Heir To The Throne

I sat alone atop my throne, built on the backs of my father and grandfather and his father who came before me. Pride swelled in my chest as I thought of the sacrifices made to protect this great Kingdom that I had the honor of leading.

But alas my old age was catching up to me. My wife is pregnant with our firstborn and I am dying, slowly but surely. I'm not sure how much longer it will be before my body and my mind fail me.

I cannot shake the terrible feeling that my child would not be fit to be King. My family had been Kings for as long as the world turned it seemed. But I had a nagging feeling that was soon to change and it worried me deeply.

I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts as the great strong wooden doors swung open in my chambers.

My second-in-command Garrick walked in through the now open doors, huffing and puffing after climbing the many flights of stairs that led up the castle to this room.

"My king, the men have just returned from the discovery expedition you sent them on." He said exasperated still attempting to catch his breath.

Excitement and fear battled each other inside of me, I wonder if they found it. If they did find it, did they kill it? Did it kill some of them?

Fear ultimately won.

"I'll meet them in the strategy room."

"Right away Sir." Garrick turned to leave the room.

"Garrick wait." Hearing this he stopped in his tracks and spun on his back foot.

"How many did we lose?"

"Fourteen Sir." He said reluctantly without looking me in the eye. Melancholy hung in the air

Guilt, Anger, and Sadness all washed over me in an instant. I slammed my fist down onto the table I was standing near.

"We lost fourteen!" I roared at Garrick. "Last time we only lost six and that was bad enough for ten lifetimes."

Garrick cowered and I instantly regretted my outburst. It was not his fault. I ordered those men on that trip and their blood is on my hands and my hands alone.

I didn't use to lose control of my emotions so easily but as my body weakened my mind followed.

"I'm sorry," I said in my most sincere voice and gave a small bow towards Garrick.

“You need not apologize Sir. I know how hard it is for you to lose more men.” 

Garrick understood more than any how much losing any of my soldiers' lives was the hardest thing I had dealt with as my duties of being King.

Garrick and I made our way down the stairs into the main room of the Castle, tall pillars made of intricate white marble lined the room. Furniture was strewn about scarcely but was made by the best craftsman in the kingdom. Even with magnificent pillars and exquisite furniture, the most noticeable thing about this room was the great fireplace on the outside wall.

It was huge, taking up almost half of the wall but everyone who had the privilege of either living or visiting the castle marveled at its beauty rather than its size when their eyes caught sight of the delicate and painfully perfect craftsmanship. I've spent many nights of my long life sitting in front of it pondering the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.

I saw my fiercest lieutenant sitting on one of the few chairs in the room. He sprang to attention when he saw me and knelt onto the ground bowing his head.

"My King."

"Please stand up Delwyn." I asked. He obliged and gave a small bow.

"What did you find? Did you see it?” 

“No my King, to my deepest regrets we never made it past Elfitch Forest.” said Delwyn full of disappointment.

“Elfitch Forest isn’t even halfway to where I sent you.” Rage began to boil inside of me.

“I know, my King. We ran into a particularly nasty Witch who had a Stone Giant under her spell.” 

Stone Giants were especially cruel and vile. Stories had been told for hundreds of years about their brutality, the most notable being that when they wandered upon villages, they would start huge fires around the village but leave a space big enough for a stone giant to stand in causing the villagers to have no choice but to burn or try to fight the humongous creatures. 

A death sentence for ninety-nine percent, however sometimes some would escape on sheer luck and live to tell the tale. It was quite lucky that so many of my men survived the might of a Stone Giant.

“I see. How are the other men who made it back?” 

“Fourteen dead, twelve injured, and seven of us unscathed.” Said Delwyn. I could tell he was uncomfortable recalling the experience. “We brought the Witches body back with us to be examined by our mages.” 

“I want to see them.” I said turning to leave the room.

“My King, there’s one more thing. When the Witch saw our Kingdoms insignia on our chest plates she muttered a curse.” Delwyn winced at the word curse.

“Why is this important?” I said spinning back towards him.

“It was about you, Sir. She cursed your firstborn son to never be able to rule a kingdom as a king should. He would never bear children and never be fit to be King.” 

Thoughts raced in my head. Is this why I had felt this way for the last few nights? If the men had come back from Elfitch Forest, that’s still a five day journey, four days if they rode with haste. 

“Empty threats from a dying hag.” I kept a strong face in front of my most trusted soldiers but on the inside, I was scared and worried.

I turned and left the room. I visited the injured men first and heard their tales. At least the ones who could still talk at the moment. Then I visited the men who were skilled or lucky enough to be untouched by this great creature. 

They came to a clearing in Elfitch Forest, the air turned cold, birds stopped chirping, tree limbs began to shake. There came the great Stone Giant out of the woods. The Witch riding on its back. They managed to trip the Giant using rope and climb onto its back, killing the Witch by putting a sword through her heart.  Then beating on the Giant until it was in one-hundred different pieces. 

Day had turned into night and I was making my way back to my quarters to vainly attempt to sleep as I had done the last week. As I made it to the door I was stopped by one of my Wife’s Serfs. She looked panicked and afraid. 

“My King come quickly. Your wife is in labor.” She turned and ran towards the labor room. 

I followed after her and soon I saw my Beautiful Wife struggling in pain. I closed my eyes and wished for this to be over quickly and safely. I stood next to her and took her hand in mine. 

Seconds went by then minutes then hours. I worried and wondered if the Witches curse would have any effect on my child. Finally, the baby was born. The midwives cleaned the baby off and wrapped it in soft warm blankets then handed them to my wife.

“A beautiful baby girl.” My Wife said marveling at her beauty.

A baby girl! My heart felt at ease. My entire body relaxed then the last thing I remember is hitting the floor.

I awoke in my chambers hours later, coughing so hard I felt my lungs would burst at any second. After it stopped I took a deep breath, I tasted blood in my mouth. I looked next to me and my wife sat nursing the baby. 

“You’re sick.” She said. “The doctors said you don’t have very long left.”

“Yes, my dear. I’ve felt this coming for some time now. I’ve lived a long and wonderful life.” 

“I love you.” She said with tears in her eyes.

“I love you more than all the stars in the sky.” I croaked out.

I began coughing harder than before and felt my chest tightening more and more. I faded in and out of consciousness, memories flooded my mind. Good and Bad. 

But I was at peace. The Witch’s curse could never come true. My Daughter would start a new tradition, she would go on to rule just as I did and as my Father did and so forth but not as King. She would have to pave her own way as Queen.