The Kindness of Kings

by Chelsea Ballinger

  “Whoa, who is that?” Bartleby asked as he and Sedgwick stood next to Louie.

  “I guess one of mother’s new maids… and her daughter?” Sedgwick slowly smiled while observing the enchanting girl. “She’s really pretty.”

  “Ew! She’s a girl,” Bartleby spoke in disgust and made a face.

  “Shut up, Bartleby! You just said, ‘whoa who is that?!’” Sedgwick pointed out.

  “I said that because… ew, she’s a girl.”

  The little girl curtsied for the Queen, who was delighted to meet her.

  “Boys come here!” Serene called her sons. They ran to the women and stood in front of the Queen facing the new maid and the little girl. “I would like you to meet Ms. Harmon and her niece, Mina.”

  “Hey,” said a nervous Bartleby.

  “Hello, I’m Prince Sedgwick,” Sedgwick said, being a nice young gentlemen and extending his hand to shake Mina’s.

  “Hello,” Mina replied with a shy smile as she noticed the adorable blue eyes of the Crown Prince.

  “Louie?” Serene said, noticing her son had not introduced himself after a slight awkward pause.

  Louie remained beguiled by the little girl. He noticed as she faced his way the dimples on her cheeks and the brightness her smile displayed. Mina herself noticed his green eyes and the equal unexplainable feeling she felt from his intense stare.

  “Louie,” the Queen said, nudging the young prince to show his manners. “Say hello.”

  Louie looked at his mother, snapping out of his trance, then at Mina. He extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Louie,” he said.

  Mina shook his hand. Overwhelmed by the feeling of intensity, Louie quickly pulled his hand away.

  “Okay, come on so we can go get you settled. You are going to love it here in Serenity Castle,” Serene said to them as she and Jezebel began the tour while the boys wondered about the girl that would be staying with them.

  +

  From the moment Mina Farren arrived, her world became far from normal. Being a child of a servant at Serenity Castle allowed those children to receive the best education money could buy. Mina was immediately introduced into semi-luxury as she attended school with the Princes and Bartleby. Each child, or in Mina’s case, adopted child, had their pick of two extracurricular activities, from piano and violin to painting or sports. Mina loved to dance, and after three months of staying on the royal family’s property, she had the chance to become a main attraction at one of the royal gatherings.

  “Your Majesties, in honor of this special occasion, my girls are pleased to provide you with this special performance they created in honor of Serenity,” announced Vita Harrow, the dance instructor of a top dance program for children. Everyone applauded as thirty little girls walked to the center of the ballroom and ballet music sounded. The little girls in their pink tutus and silver tiaras danced away as the royal family watched. King Caius sat on his throne that was larger than the rest. His wife was in hers next to him, while Sedgwick sat on his father’s other side and Louie sat next to his mother.

  “She’s so pretty,” Sedgwick said, gazing at a dancing Mina who was the star of the show. Caius looked worriedly at his son. Even though it was a harmless crush, it could lead to love, and as the Crown Prince, Sedgwick could not fraternize with a girl beneath him. It was looked upon as forbidden and low for a person of royal blood.

  “Isn’t she pretty, Louie?” Sedgwick asked his brother who was scratching his head underneath his halo crown.

  “She’s okay,” Louie said, pouting and still scratching.

  Serene giggled. “Louie, if you keep scratching, it will only get worse.” Louie forced his hand down and stared at his lap, waiting for the right moment to sneak a peek at Mina; when he did, it was as if everyone else disappeared from the grand ballroom. All he saw was Mina dancing beautifully. She smiled as she twirled around, causing Louie’s lip to turn upward, as the Queen noticed. In fact she had noticed how both of her sons gawked at the beautiful girl that had graced their castle.

  Mina twirled and twirled as people watched. When their gracious and adorable dance ended, everyone applauded and gave a standing ovation to the young girls.

  “I’m going to tell Mina how good she was,” Sedgwick said, standing up and walking down the steps of the round miniature stage where the thrones resided and headed towards Mina. He was immediately stopped by Louie.

  “You’re such a wuss,” Louie laughed.

