Chapter 3

The Unexpected Visitor

Kuatron had thought that his ingenious plan would be enough to rid him of thinking of his son every day, but it didn't. If anything it made him think of Quatre even more. He was always troubled by the thought that Pertania would disobey him and tell Quatre everything. If that happened, there wasn't really anything Quatre could do about it at the moment because he was only ten, but when he turned eighteen...Kuatron preferred not to think about it. When a boy became a man at age eighteen, he had to chose what he would do with the rest of his life. Most of the time, those men journey far from home and found a profession that they enjoyed and learned how to do that profession from an expert. By the time Quatre turned eighteen, if he found out about his birthright he could claim the throne and there was nothing Kuatron could do about it. He would just have to make sure that he never found out. Kuatron decided to pay Pertania a visit to make sure that she obeying him. After all, wasn't the whole purpose of keeping them on the island to make sure that she didn't tell the boy anything?

When Kuatron reached the bottom of the steps that led up to Pertania's cottage he stopped and listen to see if she was indeed at home. Soon, her voice was carried out through the open window at the top of the house. Kuatron climbed the steep steps and rapped on the solid wooden door. The noise coming from the upstairs window stopped abruptly. The door in front of him was opened slowly. Then Pertania's head poked through the crack in the door. Her eyes widened withsurprise but she beckoned him into the house.

It wasn't until the door closed behind her that she whirled around and confronted the master of the island.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"It is my island. I am allowed anywhere I want," he answered imperiously.

"Where is the boy?"

"Your son, is upstairs. I don't let him come down when there are people around the house," she said.

"Good," he grunted. He continued to stand at the doorway and looked casually around the interior of the house.

"Well, I have work to do, so if you have nothing more to say to me I suggest you leave. I'm sure that Quatre would also like to come out sometime too," said Pertania interrupting Kuatron's thoughts.

Kuatron glared down at her. "Never, never mention that name in my presence again, do you here me? And yes there is something else I came here for. I want to know if you've told him anything."

"No," came the stern reply.

"He hasn't asked about anything then?" Kuatron demanded to know.

"No," replied Pertania again, "Qua...he never asks anything except why he isn't allowed outside, or why he has to hide whenever anyone comes to the house, or why he doesn't get to do the things he should be allowed to do being a human being!" Her whole answer had steadily grown in intensity and volume. She also had tears in her eyes, which she brushed away quickly.

"Well then, I'll just be leaving now. Remember, he is not to know anything!" Kuatron punctuated the last part of his farewell with a sharp wag of his finger at Pertania. He turned and slammed the door behind him. He then jogged quickly down the stairs feeling somewhat relieved. Why had she gotten so worked up he wondered? Oh well, at least she hadn't told the boy anything. That was a weight off his mind. Kuatron headed back towards the huge Winner family estate feeling rather pleased with himself.

After Kuatron left, Pertania sank down onto the couch and buried her face in her hands. It was Pertania's sobs that alerted Quatre. He came running down the stairs and into the living room. Pertania was there, and she pretended to be busy, but he could see that she had been crying.

"What...what's the matter? Did that man hurt you?" he reached forward and tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she brushed him away. "What's the matter, did I do something wrong?" he asked tentatively.

"No, no Quatre my darling," she answered sniffling, then reached out and held his hand. "Come here, there is something I must tell you. If I hold it inside me much longer I feel that I will burst! Now, you know that I have always been truthful to you your whole life right? Remember that day when you were seven and I told you that I thought you were old enough to know that I'm not your real mother? Well now I'm going to tell you who your real parents are. That man who came to the door was the master of this island. His name is Kuatron Winner. He is your father Quatre. He was married to a woman named Quatrina who died during your birth. I don't know why, but he blames you for her death and can't stand the sight of you or even to hear your name. When you were just about one, he made it look like you had died so that you wouldn't inherit the throne. That's why you've never been allowed outside the house, and why you must hide whenever someone comes by the house. No one is to know that you are still alive. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Quatre nodded his head dumbly. The huge amount of information was almost too much to take in.

