Marcys: A New Heir

January 29

Between the rough seas and Ardythe's constant demands I have been unable to write until now. I will not apologize for it. It cannot be helped and will likely happen again. Thus far, we have picked up four young people for the king to adopt: Rownet, Forlaith, Leofrick, Sadon, and now Aedan.
Allow me to give you a small piece of my reflections on each of them before I tell you of our latest acquisition. Rownet, while a little old is a great beauty. In my opinion, her age brings a certain grace to our group that will enhance rather than detract from our mission. Even if the foreigners refuse her, she will help the other women approach their task with an air of dignity.
The other lady, thus far, is Forlaith. I am truly surprised she is not already wed! She is only seventeen, so she is far from being in danger, but her sweetness of heart and soft beauty make her very desirable. If I were twenty or so years younger she would present a great temptation. I have even seen the king looking at her, though he seems aware of the conflict and is making an effort to check his silent glances in her direction.
Leofrick is the opposite of Forlaith in every way. He is a bony oddity with awkward manners and a knack for playing pranks on the others. At least he does not seem to be mourning the loss of his old life. Ardythe has threatened to throw him overboard many a time. I keep insisting we need him to make the others seem more beautiful and to keep them from being suspicious. Every family has a black sheep in the family. Besides, the way he annoys Ardythe is the picture of a rambunctious child.
Next is Sadon. The lad is quiet and awkward, but I see hope for him. Unlike the others, he does not come from a family of luxury. Though a nobel, his family was hit by hard times and he grew up working like any common field hand. It will be a struggle to transform him into a prince, but if it can be done, he will be a great asset—he is the most handsome young man we have found thus far.
Last, but certainly not least, is Aedan. We picked him up about a week ago. I would have liked to write about his retrieval immediately, while it was still fresh in my brain, because it was such a bizarre experience, but the seas would not allow it. Suffice it to say that when his parents agreed to send him with us, he fought us—nearly even made it past our guards. In fact, he severely wounded one of Ardythe's men. Of course, this did not change Ardythe's mind about him. If anything, it made the king like him even more. As Ardythe said to me later that night, “This family needs a warrior.”
It was Aedan's mother who finally stopped his thirsty sword. She ran to him and was nearly struck herself. Eventually she calmed him enough that he began to listen to her descriptions of the many adventures he could have while sailing with us, though in reality she had no idea what reasons we demanded his company. To my surprise, he settled down rather quickly. He even gave up his sword. His mother's descriptions were not enough to result in such a transformation. I personally do not trust him.
The other oddity was the lad's father's sudden change of mine. Initially he looked ready to call his own soldiers down upon us, but Ardythe took him aside and whispered a few short sentences in the lord's ear, after which the lord was quite agreeable to our terms. I cannot help but wonder what sort of blackmail the king has on Aedan's father.
Now for the newest member of this new family.
First we had to travel a long way to get to him. His family reside in Florin which lays on the southern side of Cathan. On the way to this secluded spot, we stopped in a number of other villages, but found the families to have nothing but ugly, fretful children.
In Florin, Ardythe, Jehan and I went ashore, leaving the others behind under Haddock's care. This sprawling city is wedged between a long river, that took us half the day to sail and row up, and the jagged edge of the Southern Mountains. But within that small space, a large population dwells, living on their extensive trade, their mountain game, and their fresh water fish.
The three of us were met by the lord and his younger brother, Kaplan, the very man we wanted to see. With Kaplan we had to approach the situation rather differently from our pervious encounters. The others were all children, still under the protection and control of their parents. But at twenty-eight, Kaplan is a man in his own right. He was just as we hoped he'd be—tall, handsome, confident in himself and his position. He sat astride his mighty destrier looking like the crown prince we needed.
Before traveling to his home, Jehan, Ardythe, Haddock and myself had all done extensive research on him and his brother. The general word was encouraging—each trade partner, each lord, each serf we encountered on our travels said the same thing: they wished Kaplan had been the one to inherit. The serfs praised his generosity and stewardship; the lords all wanted their daughters to be wedded and bedded by him despite his lack of land; and the traders enumerated the transactions where he had showed great wit and economy.
I glanced at Ardythe to see his reaction to our first sight of the famous man and was happy to see a large smile spreading across the kings flat features. He was happy with what he saw.
