Hi guys,
Thanks for pressing on this little story of mine and giving it a go. Just a friendly reminder that this story is set in medieval times, yet it isn't all that historically accurate due to it begin a fictional piece of work, but it will have some historical accurate ideas involved. Either way if I have messed up some facts or their is some information that I have got wrong, please don't hesitate to shoot me a message or use the comment section, because I do read them all, and I'll fix it up right away. Hope you like it :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
King Simon's POV-
Silence. It left a dull ring echoing deep in my ears, but it was a blissfully relaxing and comforting thing to be embraced by every once in a while...
...especially with my family...
I was sitting back comfortably in the wooden dining chair, my eyes closed as I rested, just waiting. The dining table stretched out in front of me, adorn with elaborate china and silverware. Just like me, they were waiting patiently.
I sat at the head of the table; three seats sat both side of me, and one directly opposite at the other end of the sleek slab of mahogany wood. That chair had been owned by my wives over the years, and now it was left empty, with no plate or silverware occupying it. The thought almost made me sigh.
I will admit, I am a lonely man, but my previous luck with wives and long term relationships prevented me from searching for another bride. I would only be lining myself up for heartache again.
I had given up after my last wife, Anne, had passed; the times have started to take its effect on me. I'm not as young as I used to be, and I'm not getting any younger.
That's why I must make this announcement to the boys.
I wonder how much longer they will b-...
The church's chime of its bell in the main square just outside the palace gates rung loudly, sounding throughout the valley, interrupting my thoughts. The sound of five pairs of heavy footsteps, accompanied by shrills of laughter, echoed through the halls soon after. I sighed, opening my eyes. The time for rest and relaxation was over.
Soon enough the boys bounded down the stairs, laughing, and playfully shoving each other. Their leather shoes slapped harshly against marble tiles, as they clumsily bustled their way into the room. I smiled inwardly, trying not to laugh at the childish banter.
After the play fighting was completed, they took their usual seats, and room fell silent again. The five of them look at me eagerly, so I clapped my hands twice loudly, and kitchen servants, hurried into the room with silver platters of breakfast foods.
It smelt deliciously appetizing, like always, and I took in the wonderful aroma as my platter was placed in front of me.
"Thank you, Joshua." (Fun Fact: Joshua is 1D drummer in real life.) I smiled at the young boy who brought me my food. He smiled back, and bowed, respectfully. "Please pass on a good word to Fredrick in the kitchen. The food is brilliant."
Joshua nodded quickly, before moving around the room straightening and tidying as he went. "You don't have to do that, my boy. You may join us if you like."
Joshua smiles brightly, flashing his teeth. " I will pass on your offer, your Majesty." He politely declines. "It is my day for washing duty, sir."
Simon nods dismissively, and the young man continues cleaning before quickly hurrying out of the room following the other servants. I shook my head appreciatively at the now disappeared presence of the young man.
I turned to my sons, and they had already started devouring their food. So I began my own, savouring the exquisite taste in my mouth.
-
I couldn't eat another bite, and yet there was so much untouched food left over. The five boys we rubbing their stomachs, trying to digest the heaping amount they had eaten. Even Niall was having trouble, and he's renowned for having a bottomless stomach. Light conversations were shared between the six of us, but we were too developed in our food to keep a continuous flow.
I clapped my hands twice, again, and the same servants came into the room once we were all done.
"Please, please, eat the food that hasn't been touched it would only go to waste otherwise. You shall have a feast." I chuckled, and my workers thanked me kindly.
When the table was cleared, and the door to the room swung shut, Liam, my most mature son, spoke up.
"Ever thought that maybe they cook so much food so that there's always food for themselves?" he mentioned curiously.
I pulled a smirk. "Liam, when you've been served by the same people since your first moments in this castle, you begin to see not servants, but family, and naturally, I only want what's best for my family, and if it means ordering extra food, because I know we won't eat it, then so be it."
