Prince Nicholas

By: Tienne A. Taylor

"Char…we must move quickly…now is our last chance…our only chance." he said. "Do you remember what you are to say?"

"Yes." she said as she nodded.

"Good girl," he said as he kissed her forehead. "Now go. I will follow shortly. Do you remember what we discussed?"

She nodded and set off out through the corridor as she tied her headdress. 'This is very wrong…why am I doing this…the punishment will be severe should we be discovered. I should turn back now. No…either way, life as I know it has come to a sudden end' she thought tearfully. 'I may as well take my chances with the King's guard…goodness knows going against Victor would be certain suicide. Besides, if we are successful I will be more powerful than anyone could possibly imagine. I will have lands more beautiful than any ever seen. The risk is great, but so is the ultimate reward.'

Char rounded the corner of the corridor to see two men standing guard in front of the Queen's chambers. She took a deep calming breath, lowered her head and made her way to them.

"What business have you here woman?" asked the larger of the two men.

"The nurse Bethia has sent me in her stead…she is ill and is unable to come to the Queen at this time. I have brought with me a note…" she handed them a folded piece of paper.

"It bears the seal of the Bishop." said the guard to the other.

"Let her pass." he said skeptically. "We've no time to argue." He reached behind him for the door and ushered Char in and quickly shut it behind her. Her heart pounded inside her chest so violently she could see it beating through the layers of clothing she wore. 'Be still', she told herself. 'It is too late to back out now. The time is here…it is the only tool to bring down the King.'

The Queen screamed out in pain. Char walked over to the bedside and removed her coverings. "I am Dana", she said. "I am the aide to the Nurse Bethia. She has taken ill and is not able to come."

The Queen looked to her lady in waiting Georgina in fright. Georgina patted her hand and wiped the Queen's face with a wet cloth in reassurance although she herself was rather wary of the woman. The Queen screamed again in pain.

"It is almost time," said Char to Georgina. "Quickly…where is the boiled water? Why did you wait so long to call for a nurse?"

"But there is none, miss. I've not had a chance to leave my lady's side. Why did you not prepare…is that not one of your duties…to bring the water? What is wrong with you? Have you never assisted with a birthing before?"

"That is enough of your questions. Are you going to fetch the water or not? The child is on its way with or without it and it is not safe for me to leave."

Georgina looked at the Queen and then back at the young woman standing before her. She did not trust this woman, not much more than a girl. There was something wrong here that she could not put her finger on, but something was very wrong. 'I cannot fail her majesty nor the royal child about to be born. I have no choice here…I must go.' she thought. "I will go…but if one single hair is out of place on her majesty's head when I return…or the child's for that matter…Hellfire will seem like a pleasant outing compared to what I shall do to you. Do we quite understand each other?" she said with so much passion Char backed away from the woman. She nodded eyes wide with fear.

Georgina left through the door and shut it snugly behind her. "Delford, make sure no one enters or exits this room until I return." she said to the smaller of the guards.

"Yes madam."

"There is something strange about that woman. There is something… Make quite sure. Lock the door if you must." she said as she hurried down the corridor.

"You can count on me madam," he hollered after the woman. "What are you waiting for you big oaf…you heard the woman…Lock the door." he bellowed.

Inside the room the child had already been born. "It is a boy," she said to the Queen.

Breathless, the Queen said, "May I hold him."

Char thought for a moment 'Victor should have already been here. What should I do?' then she remembered the vile. "Just a moment…let me clean him a bit." she said to the Queen. She reached into her pocket and located the vile. She opened it and poured the thick silvery liquid over the child's lips and watched it disappear working its way into his nose and mouth. Faster than she had imagined, the child went limp in her arms. His breathing slowed and then appeared to stop entirely. Quickly she turned to the Queen, "My lady, the child is dead."

"What? No! I…I just heard him cry. I saw him moving in your arms just now." the Queen sobbed. "Give him to me at once you stupid girl…What have you done to him?!"

"Yes your majesty." she laid the lifeless body in the Queens arms and watched on as she cried. 'I have committed the worst possible crime…I am now and forever shall be truly malevolent.' she thought to herself.

Georgina returned several moments later with the water. As she entered the room she saw the Queen rocking the bundle and sobbing uncontrollably. "What have you done?!" she accused the nurse.

"I have done nothing…the child…he was…he was stillborn. I did nothing."

