Tale of Four

Gerlad looked at Adrian Doyle, a thin man with a clean-shaven head, nothing like his brother Oscar. Raising an eyebrow, he watched as Adrian looked into the distance at the approaching horse rider. His soldiers all watched like hawks, wondering if it was a trick of the enemy, but Gerlad waved them down after seeing the golden Clover.

’If he wished to fight, Uncle would have already sent an army. He isn’t the type to be halfhearted.’ Although bitter at having been shot down so easily for his own proposal about Mabel, there was a thin hope. He had sent his terms to Elias and was hoping the Prince Regent would accept. It was only a matter of waiting. Once the marriage went through, it would be a simple matter of removing Elias and having a child with Mabel.

A thin smile appeared on his lips as the rider approached. "I shall go and meet them, father. They likely are here to speak to me." Adrian didn’t spare a look at his bastard son and nodded, making sure his men didn’t drop their vigilance. Climbing down the wall of the keep, Gerald stepped out the gate and approached the lone figure.

His smile grew seeing who it was. "Christian." The young heir to the Flatlands looked down at him and beamed with a smile that was comparable to the sun. Jumping off his horse, the earth delighted in his presence, as flowers pierced from the ground. Gerlad looked at the land surrounding Christian and couldn’t help but be amazed every time he saw it. Unlike the rest of his family, Christian was different. Where he could make nature bloom if he purposefully powered the power in his blood, Christian’s mere presence had the effect, without doing anything.

Even his uncle and mother weren’t as powerful; the two had to run the power to a certain degree to even mimic Christian natural state. It wasn’t just the earth that bloomed for him. The air changed, carrying the smell of nature; the sky around him felt brighter, and the rains softened. With each step Christian took towards him, he left behind green footprints of grass stronger than those at the side of the dirt track.

"Gerald." Christian happily said and took Gerald into an embrace, rubbing the back of his head. It was an invasive hug, but Gerald, as always, found it oddly comfortable. "You must stop, cousin. Father is willing to forgive you for this; he understands that you are hurting." Breaking away from the hug, Gerald stared into Christian’s green eyes, which were greener than any green and radiated a kind light. "You’re breaking Auntie’s heart by doing this Gerlad. Come home, all will be forgiven."

"Christian." Gerald looked down to the ground and clenched his fists behind his back. Whilst he loved the thought of ending his rebellion against his family, he couldn’t accept it. No matter how good they treated him, no matter how many times Hector would let him sit and give his input, he knew what he was. He was a bastard, and one that would always live in his perfect cousin’s shadow. His desires, his wants and ambitions would never be considered so long as he remained with them. He had to prove he was more. "Give me time, please. I’ve sent word to Prince Elias. I offered to marry his sister." He leaned closer.

"We can kill him when I get her pregnant." He whispered as if someone who shouldn’t hear would. "My uncle has already sent word. Although it was cryptic, he says the Prince Regent is unstable. All we have to do is make that instability seem like the cause and put the Princess on the throne. No one would want her other brother as king anyway." Christian didn’t interrupt, hearing everything Gerald said and nodding.

"But Gerald." He finally spoke, "Your baby brother will be king. Are you really going to take that from him?" Gerald looked away in shame, thinking of George. Christian smiled, seeing his hesitation. "I know, you have desired the Princess ever since you saw her. I also know you wish for so much more. But cousin, to make harvest bloom is a team effort." Christian pumped his fists like a child. "Don’t betray your family becuase of this. You can’t have the princess, but we can find you another bride."

"You don’t understand." Gerald said with venom, "It’s easy for you to say that, Christian. You’re legitimate. You can have anything you want. What about me? What about my other family? The Doyles are on the King’s council. We have power and are now having to prove we deserve it. War threatens us losing it." Even if he hated how the rest of the Clovers were treating him and the Doyles at the moment, the anger in his eyes died down looking at Christian. There was no reason for it, after all; he loved Christian as much as he loved Hector. Rather, it was a simple matter of looking at Christian and seeing his bright gaze wipe away the anger.

