The Royal Wench

James was a very popular name in the Gestle family, and you could tell. It all had originally started as a joke told amongst the commoners about a sir captian james that hailed from a pirate ship and, shortly after arriving onto the land of which no man had gone before, he became a known charmer. Of women and of business asociates. Everyone who ever knew him called him james because at some point, though he had as many freinds as there were trees in the woods, people started to realize that no one actually knew his name. So everyone in the town just started calling him james and james never said anything against it.

And so they did the same with his son, as the father only ever called his son "son."

Of course, all James the third had to do was look back on the family tree stuffed away in his office to know the truth. HIs Grandfathers name was Jack, not James. And his son, widely known as James II, was actually Randle Richard Gestle. But in honor of this ridiculous misunderstanding, Randle named his own son (you guessed it) James.

James grew up with this stupid story and even though he had corrected the commoners, the villagers, and even the nobles, Everyone persisted in calling his dad and grandfather this made up name.

Ironically enough, James goes by Danial, his middle name after some cousin somewhere far off in the family tree who he had never met. Apparently the guy was the man who owned the ship that carried Jack to this side of the world. He had dumped him off on the beach, and left. Never to be seen or heard from again.

Jack never seemed to mind and never talked about his life before coming here. The old man met a chief, married his daughter, and enslaved their people, forcing them to build his palace and mine his gold and silver. Jack was a charmer. He came as a friend and when he took over, the villagers didn't even realize what was going on until it was too late. This is why He will always be pictured as a dark angel of light, blinding you with his beauty to the point where you can't see anymore. Damaging your eyes while you stand still, stunned.

Randle freed them and the villagers became more like commoners, a village became a kingdom.

In just three generations, The Gestle Family name became one of royalty. A name to be reckoned with.

The commoners worship Randle, The Free King, and became fiercely loyal to him not just because they are his "Chief" by blood, but because the man became a force that led them out of very dark times and into an era of prosperity. There wasnt a single hungry belly and the Kingdom thrived exponentially. Colors filled the streets; flowers lined the windows of every town house. Trees were trimmed and there was hardly ever a stick or limb to trip on. The world was at peace with the sounds of art and laughter, as infectious as it is constant.

The Commoners accepted Danial as the next Ruler, but Danial has yet to prove himself to be a wise king, a true Descendant of a Historical man. He had a huge shoe to fill and not a lot of time to do it. This was why the Free King had declared it time for the prince to wed. It was obvious he was hoping the right arrangement would ease the peoples fear of another Gestle abruptly turning the tables on the people yet again.

Gossip spread like wildfire about who it could be and how each match would benefit the Kingdom. The announcement had every noble on edge, proudly showcasing their daughters and the numbers of sons that run in the family, evidence of the fertility of the women they had married.

Banners of each family house waved cheerfully along the roads, desperately trying to catch the attention of the prince or, more importantly, the King. Daughters wore their best dress and were starting to let their long hair down, just in case they get lucky with the opportunity to be m=introduced to Danial.

But the King had someone in mind, a family friend from the time before the Kingdom, when the village was just a village and there were no stone houses. A friend to find the perfect bride for the future king.

and he was sitting in a tavern, hood covering the top part of his face and eyeing the people around him, a plan already formed in his head about exactly what to do and how to action to take.

The wood from the bedpost creaked as if the man who had just plopped down on it weighed a ton and a half. He laid down and spread his heavy arms across the bed, his back popping.

Gavin was only thirty years old, but he felt as if he were older. It was hard day, but not in the sense of him being physically exhausted but mentally spent. Today was the anniversary of The Bleeding Rose.

It was said that an hour before the wedding between james the first and his bride, a foreseer had visited the village and told them of thier eventual fate. How the village of animal hide and dirt would become a kingdom of stone, Gold, and silver. And as the seer told the fortune of the village, she was revealing a rose which appeared to have been bleeding, representing the blood which would pour out from the people later.

