A Prince's Duty (The Royal Houses of Sea and Snow Book 1) Read online

  A Prince's Duty

  The Royal Houses of Sea and Snow, Volume 1

  Jude Marquez

  Published by Jude Marquez, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  A PRINCE'S DUTY

  First edition. February 14, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Jude Marquez.

  Written by Jude Marquez.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

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  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  It was early summer on the Storm Isles and the air was thick with promise and the sweet smell of grass that surrounded the castle’s eastern, western, and southern sides. The air was filled with the sounds of the animals that occupied the lands and the shouts of children that were caught somewhere between playing and working on their chores. The brilliant blue sky was only rivaled by the seas and Castle Stormholme was bustling with the everyday work of the governing royal family, their knights, their people, and the servants that kept the castle the pride of Storm Isles.

  None were so busy as Prince Eamon, Prince of the Barbarians, Warrior of the Storms, who was locked away in the library, pouring over maps and dusty old books that sunny afternoon. He studied the maps laid over the giant, scarred wooden table, though his guard saw no reason why. None knew this land like Prince Eamon did.

  His guard was occupying a chair in the sun, dozing while the prince himself buried himself in the words and dusty old learnings of long ago.

  King Therris of Ataton stopped at the entrance of the library and peered in. He studied his oldest son, the Crown Prince, as he leaned over a table and was glancing from a book in his hand to a scroll on the table next to him. The sunlight streamed in through the large open windows that had been thrown open to let the sea breeze in. Crown Prince Eamon looked like he had been kissed by the sun god himself, a proud warrior, broad and strong, his face caught in a thoughtful stare as he skimmed the book in his hand. His muscled and tattooed arms were more fit for the sparring arena with his younger brother or the battlefield instead of delicately turning the pages of dusty old books.

  King Therris had to fight the automatic frown on his face.

  The library was where Eamon spent most of his time these days were he not out with his men or his wolves. Therris worried about him, that a man such as his son spent his free time amongst dusty old books instead of out among his people. He remembered being Eamon's age and knew that he was out in the taverns and the brothels that often accompanied them. His siblings were not his closest friends in those days, did not hold his council as well as Eamon's siblings held his.

  Something had happened while he was in the Cerith Kingdom, something that Eamon kept close to his chest and did not speak to anyone about, though his men and siblings were with him throughout.

  Therris considered it to be the Ataton family from the north, perhaps something that their Crown Prince had said to Eamon, but he could not get a word out of his son about it. Therris wished more than anything that there was a fight, a battle he could send Eamon into so that his isolation could be put to an end.

  Even at the sea, where Eamon would spend his afternoons with his siblings when he was younger, was preferable to this self-imposed isolation. Eamon only lets a single guard in with him and that was at his mother's insistence.

  "Son," King Therris said as he strode in, "What say you?"

  Sir Willhelm jerked awake from where he had been dozing in the sun in a large cushioned chair.

  Prince Eamon regarded the knight with a flat stare before he turned to his king, "This is neither the beginning nor the end of the story," he said, the traditional greeting between father and son. His eyes noted the group of men and women behind his father and asked carefully, "How are things, father?"

  The king paused. He could break the news to Eamon first, give him a bit of a warning.

  He decided against it. "You are required at dinner tonight," Therris finally said.

  Eamon opened his mouth to protest, possibly to gesture to the pile of scrolls and ink and open books on the table next to him but his father turned away, his sky blue linen cloak flaring out behind him. The king's guard gave Eamon a sympathetic look before turning after his father. Eamon waited until the entire retinue had left and then turned to his personal guard and dear friend.

  "What was that about?" Eamon asked Willhelm.

  "Are you asking as my prince or as my friend?" Willhelm asked. He peered up at his prince, at his dear friend for a lifetime, with dark eyes and his generous mouth was pinched into a thin line.

  "As your prince."

  "I know not, sire," Willhelm replied. The sun glinted off the skin on his bare head.

  "As your friend?" Eamon prompted.

  Willhelm looked towards the entrance of the library and then back at Eamon. The afternoon sunshine poured in through the open windows and Willhelm's sword shone, painfully bright. It reminded Eamon of a great hall, far away, sons and fathers and death, all rolled into one hateful reunion.

  "The Grayhaven Empire approaches," Willhelm murmured. "Your father has been sending letters these last few months."

  Eamon groaned and threw his book to the table he was working at. "Even as we were in Cerith? For what purpose?" He asked and leaned his hands against the table.

  Willhelm hesitated and then stood, as though readying himself for a swift exit. "Marriage, sire."

  Eamon thought of the Crown Prince of Grayhaven, Alik. Though the last time that they saw one another, they left on good terms, Eamon could not imagine how the two families could possibly be joined together.

  EAMON SAT STIFFLY AT dinner and he wasn't the only one. His brother Edmond kept shooting him looks as though he were trying to speak to him without words. His twin sister, Lissandra, kept glancing over at him as well. Her face was drawn and her slim fingers shook when she reached for her goblet. It seemed like only the youngest of the four of them, Avelina, was completely at ease. Even their mother, Christenne, seemed worried and barely touched her plate. Typically, the knights dined with the family, but not on this night. On this night they all stood around the table, in a peculiar show of formality.