"That is quiet poetic of you, father." Zayn smiled. My son Zayn is a very quiet and calculating young man. He is very creative and handsome, much like all my sons.
More time passed as my sons began speaking amongst themselves. I had be uncharacteristically quiet this morning, and I knew it was only because I was putting off the inevitable. I sighed. I had kept this announcement in for too long. It was time to tell the boys.
"My sons," I had their full attention with the change of tone in my voice. "As you know there is a time in every King's life where he must step down from the throne and let one of his sons take over the crown, but that can only be done if that son has already found their queen and is married." I paused, taking a breath. I fidgeted with my hands under the table as I continued to talk. "I believe it's time the five of you started looking for your queens if you wish to inherit the monarchy." I gulped when I finished my speech, and looked around the table trying to read each of my boy's expressions.
"Father, the five of us have been looking for years." said Harry, my youngest, with brown curly hair, and dimples.
He's is so much like his mother.
I mentally sighed with relief, and let out a small stutter, slightly impressed. "Well then. Have any of you chosen? There are lots of beautiful women in this kingdom."
"Yes there is, but there's a problem, Father." said my eldest and least mature son, Louis.
"We've all have fallen in love with the same girl." explained Niall. He was my second youngest son, and he had a very special place in my heart. Niall different from his brothers. They all had dark hair, and were quite tall, but Niall has pale blonde hair, with startling blue eyes.
My mouth fell open. "You all are in love with one girl?" The boys nodded uneasily, fidgeting in their seats. I could tell this subject had caused fights within the tightly wound friendship between the brothers but I didn't want to change the subject. "How can this be?" I asked, feeling slightly unsure of how to govern the situation.
All of Simon's sons were different from one another individually. They had differing traits that all caused them to get along impeccably well, but it shocked me when they all had the same opinion on a female.
"Wait until you see her, father." Louis beamed, a light dancing behind his radiant eyes.
I frowned slightly to myself. "Well who is she?" I asked.
"The florists daughter." the five of them answered in sync.
I sat back in my seat, trying to picture the small girl that I had met many year earlier. "I would like to meet her."
"I shall ask her father for her hand in marriage to one of you boys. Then I'll invite her to the castle, and she shall stay here for a period of time where the five of you will be able to battle fm for her affection. Later if there is any, I will ask her if her feeling extend to any one of you, and then you can be hers." I finalized in triumphantly. I was excited, to admit truthfully. Standing up from table, I stalked out of the room, planning things in my head.
-
Beka's POV-
It was a normal spring morning; a day like no other. My sleep had been evaded by the churches toll and I groaned quietly before dragging myself off the mattress lying on the floor in the corner of the room. I got dressed, into a gown that was too big for me, and I sighed looking into the reflection of the cracked mirror behind the old, splintering wooden door. I desperately wanted to be like the other girls in the kingdom. They all had their own gowns and dresses. Mine, were my mother's hand-me-downs.
My family couldn't exactly afford new clothes for me and my two brothers, one older and one younger. Sure my family made a steady income, but being the kingdoms florists wasn't exactly the most necessary job around.
I passed my mother in the kitchen, and quietly said goodbye to her, trying not to wake my brothers who were sleeping peacefully in the room that the three of us shared. I pulled on my pair of black leather shoes that sat outside the door before I began to make my way from the house.
The light breeze, carried the sweet smell of wild flowers across the town, as I walked through the centre square towards the forest, holding my basket in one hand, and a piece of bread in the other.
While nibbling on the bread, my stomach gave a satisfied groan. I hadn't eaten the previous night because mother had made us a large launch. I wasn't in any hurry to get to my destination, so I took in the familiar sights of the London town in. All my life my family had been a well known presence in the eyes of the public. Even though we didn't have a lot of money to our name, we still tried to help those in need, and word of my family's generosity spread quickly, leading towards us having several friends. Passing through the cobblestone streets, I said my good mornings to different townspeople who waved at me.
