The King

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a kingdom. And at the middle of the kingdom stood a magnificent castle. It was built of sparkling white stone, with towers stretching as high as the sky. And in the castle lived a king and his beautiful wife. They had riches beyond anyone's wildest dreams, and ruled the kingdom with a fair hand.

Everyone in the land adored King Brian . The kingdom prospered under his rule, and even those with little wealth still found a way to live comfortably. Times were good, everyone was happy. Except for one.

Upon the death of Brian's father, the previous king, his brother Bartholomew had fought for the throne. He was a deceitful, malicious man, and he only wanted the throne for his own benefit. But since Brian was the elder of the two brothers, he was next in line for the throne. This made Bartholomew very angry, and he swore that one day he would seek revenge, and the throne would be his. But his plan was soon thwarted when Queen Suzanne announced she had conceived a child, and as the pregnancy wore on, she felt certain it was going to be a boy.

And then the fateful day arrived, and the queen gave birth to a son, Brian II. He would become the new heir to the throne, as was his rightful place.

The day of the birth, it seemed the entire kingdom was waiting on the steps of the castle to hear the news. Young Prince Brian was blessed by the friar of the kingdom, and when he was a few days old the king and queen bundled him up and came out of the castle, where they were ceremoniously greeted by the king's subjects. A rather grand presentation of the baby boy was made, and everyone was there.

Save one person.

The festivities had ended and the king felt he needed to have a word with the only person who hadn't attended. He made his way down the gloriously decorated hall toward Bartholomew's chamber rooms, his royal adviser, Nathaniel, hot on his heels.

King Brian barged into Bartholomew's room only to see his younger brother sprawled out along a silk chaise.

"Where were you today during the presentation of the prince?" Brian demanded, being calm yet firm.

"Oh, that was today? Must have slipped my mind," Bartholomew mumbled, waving his brother off.

"Well, you'd better learn your place. Brian will become the next king, and you'll have to take orders from him."

"Not if I can help it," Bartholomew growled, getting up from his lounging position and storming past his brother. Brian caught his arm in a tight grip.

"What was that?"

"I said, I'll have to practice my bow," Bartholomew sneered, wrenching his arm from the king's grip and storming out of the room. The king sighed.

"What am I going to do with him?" he asked Nathaniel, who shook his head.

"Don't worry. There's one in every family, your majesty," he assured the king as they went back into the hall. "Actually, there's two in mine..."

The king chuckled, shoving all thoughts of his insubordinate brother from his mind. He had better, more important things to worry about, like raising his son into a smart, handsome, strong young man.

And as the years wore on, that's exactly what Prince Brian grew up to be--a smart, handsome, overly charming, strong young man. And he wanted nothing more than to be the king and follow in his father's footsteps.