Will Prince Theo step up to his duties as the future king? Will he? Or will he not? You will find out soon in this chapter...
Kingdom of Largo
Chapter 11
King Aylard
“Father! Why must these warriors be following me all day? I cannot go anywhere without them. I'm sick of them following me around wherever I go!” Theo protested.
Ever since the meeting with Samuel, soldiers had been following Theo daily. No matter where he and Emma went, they were there. Not only that, his friend Emma had had it. She did not want to meet him anymore. Quite frankly, he missed Emma's company.
“What's wrong with them following you? You are the prince, a future king, and if you need to go off the kingdom's boundary there should be some protection for your well-being,” replied King Aylard.
“Father! Have I not told you that I do not want to be the future king? Why must you insist on having me as the monarch of the future? Why can't Galien or Xavier be the king? I just want to lead a normal life. I want to be able to go everywhere freely without any restraints. Why can I not have that kind of freedom?” Theo protested
“Nonsense! You will be the future king, and you are going to be trained on being the future king! It is time you step up to your duties! You are in your 10th Spring of age, and you must grow up and face your duties! You are the first royal son, and this is the rule!”
“Yes! But I don't want to be! I won't live by any rules!”
“Theo! I do not want to hear any nonsense from you! You shall be the king and you shall be trained as the future king,” insisted King Aylard. He did not understand why his first son would reject his future role, but he must insist because obviously, Theo did not know any better. He assumed that given some time when Theo was under training he would eventually take on the interest and the responsibility of the kingdom.
Theo seemed to have been protesting a lot lately and it was making King Aylard increasingly uneasy about him being the first in line to the throne. However, what could he do?
His three children were still so young. Theo was only 10 Springs of age, Galien in his 8th Summer and Xavier was only in his 6th Springs of age. None of them were ready for real wars, and he certainly needed his three sons to grow up fast.
He had already found a new trainer for Theo to hone his skills on a real sword - one which he was going to be awarded soon through a ceremony - and another trainer to assist him with riding on horseback. All of these were crucial lessons that needed to be administered in order to become a real warrior. Yet, what now worried king Aylard the most, was the fact that Theo was outright rejecting to become the future king. He could not understand where he had gone wrong while raising Theo, who seemed to have very little or no concern for the kingdom. What must he do to make Theo love his people and be willing to fight wars for them?
Could this be karma coming back to haunt me? He wondered about this on many occasions.
FLASHBACK
King Aylard could still remember the time many moons and seasons ago before he was married. He reminisces on how he met his love Isabella and of the hurdles he had to overcome to win the hand of the then Princess Isabella in order to make her his partner and the Queen of Largo.
He had been a young king then and was out on his hunting trip one day, accompanied by at least 50 of his own warriors.
They spotted a rabbit and he shot it with an arrow. The arrow missed and the rabbit ran away as fast as it could. He and his men chased after the rabbit on their horses and soon they arrived at a very beautiful serene lake. The king looked up to see a bright blue sky and a gentle stream of water coming down the mountain. The stream was surrounded by a lush green forest with many colourful fruits. It was a beautiful sight to behold. He remembered it had been raining two days ago, and now the stream of water was running down gently into the lake below. The water in the lake was very clear, he could see all the rocks and the tiny pebbles down at its bottom. And there, adding to all the beauty was a young woman sitting on a large piece of rock beside the riverbank. The rabbit had run to her and perched upon her lap for safety.
The young woman was startled by the king and the troop of warriors, so she quickly held on to the rabbit to protect it. She removed her beautiful smooth feet from the water and stood firmly on the ground.
“You shall lower your weapons and shall NOT hurt this rabbit!” She commanded, speaking as though she belonged to a royal family. She did not sound like a normal civilian. “This rabbit is more than an animal! This is a companion!”
The young woman had dark wavy hair to match the dark piercing eyes which now pierced straight into that of King Aylard's. Her fair complexion and smooth skin highlighted a face of flawless beauty. Her peachy cheeks show ample cheekbones, just enough to show her power. Her lips were full and determined as she spoke. Her dress appeared to be one that would not be worn by a normal civilian. Obviously, she could not have been a peasant, nor could she be the daughter of a peasant. King Aylard was wondering who could this beautiful young woman be.
“And whom may I be having this pleasure of meeting?”
“You need not know. All you need to know is that this is no ordinary rabbit,” she replied, lowering her head to inspect her rabbit, “His name is Harry.”