  Sedgwick stopped and faced him. “What are you talking about now?”

  “Awww Mina.” He began making kissy faces. “So pretty; I like her; I want to marry her. Mmm.”

  “Shut up Louie!”

  “Hey Mina!” Louie called, but she did not hear him as she was talking to her dance instructor. “Sedgwick li − "

  “I’m gonna kill you!” Sedgwick snapped and Louie ran, still laughing at his brother. They ran through the main floor until Louie smacked into a man twice their size, falling onto his back while Sedgwick stared with his mouth wide open at the white-haired, brown-skinned man. The man helped up a small Louie and passed him the crown that had fallen off his head.

  “Your Highnesses,” the man politely bowed.

  “Bishop, we’re very sorry sir,” Sedgwick said to him, nervously.

  “Bishop? Who the heck is he?” Sedgwick punched his brother in the arm for his rudeness.

  “He is the Bishop. The man who speaks to God. The person who will crown me when I become King. Don’t you listen in class?” Louie shrugged.

  The Bishop chuckled. “Well, I guess that’s a ‘no’ for our young Prince then.”

  “So, you speak directly to the big guy in the sky?” Louie asked.

  “It’s a little more complex than simple when explaining it.”

  “We better get back to the party, Sir. It was an honor to meet you,” Sedgwick said and dragged Louie by the collar of his suit, but not before Louie shook the Bishop’s hand.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said, and as his hand released the Bishop’s, he saw a flash of a burning Serenity, chaos and mayhem and Louie standing over Sedgwick.

  “Are you alright, Bishop?” asked Connor, the bishop’s assistant, as he saw him almost fall over from the shock of his vision.

  The Bishop adjusted his tie and watched the two Princes fooling around. “Tell the King I need to speak to him… now.”

  +

  After waiting fifteen minutes, the King met with the Bishop in his office.

  “Bishop,” Caius said to him when he walked in.

  “Your Majesty,” the Bishop said, bowing.

  “What is so important that you had to speak to me in private?”

  “I had a vision when I touched your son.”

  Caius’ eyes widened. “What? What did you see for Sedgwick?”

  “Actually, it was when I touched your other son, Louie. I saw a burning kingdom and Louie standing over Sedgwick.”

  Caius’ brow creased and his jaw twitched. “I knew it. I knew all along that he would bring down my kingdom.”

  “Now we don’t know what this fully means. It could mean anything. When I saw Louie, I did not see anger in his eyes or hate. I saw calmness. Maybe it is informing us that your son will be of great help to Sedgwick when things get tough for this country.”

  “No, Louie is nothing but trouble. Since the day he was born, I have seen nothing but a cloud of hideous things over him.”

  “Funny, people say that about you,” the Bishop spoke abruptly.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I am only trying to remind my King that things are never what they appear to be. Now as a man of God and servant of a nation, I am obliged to tell you of my visions, but remember, you do not need to take action. Things must go in the path that is designed.”

  “Design,” Caius repeated the word laughed harshly. “The only design I know Bishop, is tradition. Tradition is that my Son, the Crown Prince will be the King and it is my job to see to that.”

  “Well Y
our Majesty, I can only hope that how you go about that design will not bring absolute consequences.”

  Caius adjusted his tie and gave a wicked grin. “It won’t. I am King, remember that.”

  +

  Years passed and Sedgwick turned thirteen, reaching the years of starting his lessons from not only his father, but the royal council on his destiny. Caius spent more time teaching him, while eleven-year-old Louie was continuing his mischief with Bartleby. A twelve-year-old Mina was starting to develop and mature into a beautiful young girl, and Sedgwick took notice. Louie also noticed his brother’s wandering eye. So many chances he had to inform his brother of his feelings for Mina, but he never took a moment to say it. He was too scared to admit the longing to care and love someone besides his mother and brother. He was too scared of receiving a different kind of love. A love that his mother told him was the most enjoyable and torturous feeling you could ever have. So instead of displaying kindness, he opted for ill behavior toward her. Through the cruel jokes and teasing, Mina developed a low tolerance for Louie. By now they always fought each other with Sedgwick getting in between them. Sedgwick and Mina, on the other hand, were best friends with a hidden admiration for each other. He found himself confiding in Mina about his fears about being King, which caused them to become closer. As Serene predicted, Louie stood by his brother’s side, especially when he got teased at school. Louie always got into trouble at school. He would play pranks and fight bullies off for Bartleby and Sedgwick. Bullies would tease Sedgwick because he was a prince and they would insult Louie for being the second son and not the heir of the throne, saying he was nothing and a waste of space. Louie would retaliate by punching them in the face every time, and, being the son of the King, expulsion was never an option for him. But he did encounter the wrath of his father, who always agreed with the children that bullied him.

