The Kindness of Kings Read online

  The Kindness of Kings

  By Chelsea Ballinger

  The Kindness of Kings © 2014 Chelsea Ballinger

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

  distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or

  retrieval system, without the prior written approval of the author except for the use

  of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Published by Chelsea Ballinger

  Edited by Tracy Marcynzsyn

  Cover created by Chelsea Ballinger

  This is a work of fiction. Names, titles, places, characters, and events are the

  product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to

  actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks,

  service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied

  endorsement.

  Playlist

  “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” –Plato

  Imagine Dragons- Radioactive

  Imagine Dragons- Demons

  Florence and the Machine- Blinding

  Paper Route- Dance On Our Graves

  Jay-Z & Kanye West- Watch the Throne

  Gabrielle Aplin- My Salvation

  Amy Stroup- Hold Onto Hope Love

  Sia & Weeknd- Elastic Heart

  Lauren Aquillina- King

  Christina Perri- Distance

  Ellie Goulding- Only You

  M83- Wait

  Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Subway

  Kanye West- Love Lockdown

  Frank Ocean- Thinking About You

  Kid Cudi- My World

  Sanders Bohlke- The Weight Of Us

  Florence and The Machine- Drumming Song

  Florence and The Machine- Drumming Song

  Snow Patrol- Lightning Strike

  Hans Zimmer- Time

  FOR THE DREAMERS AND LOVERS

  Prologue

  “Kings are more prone to mistrust the good than the bad; and they are always afraid of the virtues of others.” - Sallust

  “There is no such thing as a kind king. You can be a generous one, but never kind,” Caius, King of Serenity, told his son when he was two years old. Even though he knew his son didn’t understand him or know what he meant, Caius considered the words as a hidden indent into the young crown prince. While some might argue the contradiction in the “generous-but-never-kind” statement, in a king’s world, the meaning was clear as day. Caius had to prepare his first-born son for the future, because being a king takes great strength and authority, as Caius was taught. He was also taught that a king only needs one son; if he has another one, the second one must be at least seven years younger. History had already proven in other kingdoms that when two sons close to the same age were born, the second son often became jealous of the first and would have a right to overthrow their sibling. In today’s age of modern technology, predicting the sex of a child before its born is possible. Rumors, that were indeed true, circulated about kingdoms where a second son would be aborted in order to prevent the chance of a future overthrow. It didn’t even matter if the child was well-developed within the womb; the queen would be forced to have an abortion and lies about a miscarriage would be told to the people. That horrible moment never came for Queen Serene, wife of King Caius. The day she received her ultrasound was a joyous one for both she and Caius, but unfortunately for Caius, even technology has proven to make mistakes sometimes.

  “Ahhhhhh!” the Queen yelled in pain.

  “Your Majesty, we are going to have to perform a C-section if you and your child are to survive,” the doctor informed Serene.

  She had been in labor for eighteen hours of unforgivable pain. The child in her was strong, she would always say. This child, she said, was different. She felt the presence it had given her, the happiness and pureness she felt. An overwhelming feeling had come over her every day for nine months and three weeks. She knew this child was special.

  “No, she will come. I know she will, please,” Serene begged, huffing and puffing after trying to push.

  “Then you will have to push harder,” the doctor instructed.

  Holding onto the hand of her first lady and friend, Jezebel, she gave one last long firing push and a cry was heard. But what was supposed to be a joyous day for the King turned out to be his worst nightmare as he stared at the baby and saw it was, in fact, a boy.

  “What is this?” the King asked in a calm tone, though coated with grit and intimidation.

  “Your Majesty…” the doctor said, nervously. “You have a son.”

  “Well, I see that, but I recall you saying it was a girl!” The king’s scream caused everyone in the hospital room to freeze in silence. The doctor himself feared for not only his career but his head.

  Two sons were considered a downfall in a kingdom, and Serenity did not need any more downfalls. Known for being one of the most powerful countries on the outside, inside, it was slowly crumbling.

  +

  “We have to do something,” Caius said, pacing in their bedroom.

  “Caius what do you expect us to do? Everyone knows. This isn’t as horrible as you think,” Serene said to her husband.

  “How could you think this isn’t a problem? I should have that doctor killed.”

  “Caius, stop it.”

  “Serene, we could send him away. We could say the child became sick and give him to an adoption agency secretly.”

  Serene gaped at her husband. “Caius are you hearing yourself? I will not let go of my son.”

  “You don’t have a choice!”

  “Neither do you. Everyone will find out either way, so I suggest you adapt to this!” She calmed down. “Maybe, it’s God’s gift to us for all of these years of hard work. I worked hard to bear you a son. Law has it that if a wife does not bear a male heir to the king in seven years of marriage, the Republic could challenge the throne. We got lucky in our seventh year with not only a child, but a son, our Sedgwick. Now God is making sure we have another beautiful boy.”

  “Well he could have waited to grant us another son. You know what could happen. It will bring nothing but chaos for this family and country.”

