I’m nothing but a bard who fell in love with a queen. With help of vicious general she had become queen of three great empires. All of which have merged into one. Narune. This great empire was prophesized to last for one thousand years after she died. Kirss is her name, and she wasn’t queen only of Narune, but of my heart as well.
Kirss and I had known each other for 24 long, but lovely, years. In those 24 years not only did we develop one of those true friendships that are so hard to find, we also became lovers. Soon after this, and to great pain of mine, talk soon appeared in the great kingdom that the queen needed a consort. What hopes ensued from the petty dreams I had of becoming king to my queen, soon became devastated.
Kirss knew as well as myself that a bard couldn’t become king. So she had to find herself a consort with which to appear on public. Kirss and I kept seeing each other for years though. Our love was too great to be vanquished by a false marriage.
By the forty first year of her life, and the nineteenth year of knowing me, Kirss had given birth to three children. Jack, her general and consort, was too preoccupied by his desire for war and expansion to realized that only one of those three children was actually his.
Kirss and I named them each for the future they had been foretold to fulfill. The first child was named Blitz, because he had been prophesized to be as reckless as myself. The second child was a female, and it was said she was going to be as wise as her mother. That is why we named her after her mother’s real name, Sophie. The third child though, we named Leid, because it was foretold he would be the death of both a wretched bard, and of his lovely queen. Prophesy and all the child was kept safe and happy, for Kirss couldn’t bring herself to hurt an innocent soul just to safe herself, and if truth be told, neither could I. We paid a hefty price for the witch’s silence, so no harm would come to the child.
Blitz was born on the fourth year of Kirss and I knowing each other. Sophie was born two years after her brother. Leid, the last prince, was born a whole four years after his sister.
Kirss and I kept the fact that I was the true father of two of the three royal heirs in secret. Some of the townspeople seemed to know the truth, one which was obvious to me just be seeing the attitude of my two children. The three heirs were all different in their own way. I would know. I was their teacher.
Sophie had Kirss’s deep understanding of the world, that is to say, she was always exceptionally mature for her age. She inherited my own ability for writing, and also the dark blue color of my eyes. Her eyes had only one difference from mine, they were always alight with laughter. Her older brother, Blitz, had my strong temper. He was not the kind of person that simply turned a blind eye on injustice. I must say that though he was almost as smart and mature as his sister, he neer quite got to handle his temper. That might have cost him his life.
Leid had his mother’s sense of loyalty, but he had his father’s cruel and cold heart. As a kid Leid didn’t laugh only at funny things, he also laughed at the pained struggles of those he deemed lower than himself.
One night a few days after his fourteenth birthday, Leid caught me and Kirss talking about the past, about love, but most importantly, he caught us talking about our love. I guess Kirss and I were being overly incautious, but we thought we were safe in her private chambers. He must have heard a lot, still he didn’t make his presence known until he saw me kiss the queen. After that moment he came out of hiding and yelled for his father and the guards to come running. Kirss and I tried to make a break for it, but Leid stopped us by barring our way with his sword.
I still remember that terrible night. It takes a heavy toll on me even to think of those events. After he bared our way by attacking us with his sword I was forced to draw my own. It’s a sword like no other, for I designed and forged it myself. I modeled it after a “bastard sword” style, but mine had a few differences. The blade was less broad, a little longer and lighter. This wasn’t just a newer type of blade in an old style hilt though. The hilt too was new. It was designed to be able to be held both with one or with two hands. This was to allow a more aggressive stance without opening the defense.