Georgina went over to the Queen and took the lifeless child from her and examined his body. There didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. She must have been wrong about the woman as there was nothing to suggest foul play. She wrapped the child back up and looked to the nurse. "Take him out of here. I will tend to her majesty…Just take him away." she said as she turned her face.

Char opened the door where the two guards stopped her. "Where do you think you are taking that child." they both asked. Char looked at them fearfully.

"Let her pass. The child is dead." Georgina hollered her voice cracking from inside the room.

"Let me see the child." said Delford. He pulled the child from the woman and unwrapped the blanket. "Very well." he said quietly and handed the bundle back. "Carry on." he coughed and turned to head into the Queen's chambers.

Char could have sworn she had seen a tear in the guard's eye as he dismissed her. She shook the feeling and started on her way. As she rounded the corridor and began down the stone steps a hand reached out and grabbed her round her mouth.

"Quiet…shhh…it's me. Do you have the child?" he asked.

"Yes…here." she held the bundle out for him to see.

"Good…meet me at the cottage in the woods. We will revive him there. But you must hurry. We have little time. There is a carriage at the front gate waiting for you. The drivers name is Srapnod. He will take you there."

As quickly as she could she made her way through the castle to the front gate and hopped into the carriage. 'Finally,' she thought. 'This was all much easier than I had expected.' she smiled to herself. Curiosity getting the best of her she unwrapped the bundle. 'Curious,' she thought. 'Something so small could be so important.' She examined his tiny hands and feet. "Nicholas. I shall call you Nicholas." She smiled and held the little prince close to her.

Chapter One The Meeting

Nicholas stomped his way between the trees hacking away at the foliage with a stick. It was almost more than he could bear thinking of Gentry. His dear friend and adopted grandfather had died just three days earlier. He had been Nicholas' one saving grace with all of the years of sadness behind him.

With a mother who never loved him, and a father who bore him ill will, or so he thought. Nicholas had finally taken it upon himself to relieve them both of his presence. Two years earlier, just after his tenth birthday, he had set off to make a new life for himself. However, he hadn't planned on so many bumps in the road along the way.

He had found himself enjoying the freedom of the outdoors. Animals naturally flocked to him and he seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to edible foliage and herbology. He had learned quickly to avoid large groups of people, as he often felt as though someone had chalked his forehead with a sign that read "ROB ME PLEASE."

With Gentry's influence he had learned what people to stay away from and how to avoid such trouble. He had really fancied the old man and now missed him dearly. 'Strange,' he thought, 'I miss the old man more than I ever did Char or Victor.'

Since Gentry's untimely death, Nicholas had spent his days wandering without direction or influence. It seemed as though this had been the longest journey he had ever taken. Though he quite enjoyed being in the woods foraging for nuts and berries and being left with nothing but his innermost thoughts to guide him. At least that's what he told himself often to shelter him from the sting of the loss of his companion.

This day in particular he found himself in a part of the wood he had never been before. This area was dark and sinister looking with barren trees and dark colored rocks. As he investigated further he noticed that there were no animals of any kind in this place. Even the temperature was quite a bit cooler than the rest of the wood.

Then quite suddenly there was a magnificent wind that carried with it the most unusual scent of flowers and spices. Even though this was quite an eerie experience, Nicholas was not afraid. He was on the other hand considerably hungry. The sensible side of him said, "it is most definitely time to turn and run", but the hungry side said, "what's the harm, with a smell like that it can't be all that bad." In the end the hungry side won and his stomach and nose began to lead him deeper and deeper into the darkness of this place.

Deeper he trekked until he came upon a clearing. There he spied three tents, one large tent, with two smaller tents on either side. Just a few yards from the tents he saw four men standing around a fire roasting what appeared to be a huge boar. 'The smell is wonderful', he thought, and then he realized, 'you don't know if these people are friend or foe.' "Tis better to hide if you are wise," he remembered the old man say once. And he thought, 'He probably wouldn't have lived as long as he had if he had been wrong much.' So he decided to conceal himself behind a great boulder until it appeared to be safe.

As he sat behind the boulder breathing in the wonderful scent of the food cooking, his stomach began to growl. At first it was just a grumble, but then as it became more insistent the growling grew louder.

"Quiet…they'll hear us!!" he told it. Reluctantly his stomach obeyed its master. When he looked up, there stood surrounding him the four massive men from whom he had been hiding. Quick as lightning, they each snatched his arms and legs and began to carry him toward the largest of the tents.

