May Death Do Us Part

Chapter 10: Chapter 10 : Memories from another life

“Good morning your majesty, your father requests your presence at the breakfast table.”

Prince Adam Burchard nodded at Henry the butler. “I will be right down Henry, thank you.”

Prince Adam Burchard was the only child of King James Burchard, King of the great kingdom of Gavaria. Gavaria was a strong and mighty empire known for its dominance in war and conquest.

It was a large beautiful kingdom by the sea, on the west of the kingdom of Meria.

Prince Adam took a seat on his father’s right hand at the table, opposite his beautiful and elegant mother.

“Good morning darling how did you sleep? Did you have those nasty nightmares again?” The queen questioned her son.

Adam had been suffering with nightmares and sleepless nights ever since he was a child. He would often dream of a simple life, in a simple town somewhere, a family that loved him and girl he loved so dearly. But each dream, though seeming great at first, would end with the gruesome murder of his entire family and also his own death. Everything he had and loved, lost in the blink of an eye.

.....

“The dream has been on repeat every night mother, but the sleeping potion I took did help me quite a bit.”

Prince Adam Burchard was a tall handsome dark haired young man, nineteen years of age and deep brown eyes. He had striking features and a great physique, making him the country’s most eligible bachelor.

“You know what would help you sleep better my boy?” The king spoke with a chuckle. “A woman to warm your bed.”

King James shot his wife a sly smile making her blush.

“Please father we’re at the table.” Adam responded.

“Oh come on my boy, you’re a man now, it’s high time you find a beautiful woman and give this kingdom heirs.”

Prince Adam always hated this topic, he had never been interested in marriage, well actually, he wasn’t interested in marriage with the girls he’d met so far. None of them appealed to him at all, but Adam knew that there was a woman out there for him, a woman who would steal his heart just upon seeing her, and he was willing to wait for her.

“Lady Julia seems to like you quite a bit honey, why don’t you try getting to know her.” The queen sipped her cup of jasmine tea and looked at her son. “She’s very beautiful and she comes from a very affluent family.”

Lady Julia Boleyn was the youngest of Lord Boleyn’s four daughters, she was sixteen years old, had long wavy black hair, emerald eyes and fair skin.

Since the king and Julia’s father were friends, her and prince Adam had been seeing a lot of each other and Julia eventually developed romantic feelings for the prince. She would visit the palace with a basket of home made pastries for the prince in hopes of getting him to reciprocate her feelings, but Adam only saw her as a friend and nothing more. He had tried liking her romantically but his heart just wouldn’t have it, there was nothing he could do.

“She’ll be coming to the palace today with her father.” King James explained. “Why don’t you show her around.”

Adam looked up from his plate. “Why is lord Boleyn coming to the palace? Is there a meeting I was not told of?”

“It’s not important son, just a few negotiations do be discussed.”

“But father, if I’m going to be king one day, I should be aware of everything that happens in the kingdom.” Adam responded. “You can’t send me off to frolic around with lord Boleyn’s daughter while an important meeting is going on.”

“The meeting is about our alliance with the kingdom of Meria.” The king spoke.

“An alliance?”

“I consulted Ronald the wizard about your strange dreams in hopes of getting you some relief.”

King James took a large sip of his wine and looked at his son sternly.

“Ronald fears that your dreams may be prophecy of an upcoming war between two great kingdoms, a war that may lead to the empire’s downfall and to your death.”

Adam’s breath hitched, was that possible? Is that what his dreams really entailed?

“Gavaria needs as many allies as possible just in case Ronald is right.” The king continued. “We’re better off prepared, the kingdom of Meria is almost as big as ours. It would be to our advantage if we made an alliance with them.”

Adam took a sip of his wine and sighed. “I see.”

“Now that your father has given you a briefing of what the meeting is all about, you can spend your afternoon with Julia.”

Adam looked up at his mother, she was very pushy about Adam finding a wife and he could understand why. He was her only child after all and she wanted more little ones to take care of.

Adam loved his mother dearly and hated disappointing her, he wasn’t going to ask Julia to marry him of course, that was out of the question, but he would at the least spend the afternoon with her.

“Very well, I will keep lady Julia busy while you have your meeting father.”

