The Duke's Legacy

The Duke lay on his death bed in his Weselton mansion after many years of reigning peacefully over the three unified kingdoms. Alone except for the accompaniment of the two henchmen and the mercenary merchant ice master pirate captain, the Duke coughed and voiced his final demands.

"I've lived a long and successful life," he said in between violent fits of wheezing, "but now my time is over. We can't let all we've worked for vanish upon my leaving this world. I will not let my name be washed away like markings in the sand at high tide."

The Duke motioned for his three comrades to come closer. "My throne is secure, but my domains need to expand after I'm gone to ensure my heirs' inheritance's continual growth."

Looking at the mercenary merchant ice master pirate captain, the Duke issued to him a final command. "I'm appointing you as regent. Watch over my kingdoms until my heir comes of age, and then guide him to be the leader this world needs. Do you know of any realms to which you could help him carry the flag of Weselton?"

The mercenary merchant ice master regent pirate captain kneeled. "You always honor me, Your Grace, and I promise you now that I will ensure that your empire is ever-expanding until my last days. I remember long ago, when I was but a thieving rogue, I moved about the regions of Germany in search of various jobs befitting someone of my...skills. I stopped for a drink at a tavern in the woods one day when this odd couple walked in. Apparently, the man was a wanted fugitive with a large bounty, and as we were about to capture him, the girl he was with convinced us to spare him. I never fully understood why we chose to spare them, but we felt captivated by this young girl. We went on to partake in drink and song with the two until royal soldiers disrupted our merrymaking. They had come for the couple, whom we let escape through a secret exit. I'll always remember that day. I tell you this story because that young woman was apparently the Princess of a large province. I also learned much later that she married that man, and they together attended Elsa's coronation many years ago. I'm sure that the girl's royal parents have since then become deceased, and through her connections with Elsa, we may be able to expand our influence in her kingdom." The captain rose after concluding his anecdote and suggestion.

"Excellent." bode the Duke. "When I'm gone, you shall start there. See to it that that kingdom comes under the control of Weselton. If they resist..." The Duke temporarily lost his breath before he could finish his statement, but looked over to the henchmen with one of his famous unspoken orders. They understood the Duke's implications.

The door to his bedroom opened slowly as Elsa peered in. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

No one said a word. Elsa assumed the silence implied a response in the negative, and so she walked in, Anna at her side. Trailing the two Queens toddled a small boy, the Duke's son. The Duke smiled upon seeing the child. Before him was the living embodiment of his dynasty's future, and a soon-to-be world leader.

Despite the pride the Duke felt for his son and heir, he knew the boy was only an infant, and could easily be taken advantage of. With the Duke gone, weakness in his regime could signal the dynasty's unraveling.

Glancing from the boy to Anna, the Duke gestured towards the mercenary merchant ice master regent pirate captain to kneel beside him again. Whispering in his ear, the Duke made reference to Anna, "Watch her closely. If she ever tries to remarry, eliminate her." The Duke used what little strength he had left to give the captain's shoulder a light tap. The captain nodded obediently and stepped away from the Duke's bedside.

Elsa and Anna exchanged fleeting looks of distrust with the Duke's two henchmen and the mercenary merchant ice master regent pirate captain, who then all looked upon the child with determination. Many different wills would be exerted on him in the coming years, but none would prevail save the strongest: that of the Duke, who looked upon the child with the most determination of all. Staring at what seemed to be his own future remade, the Duke breathed his last.