The Reverie: a Dream, a Sacrifice and a Promise

The Plan

The feast sealed the agreement with Amoral, and the Kingdom of Paleon was expanded to greater distances. Many changes occurred in the kingdom and the struggles of the people were resolved. Unfortunately, the attempts to assuage the people from their fears of the prophecy were unsuccessful.

Many months passed and the kingdom was prospering well. Queen Innara was very healthy and large carrying her babies. No one knew of the secret of the king and queen, except the doctor. He was true to his word.

"Mitus, I have selected my finest and most trustworthy maids to be there for the birth! Beth is my finest friend and I trust her with my life, and Georgetta has been with us the longest. She cares deeply for any form of life, especially children. We must inform them and swear them to secrecy before the time comes. Have you completed the second part of our plan?" Innara and her king were settling quietly in the lounge. It was late afternoon and they were finally alone. The king came to sit by her side and wrapped his arms around her waist to rest them on her oversized belly.

In a whisper he replied, "Indeed I have! I personally have selected the finest solution and believe it is the best fit for our needs. I will go tomorrow to finalize the deal."

"But what if it goes wrong and our secret is revealed?" The queen squeezed his hand tightly and tried to stay strong. Being pregnant was new to the queen and soon her hormones were taking control. She began to sob loudly into her husbands arms. "I cannot lose them! I have to protect them, whatever it takes."

Mitus held her close and whispered calming words to her. When all tears stopped, he spoke. "I have done the most research as possible on this problem. Tomorrow when I go, I shall ask first questions and then present the offer if the situation feels right. God will take care of us, as always, my love."

Early the next morning the king mounted his horse, dressed in a cloak no one would recognize him by. He rode for quite some time through the city and villages until he finally made it to the outskirts of his kingdom. Wearily, he traveled through a broken path in the forest and up a small mountain until he found the place he was searching for. When he reached the warm, inviting cottage a woman appeared before him.

"Hello, you must be Eliza. I have a proposition to discuss with you." announced the King as he gracefully dismounted and revealed his true identity. "May I come in?"

"Benjamin, Benjamin!", Eliza called rushing through the house. "We have a royal guest! Come immediately, this must be important." She scuffled around the cottage nervously cleaning and sorting various items. Benjamin's footsteps began to sound down the hall. "A royal guest? You must be seeing things, a royal would nev- Oh, my king!" Benjamin looked up amazed at the king. He was short and his disposition was rough. He wore a beard and heavy coat and was seemingly made of muscle. "Please forgive me of my insolence, I never in my life would expect to receive an honor like this!" He bowed and offered a seat to the king in the main room.

The king laughed loudly and said, "Do not worry, Benjamin. It is true, on normal circumstances I would not normally come disguised to a villagers house. Unfortunately, these are desperate times. I have a proposition for you, but before we get into details I must ask you one question and I wish you to answer most honestly. It is a very important matter to me."

"What is the question, King Mitus? We may not have much to offer, but you may be assured we are honest people." answered Eliza.

The king nodded and asked, "Please tell me, what are your beliefs of the prophecy?"

Eliza smiled and looked at her husband. "Should we show him?" Benjamin smiled and nodded in reply.

The couple presented the true story of the vision they obtained through the family line. They explained how the practices against twins and the vision were greatly unsettling to them and spoke for many hours with the king about their family history with the vision. At the end of the visit, King Mitus became very serious.

"I have made a decision. I trust you and your wife are very honest and moral people. You seem like ideal parents and caregivers. What I am about to tell you, you must never speak of again unless to me. My wife, Innara, is to bare twins. We fear for the lives of our children so we have come to ask if you will take on the care of our baby girl when she is born. She will be as your own child. We will supply you with funds to maintain her each year so you should not worry about that. I will give you a week to consider it and return to hear your answer. Do you understand?"

Eliza gasped at the news and looked to her husband. "Oh my! Benjamin, the Lord has answered our only prayer for a baby girl! It may not be in the way we wished, but Yes! We accept!" The woman was overjoyed and hugged the surprised king.

"Thank you." He replied. "I cannot begin to show you how grateful my wife and I are. We will keep in contact, but for now I must go." Mitus laid a bag of gold coins down before the couple. "Please take this to accept my appreciation."

As the king left the cottage, he felt assured that this was the right choice for his baby girl. The right choice isn't always the easy choice he decided, as he encountered the pain of loss that is to come.