Prince Nicholas
"Well, Your Royal Highness, we have arrived," Julie beamed proudly, gesturing to the place in front of us as if she were introducing me to a mine of glittering gold.
Men were carrying what seemed like firewood towards the town square, with beads of perspiration trickling down their foreheads. Women were gathered in small groups and were holding boxes of food, conversing and giggling with each other, while their small children were running about all around us.
Squeals and laughter saturated the air, and they gradually and gently relaxed my nerves. A peaceful, lazy atmosphere enveloped us, one that I found I had quite missed since I had left Louvre.
"The village?" I looked around, "what are we doing here? The people do not like me." I was most saddened by that fact.
"That is why I brought you here. To change that dislike," she answered simply, "come with me." She skipped towards the groups of women, beckoning me to follow her.
"Jules, my word!" one of them cried out upon noticing her, and almost instantly, she was pulled for a round of hugs.
"Oh, how we have missed you, child!"
"Did it not occur to you to come visit us?"
"We heard you had accompanied His Royal Highness to Tessensohn, but we did not see you today when he came to the village!"
"What a wonderful young woman you have grown into, my dear! I still remember you as a young 'un, when you used to run around here with your dagger!"
Cries of happiness shot through the air thus, as I gazed at the scene before me in amusement. Each of the women, old and young, was determined to hug Julie at least once, and the poor woman was almost choking for air.
I wondered absent-mindedly about how they knew her so well. Did she come to Tessensohn often?
She could hardly tolerate Lady Olivia as it was.
"Who is that dashing young man you have brought with you? Is he your suitor? Introduce him to us, dear, he looks rather shy standing there all alone."
That particular question returned me to reality, just in time to see Julie's cheeks flame bright red in embarrassment.
"Nay, nay, Miss Florence," she hastily corrected the woman who had asked that question, "do you not recognise him? This is His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Nicholas."
All of them turned around to stare at me, stumbling back in shock and horror, as they hurried to curtsey to me.
"What is he doing here?" one of them sucked in a sharp breath, almost terrified.
"He looks so normal," the woman apparently named Miss Florence stammered, "none of the high-handedness we saw in him this morning."
Julie gestured at me to say something, and then pointed to her heart discreetly. Assure them of what you want. Speak from your heart this time.
"I do not know what you must think of me at this moment," I began hesitantly, "mayhap the Duke has emphasised to you all that I expect complete obedience and reverence from you. Or mayhap you formed such an opinion from what you have heard of me before my arrival."
I took a deep breath. "I want you to know that I am not a dictator, and neither am I fond of asserting my authority where it is not necessary. Ido not know what sort of first impression I created on you, but I do know that thismorning did not proceed the way I had imagined. Believe me, sowing resentmentand fear of the monarchy in your midst is the last thing I want to do."
There was silence as they listened to me with neutral masks. Some of the men who were carrying the firewood had also stopped to listen to me.
"I have spent almost ten years overseas, and I will admit, very honestly, that I do not know my own home country and my people as well as I should. It is why I embarked on this Potential Quest in the first place. At this point of time, finding a bride is not as important to me as learning about my people, and their way of life." I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts.
"I want to understand your customs, your views, your beliefs, your needs so that I can learn to become the sort of leader, the sort of King that you deserve to lead you into the future. All of you make up this country, and I do not disregard the fact that I would be nothing without you all."
"Therefore, please help me to help you. Your support would mean the world to me," I poured out all that I had wanted to tell them this morning.
By this time, the whole village had gathered in front of me to listen. I glanced at Julie, whose hazel brown eyes were shining.
Did I do well? I asked her silently.
I need not have worried. The crowd burst into loud applause, cheers and whistles, creating a celebratory mood that came entirely from their hearts, and not from the orders that Lord Tessensohn had sent beforehand.
I bowed, beaming at them until my cheeks hurt.
"You spoke very well, Sire," an elderly man stepped forward and bowed to me, "I am Chief Dupree, the Village Head."
"It is an honour to meet you, Sir," I answered fervently.
Chief Dupree inclined his head, and then held up his hands for silence among the villagers.