  Finally, Therris put his fork and knife down and sighed. He rubbed his face and looked at Eamon.

  "Which of those loudmouths told you?" Therris asked. He regarded his oldest fondly if somewhat annoyed.

  "Willhelm," Eamon told him quietly.

  Over Eamon's shoulder, Therris glared at the offending knight. Eamon didn't look behind him but heard the knight shuffle against the stone floor.

  "And you?" He asked Lissandra.

  "Eamon," she said softly.

  "I should have guessed," Therris muttered. "Edmond?"

  "Nicolin," he said. His personal guard, closest confidante, and best friend. Eamon shook his head and smirked at his own plate. They were thick as thieves, those two.

  Therris pressed his lips together in a thin line and glared at the knights standing at attention. This time, he heard more than one knight shuffle his feet. The king turned back to his children at the table. "Avelina?"

  "Lissandra," she said evenly. Her poise did not waiver. S
he cut into her veal precisely, a small bite, and ate quietly. She kept her eyes on her plate and did not look up at her father as the other three did. Eamon envied her fiercely her confidence during this dinner.

  "So you all know. The Grayhaven Empire approaches. King Alexios and Queen Aconi seek to marry Prince Alik," Therris said. He put his napkin down on the plate and gestured to a servant to take it away.

  Lissandra cleared her throat. "So which of us will it be?" She asked.

  Though Avelina seemed unbothered, her fingers snaked through her sister's hand. They were close as two sisters could be. They had both been raised with the awareness that they would be married as a condition for the safety of their kingdom and a marriage into the Grayhaven empire would increase the wealth of their own nation, along with their people's safety and tie the two nations together in a bond tighter than the two kings' close friendship.

  They had been prepared for this time all their lives.

  Therris cleared his throat, "King Alexios and I have been communicating about this for many months. Prince Alik's tastes are-" He glanced at his wife and the look they shared spoke more than the words that Therris shared.

  "Varied." Christenne provided.

  As the richer, stronger nation, Alik could have his pick of anyone in his own nation and even of the Ataton empire. The children of royalty would naturally be at the top of that list.

  "What do you mean?" Edmond asked. His eyes narrowed and he glanced between his mother and father. "I will not have my sisters subjected to a cruel leader-"

  "Father-" Eamon started his line of thinking following Edmond's. They were as protective of their sisters as the two of them could be, given their sisters' headstrong nature. And they had both been witness to Alik’s cruel remarks and his cold nature. It wasn’t a big leap to imagine him being cruel in other ways.

  "He prefers males and females equally," Therris said, glancing between the two princes. They had been raised and groomed to take over the kingdom when the King and Queen abdicated or passed onto the next world. Theirs, especially Eamon, were not lives prepared to marry for the sake of the nation. "So it will not just be Lissandra and Avelina he wants to consider."

  Edmond carefully put his cutlery down and looked to his brother. The color in Edmond's face fled, leaving only a pale visage staring at the Crown Prince. "But Eamon can't. He is the heir, he can't-" Edmond started even as Eamon put his own knife down and reached for his goblet and drained it in a single swallow before refilling it. He had not realized that Prince Alik would consider being with a man as he would with a woman.

  "He can," Therris said slowly and looked over at Eamon. "And he will."

  Eamon looked down to the gold gilded plate, to the smooth wood under his hands and then up at his mother. He wouldn't ask her to stand up for him. To put her in such a position, not only to choose between her king and her prince but her husband and her son, was an impossible choice. A cruel one.

  And Eamon tried to be a good son. He tried to be dutiful, do what was required of him, even if didn't agree with his father all the time. It was only fair after all. As future king, he would be asked to do the impossible. He had seen it done to his father time and time again. This was merely a prologue to that.

  "Yes, father," he murmured. This wasn't even the worst thing he had been asked to do.

  "Father," Avelina started, her voice even and low, "Should Prince Alik choose the Crown Prince, you will leave our nation vulnerable. Who are we without our Bladebringer?"

  "It is an impossible thing to not only ask of Eamon but also of our people," Lissandra added, picking up Avelina's thoughts as though they were her own, "Eamon has been groomed to be our King and now you want to give him away like, like-"

  "A princess?" Christenne provided and raised an eyebrow at her daughters. "There is no shame in bargaining in these ways. If we are able to tie Ataton and Grayhaven together, we will be a stronger, prouder nation. Our military will be unstoppable."

  And our coffers filled once more, Eamon thought, somewhat icily.

  The last war had nearly bankrupted the entire nation and the relations with the Grayhaven Empire had been icy for awhile because the Ataton Kingdom had protected them but received no payment in return. Eamon understood now that there had been an advance on payment of war and now King Therris was calling that payment in.

