Everyone knows the beginning of this story; there was once a selfish boy. His mother was a woman who had the misfortune of being unhappily married to a rich merchant. Although he would give her everything she wanted her heart was empty. At the coming of this precious child her whole being filled with joy. Finally she could have someone to love wholeheartedly who would certainly love her as any child would love his or her doting mother.
As the child grew the young mother gave him everything his heart desired. The boy's father also platted the young man with gifts of affection and constantly told him that his lot in life made their family a cut above the rest. In other words the foolish father said that they were better than anyone else because of the riches they possessed. Although the parents meant well, their constant affection and bragging of superiority made the young boy believe he really was the most important child who ever roamed the earth. Those who believed otherwise were wrong in that misguided boys eyes. The name of this child who could be no better the victim of a witches curse was Julian.
Not only was Julian imbued with the knowledge he was rich or that his family was key in society, he also realized at a young age he was remarkably handsome. In grade school all the girls stared at him. He would often hear them whispering and knew they were talking of his distinct, unforgettable features. Many times when a son is born into a family he carries the traits of his father. Luckily in Julian's case this was not so.
Though his mother was young and lively his father was old, well into his fifties. Age sometimes diminishes the handsome features of long ago. Maybe a full lock of hair withered into small pitiful clumps or tan flawless skin is turned yellow over times cruel clock, but his father had none of these features, even at a young age. No he was not hideous, just ordinary. All his life his skin lacked bronze brilliancy women desired and his hair was thin and a dark red which became white early on in his youth. He lacked broad shoulders and a deep honey like voice, but he made up for it with his brilliant mind, and deep pockets.
Julian's father worked and worked until he was one of the richest men in the land. It's no small feat for a merchant I assure you. That is how he caught the eye of a young fair maiden, who would soon be his wife and the mother of his only child. She was a marvel. Her teasing blue eyes, glorious black hair, and fine figure hindered a man's eye to wonder elsewhere. Everywhere this woman walked a string of hearts lay shattered behind her.
She met her future husband at an exquisite ball he held in his honor. Many women buzzed around him as bees to honey. This did not threaten or sway her in perusing a rich man. Be it in her vanity, or just pure self-honesty she knew she was to be the most beautiful woman to ever make his acquaintance. All it took to captivate him was one simple gesture.
So subtle, it could have easily been missed or looked over. The woman well versed in turning a man's head looked at her target. Then for a split second she smiled and winked. From the smile that spread across his average lips she could tell her battle was won.
Julian's father had never seen a more breathtaking beauty. Her dark skin and hair made her seem exotic, but a glorious pair of deep blue eyes likened her to the blond dainty milkmaids of his hometown. A smile set with her lush lips and perfect white teeth would make any man mirror his features in response. Oh, and her voice, what voice! The Merchant was used to beautiful women fawning over him. Walking over to that flawless woman took no amount of courage on his part. Wealth had its privileges.
"Hello my lady. May I be so bold to ask what the many brokenhearted men of this city had the pleasure of addressing you?" He said in a voice so sure of itself. She merely replied softly.
"Some say I am the goddess of the heart, others a lady of lavish luxury, but you may address me by the name my mother has given me, Valda." With that the young maiden drifted away, as was her design, to leave her new beau in astonishment and wonder. Everything about her seemed perfect, and he was determined to have her.
The next few weeks were whisked away in a blur of flowers and affection. Valda in her younger more foolish years thought that how much a man was willing to spend on his sweetheart was correlated directly with how he loved her. This man, though more than ten years her senior, captured her heart…for the moment. Every day a new bouquet would arrive at her doorstep. The merchant hired poets to write sonnets about her, and every afternoon he took her on lovely walks through his large estate. When he asked for her hand in marriage it was inevitable that she would say yes.
Their marriage was one to remember. Each guest was escorted by five servants into the large garden where the groom had proposed only weeks before. In such a short time the already pristine garden was turned into a matrimonial paradise. Lilies, roses, carnations, orchids, and every kind of exotic flower that could captivate the eye adorned its walls, and the blushing bride who walked gracefully down the aisle.
The groom looked down the aisle with a feeling of accomplishment, and maybe even admiration, but as the story goes it was also inevitable that he would never love her. She was only the fairest lady in all the land. He did not care for her hopes or dreams, nor had he the desire to capture her heart. This man was perhaps the most selfish in history, not because of the enormous wealth he horded, if only that were the case. His sin was the greatest because he had squelched the possibility of happiness for this woman who had so much potential in her heart for love. That crook didn't even bat an eye. The greater tragedy, however, was that Valda was dimwitted enough to fall into his trap of lies hidden beneath silken lace.
As time went on and the finery of her life faded into the casual everyday Valda realized the stupidity of her actions, all too late. Her stomach was big and ripe with an unborn child about to enter into the world. Even though the baby was due any day she never saw her husband aside from the rare times he came home late at night. There was never much intimacy between them to begin with, and now what little love she thought she cradled in her heart had withered into dust. They never could speak to one another, because other than her beauty and his money, they had very little ground to start a civil conversation.
Valda's child was born on a beautiful summer's eve. The boys' father didn't hold his son, his heir, until about two days later when he finally arrived from one of his long business trips. The young boy had his mother's dark hair, and complexion. His face held her strong jaw line and perfect lips. In fact all the servants said his face was a miniature of hers. Even when the baby cooed it was apparent that their voices were the same. The only resemblances he had with his father were his big honey brown eyes (the merchants only future that could be deemed as creatable), and a quick, yet sometimes cruel, mind.
A mother starved for love, and a father proud to have produced an heir smothered the young babe until there seemed to be no child-like innocence left in the now grown, poor, misguided boy. Those parents created a spoiled, selfish, and cold hearted child. Through their thoughtless actions that creation would be the one to suffer….
