battle reflexes. And Jason, he is a scientist?”

  “Yes,” Lucinda said excitedly. Damara was absorbing more than she had hoped.

  “And the assassin is a machine!”

  Lucinda was stunned. She had mentioned Andronicus at the top of the falls but never imagined Damara would make the connection that Sucinord was a machine.

  “Yes,” Lucinda added quickly. “He is a machine that has turned into pure evil.”

  “In my heart I knew no man could have done what he did so quickly. I just did not understand it until now.”

  The rest of the way was spent with Damara asking questions and Lucinda answering them. By the time they reached the Crestlaw castle Damara had become well versed in the whole history of Glenfair that few knew.

  At last they were in the courtyard of the Crestlaw castle, and ready for some refreshment. Jason met them and led them into the large hall. When they were seated, Lucinda handed Jason the sealed envelope and the ring that Edward had given her. He opened the letter and read it, then abruptly left the hall. Damara and Lucinda looked at each other and shrugged. It must be important, for Jason barely had time to have any proper conversation with Damara.

  Soon Jason returned with a sealed envelope of his own. He set it on the table and looked at Damara.

  “This envelope will be sent to the king if you will grant my request. As the king said in his own letter, we live in dangerous and pressing times.”

  Then kneeling down on one knee before Damara he took her hand and looked into her eyes. Lucinda put her hand to her mouth to stifle a cry. And Jason began......

  Chapter 6

  The Time For Truth

  “To tell people what they want to hear is the work of a politician. To tell people what they don’t want to hear is the work of a preacher. To tell people the truth is the duty of every righteous person.”

  --The Wisdom of Fathers

  Jason looked up into the eyes of Damara and asked: “Will you be my wife and help me rule this dukeship with compassion and justice?”

  Damara smiled down at Jason. This was everything she had hoped it would be when the time came for her to marry. She started to answer but Jason interrupted.

  “Before you answer, there is something I must tell you about our family.”

  “She already knows, Jason. I told her everything on the way here. She even figured out that Sucinord is a machine.”

  Jason looked at Damara with appraising eyes.

  Before he could say another word she uttered, “Yes, yes, I will marry you. Even though you are a crazy, inventing scientist.” This last phrase she said with humor and Lucinda began to laugh.

  “Then I will send this letter to the king right away, Jason stated.

  “What is it about?” Damara wanted to know.

  “I am requesting of the king to let us be married with him in two weeks,” Jason said smiling.

  “With who?” Damara asked again.

  “Why, with the king and your sister,” Jason answered. “That is what the letter from the king was about.”

  “How romantic,” was all Damara said.

  “We have to receive the king’s permission,” Jason added. “But I think he will say yes.”

  Edward took the message the courier delivered. It had the Crestlaw seal. Brianna was seated next to him and saw the envelope. It was very similar to the one that Edward had sent to Jason Crestlaw with Lucinda. Edward sat looking at it for a moment until Brianna grew impatient.

  “Well, are you going to open it or stare at the outside all day?”

  Edward smiled at Brianna, he loved her strait forward way of communicating. The letter he knew would contain the congratulations of the Crestlaws on the announcement of his impending wedding. He opened the letter and began to read. Brianna watched as his smile turned to astonishment and then into an incredible joyful countenance.

  “Well, is it personal, or are you going to share what the letter says?” Brianna inquired.

  Edward cleared his throat, “Duke Crestlaw has petitioned me for the cause of duplicating the event of our parent’s wedding day.”

  Brianna shook her head, uncomprehending.

  “Let me explain another way,” Edward started once more. “Our parents were wed together. It was a double wedding that day.”

  Brianna still frowned so Edward began to read the letter:

  My dear king, I want to congratulate you on your impending marriage to a wonderful woman. I know that royal weddings are very special to the whole kingdom, and I would not presume to intrude upon that grand event if it were not for the history of our own parents. I too have found the woman that God has meant for me and wish to marry Brianna’s sister, Damara. Do you think it possible that we might be wed together seeing the dire situation of the kingdom and the shortness of the time? I most humbly await your Majesty’s answer.

  Your Servant Forever,

  Duke Jason Crestlaw

  Brianna looked at Edward with pleading eyes.