“I mean your name. How can I address you, beautiful lady?”
“You do not bother us. This is Her Highness, Princess Isabella and her rabbit, Harry!” A young man had suddenly sprung from behind the rock and immediately positioned himself in front of the young woman, providing a human barrier between King Aylard and his troop.
“Please forgive me for intruding upon you during your time of leisure, Your Highness! Allow me to introduce myself – I am King Aylard of the Largo. I am very pleased to meet you!”
Princess Isabella turned her head away shyly and made a sideward glance to assess King Aylard's appearance.
What a handsome king! she thought.
“Our princess belongs to the Kingdom of Kebia. It is not too far from here. You just have to head northwest and you will see it. It is a developing kingdom and it isn't a large one yet,” the young man continued.
The young man seemed to be a servant of the palace, as he was dressed humbly. King Aylard was wondering why a princess of a kingdom would be roaming alone outside of the palace without any troops to protect her.
“I am very delighted to have made acquaintance with your Highness, Princess Isabella! Please forgive my earlier intrusion. From this date, I promise you I will only hunt for wild boars and deer, and not rabbits. I will also instruct my men to do so.”
Princess Isabella gave him the sweetest smile, and later both King Aylard and Princess Isabella parted with a newfound friendship in each of their hearts. They met each other several more times later as their friendship grew.
In his heart, King Aylard had already decided that he would make Princess Isabella a queen someday. But first, he must pay a visit to the Kingdom of Kebia to visit her parents.
Unbeknownst to King Aylard, Princess Isabella had been promised by her parents, the king and the queen of Kebia, to the king of a nearby large kingdom in exchange for some gold and land, and 10,000 troops. The name of that large kingdom was called the Khaxaedia Kingdom.
So, when King Aylard paid his first visit to the king and queen of Kebia, he was not welcomed with due respect. King Kebia had cast him and his troops out like he was a nobody. He was told of the fact that Princess Isabella will wed the king of Khaxaedia soon, and he should forget about pursuing her. If he were to set foot inside the Kebia Kingdom again, it would mean war between them.
Both King Aylard and Princess Isabella were heartbroken. Princess Isabella could not believe that her parents would sell her out like a piece of merchandise in exchange for something that they need in their kingdom. The young woman intended to elope. She would dress as a civilian, and walk beyond the kingdom's boundary, while King Aylard would wait at the location to take her into his kingdom. He was ready to fight for the woman he loved.
Unfortunately, their plight was discovered by a palace guard who reported to King Kebia. Warriors were sent out to where King Aylard was supposedly waiting. Their mission was to kill King Aylard and his troop. King Aylard was smart enough to just have his troops there, already waiting and primed for a potential attack. He also sent a young woman from the palace who matched the body size of Princess Isabella to disguise as her to go to that spot where they supposedly would meet. Instead of waiting at that location, King Aylard would secretly sneak into the Kebia's palace to help the real Princess Isabella to elope. That was the alternate plot he had instructed his men, and that was exactly what they did.
While eloping the troops met with the same guard who had been spying on the princess. They came upon him and some others in the courtyard, and a fight broke out. King Aylard knew that his own life was in danger and that he must fight for his life and at the same time he must protect his love, the princess. He fought many guards, slaughtered many with his sword, and lastly, he slaughtered that same spying guard that betrayed the princess.
He took Princess Isabella on his horseback and rode out of the palace to freedom. Later, King Aylard was saddened to learn that the young woman who disguised as the princess was killed on the spot by a warrior of Kebia where she and himself were supposed to meet. Many other small wars followed between the Kingdom of Kebia and the Kingdom of Largo, but most times, King Largo would win because his army was well-trained. His warriors were well-equipped. It was also because King Kebia's kingdom was only a small developing kingdom, so their army was not as well-trained as Largo's army. The Kingdom of Largo eventually seized their lands and the army and the Kingdom of Largo became larger and stronger. Up to now, no one had known about the whereabouts of the king and queen of Kebia.
King Aylard thought of all the men he had killed in the past, he hoped that this was not karma that was befalling upon him now that after he maintained a much stronger kingdom, yet his son Theo did not want to be the successor.
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“Theo, I have already arranged a ceremony for you to be awarded a real sword. A new trainer shall be assigned to train you. Also, you will be awarded a horse too of your choice. You will go to the stable to choose the horse of your choice. One that will assist you and grow with you to become a real warrior,” King Aylard continued his best to convince his young son.