"The sorceress would like a brief word, my lord" the smallest of the men stated in a deep voice. At that, the four men dropped him right on his back just inside of the tent. Outraged, and confused by his sudden, and well-executed capture, he searched for something to facilitate his escape or defense.

"Be not afraid. There is no need for weapons in this place," he heard a soft voice say. His hazel eyes quickly scanned the room for the body that housed the voice he had just heard. But there was none, so he concluded that it must have been his imagination.

"Come, little prince," he heard the voice say. As the words were spoken a womanly figure slowly appeared in a flowing blue gown ten feet in front of him.

"Be not afraid," she said and gestured toward a small round table sitting in the corner of the tent surrounded by pillows. "Come, eat, drink, and sit a spell with me."

Tentatively, Nicholas approached the table. There he saw laid before him were meats, cakes, and cookies of all kinds. 'I must be in heaven,' he thought. "What is this place?" he asked the figure.

She smiled gently, "You are safe here…please eat, drink, and I shall tell you a tale. You must be hungry after your long journey are you not?"

There was something kind and wholesome about the woman that put him at ease. But how did she know about his journey? How did she know he was hungry? Then he silently cursed his stomach for giving away his location.

The woman stifled a giggle and said, "I would have known where you were even had your belly not betrayed you. Now, please," she said as she gestured toward the table. The woman's laugh was positively intoxicating, which instantly put Nicholas at ease.

Now seated amongst the soft pillows, he had an opportunity to see her in the light. She was not the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but there was a mystical appearance about her. Her flowing blue gown matched the color of her eyes and appeared to be more a part of her moving with her as she gestured than a mere piece of fabric. Within her eyes, though, he saw only kindness and love. Finally, he resigned to eating and he took a few bites, then he quickly remembered his manners. "My name is Nicholas," he said as he stood and bowed, "and may I have the pleasure of your name, my lady?"

"I have many names, but you shall know me as Amber, Lady of the Light," she stated grandly. She stared at him silently for a moment memorizing the lines of his face and hands taking in his scent and presence.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance madam." He said and sat to resume eating. As he ate, he listened to Amber's tale.

"Once upon a time there lived a King. He was a great King with a great love for his people. One day an evil Sorcerer came to the King and asked for his help. He wanted this King to execute innocent people in his name. He told the King that if he did this he would reward him greatly with his service, money, and land. The King thought about this arrangement and whether or not he should do it. For he did desire more land and more money, and he could always use the service of others. But the one thing that vexed him was that he would have to execute these innocent men to acquire these things. At that moment he refused to have any part in the arrangement and banished the Sorcerer from the kingdom forever. The sorcerer swore revenge on the King and told him that the price for his refusal would be more than he could imagine."

"What did the King do?" he asked thoroughly immersed in the tale.

"The King ignored the Sorcerer swearing that no magic he could do would ever penetrate the walls of his castle. Immediately he went to his wife. He loved her dearly and she was pregnant with their first child. He explained the situation to her and forbade her from leaving the castle walls. At first she objected as she did not see what this Sorcerer had to do with her. But as she began to notice how much it bothered her husband, she decided she would save her arguments for a more worthy cause and agreed to his request."

"What does that mean…'a more worthy cause'?" he interrupted.

"It means that the argument they were having was not as important to her as it was to her husband. That she will wait until there is an argument that is more important to her. A compromise." she explained. "Do you know what a compromise is?"

"It is when you let the other person have their way or when you talk about what you want and find something you can both agree on?"

"Yes. Well the Queen decided to compromise with the King on this issue. Several weeks later the Queen began to have birthing pains. She called for her nurse, but another woman came in her stead. The Queen was frightened. She did not understand why her own nurse did not come. When the child was born, he did not live, or so the people thought. The nurse took the child's body and allowed the Queen to morn the loss privately. When the King was told of his child's death he fell into deep despair. It was then that the castle was invaded. The King was murdered along with the Queen. Many members of the royal family were scattered across the lands in an attempt to evade persecution." she stopped. "Do you understand what persecution is?" Nicholas shook his head. "It is when someone is judged for a crime without a court or unfairly."

"Oh. I understand."

"Several years passed with the people becoming more and more hopeless. They feared the wrath of the Enchantress and her conspirators the Thieves of Delanburgh. Then one day there was word of the child that had died. The nurse had kidnapped the child and attempted to raise him as her own without love nor comfort nor kindness. The child was sorrowful, but still he lived. So the good persons of the kingdom began to search for him. They searched high and low near and far until finally they discovered him."