  He smiled at her and only said, “How can I refuse such hopeless romantics?”

  Brianna threw her arms around Edward’s neck and hugged him. “It will be so wonderful having a double ceremony.”

  “You don’t sound too surprised,” Edward said with eyebrows raised.

  “Adriell told me how Jason refused to leave Damara’s side while she was sick. It sounded so romantic the way she told it that I knew it was just a matter of time before Damara and Jason would marry. But I did not expect this, it is too wonderful.”

  Edward smiled at the happiness this brought to Brianna. She deserved to have such happiness after her father and mother’s tragic deaths.

  “You have been spending too much time with my sister,” was all Edward said jokingly. He took a pen and wrote at the bottom of Jason’s letter in bold script as he called for a courier.

  Friends Forever, Like Our Parents

  - Let Us Be Joined In Marriage Together

  The two weeks came quickly, and the whole kingdom was excited about the royal wedding, and a double wedding at that. Those that remembered the previous wedding of the last king, only smiled at the satisfaction of another double wedding of the Kallestors and Crestlaws.

  When Jason, Damara, and Lucinda arrived, Edward called a quick meeting. Pi, Adriell, Master Rollins and Brianna were also present.

  Before Jason spread the map out on a table he handed the king’s signant ring back to him. Then they all gathered around and began to look at the map of the kingdom from days gone by. All the dukes’ castles were present as was also the king’s castle, but what was amazing was that close by every dukeship, there was some kind of fortress, fort, or hideout way up in the cliffs and hills, virtually inaccessible. Edward did not know what these places were because the names did not make sense to him. Above the Zandels there was a place called the Metallurgic and Synthetic Composite Factory. By the Prescotts was another hideaway called Resources with things like power modules, heavy equipment, and electronics listed in parentheses. High in the hills above Duke Rollins was a place for mining needed elements.

  After some examination Edward asked, “Pi or Adriell, do you see anything that would be of use against Sucinord?”

  “Yes,” Pi answered, pointing to the area above the Prescott dukeship. “This storage area labeled resources may be of some use. It mentions the existence of power modules and electronics. If any of the power modules still function after a thousand years, they can be modified into explosive devices that will destroy Sucinord.”

  “If they still function after a thousand years,” Adriell added.

  Edward frowned, “The question now remains, how do we get to any of these places? I am sure these are not intended to be found by the general populace. And there is no riddle to find them like the one beneath the falls
. All there is besides the explanation is numbers below each place.”

  “Of course!” Adriell exclaimed. “Those are the elevation and longitude and latitude numbers for each location. I remember studying about that in school years ago.”

  Upon closer inspection Pi affirmed what Adriell had guessed. “I believe I can locate this place for you, Pi stated. I have stored in my memory the basic coordinates of this valley and the castles. From those I can deduce the location of the fortress above the Prescott castle.”

  Edward smiled, “In a short time we should go there and find out if there is anything that would be of use to us. But right now there are more important matters to attend to.” As Edward said this he smiled at Brianna.

  The day arrived for the double wedding to take place at the royal palace. King Edward Kallestor and Duke Jason Crestlaw stood with their brides before the people of Glenfair. Very few knew who the brides were, and fewer still that they both possessed royal blood of the Sabatol kingdom. What mattered to the bulk of the people of Glenfair was the fulfillment of a queen for the throne.

  The brides both wore pale blue, the traditional color of Sabatol brides. Their hair was unbraided, a symbol of being unleashed from any other ties except their future husbands. Beside them were their virgin escorts, Lucinda for Damara, and Adriell for Brianna. As Edward stood looking at his beautiful bride, he wanted to thank God for helping him find such a wonderful woman. He closed his eyes and silently prayed:

  O God and Creator of all. You knew man needed a helper to share with him the trials and triumphs of this life. I asked when I did not know what I needed for a wife and you answered my prayer. So now I thank you for sending me the wife I need to govern this people justly, Amen.

  Edward knew the people of Glenfair would be blessed to have Brianna for their queen.

  Brianna watched Edward as his eyes were closed. Looking deeply into his face she realized that she truly belonged here as Edward’s wife and helper in the governing of this kingdom. At that moment she not only gave all of her heart to Edward, she gave it to the kingdom of Glenfair as well.