I had just recently began to teach Leid in the arts of swordsmanship, so he was nowhere near prepared to beat me. As soon as he began his stab I blocked it. He tied again with a fast slash thinking my two hand style would be too heavy and slow to block it. I quickly blocked it by switching back to a one handed stance. The strength in my block was too great for him though. His sword was sent flying to the other side of the room. I pointed my sword at the price, just to try and scare him, but just at that point Jack and four of his guards came crashing into the room. When they saw me pointing my sword at the youngest prince they thought I was a traitor and immediately came at me. One of them misjudged the length of my blade because of my one hand stance, he paid for this mistake with his life. I slew the second guard by feinting a slip. He tried to stab me, all I had to do was step to the side and run him through. I didn’t have time enough to remove my sword from the corpse when my other three opponents attacked. I took one by surprise by using the dagger I kept hidden beneath my cloak. I thought I was about to die, for I knew both of the opponents that were still alive were about to attack. Surprisingly though, only one of the swords stabbed me, and it was nowhere as deep as it should have been. I saw the head of the fourth guard roll on the ground. I looked back and realized Kirss had blocked a stab with her own body, and had beheaded a guard with Leid’s sword. I saw as a second sword perforate through Kirss’s body. I recognized both swords as Jack’s. two red stains were getting bigger and bigger on my queen’s gown. I was too preoccupied watching how the love of my life was being murdered to realize that the second sword had also gone through Kirss and had perforated my own abdomen. As soon as both sword were removed both Kirss and I fell to the floor. She had no life in her anymore, and I had no more will to live.
I remember waking up at a cell, illuminated just for the sole reason of torturing me. They had put a mirror in my cell, a mirror that was there to show me why I felt a horrible pain. Someone had plucked out one of my eyes. The shock of realizing this and seeing my own eye on a plate made me fall unconscious.
Next time I woke up I was in the king’s chamber. I remember opening my eyes and seeing all the decorations. I saw a portrait of Kirss, so real that for a moment I thought she hadn’t died. And I cried. What had been done to her was not even humane. Tears fell even from my eyes socket. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen my own tears, too many hard years had passed. The chambermaid interrupted my wonderings. As soon as she saw I was awake she told me that my daughter, Sophie, was now queen, and she wished to speak with me. I couldn’t understand what was happening. I told the maid that the queen was always welcome at my side. In the time it took the servant to tell Sophie and for her to come in I was able to study my eyes socket. It seemed to have healed pretty well, despite the fact that I didn’t remember anything since I woke up at the cell.
Sophie explained it all to me. How she and Blitz had found Kirss’s diary. She told me how Blitz had blindly charged at Jack and slaughtered him using my own blade. She told me how Leid, mad with rage slashed his brother’s back with Jack’s sword. She spoke also about how Leid had taken his own life when Sophie had explained the truth to him. She showed me three graves. The graves of three people whom I had loved. Kirss’s grave was just like her. Magnificent, unique, and yet so simple, so warm. Her grave was decorated with orchids and roses. A lake surrounded the isle where the grave stood, making a small wooden bridge the only way to reach the grave. The other two graves, Leid’s and Blitz’s, depicted an image of the true meaning of their names. Leid’s grave depicted a man in great pain. The statue wasn’t grotesque or gross though, it had something beautiful and attractive about it. His pain wasn’t physical, it was the kind of pain that comes from committing a terrible mistake. Blitz’s grave showed a lightning. Not the kind of lightning we usually see though. This one represented our ability, or curse, to act and to take decisions with lightning speed.
I remember feeling a terrible sadness when I saw the graves of my son and of his brother, but nothing in this world can compare to the torment, the pain, my heart felt when my eyes looked upon the grave of my beloved Kirss. I think I remember seeing Sophie take me by my arm and taking me back into the castle. I can’t be sure of that though, for my mind was numb with shock and my eyes were clouded by tears. I would have given up there and then, but I remembered what Kirss used to tell me all the time. She used to tell me to never give up. The sole memory of her voice made me smile.
My heart ached with the pain and sorrow of being alone, I couldn’t find a reason to live. Still I willed myself to go on.
If you’re reading this it means I’m no longer alive. I finished writing my story three years after the incident’s that made me an even more wretched bard. I’m sick. Strong disease has taken hold of me. Feeling my death was close, I gave this story to Sophie, and told her to publish it once I died.
I am now buried with my love. With Kirss. Even though we are dead we are together. Being able to love each other for eternity.