He was obeyed at once. "My dear people," he announced in a crackly voice, "you have all heard what His Royal Highness had to say. Now, shall we welcome him to Tessensohn properly, and invite him to our bonfire tonight?"
The response was thunderous. "Aye!"
"We have a bonfire at the beginning of every month at the town square, Your Royal Highness," Chief Dupree explained to me in a lower tone, smiling, "and we would be honoured indeed if you could attend."
"I would love to, Sir, thank you," I nodded, "the Lady Knight and I will follow you." I gestured to Julie, who was striding towards us.
"Ah, Jules! It has been a long time," Chief Dupree was surprised, "it is good to see you, my dear. Any chance that we might see you performing with the magicians tonight?" His eyes twinkled, as he touched her head briefly as a form of blessing.
My eyes grew round, as I mouthed at her. Magicians?
She grew pink, and nudged me to stay silent. "Nay, nay, those days are far behind me," she answered hastily, "and in any case, I am simply His Royal Highness' companion and guard tonight, nothing more."
Chief Dupree gazed between the both of us for a moment, his dim, aged blue irises softening. "Well, it is a large village," he remarked gently, "hewill certainly be lost without you."
On that strange note, he beckoned the villagers to follow him towards the town square.
"Whatever in the world was that about?" I queried, mystified.
Julie stared after him as well, her forehead creasing. "I know not, but do not trouble yourself over it. He is always like this. Let us go!" she waved it off, gesturing me to continue walking, "Tessensohn bonfires are always such a good time."
"How does everyone here know you so well?" I asked her, as we weaved through the crowds towards the town square.
She sighed heavily, as if she were reluctant to answer me. "Lady Françoise is a very good friend of my Tante Rosanna," she shot me a wry smile, "whenever Papa handed me over to her for the summer, she brought me here with her whole family, to Tessensohn. But Lady Olivia, my cousin sister Tess and I did not get along very well, so I spent most of my time idling away in the village, away from the Manor." Her countenance darkened.
"I see," I nodded, sensing that she did not want to elaborate on the subject, "come, let us get a good seat beside the fire. I do not wish to freeze, especially since we have not brought any coats with us."
"If you want a good seat, then you had better make haste, Your Royal Highness," she rolled her eyes, and proceeded to grab my arm in a vice grip to pull me along with her.
She had an advantage of being small. She could weave her way effortlessly through the horde of people, and soon enough, we reached the great roaring fire at the town square, which was larger than any of the fires I had seen before.
***
The Lady Knight
Monrique, Monrique, a lion's country -
of valour, kindness and courage.
You are our favourite home, our dearest
treasure, our highest pride and honour.
Rich are your wildlife and woods and fields,
Awe-inspiring are your lakes and seas,
Warm are your summers and the hearts of
your people: Together we will stand
and defend you to the end of time.
Some of the villagers had picked up their lutes to pluck the strings to the national anthem of Monrique, as the whole village sang together. The Prince's rich baritone was louder and more in tune than the rest of theirs.
I smiled, munching on a sweetmeat, as I watched and heard him sing our country's anthem with pride and joy.
The menfolk had been taking turns to sing country songs all evening, as we all feasted on roasted corn and sweetmeats for supper by the fire. As I had expected, the Prince had eagerly demanded that they teach him how to sing all the songs, and they had happily obliged.
At the moment, he was howling with happiness along with them, with his arms around their necks, swaying from side to side as if they had been friends forever.
Nay, he was not howling, but the rest of them most definitely were. He, on the other hand, had a beautiful singing voice that I would have been quite happy listening to all evening.
I would never admit that out loud, of course.
Unfortunately, like all good things did, the anthem came to an end, and the wild applause sounded again.
"Ye sing real good, Ye Royal Highness," one of the villagers, who was playing the lute, put it down and grinned widely, "as good as Beauchamp yonder, I reckon, when he lived."
He jerked a thumb to point to one of the two volcanoes behind him in the distance.
"When he lived?" the Prince was confused, "but...that is a volcano."