  And that was not the worst for Louie, as Queen Serene had become ill with cancer and was going through chemo. Louie would pick flowers from his mother’s garden every day and bring them to her. Serene always looked forward to Louie bringing her flowers and drawing her pictures while Sedgwick read to her. Louie could not read because it was discovered at ten that he had dyslexia, a disability that his father saw as another reason why his son was not of true royal blood. But in the fall of that year, everything changed for the royal family.

  “Louie, come on! Get down!” Sedgwick yelled at his brother.

  Louie had climbed the tree on the cliff that was located on their property. The royal family’s property consisted of ten thousand acres of land surrounded by large gates with high security cameras and electrical defenses if anyone dared passed through without permission. Louie loved to venture through Serenity Castle land. It took a while to find the mini cliff that was over a shallow river, but once he found it, he persuaded his brother and Bartleby to come with him. Mina tagged along with the boys, no matter how much Louie protested.

  “Come on Louie! Stop being a jerk!” yelled Mina.

  Louie looked back at Mina with a grin and continued climbing the tall tree.

  “Louie come on! Damn it!” Sedgwick yelled, furious at his brother.

  “Come on Louie,” Bartleby said.

  “Shut your fat ass up, Bartleby!” Louie yelled.

  “Don’t talk to him like that!” Mina defended.

  “I talk to anyone anyway I want.”

  “You know what?! I hope you fall off that tree!”

  “Mina, stop it!” Sedgwick said and continued pleading with his little brother. “Louie, I’m serious. Get down.”

  Louie gripped the tall branch and sighed. “Alright you scared babies!”

  He climbed back down the tree and shook off the rush he felt. His brother and friends glared at him. He responded with a smile.

  Mina rolled her eyes. “Guys we have to get back before the guards know we snuck off.”

  “We’re not even supposed to be here. Dad’s going to be pissed,” said Sedgwick.

  “Please he’s just going to be pissed at me. You’re safe. You’re the future King, remember?” Louie told his brother as if Sedgwick did not know.

  “You don’t have to remind him all the time, you know?” Mina defended Sedgwick, knowing of his frustration of everyone in his life reminding him.

  “Aw. I’m sorry I hurt your boyfriend’s feelings.”

  “Shut up, Louie.”

  “Let’s just go, guys,” Bartleby said.

  “Yeah, why don’t you get a head start, lard ass,” Louie said.

  “Let’s go,” Sedgwick said, leading the way. They followed until Sedgwick stopped and placed his hand on his chest. He was missing his chain that had his gold crest ring he and his brother had received from their parents. Every royal family had one representing their families and country. The brothers wore them on their chains until they were older and their hands grew big enough for them to fit their fingers. “Guys, my ring. Hold up!” He turned around and ran back towards the tree.

  “Why would you take it off?!” Louie yelled at his brother while watching him.

  “I didn’t take it off! It fell off my chain!” Sedgwick yelled back. Sedgwick searched as they watched from afar. After a minute, he saw his ring right by the tree near the edge of the cliff. It was gold coin shaped ring with a dove etched in the middle along with two swords. Over the symbol was a banner that had Serenity engraved in it. Another banner on the bottom of the symbol was engraved with Sedgwick’s name. Inside was Serenity’s prayer: “May God lead us to peace and prosperity.”

