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ONE of King Sebastien’s sons grew up good and kind, and reminded him so much of his father that King Sebastien tried to whip the goodness out of the boy. He was the wrong son for this goodness. When King Sebastien caught his son feeding the servants the table scraps he had saved from supper, he took the boy out behind the castle, tied him to a tree and lashed him as many times as it took for the boy to fall to his knees and beg for mercy. He thought the boy had learned, but the boy only grew smarter, and King Sebastien only grew angrier.
The royal boy would give old clothes to the village boys who did not have any while making his village rounds. Soon the villagers gathered out on the road, blurring the line between rich and poor, and King Sebastien was fuming, for he knew his son was to blame. And though he could not prove it, he took his son out behind the castle, again, and beat him, again, until the boy fell to his knees and begged for mercy, and he beat him still more, until the boy could not rise again. Then he returned inside his castle walls and watched from a window as Prince Willis helped his brother to his feet and let him lean on his arm all the way back inside the castle.
It was a bad example for Prince Willis. The boy could not stand to see his brother whipped.
“Do not do it again, brother,” King Sebastien heard Prince Willis tell his brother as he hauled him to his bedchambers. King Sebastien was fortunate to have at least one son with common sense. King Sebastien hid in the shadows, which were great about the castle. It was King Sebastien’s father who had loved light. King Sebastien preferred the darkness. The better to hide and eavesdrop, which he did that eve.
“I must,” Prince Wendell said, his voice shaking. “They are people, too, brother.”
“Do not be a fool,” Prince Willis said. “Their life is worth nothing to yours.”
“Their lives are worth just as much,” Prince Wendell said. He stumbled, and his brother helped him to his feet once more. King Sebastien very nearly stepped from the shadows but decided to stay.
“Father does not like it,” Prince Willis said. “He will kill you.”
“Father will not kill his own son,” Prince Wendell said. “His own heir.”
“You cannot know that for sure,” Prince Willis said. “You must stop this foolishness at once.”
“Alas, I cannot,” Prince Wendell said. “They are my people, and I love them.”
That was the problem. Prince Wendell did love the people. But perhaps if he had another to care for, he would not find as many opportunities to cross his father’s line. Perhaps a wife would do him well. A diversion. A gentle voice of reason.
So King Sebastien began to ask around. Who was the most beautiful woman with the greatest gift of magic, a gift fit for a future king?
It did not take him long to find her.
She was just a child, but already she was lovely. A girl from Lincastle King Sebastien did not remember, for she was not yet born when he left. But he knew her family, and they were a good breed. Kind people, it had been whispered, but the father had been a ruthless businessman before he disappeared on a voyage across the Violet Sea, and perhaps the girl had more of the ruthlessness than the kindness. He could do something about the kindness, at any rate. She was just a girl.
What was of more importance to a man such as King Sebastien was her gift of magic. Already, at six years old, the girl was said to be the most powerful girl with magic in all the land. So King Sebastien sent for her.
Her mother did not want to let her go. She was only a girl of six, after all. But in the end, King Sebastien convinced the woman that this was a necessary step for assuring her daughter had a place in the kingdom. His son needed to get to know the girl. They would grow up together for the next ten years, and then they would marry. Her mother, of course, did not dare argue with a king, especially since he paid her handsomely.
The night the girl arrived, King Sebastien threw a great feast in her honor, though none of the villagers were invited. He sat her next to Prince Wendell and sat himself at the other end of the table, where he could watch them both. It was not easy for a nineteen-year-old boy to love a six-year-old, he knew, but this girl would be beautiful by the time King Sebastien was ready to give over his rule of the throne. In another ten years or so. He still had many more years left to him, though the voice of the old prophet had been visiting him of late. Prince Wendell, after him, would have many years of ruling the throne before it came time for him to pass his magical gift to an heir. The throne would be secured forever. This thought brought a smile to King Sebastien’s face.
King Sebastien watched the two. Prince Willis was silent, slurping his soup and watching his older brother. Even he could tell the girl was beautiful, King Sebastien knew. With her white hair and her wide blue eyes, startling in their clarity, the girl could steal a stare. She did not talk for the better part of the dinner, and tears swam in her eyes. And then, finally, King Sebastien heard Prince Wendell speak.
“You are a long way from home,” Prince Wendell said, and the girl nodded. “It is not easy to be so far from home.” King Sebastien watched his son grab the little girl’s hand. “You will grow used to it.”
The little girl looked up at him, her eyes fixed on his face. She smiled the smallest smile, and there were dimples in both her cheeks, appearing even with such a slight effort.
“I shall take you round the kingdom tomorrow,” Prince Wendell said.
The girl nodded. “I would like that very much, thank you,” she said, and Prince Wendell smiled at her.
With a girl like this one to care for, Prince Wendell would not have much time for taking care of the villagers, King Sebastien thought.
Yes. It was a very good idea to bring her here.