"What happened when he was discovered?" he asked curiously with a mouth full of food.

"The end of my story is better left for another time. Now rest, for tomorrow you have and even longer journey ahead of you." At that she waved her hand in front of his eyes before he had an opportunity to argue or question her. She softly caressed his brow and whispered, "Sleep my prince, for tomorrow you will discover your destiny."

The next morning when he woke, Nicholas wearily stretched his arms and yawned. As he roused himself, he tossed back the heavy furs that had been laid over him. It was then that he noticed that he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. He quickly covered himself and scanned the room for his clothes. They were nowhere to be found, but there were some clothes lying neatly folded on a trunk with a note on top. He wrapped the furs around him and walked to the trunk. He picked up the note and read:

Please take these clothes

And wear them well.

Inside this trunk you will find my

Dearest, and most precious treasure.

May they keep you safe

In dark times.

With much love,

Amber

'You would think she would have at least left my shoes,' he thought. 'Dare I open the trunk? What if it's a trick?' he thought uneasily. 'What are you dragging on about…she would never do such a thing…would she?' Finally, with his curiosity getting the better of him, slowly he opened the trunk. As he opened it a golden glow began to emanate from within. When he looked inside, it was as good as finding buried treasure. There set before him was chain mail, greaves, leather boots and a golden shield with a unicorn carved on the front. Quickly, he reached in and grabbed all of the items and put them on. 'I must look like a knight,' he thought. I must go and thank her. With that, Nicholas left off to find the Sorceress.

As he stepped outside, he noticed the intense odor of fresh cooked meats. I can't be that lucky, can I? He continued out and headed in the direction of the lovely smell. When he found it, there was no one to be found, but a small table of food. As he walked closer to the table, he noticed a mist hovering above it. 'Strange', he thought, but he progressed ever closer to it. When he was almost upon it, the mist began to move and shape itself.

"You are hungry this day I hope," said Amber as she straightened her dress. Shape shifting could be a bit frazzling at times, but it was the only option she had in times like these.

"Yes, madam. Thank you for all you have given to me…but…what have I done to deserve such magnificent gifts?"

"It is not what you have done, as much as what you will do. I must ask you to do a task for me. But first eat and have your fill."

This was a task he didn't need any more prompting to fulfill. He sat and quickly grabbed several pieces of the freshly cooked pork. As he ate, she began to speak.

"There are many problems in this country, my lord. The people are terrified, and they are starving for leadership. One of the causes of these fears is the Thieves of Delanburgh. I must ask you, will you help us to remove these thieves from this country?"

"What can I do? I'm just a boy. I have no weapon, and no army."

"You are more than a mere boy, but should you need a weapon, I shall provide you with one."

At that moment the table began to shake uncontrollably and groan horribly. Then suddenly, there before him one of the silver platters transformed into the most beautiful sword he had ever seen. It was the perfect size for him and when he lifted it, it was lighter than his shirt.

"Take this sword, and bring justice to these lands." The sorceress noticed the doubtful look on the boys face. "Is there something wrong my lord?" she asked smiling inside.

"No, madam. Thank you so much for all of the magnificent gifts you have given to me."

"You will need this." And she handed him a belt with a sheath. "Use this sword wisely, and only when necessary. This sword carries with it some of my magic to guide you. There will be dire consequences should you disobey me. Only a wicked creature does harm without cause."

"Yes, my lady." He said.

"You shall find the thieves due east from here, past the mountains of Retock. When you arrive in Delanburgh, look for a young man named Ski. Ski is a descendant of a knight of the days of old. He will be expecting you and will help you with your endeavors. After you have done my bidding, return to this place and you shall receive a great reward. Now go and may luck be on your side."

"Yes, my lady." And she disappeared along with the food and the tents. 'What a strange day this has started out to be,' he thought. I must be on my way.

So off he set toward the mountains of Retock headed on the beginning of what already appeared to be the most difficult journey of his life.

Not far from Nicholas the Sorceress watched on through a looking glass with another.

"You really think he'll make it?"

"He must Tandy, he must or we will all be in ruin."

"You're not even going to help him?" asked Tandy.

"I have as much as I can. Now it's up to him to finish it." The Sorceress looked on with worry. "Just call for me and I shall come." she whispered influencing the trees to carry on the message.