A/N: Hope you're enjoying this story so far!
Surrounded by advisors and his trusted buffoons of politicians, he made his way to the abbey. The abbey was the place for cleansing, blessed by the sacrament of the Goddess of Healing. The dark corridors of the secluded place seemed foreboding. Just like the young prince's home.
He was going to be coroneted Prince Prospero the 13th of Labaverion tomorrow. Today, he was going to do some business, some business that was passed on to him.
He reached the inner sanctum. General Friedrich was sitting with his wife Dulcinia and their young son Henry. Seated on the padded brown chairs the family was awaiting the fate of the young peasant girl. The prince knew that she was rescued…that was all that mattered to him. They thought she was just a nobody, a sweet darling nobody…but really there was another hidden agenda the general must be told about secretly. It was necessary to secure the prince's own bloodline.
The general stood up, in his noble finery and saluted before he bowed. Ahh…to have the respect of the most boring of men…he thought at this. The power he had, the intuition and power to make his realm beautiful, populated with crops and people, which in turn gave him the money to satisfy anything he desired…
"An honor to be in your presence, my lord." The kind general bowed and held his hat.
"Lord Friedrich, General of The Army, and half-baron to the lands of Medictail…it was certainly a kind and loving gesture to take in this peasant girl, who is also a witness." The prince smiled warmly. The general could still see mischief however in the young man's smile.
"A witness indeed. She has told everything of her encounter. You must know by now, about what we are dealing with in this constant war against him." The general replied.
"Indeed. You will lead the armies and search and destroy this menace, and destroy any contaminated villages. The orders are too dire for a messenger to tell you. In person, I believe perhaps it would be better."
Friedrich nodded. It was a grave responsibility. He would be constantly in harms way in dealing with the evil being that was slowly choking the country.
"There is another thing that I must discuss with you, privately general. A matter not to be heard by anyone else besides you and your wife." The prince's eyebrow raised to show there was an urgent matter to be discussed.
"Of course. There is an empty room down the hall." Friedrich's wife sat still looking with worry at her husband as he and the young prince went down the hall, locked themselves into the dark room with a table and a chair, and sat down.
The prince sat down, stiffly, avoiding the dust he saw in the air through the trickle of sunlight of the dusty old window.
Friedrich sat patiently, wondering what secret, and very private information the prince-to-be could give him regarding the girl.
"You are wondering why we are here, secret, protected and safe. Why this must not be known to anyone unless I give you permission to speak of the girl's fate and past." The 14 year old moved in, speaking quietly and gravely. "Do you swear so under Almut?"
"I swear." He held up his left hand, swearing under the name of their highest god.
"Alright general. You were the most trusted and loyal of my father's regime. Therefore I trust you and your fondness for Virginia to take care of her. You know the Dukes of Mauchdom?"
"Their line ended unfortunately with your mother and the rest of the family perished from the lack of a heir. They were the principle family that the Prosperos, your family, always marry from. However you need to fiend the next noble lineage of family now to be engaged to. The Dukes of Mauchdom are dead." Friedrich replied.
"They are not. Yes, it was a great tragedy to the monarchy, but in fact there is an heir. In fact, an heiress. The last Duchess was murdered by her husband, and in turn he committed suicide. She was burned to death. But you see, she was burned so that there could be no trace that she had given birth to a child. She died pregnant they thought. But we the Prosperos knew that the child was sent to live with a family of peasants far, far away so that she could never be married to the Prosperos. The Duchess did not want her child to be wedded to a family of 'rats' as she called us, which is absorbed and a pompous lie."
"You can't mean to tell me that Virginia, is the Duchess of Mauchdom?" Friedrich was flabbergasted and stunned. The unchanging face of the young prince didn't help him. His fingers teased his goatee as he thought hard and tried to believe what he just heard.
"Yes she is. And she is going to marry me, as all the heirs of Mauchdom have been doing for traditions since the beginning of this kingdom. And you're going to raise her. She will never know till her wedding night when I shall tell her." At this the prince truly smiled.