  Also, their long trip to the Cerith Kingdom cost them more than Eamon liked to think. It nearly cost him his relationship with his father, as well.

  "We didn't mean it as an insult, mother." Avelina said and looked to Edmond who wisely remained quiet, "We only meant that our people look to Eamon as the protector of our lands-"

  "Avelina." Eamon murmured, "That's enough."

  Avelina, apparently sensing her older brother's discomfort, fell silent. Now it was her turn to keep her eyes downcast and push her food around her plate. The rest of dinner was silent, the only sound the whisper of servants speaking quietly to each other and dishes being taken away and replaced.

  As the last of the dessert was taken away, Avelina cleared her throat and put her napkin primly on the table where her plate had been. "When should we expect the Grayhaven court?"

  "Five days," Christenne said.

  Five days.

  Eamon didn't have to look to his siblings to know that they felt the same dread he did in the pit of his stomach. It had been months since he had since the prince. Eamon wasn’t sure how much could have changed for Alik in that time, but knew that it could be much, or nothing at all.

  Eamon didn't know what to expect or what was expected of him. But no other questions came to mind as his gaze drifted out the window behind Edmond's shoulders. He could hear the ocean crashing against the cliffs outside and the candles flickered. Lissandra and Avelina would learn of the Grayhaven court, how it had come to change as the power was slowly shifted from the old king to the untested prince. They would let Eamon know any other details, he was sure. Christenne stood and Therris took her hand. They bid their children good night and left.

  Three sets of eyes turned to Eamon.

  "Come," he ordered and looked to a servant. "Another jug of wine to my rooms, please."

  She bowed and hurried away. Eamon stood and his siblings followed suit.

  They swept down the halls, Eamon first, followed by Lissandra, Avelina at her side. Edmond brought up the rear, the contingent of their personal guards flowing in their wake, their black capes like waves on the ocean at night.

  Stormholme Castle was built with the sea in mind. On an island, set a short distance away from a cliff, it was surrounded on one side by the ocean and the other with tall grass and villages, it was a place that Eamon was proud to call home. Large windows to the side of the hall let in light, the sea air, and the sounds of the ocean crashing against the cliffs. Eamon and his siblings were born for the sea, born for this place.

  The four of them were all so alike in appearance that it wasn't just Lissandra and Eamon that were thought to be twins. With golden brown hair and eyes so bright blue, eager smiles and tall builds, and golden skin from months of the sea and the sun, they were often referred to as the real jewels of the Ataton empire. Eamon was broader than his siblings, built for war and horses and sword play. His hair fell past his shoulders, as was the tradition of soldiers and their commanders in the Ataton military. His eyes were bright blue, like his siblings, like their mother. Eamon was well aware of how much space he required, what with his height and the width of his body. It made him feel uneasy, how often others looked up at him in fear when they first met him.

  Lissandra was the female equivalent of her brother's masculine build; her legs were long and tan, her face sweeter and far kinder. Having never seen the wars that Eamon had, her body did not bear the tattoos and the scars that he had. Where Eamon could be cold and aloof, Lissandra was welcoming and warm.

  Edmond was not nearly as broad as his brother but at twenty summers past, he hoped that one day he would be. He had been training to be
Captain of the Guard since he was three years old, issuing orders from his nine-year-old brother's horse when he still needed help to stay in the saddle. But he was able to breed a kind of trust and love in the knights that served under him, unlike anything even his father had seen. Even at his young age, he was an incredible instructor of military arts; he was quickly surpassing Eamon in that area.

  At eighteen summers past, Avelina was the smallest of the four of them. She dreamed of one day marrying a lord or maybe even a prince. She learned all she could at her mother's knee and from the expensive governesses that her mother brought in and that Lissandra ran from. She was prim, proper, and a queen ready to be made. She was slight, shorter than the rest of them. When she made Eamon dance with her at the balls she insisted on, his hand could span her entire waist. Her golden brown hair was always wound up properly on top of her head and her fashions dictated the rest of their kingdom. Not to be outdone by her siblings, however, Avelina kept up with her studies and took over some of the duties of the royal bookkeeper and knew their laws and traditions as well as any learned master in their castle.

  At the door of Eamon's rooms, he let his sisters in first and Edmond gave orders to his knights quietly that they were not to be interrupted short of a cataclysmic event. They nodded and lined up in front of Eamon's rooms.

  There were already three jugs of wine in his room and Eamon's favored servant pouring glasses for them all. Once the door was shut, Lissandra slumped over a chaise lounge and groaned, long and loud. She drained her cup in one swallow. She looked to her little sister. "Is this something that you think you could want?"

  Avelina swirled her wine in her cup and frowned. She sat down next to Lissandra on the chaise lounge. Edmond found a chair and sat down heavily. Eamon leaned against a wall next to a window that looked out on the ocean. "I don't suppose why not. Would he give me beautiful babies?" She asked Eamon.

  Eamon blinked and thought of Alik. Yes, he was beautiful and his fair good looks would pair well with the sun kissed goddess that his sister resembled.