  “It will only bring chaos if you let it.” Serene walked towards her husband and placed her hand upon his cheek. “Look at me, Caius.”

  The King turned his head towards his wife and looked into the eyes that always reflected a glimpse of the humanity he had left in him.

  “We will be okay if we stick together. He will not be what you think. He will be amazing and he will love his brother and stand by his side.”

  “And what if he doesn’t?”

  “He will. You’ll see.”

  The Queen left her husband in their room to sulk while she took their son to meet his little brother. The young Crown Prince smiled at the sight of his younger brother.

  “You see your brother Sedgwick?” the Queen said while holding her newborn son in her arms in the rocking chair. Her trusted lady in waiting, Jezebel, held Sedgwick over his little brother.

  “I think they are going to get along quite well,” Serene smiled.

  “I agree Your Majesty,” Jezebel said, looking harder at the newborn’s features. “He has your eyes too.”

  “Yes, I suppose he does. My eyes, and I can already tell he is going to have the King’s frown,” the Queen said with a laugh.

  “Did you decide on a name? You know the people are waiting.”

  “Yes, especially the media vultu
res. They’ll surely fuel Caius’ paranoia of having two royal sons so close in age.” The Queen placed Louie in his crib, staring at her son and cocking her head to the side with curiosity and a smile. She found him enchanting. As the Queen of Serenity and a mother of two future influential people, she wondered how their lives would be. As a mother, fear and excitement was natural, and she thought about the curses of royalty; both boys would forever have limits.

  “Louie,” she answered brightly.

  “Why Louie, Madam?” Jezebel asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess it was placed on my heart,” she said, looking at Jezebel. “I looked it up a couple of days ago. It means ‘famous warrior.’ I think he will be a great warrior in many ways, in royalty and in love. A great man. Louie, so simple, yet more.” She looked back at her smiling son and rubbed his tummy. “Welcome… Prince Louie.”

  Chapter 1

  Children of Royals

  “Come on Sedgwick!” Louie demanded his brother to keep fighting. The two Princes had spent the summer afternoon playing with plastic swords, pretending to be great warriors in a battle. Sedgwick was ten and bigger, but his eight-year-old brother, Louie, was faster and better with a sword.

  “Come on Louie,” Sedgwick said, trying to catch a breath. “I’m tired.”

  “Well if you’re gonna be King someday, you gotta learn to man up, isn’t that what Father says?” Louie teased his older brother.

  “Guys, I’m hungry! Come on!” yelled their friend Bartleby, the heavyset son of one of their limo drivers.

  “Shut up, Bartleby,” Louie turned to him and pointed his weapon towards him, then turned back around and charged at his brother, holding his sword high in the air. Sedgwick smirked to himself and rolled over, swinging his sword at his brother’s leg and causing him to trip and fall on his stomach. When Louie turned over on his back, he was met by his brother’s sword and a big grin.

  “Bravo! Bravo!” The boys stood up straight at their father’s applause at Sedgwick’s defeat over Louie.

  “That my boy, is how a king wins a battle,” the King said, walking over to Sedgwick. “The moment your opponent lets his arrogance get the best of him, you defeat him with a strike of surprise.”

  Louie watched as his father patted and brushed his brother’s brown hair, staring at him proudly. Unfortunately, Caius never looked at Louie that way. Instead, Caius turned towards Louie with a look of disapproval.

  “Louie, if you want to be your brother’s right hand when he is King, you must learn to never be a show off and to always have your guard up,” the King said to his son, as if he was a drill sergeant rather than his father.

  “That’s enough Caius.” Louie relaxed at the sound of his mother’s tender voice. She stood at the steps of the castle wearing a long teal sundress.

  “I’m just teaching our boys what to expect of their future, that’s all,” Caius informed her.

  “Well that’s enough. Lunch will be ready soon. Besides, I’m sure Bartleby is hungry,” Serene said, glancing with a smile at the sandy brown-haired chubby boy who was always hungry.

  “YES!” Bartleby screamed as he ran into the house. Sedgwick hugged his mother and followed Bartleby. The Queen walked to her husband and gave him a long, tender kiss. Louie watched them, fascinated by moments like this. These moments were the only times he saw an example of his father’s heart. Caius entered the castle’s side doors of the upper ward as the Queen watched. Seeing his feelings, she walked over and squatted down in front of him.

  “Don’t worry, Louie. You are an excellent swordsman,” his mother assured.

  A bright smile appeared on the young Prince’s face. “You think Mama?”

  “I know.” Serene hugged her blond-haired son and looked him right in his green eyes with a smile, reassuring her love for him as she always did. Now these moments, these moments with him and his mother gave him peace and assurance that he was loved.

  “Come on, let’s go eat.” Serene grabbed her son’s hand as he clanged to her hip and together they entered their home, Serenity Castle.

  +

  Ever since Louie was born, Serene had made it her duty to show love to her youngest son. She never wanted envy and jealousy to crawl into Louie’s soul. She wanted him to know that he was good enough and not only loved, but deserving of love. Before long, however, more than feelings of neglect from his father would ignite an untold animosity between him and his older brother.