The town limit was behind me as I trudged through the open fields with the morning sun lazily warming my back through my clothes. The scent of wildflowers was growing stronger me stronger and the borders of the forest came closer.
I did this every morning when spring time came around. It was my job to collect wildflowers and take them back to my father at his store.
As much as I would like some help from my brothers, I didn't really mind being alone. I found it peaceful, especially because there was never a silence while I was amongst the trees. The chirping of birds and the padding of tiny animal feet usually filled the silence.
I love the spring time. It was the time for renewal. Winter was when the old things died, and spring was for rebirth.
I took my shoes off, and left them under a tree at the forest entrance. I softly stepped through the soft grass, with the birds chirping, and the light breeze sweeping through the trees ruffling my long hair. The forest was welcoming me warmly. I smiled to myself, and began my search for wildflowers.
-
I had been in the forest for about an hour, and my basket was overflowing. I was about to make my way back to town, when there was movement in the blue berry bush to my right. I laughed when I saw a familiar white cotton-ball tail, stained blue by the berries.
The blue eyed rabbit hopped his way into my view, coming closer to me. His fur, much like his tall, was stained from the berries, and it have the rabbit a very peculiar look. I patted his soft white fur, hesitantly, trying not to have the stain transferred to my skin, but, much to my dismay, he nuzzled into my hand. I groaned humorously.
"I was wondering when you were going to appear Chester." I said absentmindedly.
Chester tilted his head, and looked somewhere behind him. I looked up from the blue rabbit to where he was looking, and gasped. In the middle of a circular meadow stood the most beautiful flower I had ever seen. I had never seen one like it before.
Leaving Chester by the blue berry bush, I stood from my crouch, and made my way over to the almost circular clearing that surrounded the flower.
Getting on all fours, I dug the flower out of the ground, roots and all, and carefully placed it onto the top of the basket.
"Thank you Chester." I beamed, when he bounced his way over to me again. I gave him an ear scratch, not really caring about the mess on my skin. He made a satisfied noise in the back of his throat, and I told him to clean himself back up by the next time I saw him, and hopped back into the depths of the forest, his blue tail disappearing.
I stood and made my way back towards the town, feeling content. I stopped to put my shoes on at the base of the tree I had left them at, and sighed happily when I looked at the breathtaking view of the town.
The palace towered over the kingdom, like a fully grown adult to a young child. It's walls, made from marble, sparkled in the early morning sun; a feature you could only see from a distance. The people looked like ants from where I was sitting, and the roaming hills of the fields stretched on as far as the eye could see. I loved my home; there was none other like it.
I stood from the base of the tree and began my walk, back to civilisation.
-
I didn't take me long to reach my father's store, and he smiled when I pushed the front door open, the sound of the welcoming bell above began ringing lightly as the door opened. "Ah there you are, my dear. What took you so long?"
I walked over to his counter and placed my basket on top of it. "Chester appeared, so I stopped and had a chat with him. He had been in the blue berry bushes again, so he was stained blue."
My father chuckled, his hands placed flat on the counter top. He looked down at me with his warm eyes, and gentle smile on his lips. "Your imagination, Beka, never fails to surprise me. Your fantasies are very amusing."
Frowning, I huffed angrily. My father never believed me when I told him about my adventures that I had within the forests. In my simple terms, I defined my father as an adult, he had no imagination whatsoever, because he lost the faith in world, and faith was the only thing that drove me forward; gave me hope.
"They are not fantasies, Father!" I chastised in a hostile way, growing tired of this same argument each and every week. I spun on my heels, and stalked angrily towards the door.
"Beka wait!" I glanced at my father over my shoulder. He was cradling the flower that Chester had found, in his hands, like it would crumble to tiny bits if someone breathed on it. "Where did you get this?" He asked, marvelling over the flower.
"Chester helped me find it. I guess they aren't fantasies anymore are they, Father?" I said smugly, before opening the door, and slipping outside, into the street.
The cobblestone road had an endless flow of busy people outside my father's shop. I looked around me, uncertain if what to now. I had finished all of my chores yesterday.