“You did? Father! I mean, am I going to have a real sword and a horse of my choice?” asked Prince Theo. His eyes are suddenly becoming bright and interested.
“Yes, you certainly are!” Suddenly, King Aylard's heart once again filled with pride and happiness.
“Father! Can Emma have a horse too? I would like to give her one too so we could ride on horseback together,” Theo had suddenly sprung to life again. Now, his interests in training about real swords and horses were sky-high.
“THAT, I don't know, Theo!” King Aylard answered honestly, “We will have to check with her father, Samuel. Whatever Samuel decides we will have to respect his decision.
“Father, you are the king,” Theo protested again, “Why are you letting Samuel make all the decisions? Look at what he has done to me now, I cannot even go anywhere without being followed by many warriors.”
“That was not Samuel's idea,” King Aylard explained to his young son, “That was my decision that you need protection. It will be better soon, you'll see. When you are also on horseback and be trained with a real sword, you are graduating to another level. You will feel so much better about yourself. Your mission is to protect our kingdom and its people. You will feel so much prouder of yourself as you ride on that horse equipped with your real sword, and be in the company of the warriors on horseback behind you. You form your own army.”
Theo listened with wide-eyed intensity, a satisfying smile had spread across his face. King Aylard let out a smile too. Finally, he thought he had convinced his son to become a ruler. There was still a long road ahead, and there would be many things that Theo needed to learn, but this was the beginning and he was proud of his son at this moment.
“Okay, Father! I shall agree to be trained as a real warrior! When will be the ceremony?”
“It will be the day after the next full moon. The ceremony will be at noon and you must be ready for the ceremony. After that, you will be escorted to the stable to choose your horse.”
“Thank you, Father!” Theo appeared to be very happy. All his whining earlier about being followed by the warriors had suddenly disappeared.
King Aylard wondered what was the nature of the relationship between his son Theo and Emma. Theo seemed to like the young lady a lot. The thought of letting Emma train on horseback too had become amusing to him. Perhaps Emma would become the queen when Theo reigns? Does Emma possess such regal qualities? She seemed to be a wise girl. Would she be up to the task? Thus far, she had always been by Theo's side to support whatever he wished to do. He had also heard about the rumours of Emma being a wild girl, out of her father's control. Samuel seemed to be having a hard time with his daughter. The rumour about Theo and Emma was now like a topic for everyone in the kingdom to talk about. Oh, what a headache Samuel must be having! King Aylard decided he would need to have a talk with Samuel about the issue, and together try to accomplish a way to stop all of the gossip. He would ask Samuel about his daughter tomorrow.
After Theo's departure to his own chamber for the evening, King Aylard once again studied the map that Lord Gaston had gifted to their kingdom.
He noticed that the Kingdom of Kebia was not mentioned anywhere on the map, so he assumed the kingdom had not been rebuilt. Could it be that the king and queen of Kebia had joined the wild and unruly tribes but did not want to name themselves? Those wild and unruly were formed in the far south? And where is that large kingdom of Khaxaedia now? Why had they not helped King Kebia to fight when they were at war with the Kingdom of Largo? Where was the Khaxaedia Kingdom now on this map? King Aylard studied the map closely and decided that the map was either incomplete or that he was purposely given the wrong map for an unknown reason. He thought he could trust Lord Gaston, but it seemed, either Lord Gaston was unaware of Khaxaedia Kingdom or he was purposely concealing it from him for reasons unknown. He decided that there also must be a reason why those wild and unruly tribes remained anonymous.
King Aylard looked at that large area of the unnamed tribes and he began to have a bad feeling about it. Could that be the Khaxaedia Kingdom? What had happened to the King and Queen of Kebia? Were they captured by them as prisoners? Or had they been killed by them for the non-deliverance of their daughter? Where are they now? King Aylard suddenly had a gut feeling that perhaps the queen's parents are in need of his help. He regretted that it had taken him so long to look for them, wondering about their safety. He hoped that they would still be alive.
His priority was to locate the Khaxaedia Kingdom.
His love, now Queen Isabella had been withdrawn ever since the downfall of her own kingdom. The fact that no one knew of the whereabouts of her parents had made her worried as she still could not fathom what her parents might do to her and King Aylard. She was worried and withdrawn. King Aylard loved his wife with all his heart.