"Quatre look at me," said Pertania gently pulling him to her. "I shouldn't have told you all that, but I thought that you had the right to know."

"Yes, thank you. It was right for you to tell me," Quatre whispered. "Will you get in trouble for telling me?

"Only if your father finds out. That's why it is still important for you to be hidden until the time comes for you to reveal yourself," she replied. "I just thought that this might help you to understand why you have to be hidden. Does it?" "Yes, it really does Pertania," he said quietly still trying to absorb all that he had just heard.

"Well," said Pertania briskly,"dinner is almost done. Go get washed up."

She was just exiting the room when Quatre spoke,"When will it be the right time?"

"Soon," she said,"soon."

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Oddly enough the opportunity for Quatre to come out of hiding wasn't too far in the future. His plan to reveal himself came to him when it was announced that Kuatron was going to be remarried. At first Quatre felt angry that his father would marry another person after being married to his mother for so long. But then Quatre was already angry at Kuatron for all that he had put him through.

The root of Quatre's plan was not with the new wife, but with her son who was three years older than him. Even though the new stepson of Kuatron opened an opportunity for Quatre, it also posed as a problem. Being older than him, the new son would most likely be announced to inherit the island before Quatre was eighteen and could claim the throne himself. Besides, with the whole island believing that Quatre was dead, the new son would be the most eligible heir even though he was not related by blood to Kuatron. When the stepson was announced to claim the inheritance though, that would be the ideal time for Quatre to make himself known. The stepson couldn't inherit the island if there was a son who was related by blood to Kuatron, no matter how old Quatre was.

With this new plan in mind, Quatre was able to bear his confinement. Pertania

agreed with the plan but it would not take place for at least another five years. It would be five years until Romsk, the new stepson would turn eighteen and Kuatron could announce him as the heir. That was five long years that Quatre had to wait. Even when the heir was announced though, Quatre would only be fifteen. Even though the laws made by the Winner family stated that if there was a blood son, he would be first choice to the inheritance, Pertania wondered if Quatre would be accepted as the long lost son of Kuatron.

The next day, after the news that Kuatron was to be remarried had been spread throughout the entire island, a message came to Pertania. The message stated that she was ordered to attend the wedding. At first she wondered why she of all people would be asked to come, but then soon realized that it was simply another opportunity for Kuatron to keep an eye on her. Had he found out that she had told Quatre everything? It was silly to think that he had, but still the matter troubled her. She thought that maybe she should say she was ill, or that she was injured and couldn't possibly attend. Quatre though thought that she should go and learn all she could about the new wife, and about his new stepbrother.

When she asked him why, he answered simply that it might be useful to his plan. Pertania finally consented to go and began to prepare for the ceremony which was to be held the next evening.

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Kuatron smiled and chuckled softly in his study next to his bedroom. He felt so pleased with himself, that his emotions were bordering on giddy. He had assured the fact that Pertania had not told the boy anything several times, and now by marring this new woman who had come to live on the island he had been able to pick his own heir to the throne which happened to be her son. All he would have to do was wait until his new son was eighteen and then announce him as heir. After that, there would be no way that anyone would believe that his first son was still alive. Besides, his first son was three years younger than Romsk, his adopted son, and so would not be able to claim the throne before Romsk was announced as heir. True, Roma, Romsks mother wasn't very pretty, and she did have a high pitched nasally sort of voice, but her son suited his purpose quite well. He grinned with a sort of fiendish delight and decided that he would go see his new son and heir.

Romsk was by no means a small boy. He was tall, with broad muscular shoulders and huge hands and feet. He didn't look a thing like his mother who was slender with very long legs. Romsk also didn't have much of an education either. No matter though, where Romsk lacked in education he made up for in physical activity. He was just the type for being the hero of all the sports he played. His light brown hair and small gray eyes matched his whole personality too. He was instantly the center of attention on the island. The girls from the island would line up half a block just to get a look at the boy who would be Kuatron's new son. When the wedding ceremony was ready to begin, the multitudes of people who had been invited hastily found a seat on the floor of the giant ballroom in the Winner's huge mansion. There was much scraping of chair legs on the hard wood floor, but soon everyone was settled in. On the small stage usually used for the musicians were the Winner family, seated there to look down upon the floor in front of them were Kuatron and Roma were to be married. Those in the Winner family included several aunts and uncles and also Kuatron's nine girls and Romsk. The oldest of the girls, Iria, had been in quiet conversation with Romsk.