"You can have power and still remember the blood inside you." Christian said as if it were the easiest thing, "Please, don’t be reckless. I know and even like your plan. Letting you have the bride you wanted and putting our blood on the throne. It is smart. But this isn’t a story, and we are my father’s servants. All we must do is follow orders."

"All I must do is follow orders." Gerlad corrected, "You don’t. Hector doesn’t care what you do, even if it affects him. You’re his golden child, the one who can do no wrong, Christian. The rest of us can’t be like that, and when we try, we are shut down." Gerlad sighed. Only the likes of me and Ander must do that. I love Ander, but I don’t want to be like him. I envy everything about him bar his inability to think and act for himself."

"Has my father never listened to any of you? He listened to you, Gerald, and considered your proposal. It wasn’t strong enough. Had you already been married to the princess and she were pregnant, perhaps, but as of now." Christian smile grew. "You have no cards." Gerlad clenched his fist but quickly undid it. It was an arrogant way of saying it, but coming from Christians mouth, free of any malice or hate, it sounded like it was; the simple truth.

"All I need is time," Gerlad begged, making Christian sigh. Closing his eyes, he thought for a moment.

"Having two Cosmaton-Clovers is better than one." Saying under his breath, he looked past Gerald. "But we already made a deal with Brandon. How would it look if we married Anton’s daughter?"

"All we need is for Anton to lose." Christian laughed from the depths of his soul at how easily Gerald said it. Wiping away a tear from his eye, he spoke.

"Beat the Webweaver." He chuckled again, hiding his perfect set of teeth behind a hand. "Gerald, you’re really funny. Tell me, if we did this, we need to prove our loyalty to Brandon, so long as we swear to him, which means giving him something of value. There are a few options. Take Everlight, kill Anton, or kill Elias." Christian smirked. "The thing is, in my opinion, the hardest of those three is to kill Anton, and you say it so easily. We can’t rely on anyone else but our family to do that. Sure, we may have numbers, but so did the desert when they stormed Silent Hill. Anton won with fifty men, Gerald."

"But why must we support Brandon?"

"Becuase George will be king." Christian’s smile fell for the first time. "I will not deny that sweet boy his right. And neither will you. I can allow your dream; I can allow our family to play both sides; I cannot allow you to take what is his. Father said it himself. We do not march for Brandon nor Anton, but George."

"Christian, please." Gerlad said with a deep voice, "I just need time. I can make this work." Christian thought for a moment and clicked his tongue.

"I have a plan in mind already to deal with this rebellion your father and the rest are causing. It will take time, but it will work." Christian’s foot bounced, making grass and flowers spread with each touch. "Two weeks. Now, this isn’t just to get married but to get her pregnant. However, if House Doyle does anything to harm the Flatlands, the deal is over. If House Doyle sends any more troops to aid Anton, the deal is over."

"That’s hardly fair." Gerald spat, "For her to arrive it would take nearly a week. If she does, and we consummate the marriage, it would take far longer than a week to know if it had any effects."

Christian nodded his head. "That’s fair. If you can consummate the marriage within those two weeks, I will assume she is pregnant. I mean, after a while it would be only a matter of time anyway." Shrugging, Christian looked up at the keep. "Your real worry should be your father. Can you keep him contained? Becuase if he does either of the things I warned, we will know."

"I..." Gerlad clicked his tongue. "I can try. So long as he doesn’t feel threatened."

"Wonderful." Christian clapped his hands together. "That being said, if it fails, what next? Will you give up?" Gerald stayed silent, unable to answer. The light in Christian’s eyes dimmed as he lowered his head. "A shame." His voice was mournful. "Becuase if you don’t, I won’t be the one to come next time. I do not wish bad fortune on you ever, but my hands will be tied." Shaking his head, not wishing to picture what could happen, Christian turned around. Stepping away, the ground he had stood on seemed to cry at his departure, the pleasant smell of nature vanishing with him.

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