Tonight, Thoe's acceptance to be trained as the future king made him feel good about himself. He made a mental note to also inquire of Samuel his knowledge concerning the whereabouts of the Khaxaedia Kingdom which did not appear anywhere on the map. He considered ordering Samuel to send out special investigations team to locate the whereabouts of the king and the queen of Kebia. He needed to know if they were still alive and whether or not they needed his help. After all, they were his mother and father-in-law now, he should help them if they were in any danger.
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Prince Theo woke up early during the wee hours of the morning. He immediately went off to see Emma to convey the news about his upcoming ceremony and award of the real sword and horse. He told Emma about his request to his father for a horse for her as well. Emma seemed very excited, but a dark cloud soon fell over her head when she heard that King Aylard would look for her father's approval in the matter.
She immediately went to her father and pounded on his door. Samuel woke up from his dream to open his door, just to find both Emma and Theo standing at the threshold.
“Father!” Emma screamed excitedly, “King Aylard said to Prince Theo last night that I could also be awarded a horse, and he said he would look for your decision and approval. Father, please say yes when he asks you. Okay? I need a horse too!”
Being still half asleep, torn away from the comfort of his bed by this rude awakening. He looked at the two youngsters with his half-closed eyelids.
“What? What are you two talking about?” He had no idea what to think or do. He had not heard from the king yet.
“Father! King Aylard is about to award me a horse too! It will be my own horse! He will ask for your opinion when he sees you this morning. PLEASE, please say YES! Okay? My dear father!” Emma begged.
“Good morning, Your Highness, Prince Theo! Can you let me know what all this is about?”
Theo told the poor half-awake man what was happening: About his upcoming award of a real sword and a real horse to becoming a real warrior. He told Samuel about his request to the king for a horse for Emma as well. He told the decision will fall upon him only whether or not Emma should have a horse as his father told him he will respect Samuel's decision.
“Father, please say yes! For if you don't I promise I shall elope! I shall not live in this palace anymore. It has too many rules! And when I elope, Prince Theo will come with me too!” Emma had become threatening, just for the sake of owning a horse. Samuel could not believe his ears.
Emma gave Theo a sideways glance to make him feel the same way too. Samuel could not believe the audacity of these two youngsters, who had so rudely pounded on his door in the wee hours of the morning, and were now issuing demands upon him. He felt threatened.
He stood there at the door, still half-asleep, shocked by the two youngsters' disturbance, and tried to gain composure. He allowed for a few moments of silence to process this disturbing scene before him. He must, he thought, allow the two youngsters a brief moment of pause in order to let them know they were not the ones in control. He must not let himself be threatened. He must keep the upper hand. He must appear to be calm, cool, and collected.
“I have not heard from the king yet. Wait 'til I hear from him, then I will make my decision,” Samuel said calmly, “And Your Highness, Prince Theo, please allow me to convey my congratulations on your award and accomplishments to become a real warrior for the kingdom. We are very proud of you.”
Theo smiled. He did not get the answer that he was expecting, and neither did Emma. The two children bid the old man goodbye as the door closed in front of them, leaving Emma to rethink what she had just said.
Emma was beginning to fear that her father would not agree to her having a horse. If that turned out to be the case, what would she do? Could she be as bold as to follow through with her threat to elope? But how? Was Prince Theo going to do that for her too, to elope with her? She was beginning to regret what she had just said to her father. She should have chosen her words more carefully. She hoped her father would accept the king's offer anyway. All that was left for her now was hope.
Sandie, you have created a very imaginative story that leaves your readers very intrigued as to what will happen next to the Kingdoms royal family and it's inhabitants.
Theo sees it is to his advantage to get a real sword and a new horse for his own motives. An intriguing development for King Aylard to find two kingdoms.
what a tangled web the king weaves when he wants the princes of a neighboring kingdom. As for Theo of poor Emma. What is to become of her?
Well, with Theo only 10 summers old and his brother 6 summers old, seems Theo better set his mind on becoming King....The promise of a real sword and a horse of hic choice seemed to help him change his thinking.
It was good to know about King Aylard's past. It was very interesting and he was a brave young king then. I hope Theo will be trained to become a compassionate king who cares and protects the people in the Largo's kingdom. I'm not sure about Emma being the Queen, she hasn't shown compassion for others so far.
I am SO into writing this story! I've spent the whole afternoon working on it and editing it. Believe me, I haven't even eaten anything today yet. So, I am heading to the kitchen now to get something to eat for the first time today. I will be back later.
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