It was a day of remembrance for Gavins people, the now commoners of the Gestle Kingdom. It was a day of quietness and mourning, as some of the people who had lived through the days of being slaves and then becoming free citizens were still alive. These same people were called elders and would often sit around fire pits and told these historical stories to the younger generation. Teaching them to always be prepared and cautious. To pay attention to the royal family and their politics.

Gavins own father was the man who had successfully helped the Free King completely change everything, breaking those chains and starting new.

Now Gavin was the princes most trusted guard.

A knock thundered from the door, quick and loud. "Sir Gavin! The King requests your presence immediately."

Gavin signed and then groaned as he sat up, straightened his shirt and headed to open the door. The young man, nearly a boy, stood there proudly and waited for Gavin to follow him.

"What is this about?" Gavin asked as the boy lead him down the hallway and up the stairs. The young man shrugged his shoulders, "All I know is the King wants to see you."

Nearly everyone in the castle, in the kingdom, was asleep by now. But when you're a king, the time is no important thing when something, no matter how tedious, comes up.

The boy stopped in front of the biggest double doors in the hallway. Covered in gold and unmistakenly meant for a King. The boy knocked, waited for the okay from the king inside, and presented Gavin.

A rather huge fire roared from the fireplace with the King standing infront of it. Though Gavins own father had alwasy talked highly of the king, Gavin could never understadn why. The man had freed his people and would always be widely known for it. But perhaps that will be the only thing he will ever do. He was no athletic man, not even a smart one. In fact, sometimes Gavin wondered why his father helped this skinny and unappealing male. He also toyed with the idea that maybe it was not his idea at all to free the slaves, but rather he had been persuaded or controlled by someone. Maybe by Gavins father.

One thing for certain that Gavin will always think, but never speak, is that the so-called Free King was not a man someone would see on the street and declare him to be a hero by just looks alone.

"Welcome, Gavin. Come in. I have a mission for you." The king backed away from the fireplace and faced Gavin. He stretched out his long boney hand towards a chair and sat on the one beside it.

Gavin nearly sighed. It was so late, and he was so tired. Today was a holiday meant to ease and rest the soul while remembering our Kingdoms history. Did the King really have to send him out now?

So he sat and waited for the king to speak, hoping he could go to bed afterwards and wait until tomorrow when he could take his time with this so called mission.

The king leaned back into the chair, "I made that announcement regarding the nuptials of my son hoping a noble with a strong bloodline linked to the commoners would step up and offer his daughter. However, it seems every Noble family that lives here all hail from foreign countries. I need a blood link stronger than my own to assure the people about their wellbeing's in the future to come."

The king frowned and paused while looking intensely at Gavin. Gavin waited for the king to tell him how this was his problem and what exactly he wanted him to do.

"Gavin," The king said, "Your family has been side by side with mine. My mother was the sister of your great uncle. If you were a girl I would have you wed my son and it would solve all of my problems. But as you are not a daughter, I need you to find me one from your family." Gavin tried to hide his own shock as the king continued, "Be it a cousin, a niece, or an aunt. As long as she is related to you and is young enough to produce heirs. Find her, and bring her here."

Gaving felt his blood boil a bit. A daughter from his own family, a precious woman of his bloodline to be tainted by this mans blood. A precous daughter to suffer the princes touch and have to carry the weight of the first kings doings?

Gavin did not speak, but instead nodded, as he was afraid of the words begging to be shouted at the king. The King needed a daughter, and he would find one. But it will be over his own dead body before he gives the royal family one from his own family.

Gavin steeled himself from bolting out of the door, to the nearest tavern to find a whore for the prince. Whatever he does next will have to be calculated. Planned and thought through. His father may have kissed the earth this king stepped on, but Gavin had completely differed opinions about the family he served. He forced his eyes closed. He will start tomarrow.

"As long as she is related to you," floated in his head, "young enough to produce heirs."