  “What are you boys doing?!” yelled Jezebel as she watched Bartleby and Louie try to grab one of her freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. “Those are not for you… at least not yet.”

  “Who are they for?” a curious Louie asked.

  Guests, new maids are coming,” Jezebel said.

  “Why? Don’t we have enough of those? And why does Mother meet them? Father says they’re just servants.”

  “Louie, your mother is a woman who knows that no matter what title you have, you are to be acknowledged and respected.”

  “So why do they need cookies?” Bartleby said, stuffing his face with one.

  Jezebel glared and answered his question. “Well, there will be a child with one of them.”

  “Like us?”

  “Yes, hopefully not as greedy as you.”

  Bartleby was the son of limo driver, Max. He had been living there for two years. The first moment he met the Princes, they’d teased him about his weight, but still befriended him, secretly wanting a friend. Being royalty came with consequences. Children were cruel to the boys, automatically labeling them as people who viewed themselves better than all. Louie spent more time with Bartleby, while his brother spent time with Caius learning the ways of a prince. Louie would skip the classes that his father taught for his heirs because his father always ignored him during the sessions, focusing more on his brother.

  “Well, hopefully they’re not as fat as you either,” Louie laughed, snatching a cookie and quickly running outside. Bartleby followed.

  Jezebel laughed and continued with the preparations. Jezebel was a woman of mystery for the children. She was a traveler, a gypsy some had called her. Most of her life, she and her family had traveled through Serenity after migrating from Romania when she was three. She ventured out on her own when she turned eighteen, exploring the world with little money. She had finally found a home when she met a then twenty three year old Serene who was only a duchess and under negotiations between her father and the King, arranged to be married to Caius. Serene was allowed to hire someone to stay at her side and help with house duties when she would be married to the future King, a personal maid, Serene saw it as, but when she met the free spirited Jezebel who wore a tie dye shirt, had her hair wrapped in a tribal pattern scarf around her head, and a piercing in her nose to her interview, Serene knew Jezebel would be more than a First lady for her. Jezebel had become her friend.

  +

  After Sedgwick finished his session with Caius, he joined them, laying on the lawn in front of the lower ward section of Serenity Castle where the main entrance for visitors was located. The boys loved to stare at the clouds. It was one of their favorite things to do, especially Louie’s.

  “That looks like a horse,” Bartleby said, pointing at a cloud that looked more like a blob than a horse.

  “That’s not a horse dummy, it’s a− well I don’t know what it is, but it’s not a horse,” Louie replied.

  “Yeah Bartleby, you’re an idiot,” Sedgwick cosigned.

  Bartleby responded by punching both Princes in the arms. The brothers jumped on top of Bartleby and started wrestling.

  “Come on guys! Get off!” screamed Bartleby as Sedgwick and Louie pinned his face to the grass and laughed.

  Louie, not being able to hold on any longer, fell off of Bartleby, landing on his back. Sedgwick and Bartleby continued rolling around while Louie laid there staring at the sky that was the greatest wonder to him. Being royal, naturally religion played a great part. Kings and queens were considered to be anointed chi
ldren of God; beings chosen to lead his people to salvation. Church every Sunday was a must to learn the truth of their maker, but for Louie, like most children, it was boring and confusing. Like his mother predicted, he was a child of questions and curiosity and with those questions, he chose not to trust a higher being. Yes, it was the fact that even though he was a child of riches and a high title, he was still a child who was emotionally abused by his father, and the abuse would only grow worse.

  In the middle of his thoughts, Louie saw a flash of light from the sky, as if a shooting star was possible to occur in the daylight. Louie wondered what it meant. He always looked for signs of meanings because Jezebel said life brings signs in the most unexpected places.

  Suddenly, he heard one of their many town cars pull up in front of the main entrance. A woman stepped out of the car as Louie stood up to see. She was a pretty average woman with black hair in a bun and a long blue skirt with a buttoned blouse. Louie knew she was one of the new maids Jezebel informed them about. The Queen, along with Jezebel, came outside and greeted the woman.

  “Hello. I’m glad you made it safely,” Serene said.

  The woman quickly curtsied for the queen.

  “Oh don’t worry about that now,” Serene said. Although unspoken, Louie loved how his mother did not let her title change her fully. She still showed how humble she was amongst others.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty, for granting me this job,” the new maid thanked the queen.

  “The pleasure is mine.”

  Louie looked at the two women chatting. As soon as he decided to go back to what he was doing, he heard the car door open from the other side. The first thing he noticed were small feet dangling out of the car with white sandals on them. The small feet belonged to a little girl who was nervously stepping out of the car in a white sunflower dress, hair long to her back and brunette. She had a pretty yellow ribbon tied on her head as a headband and big bright hazel eyes that Louie could see from where he was standing. He was instantly mesmerized by the little girl that looked about his age. From the moment the sun reflected off of her, his heart sped faster and his body filled with unexplainable feelings. An anxiety slowly crept up on him. He never suspected a girl as pretty as she was to put him at pause.