The villagers burst into laughter at that, as the Prince looked about him, bemused, before his eyes fell on me. He raised an eyebrow down at me, and that was when I realised that I was laughing along with the villagers.
"They have their own stories regarding the volcanoes," I explained, chuckling, "and one of them is that Mount Beauchamp and Mount Elizabeth were once people in another lifetime."
"Soulmates, my dear Jules," Chief Dupree corrected me, his blue eyes twinkling impishly for some reason, "they were both soulmates in another lifetime."
At times, he truly unnerved me. He was a gentle, kindly old man, but at times, he would offer me that smile, as if he knew something that I did not.
"I would very much like to hear that story, Chief Dupree," the Prince sat down beside me on the log, seeming quite intrigued.
As he had earlier that evening, Chief Dupree stared between the both of us and smiled mysteriously again.
"Everyone, silence," he called out, "the Prince here has requested the story of Prince Beauchamp and the Dame Elizabeth."
The villagers quietened down at once, excited to hear the same story that had been repeated over and over again at almost every other bonfire, but was never tiresome.
"Once upon a time, here in Tessensohn," he began in a faraway voice, "there were no mines, but fields. Fields so green, so fresh. Trees bearing every fruit of every taste, shape and size. Flowers of every colour and fragrance in bloom all year long. There was never any famine, drought or any form of gloom. The whole duchy was always so beautiful, so happy, so carefree, that you could not possibly imagine it now." His words painted a picture of the very Garden of Eden itself.
"In this beautiful duchy lived a young farmer and his wife. Day and night, they worked ceaselessly in the fields. Sick or hale, they would always work for the sake of their family. They were young, and they liked to work."
"One evening, a thunderstorm occurred in the area when they were ploughing the fields. It wreaked the fields, the forests, the trees, leaving nothing but destruction and fires behind. The rest of the farmers hurried away to find shelter from the storm, but the couple were not as fast, for the young farmer's pregnant wife had just gone into labour."
"Amidst the raging storm, the fires, the howling winds, she gave birth to a baby girl. Unlike most babies, the moment this child touched the Earth, she laughed. At the first note of her laughter, the thunderstorm ceased at once. The fires died down, the crops grew back, the trees replenished, and the forest recovered."
"Her parents were astounded, as were the farmers who were watching. They all felt that the child was a miracle, their saviour who saved their livelihood and their lives from ruin from the thunderstorm. A clear sign of the Lord's satisfaction. Thus, they named her Elizabeth."
I turned to glance at the Prince, who was listening to Chief Dupree, spell-bound.
"Little Elizabeth grew up to be a beautiful young woman, inside and out. She cared very much for the well-being of her fellow villagers. She aided the farmers on the fields in every way she could, tended to the sick and poor without reservations, and had vowed that she would never deny those who came to her for help."
"Eventually, she became famous far and wide around the country, not only for her heart, but also for her beauty. Inevitably, word of her reached the Crown Prince of Monrique at that time, Prince Beauchamp." Chief Dupree looked around at us gravely.
"It is always the Crown Prince who brings problems to the headstrong village wenches in folklore," I teased, breaking the unearthly silence as I smirked at the Prince beside me.
The villagers burst into laughter, and the Prince joined them good-naturedly.
"Well, all Crown Princes are devilishly good-looking," the Prince smirked back at me, "and of course, I am better looking than them all."
I snorted loudly. As if I had not heard that before.
"Careful now, Your Royal Highness," I rolled my eyes sarcastically, "or that head might grow bigger than the circumference of your crown."
The Prince merely shook his head at me, still grinning, as he motioned Chief Dupree, who had been watching us with amusement himself, to continue with the story.
"Well, Prince Beauchamp wanted to meet this mysterious woman whom everyone seemed to sing praises of," Chief Dupree nodded, beaming, "and so he came to Tessensohn, in disguise as a pauper, and went straight to her humble home. Elizabeth opened her door, and was quite surprised to find a very young, very good looking pauper at her doorstep."
"However, she was able to look past the disguise and recognise the Crown Prince for who he was. She had heard that he was curious to meet her, and she knew at once why he had come."