“Excellent!” The king rejoiced. “I’ll inform you the instant they arrive.”

Price Adam nodded and ate the last of his food. “Please excuse me.”

The prince walked to his chambers and lay down on his bed. His mind drifted off to the dreams he’d been having and the beautiful red haired, blue eyed girl who frequented them.

Even though she was most probably a figment of his imagination, she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. His dreams of her were so vivid, almost like a memory from the past, he felt like he knew her, like he loved her.

When he closed his eyes he could easily envision her smile, her ocean blue eyes, her laughter and even her voice. If Ronald was right, and his dreams were some sort of prophecy, then that meant that the girl in his dreams was out there somewhere. The love of his life was out there and he was going to find her.

“If I ever find you..” prince Adam mattered to himself. “I will never let you go.”

*

“Your majesty, lady Julia has arrived.”

“Thank you Henry, I’ll be right down.”

Prince Adam walked down stairs and joined the king and queen in welcoming the Boleyns. When Julia saw the prince approaching, her eyes sparked and a broad smile painted her face.

“Your grace.” Julia spoke with a curtsy.

“Good to see you Julia.” Adam responded.

“Good to see you’re doing well your grace.” Lord Boleyn spoke. “You’ve grown into a very dashing young man haven’t you?”

“Thank you for the compliment lord Boleyn, it’s good to see you’re fine and healthy.”

“Alright why don’t we go into the library and have our little discussion while the children spend some time together.” King James suggested.

The queen lightly pat her son on the back and smiled at him. “Why don’t you take Julia to see the new garden, the flowers are in full bloom and look so beautiful this time of year.”

“Of course mother.”

Adam offered Julia his arm which she took without hesitation.

The two walked out of the castle leaving the adults alone to talk.

Inside the library, king James and lord Boleyn sat down at a large tick wood table.

“I suggested we travel to Meria and speak to the king directly about our intentions your majesty.” Lord Boleyn suggested. “Your presence there will prove how serious the situation is.”

“I agree with you.” The king responded. “If Ronald is indeed right and my son’s dreams are prophecy, we have to be ready for the upcoming war. With Meria on our side, we will be impenetrable.”

“We could send a raven to king Bradley Aldos to let him know of our visit, the journey to Meria will take a week with the royal gaurd. Best to let the king know before hand so he’ll be expecting us.”

“Yes that is wise Boleyn, tell the royal council to gather here in the next two days so they are made aware of our plans.” The king spoke. “If I have to leave the kingdom, measures must be put in place to ensure everything runs smoothly. Also it’s better if my absence is kept between only a few trusted people. There may be enemies who will take advantage of the situation. If indeed a war is brewing, we need to be sharp, we cannot trust anyone.”

“I will inform the council at once your grace, and then we shall head east to Meria.”

*

Adam and Julia walked hand in hand through the castle gardens. The young lady was absolutely blissful, to her this was like a dream, walking hand in hand with the prince in a garden of flowers.

To Adam on the other hand, this was duty, he would have preferred being in the meeting listening to affairs pertaining his country but he couldn’t let his dear mother down.

“Oh the garden is so lovely.” Julia cooed, holding Adam’s hand tightly.

“I suppose it is.” Adam responded. He was too deep in thought wondering what his father and lord Boleyn were talking about. How did they plan to forge this alliance with Meria exactly?

Other than sharing a border with Meria, and sometimes trading with them, the two kingdoms kept to themselves. This alliance would definitely be tricky.

Seeing that the prince was barely paying attention to her, Julia let go of prince Adam’s and halted in her tracks.

“Lady Julia?”

“I can see that his majesty doesn’t want to spend time with me, so I will take my leave.”

Julia was trying to use reverse psychology on Adam and make him feel guilty. That way, he would give her his attention.

Prince Adam looked at the pouting girl in front of him and nodded. “Very well.”

“Eh?”

Adam turned and walked towards the castle. “Do visit us again lady Julia.”

The prince gave her a wave and disappeared into the castle leaving Julia absolutely dumbfounded. Was the prince really not interested in her or was he just dumb?

No it had to be the latter, Julia knew she was very beautiful, no man could resist her.