Pertania showed up in her finest clothing and hurriedly took a seat in the back right before the ceremony had begun. Those that saw her enter whispered among themselves. Even though Pertania couldn't hear them, she knew that they were talking about her and Quatre, about how she had taken care of him until he had "died." She tried not to look at the whisperers. It wasn't right for them to be gossiping about Quatre at Kuatron's wedding. She didn't have much time to dwell on the matter though because the ceremony started. Pertania noticed that the wife wasn't very pretty, and certainly not Kuatron's type, but her son was tall and handsome and looked just right for the part of an heir.

After the wedding, all the chairs were moved back and placed among tables thatwere lined up against the wall, leaving a clear space in the middle of the ballroom for dancing. The place where the Winners had been sitting was now being cleared for the musicians. While the quartet was setting up, lines were being formed behind the long tables where food was being served. Pertania decided to take a seat at one of the far tables to the right, away from the head table where Kuatron would be sitting instead of joining the line for food. The very thoughtof eating the food that was prepared in honor of Kuatron made Pertania's appetite disappear in an instant. When everyone had again been seated Kuatron rose to give a toast. Pertania blocked out the speech and the applause that followed after it. It was probably just lie after lie to humor the gossipy people of the island. The people sitting at the table with Pertania kept casting sly looks in her direction, but would not speak to her. This was just fine with Pertania. She didn't want to talk to those people anyway. She just wanted to keep a close eye on the new son, Romsk.

Throughout the meal he seemed to be in close conversation again with Iria. She was quite a bit older than him, by about ten years, but nonetheless they chatted on as if they were close friends of the same age. Pertania sighed. She hoped that Iria would not put Romsk in Quatre's place and forget about her real little brother so soon.

After the plates had been cleared off the tables, the dance music started up. Partner after swirling partner entered the dance square until it seemed as if there would be no more room for so much as a child to squeeze in. Through this crowd, Pertania had a hard time spotting Romsk. It seemed as if he was always on the dance floor. Finally after tiring of straining her eyes to catch a glimpse of Romsk he suddenly appeared at the next table, pulling a red faced Iria down beside him.

They took a minute to catch there breath before they started talking again. Pertania scooted a little closer to hear what they were saying. For a while they talked about the sports that Romsk played, and the tournaments he had entered. Then the conversation swung abruptly to a different topic.

"So, do you have any brothers or sisters that we haven't met yet?" Iria inquired.

"No. And I'm glad I don't. Gees, it must be tough looking after eight little sisters huh? I bet your dad got tired of your mom only having girls too,"answered Romsk.

"Well," Iria began softly, "I did have a little brother once. My mother died during his birth but he lived for a little while. He wasn't allowed to live in the castle though. I'm not sure why. But then he died when he was about a year old of some strange disease or something. I'm really not sure."

"Well, I guess that worked out to my advantage 'cause now I get to be the heir," he said, not really knowing that what he had said upset Iria very much.

"Excuse me," she said crossly and got up from the table. She turned her back to him with a neat flick of her dress and disappeared into the crowded dance square.

Pertania was greatly relieved by Iria's reaction. It meant that if Quatre ever did return, he would at least probably be able to convince Iria that it was really him. It had sounded like Iria still thought about him and still missed him.

Pertania didn't stay long at the ball. She hurried home to the cottage to tell Quatre about what she had seen and heard. After she had told him all she knew about his new step family, he thanked her and went straight to bed. She found it odd that he would go to bed so early, but then he probably wasn't going to sleep. He would probably stay up thinking about everything he had heard.