"Prince Beauchamp, on the other hand, was completely overwhelmed by her beauty. The people's words, his ministers' reports had not done her enough justice. He fell in love with her on first sight, but he still wanted to know her more as a person first."
"He requested her to allow him to serve the villagers by her side, and despite knowing who he was, she accepted. He watched her as she slaved in the fields right alongside the menfolk, he watched her as she tenderly tended to even the most grotesquely sick, elderly folks and injured animals, he watched her dispense fair judgements to quarrelling parties, he watched her as she spread happiness all around the village."
"She, in turn, watched him aid her in all these without a word of disgust or complaint. His love and awe for her only grew day by day, as did hers for him. Soon enough, he revealed his true self to her and asked to court her. With her parents' consent, she accepted willingly. The whole village celebrated."
"News of his son's courtship reached the old King. Now, the King had wanted his son to marry a wealthy aristocrat Lady, or a neighbouring country's Princess, and he was not very happy with this courtship. When Prince Beauchamp returned to the Castle with Elizabeth to introduce her to his father, the King tried many a time to threaten him, blackmail him, dissuade him from marrying her — but Prince Beauchamp loved Elizabeth too much to let her go. He stayed strong in his resolve, and he refused to heed his father's threats. Elizabeth, in the meanwhile, was always loving and kind towards her father-in-law-to-be, despite his cold demeanour."
"The King knew he had to do something. He could not stand the thought of a pauper becoming a Queen Consort in the future. It drove him to insanity all day, and it kept him awake at night. He was furious that his son would disobey him thus. His pride and ego was wounded beyond repair, and he was vengeful. He waited for the right opportunity to be rid of the sweet Elizabeth, who had already captured the hearts of the people of Monrique and the Castle staff by then."
"One night, after Prince Beauchamp had proposed marriage to her in the gardens and left her to bring a glass of water for her from the Castle, the King advanced towards Elizabeth with a knife. Before the poor girl could try and defend herself, he stabbed her repeatedly until she was almost dying, and quietly crept away when he heard his son approaching once more. Rain clouds began to gather, lightning flashed repeatedly, and thunder rumbled across the skies, exactly like the thunderstorm that had occurred when she was first born."
"Prince Beauchamp wept with rage and bitterness at her side and watched helplessly as life slowly ebbed out of her. He had no doubt as to who the murderer was, but yet, he was too distraught with grief to try and avenge her death."
"Every night after her demise, he would sit on his windowsill and sing a slow, sad melody into the night — the very lullaby he had composed for her when he had courted her. He shut himself up in his chambers, and despite all attempts by his father and the Castle staff, he would not come outside. Hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks. Eventually, knowing that he cannot bear to live without her, he grabbed the same knife that his father had used to kill Elizabeth, and took his own life with it."
"But death had given Prince Beauchamp and Elizabeth what life could not. Death allowed their souls reside in the volcanoes of Tessensohn, right beside the fields — where Elizabeth was first born."
"They are now together for all eternity as the only pair of volcanoes in Monrique, erupting every now and then to punish the King who had cared nothing for his son's happiness, but only for his power and the throne. Every time they erupt, they always erupt together. If one listened hard enough, he can even hear Prince Beauchamp gently singing a melody to his beloved during the eruptions."
On that grave note, Chief Dupree bowed his head, as a heavy silence reigned long after those words had been spoken.
"That is so sad," the Prince whispered, looking quite distraught himself, "to think I might have been descended from that horrible King!"
"It is only folklore, Your Royal Highness," I reminded him, amused, "it is not real."
"It is still very sad," he insisted, poking the last of his roasted corn moodily into the fire.
"I think so too," Miss Florence spoke from across the fire, sobbing into her hands, "I have heard this story so many times, yet, I cry every time I hear it." She wiped her tears on her sleeve, as her two daughters hugged her and rubbed her shoulders sympathetically.
"There, there, Miss Florence," Chief Dupree handed her a hanky, "Elizabeth and Beauchamp are happy now."
