A/N: I haven't played King's Quest VI, so forgive me if I get a few of the details wrong.
Disclaimer: I do not own King's Quest; Sierra Inc. owns it and Ken and Roberta Williams created it.
Two Tragic Pasts Form a Bond
"I suppose life wasn't easy for you, then, when Alhazred and Mordack were constantly on your back?" Alexander asked his new wife.
"No, of course not, my love," said Cassima. "It was quite unpleasant."
It was the third night since Prince Alexander-Gwydion of Daventry and Princess Cassima of the Land of the Green Isles had married and been declared the new king and queen of the Isle of the Crown and the Land of the Green Isles. The two of them had just finished dinner, dancing in the moonlight and being generally romantic, and now they were lying in bed together in each other's arms, talking the night away. Sing-Sing, Cassima's pet nightingale, had sung for them like the bird it was, and was now their only companion in their bedroom. At the moment, they were sharing intimate details of their lives with each other.
"What exactly was your life like growing up?" asked Alexander. "Was it tragic from the start, like mine was, or did that happen later on?"
Cassima smiled. "My childhood was mostly a cheerful one. My father and mother were very pleased to have me as their baby, and they groomed me from the beginning to be the next ruler of the Green Isles. At first, Vizier Alhazred, whom my father had hired to help him rule the land so he could spend more time with mother and me, was a relatively decent man, focusing on his duties, but later he wanted me for a bride, as you know, which my father suggested was good at the time. Apparently, lies were being spread among the islands while my mother and I were travelling the ferry around the islands, and we were received coldly by some of the people. There were feuds all around the place, due to the fact that I wasn't interested in Alhazred.
"Evidently, Alhazred must have wanted to hurt me for rejecting him, so he sent his friend, Mordack, to visit me, and the evil wizard also wanted my hand in marriage. I refused, and my father agreed with me. Mordack then kidnapped me and set me to work as a scullery maid in his castle until I would change my mind, which I never did."
"Well, I'm proud of you for never giving in, Cassima," said Alexander as he stroked her long, raven-black hair. "Alhazred was a scoundrel if I ever met one, and Mordack didn't deserve you one little bit."
"Thank you, Alexander," said Cassima. "Do you know how I could tell that Mordack was not the kind of person I would want to marry?"
"Well," said Alexander, "Part of it was probably because you didn't want to be in partnership with one of the most powerful and evil wizards in the World of Daventry. I know you have a strong enough conscience to not want to hook up with someone who has no conscience."
"Indeed," said Cassima, "That's right. But there was more to it than that. Being a wizard of the left-hand path, he was a very snotty and disgusting man. Like Alhazred, he would often leer at me in such a way that I knew it was lust he felt for me, not love. He licked his lips with a tongue like that of a snake, and his kisses were cold and messy. Perhaps most of all, though, it was the air of arrogance and hubris that was always obviously around him whenever he'd step into a room. We all need a little pride in our lives, but I will never fall in love with a man who thinks he's superior to me."
"Ohhh," said Alexander with a slight shiver, "I hope I, at least, don't make you feel that way."
"No, not at all, my love," Cassima assured him, tracing her finger on his bare chest. "You have the manners of a saint. You look at me like I'm your equal, too. You have the humility of a street-sweeper, and you're an excellent dancer."
Alexander blushed. Cassima found that very charming, and kissed him. He ran his hands down her equally bare back and arms as she lay on top of him.
"What sorts of things did you have to do for Mordack?" Alexander inquired.
"Oh, anything from constantly scrubbing the floors to emptying his chamber pots," replied Cassima. "The usual sorts of things a scullery maid is forced to do."
"All this reminds me of my own past," said Alexander. "I didn't even know my parents or my sister when I grew up. Manannan kidnapped me from my cradle when I was just one year old, and took me to his house in Llewdor where he made me the latest (and hopefully, last) of his slave boys. He made me do similar jobs, like sweeping the kitchen floor, dusting his study, emptying his chamber pot, feeding him, and feeding the chickens he ate once a week for his weekly chicken feast! It was am absolute nightmare!
"Until the time came when I started plotting my escape, I never knew anyone else. It was just Manannan and I. The only emotions I grew up with were hate and fear. I only encountered love and joy when I was finally reunited with my family after the death of the three-headed dragon that invaded Daventry."
Cassima was very sympathetic. "Poor baby," she said, kissing him again. "I believe you had the worse deal, having only negative emotions twenty-four/seven while doing endless tasks for an evil magician ever since you were very little. At least I grew up knowing my parents, and could make more choices in my life."
"Yeah," said Alexander, "I didn't even have a comfortable bed, just an old, used cot, though the wizard gave me complete privacy in my little room, at least. But you've had it pretty hard, too, Cassima. Don't deny it. You definitely needed my father's help in escaping from Mordack, and I came to your rescue when Alhazred imprisoned you next. But there's another reason I married you, besides how much we have in common. You're very brave, Cassima. Without courage, you wouldn't have been able to stand up so well to Alhazred and Mordack."
"True," she replied, "But face it, you're courageous too, Alexander. Manannan was just as powerful, if not more so, than his brother, and it had to have been hard getting to his magic laboratory, too."
"Indeed, it was," said Alexander. "I had to leave everything exactly the way I found it, and I had to avoid being tripped by his own cat on the stairs, who, I think, might have been a rival wizard once upon a time."
"That must be the thing that attracts us to each other the most, then," concluded Cassima, "We both have painful pasts of being subjected to the dominance of two evil wizards who saw us only as expendable property."
"But what can we do about it?" asked Alexander. "I'm not sure if I can ever let go of my past completely. Although I always acknowledge my true name, Alexander, I'll always think of myself as Gwydion, the slave boy, because I only knew myself by that name as a child."
Cassima thought about it for a moment. "I don't think the pain will go away overnight, but I think that we can overcome it together if we just stick together and continue to love each other, as well as rule the Land of the Green Isles fairly. I believe that you have already mostly healed my pain, by helping me escape a situation where I needed saving, and assuring me that your love is genuine, and you will treat me with kindness all of our days, and romance all of our nights."
"Then I suppose I did do something really good for a lady," smiled Alexander. "But how about me? What will you do for me?"
"I'm not as much of an adventurer as you and your family are, Alexander," said Cassima, "But now that we're wed, our lives and bodies are each others, and I think I know a way I can heal the pain in your heart for tonight, at least. And maybe if we continue this as often as we can, one day, your suffering will be in the past finally."
"What is that?" Alexander asked his wife.
"Let's make a baby tonight," she said. "Then, let's just lie together in the moonlight and enjoy each other's warm company."
Alexander grinned. "Are you sure?"
Cassima smiled back. "What's in the past doesn't matter anyway. We're just two hurting souls who have found each other."
"Then let's start," said Alexander.
And they did.