He was stunned. This was the same mischievous brat that set the curtains on fire in the meeting rooms; this was the same family he had served, and sometimes didn't want to, to the whims of his father who was a stubborn war-mongering idiot. Now he was to raise a bride for an ungrateful wretched boy. He dreaded to see what this brat would grow up into. He speculated perhaps a spoiled man, or a mad warrior, or a perverted man who would sleep with all the daughters of the counts and barons, let along Virginia would have to visit and be visited through the years by her future husband, a nasty twit.
"I suppose then I will have her engaged to you because I am such an honorable general that the prince wants to marry his daughter?" Friedrich this time raised an eyebrow.
"A good plan isn't it, general? All would know that a general's daughter is to be married to me…and then, magically, the information would get out she is the lost duchess after the wedding day! All would be well! She would have her proper title, be queen, and have plenty of little Prospero's too! That is a fate many girls dream off…better than her peasant upbringing, better than being in a general's family…isn't it marvelous?" The prince was giddy with excitement like a little boy.
"It is. I guess it is for the best. She would know her proper history, the engagement would show goodwill to the peasant folk, and my daughter would be living the best when she marries. When shall the date be my majesty?" Friedrich rather sighed his response.
"Sometime after her 18th birthday. By then I would the pleasant age of 26, ready to gain full princeship! I will be a true prince tomorrow, don't worry…but a prince can't be a prince without a princess, nor without the birth os a little prince or a little princess…but do you not see?" The prince sprung up with a step and started pacing the floor with a smile.
"What?" The general failed to see.
"You remember the prophecies, don't you? There are a few remember, from around a 100 years ago. One, that there shall be no king until the real king returns. Two, that to gain full kingship the last of the line of the second family be reunited in spiritual matrimony with the king. Two prophecies are you know…and the first one is responsible to why there are no kings of this land. Only princes! No king Prospero…prince Prospero! And no one knows who the lost king is so squat that!" His hand slapped his clenched fist.
"True, true my lord." The general watched the immature adult pace and plot and talk.
"So…if I am to become king, I will have to do a spiritual matrimony with the last of the line of the second family. And…if you haven't figured it out yet, the Mauchdom's ARE the second family, and Virginia is the last of the line! If I marry her, marry her body, her mind, her soul and own her I can be legally declared…king! For the first time in 118 years!" A laugh followed his victorious speech.
Friedrich was in the midst of a plot. Yes, it did seem good to actually have a king of this land. If only it wasn't this prince.
"Congratulations on the hatching of the plot my majesty. I hope we will have the wedding and marriage as plan…if we survive the plague in 18 years." Friedrich stood up, bowed and rose, looking down at the blue dressed boy smiling with cleverness.
"As do I. that is why a cure must be found! Otherwise I shall be a king of dead beggars and counts. How then could me and my darling wife survive without tax money?" The prince chuckled and opened the door. "You will keep her past a secret. However it shall be known that she is engaged to me. You are doing a good service to your country, general. We shall schedule tea time next week. Good luck with Virginia for me!" The prince chuckled as he went out to the waiting visors and the confused wife, along with her son bouncing on her lap. He followed, sighing and following till he stood by his respected seat, clutching his hat in his hands as the prince and the group left the building.
"Well Friedrich? When will you explain the jolly mischief mood the young prince is in?" Dulcinia spoke.
"Tonight, not in the company of Henry here." He managed a smile and ruffled his son's hair. Henry giggled and got off his mother's lap to lean against his father's leg.
"What stuff?" he spoke innocently enough. His father smiled.
"You'll find out soon enough. Come, let's take Virginia home. They should be done with her now." Friedrich sighed and held his sons hand, walking towards the door to inside. Dulcinia followed inside.
He stared at his sleeping young duchess, laid on a cot clutching a pillow with her sweet fingers.
He felt terrible now he knew he was sentencing such a creature, such an innocent woman that was hidden because she was not meant to be married to him. Now he was forced, by duty, to raise a queen for his lord. To groom, secretly, a woman for a rather unwelcoming man.
He hoped this would be very easy and quick.
A/N: Bride-growing? That certainly isn't very nice…
Many thanks to my pitiful amount of reviewers! Please, review some more the the pitiful amount will grow to 'sad-amount' status!
Shoys.