Just to waste some time, I watched everybody go about their daily business, strolling casually along with my arms crossed behind my back.
Deciding to take the long way home, I passed the palace, down the end of the street, and saw the several girls my age, all jumping around the palace gates, screaming for King Simon's five sons. I found it amusing so I sat on the edge of the fountain.
After five minutes of watching the screaming girls trying to climb the gates, and faint from hyperventilating, the door to a balcony on the palace, opened and the five boys stepped outside, smiling and waving.
The screaming intensified dramatically, my ears started to ring, and I rolled my eyes. One of the girls collapsed in a heap, and her friend, who had tears in her eyes, was too preoccupied with the boys to care about girl on the ground. I didn't understand their utter commitment and love over these boys. Sure, the five princes were all very handsome, and knightly, but I didn't find obsessing over something that I would never obtain necessary . It looked exhausting. Like these girls wished, I knew that none of the five boys would ever love me.
I sighed, and stood, brushing some dirt off of my dress, straightening out the wrinkles that had formed from my daily activities.
I began realized the screaming was coming to a gradual stop, and I looked up confused. The girls had all turned away from the royal family, and were all facing me, with evil glares in their eyes.
I looked up to the balcony, and discovered the King had joined his sons, and the six of them were looking at me fondly. Prince Zayn raised a hand, and pointed towards me. I looked around me, and nobody was near my proximity. Zayn said something to his father, which looked like 'That's her.'
I was growing more and more nervous as the seconds passed, so I gave a shy smile, and gathered some of my dress skirt, hoping that I wouldn't trip on its exceptional length as I tried to make a quick escape, walking briskly out of the town square. Why did the princes look at me like that? I'm so confused...
-
I had spent my afternoon debating what the odd confrontation was about, but came up with nothing. I debated telling my mother, but then figured that it wasn't anything too important.
The sun had long set when my father came home from work. He was smiling brightly, and walked with an extra skip in his stride.
"Hasn't it been a lovely day, my love?" He asked my mother, giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. Mother and I shared a questioning glance. My father has never been so peppy when returning from work, usually he was quite frustrated with the day, muttering about how the townspeople didn't appreciate his work.
"You could say that. What has gotten you so happy?" Mother asked.
"Oh, just the most brilliant, most extraordinary thing in the world, this could change everything." He exaggerated
I stood from my position on the floor, next to the fireplace, and walked over and place a hand on Father's forehead. He didn't feel hot.
"Are you feeling okay? You haven't been sniffing the Tigerlillys again have you? You know your allergy to Tigerlillys give you hallucinations." I asked my voice filling with mock concern. My father gripped my wrist lightly, then laced his fingers in mine. He rolled his eyes at my sarcastic comment, and chuckled, so did my mother.
"Tigerlillys aren't in season, daughter, but neither was the Middlemist you brought into the shop this morning." He smirked.
"What is a Middlemist?" asked my older brother, Chance, joining the conversation in the main room of the house, Elijah, my youngest brother following behind quickly. I was about to ask the question myself. I had never heard of this breed of flower.
"Only the rarest flower known to man, it only blooms once a year, and yet, our sweet daughter found it in forest today!"
"I did?" I asked a little shocked. "What are you planning to do with the Middlemist Father?"
"Indeed. I thought about selling it. It defiantly would bring a great amount of wealth to our family, but because Beka was the one who found it, I thought I would make it her choice."
Everybody in the room turned to me, and I took a second to think my thoughts through.
"I think we need the wealth. If it really is worth a lot of money then we could move houses closer to the town center, and buy a better store for Father. We could even buy new clothing." I said in a daze, speaking more to myself, thinking aloud about the possibilities.
One thing was for certain, the Middlemist would be the answer to all our problems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Guys,
My first chapter guys! Yay! Tell me what you throught, any suggestions, what you think is going to happen next, i'll listen to anything. Hoped you liked it.
xoxo,
Beka