“You highness,” said Kaplan's brother as he bowed from his place on his horse before quickly dismounting. Kaplan's brother was far from ridiculous or ugly, but next to his younger brother he could not help but fade into the background. There was something about the younger man that drew the eye without one even meaning to look at him. “We had word of your approach. Forgive the impertinence, but I have brought horses for your use here in Florin and prepared rooms for you and your group. I understood from my spies in Caithness that you traveled with two beautiful young women and a few lads.”
Ardythe's smile vanished. “I do,” he admitted in a hard voice. “But they remain on the ship. Sadly our stay will not be a long one. It is Kaplan I have come to see.”
I noticed the older brother swallow convulsively before glancing at his younger brother, who had tried, and failed, to be inconspicuous. At the mention of his name he looked up, and if I'm not mistaken, smiled a little. Despite the deferential treatment of his brother, I sensed that he preferred to be given the bear's share of the attention, as we say in Bathum.
“Might I at least offer you some refreshments while you discuss your business with my brother,” offered the lord once he had regained his composure.
We rode up to the small castle—me struggling to stay on my rambunctious horse the whole way there. At the castle we settled in for the awkward conversation, Kaplan's brother being pointedly dismissed.
“Now, your grace, what is it I, a lowly younger brother, can do for you?”
“It is a rather unusual request. I will need to give you a little background first.”
And so the king, with Jehan's occasional helpful hint, explained it all—the coming war, our gift of an island, and our ludicrous plan. The young man smiled and smirked through the whole retelling. In the end, Ardythe made his request.
“So it comes down to this, Kaplan,” began the king in a hesitant voice. I had never heard him sound so uncertain, and I've know him since he was a young lad. “I need an heir. I have heard nothing but good about you throughout my travels.”
“You want me to be your heir?” asked Kaplan when the king didn't continue.
“Yes. Though there are some conditions. You must marry a foreign princess. If you are unable to form a union during our time there, I will have to look at one of the other young men I have collected. But I really doubt that will be a problem.”
Kaplan smiled and blushed ever-so-slightly, just enough to make you feel his appreciation of the compliment, but not enough to make you feel uncomfortable.
“And of course, this must all be a secret. The other adopted children do not even know of our plans yet. I need your full cooperation and loyalty.”
Kaplan nodded. “I would be honored to serve in this way.”
I smiled. Yes, Kaplan knew how to win an audience. He would make an excellent heir.
Though I try not to look to the future, it holds nothing for me, but this is one of those moments I cannot help it. Kaplan will become Ardythe's heir, not just in name, but in reality. What sort of king will he make? This nation needs some young person to put their hopes in. Is he ready for such a burden? Is his shoulders strong enough?
Kaplan was quick to pack and even quicker to explain to his brother his sudden departure. Well, not really explain. I believe all he said is “the king needs me. I will not be returning.”
We were back on the boat and introducing him to his new siblings before the sun had set. In fact, we were able start our way back down the long river that lead up to Florin.
While the young people were getting acquainted, Haddock took me by my arm and pulled me away from the group huddled on the deck. His brows were pulled together.
“We go on from here back to Bathum, correct?”
“Yes, of course. You know our itinerary same as me.”
“And we are going to see the girl Jocosa?”
“Again, you know that.”
“Then there is something you need to know. The reason I know this Jocosa girl is because Alek has had... um... dealings with her.”
“Dealings?” I asked, afraid I already knew his answer.
“The child is not a virgin.”
I ground my teeth together. We didn't know the foreigners' views on virginity and marriage, but here it was a black mark on a woman. Perhaps a little unfair, but such is life. Well, we were hiding the fact she wasn't really Ardythe's child, I was sure we could hide this little tid-bit.
“Very well. If Ardythe decides to take her along, we will just leave Alek behind. I'm sure you can get him a position on another boat. It won't be forever. You all will be back before you know it!”
To my surprise Haddock shook his head. Was he really so attached to his son that he couldn't spend six months away from him?
“Did you not know? Alek has visited the Mallawi many times. Though he is not intimate with their culture, he does speak a little of their language and knows a little of their culture. He will be invaluable on this venture. More valuable than some girl.”
I frowned. Somehow this information had not gotten to me. I don't believe Haddock purposefully withheld it. My guess is he simply assumed I knew and never thought to share.
I took the matter to Ardythe. He didn't seem too concerned. If Jocosa turned out to be as beautiful as he expected, we would simply take them both along—after all, Alek knew better than to touch the king's daughter. Or at least this was Ardythe's reasoning.
I am not so sure. Haddock did not seem to think it that simple, and at present I trust his instincts more than the kings. Perhaps I am just being paranoid.
Marcys