  He quickly reached and grabbed it, but not before looking down the cliff seeing where the long fall led to. Sedgwick was scared of heights as they had discovered one day when the boys snuck into the King’s headquarters and the balcony where the King goes to give his speeches to the people of Serenity. He breathed slowly, then started to step back, hitting his heel against an uneven shaped rock, causing him to trip and fall forward over the edge.

  “AHH!!!” he screamed.

  “Sedgwick!” yelled Louie, as he, Bartleby, and Mina ran towards the cliff. Sedgwick fell down to another layer of the cliff, grabbing a root from the tree sticking out of the cliff.

  “Louie!! Help!” Sedgwick called, panicking and clutching the rough root that was cutting into his hands.

  Louie slid to the edge so he wouldn’t fall. He saw his brother lower down, holding onto the root for dear life. Louie reached out for Sedgwick, but he was not long enough.

  “Guys, hold on to my feet!” he ordered Mina and Bartleby.” Hold on Sedgwick!” Mina and Bartleby grabbed hold of Louie’s feet and held on tight as he slid further out over the edge. Even with the extra length, he still could not reach him.

  “You’re slipping!” Mina cried as she felt his leg, sliding beneath her fingers. “Louie!”

  Sedgwick’s eyes opened wide as he felt his hand losing its grip on the root. “Louie!” He called out for his brother, and as he fell Bartleby and Mina lost grasp of Louie’s legs.

  He fell over and instantly grabbed the top of the root his brother had let go of as he lost his grasp. Louie grabbed hold of the root and with his other hand grabbed onto Sedgwick. Sedgwick looked up and smiled at his brother, who had saved his life. Louie, still holding on to the root, helped Sedgwick climb up ahead of him to the edge. Bartleby and Mina reached out for him and pulled him up. Louie started climbing behind him when a flash of sun blinded him in the face, causing him to lose his grasp.

  “AH!” Louie yelled.

  “No! Louie!!” Sedgwick yelled, hearing his brother’s cry. Louie’s fall was interrupted by a hand that had grabbed a hold of his. Louie looked up at his savior, both enchanted and shocked. It was Mina. Her delicate hand grabbed hold of his, never losing grip. Mina couldn’t believe she had caught him herself. She started to pull him up with the boys’ help. Once up, they all fell over the grassy edge with Louie falling on top of Mina. He quickly started to rise up, as Mina noticed how the sun reflected off Louie and made a shape of so
me type of headdress over Louie’s head that was so bright she had to cover the top of her eyes to give her some shade. She was amazed by this vision. It was an aura so golden that it became the epitome of luminous to her. Louie helped her up, causing the reflection of the sun to disappear from her eyes.

  “Thank you, Mina,” Louie said genuinely.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Mina nodded.

  You would expect Louie’s world to stop once facing death, but instead his world stopped when he saw a fraction of care for him in Mina’s eyes.

  “Thank you Louie,” said Sedgwick, interrupting their moment.

  “That’s what brothers are for, right?” Louie joked, laughing a little. “Pulling you up when you’re on the edge of a cliff. Happens everyday.”

  The gang looked at Louie with a blank expression.

  “You guys are bleeding,” Mina said, looking at the two Princes’ hands. Louie was bleeding from his right while Sedgwick bled from his left hand and forearm.

  “Shit!” Louie said. “Dad is going to be really pissed.”

  +

  “What the hell were you thinking?!” Caius yelled, fuming with anger at the four children.

  “We’re sorry,” Sedgwick spoke quietly with his head down.

  “It was my fault,” Louie quickly said.

  Caius walked towards Louie and without hesitation slapped him. Mina, Bartleby, and Sedgwick jumped from the sound of Caius’ hand across Louie’s face. The four children looked at the King with shock and horror.

  “Of course it was your fault!” Caius said. “You don’t think, Louie! Your brother could have died because of you!”

  “But Louie saved his life!” Mina yelled.

  Caius glared at Mina.

  “Jackson, take the children out the room” He told his guard. “Except for Louie. You stay here.”

  Jackson ushered the children towards the exit and when the door closed behind them Louie’s heart began beating, more and more scared of what his father was going to do to him.