I chuckled as Miss Florence sneezed loudly into the hanky, my eyes coincidentally falling on my timepiece. When I saw that it was almost midnight, I jumped in shock.
The ball at the Manor was ending soon! The Tessensohn family could go to the Prince's bedchambers to check on the Prince any minute now.
"Chief Dupree, I do not wish to be rude, but the Prince and I need to leave right away," I stood up apologetically, hauling the Prince to his feet by his collar, "we came here without the Duke's knowledge, and the ball is nearly ending. We cannot afford to get caught, else the Tessensohn family would make our lives a misery herein forth. May we be excused?"
The villagers' expressions darkened at the mention of the Tessensohn family, as did the Prince's.
"Of course you may be excused," Chief Dupree smiled sadly, "none of us want you to get into any trouble. Having you both here at our bonfire was an immense joy and honour, and we hope to see you again."
The Prince broke into a genuine smile. "The pleasure and honour are all ours," he answered fervently, "I, especially, have not enjoyed myself more. Thank you very much for a wonderful evening today. I enjoyed the country songs the most." He grinned at the men who had sung along with him and bowed, earning a round of applause again.
While shouting our final farewells, we grabbed our lanterns and hurried along the long road to the Manor, waving widely until the people became blurry, distant figures.
"We need to walk faster, Your Royal Highness," I urged him, "it is ten to midnight."
The Prince made no move to make haste. "It is not very far, worry not. We can make it to the Manor in time. In any case," he sighed with dread, "must we truly return to Tessensohn Manor, Julie?" He kicked a piece of ice in our pathway as he shoved his hands in his pockets, scowling.
I matched his pace reluctantly. "What do you suggest? Stay with the villagers for the week?"
"I, for one, certainly would not mind that alternative," he muttered.
It was then that I decided that this time was as good as any to speak to him about something. "Your Royal Highness, there is a reason why I brought you to the village this evening," I began, gazing at him with all seriousness, "can you tell the difference between this morning and now when you interacted with the villagers?"
"They feel like friends," he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, "they felt like foreigners this morning, but now, they feel like friends."
"Good," I smiled, satisfied, "this is what I wanted to prove to you. Your own people should never feel like foreigners to you. If they do, then it means that there is something wrong with the way you are serving them. Indeed, this morning, your approach was all wrong - starting with your attire."
"By wearing ermine and your ceremonial crown on a trip that required you to come down to the villagers' level to learn more about them, you gave them the impression that you were here to lord it over them with your authority and position. That you were trying to force your power on them, like Lord Tessensohn has been doing for many years," I explained, "do you know that the Duke, despite having been a Duke for all these years, does not know, or even bother to learn anything about their mining activities, with the exception of how much money they bring the duchy?"
"I found out this morning," he agreed dryly, and paused for a moment when a thought came to mind, "Julie, before breakfast today, when you told me I needed to be able to see the bigger portrait in this duchy..."
I was surprised he had remembered. "Aye, Sire, I was alluding to this."
"I, too, clearly have much to learn," he blew a breath through his lips.
A sad smile unfurled on my lips. "That is good. As a leader, as a future King, you need to be willing to learn about your people, constantly," I answered quietly, "and be willing to understand them, understand what is best for them and serve the kingdom only for them - and not for the lands, power, money, and influence that the position brings. There is no room for such personal desires when you have so many lives depending on you."
He remained silent for a long while, staring at me with a mixture of surprise and respect.
"You truly have grown up, Julie," he managed a small smile eventually, "where is the deranged little girl who loved to remind me at every possible turn of what a horrible King I would make?"
I looked away, embarrassed. "Well, you would make a horrible King," I muttered, "if you look to people like Lord Tessensohn for guidance in this matter. However, I am not saying that you should listen to me, either. I know that I am only a Knight and I do not have any right to say such things to you -"
"Nay, nay, I do not mind. You are absolutely right in what you are saying, and you are right to say them with all honesty in the interest of our country," he stopped me, shooting me a reassuring smile, "with that said, there is one thing that I can promise you, Julie."
"Yes?"
His grey eyes took on a determined edge. "I will never, ever be a leader like Lord Tessensohn."