Dark Desire, A Reylo Camelot

Discord and a little DNA goes a long way

                                                        " If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime,
                                                He couldn't love you as much as I do in a single day."    Heathcliff to Catherine.
                                                                                                                             Wuthering Heights , Emily Brontë

Finn stood back as the two knights clashed with blades and fists. Leaning on a massive pillar, arms crossed over his chest, he grinned inwardly to him self.
It was all working perfectly as if he planned it all himself.

When Finn had heard that the kings wonderful, picture perfect world was beginning to crumble, he packed a travel bag and began the long walk to Naboo City.

He couldn't afford transportation of any kind so he was compelled to go on foot.
His mother's health was fragile and they were to poor for both of them to go.
Finns mother had been a rare beauty , but forced to work as a scullery maid at the castle.
She knew she was made for better things than scrubbing pot and pans.
One day while milking a goat she had seen the young king come out to the stables for his horse. Instantly she formulated a plan. Seducing him would be easy. And if she became with child it would pave her way to becoming the kings consort.

She knew she could never become queen , she was not of noble birth , but even if he kept her as his mistress it would be better then working her fingers to the bone.

But , unfortunately, things did not go as planned. She did become pregnant, but that was no reason for the young king to keep her in fine silks and jewelry. She was tossed out of the castle by the cruel and uncaring house keeper.

Finding herself alone and friendless , she made a vow to one day seek retribution on those that had wronged her. She would tell her child that it was half royal and he should demand to be recognized.

Finn had grown up with tales of the great King Poe and his knights of the round table. He pretended to be a hero and rescued many a damsel in distress.
He was a small scrappy child with an alert, curious mind and wide soulful eyes.
When his mother told him the amazing news that he was the son of the king, he didn't believe her at first. She had taken to drinking to hide the pain of a empty stomach and often rambled on about working at the castle and her affair with the king .
She ranted on and on about how wronged she was and one day she would seek her revenge.

When she showed Finn the ring with the kings crest that he had given her as a token, it changed everything.
He was indeed the illegitimate son of the king and it was high time for him to demand to be recognized.
He would show the king the ring that he had given his mother all those years ago . He would be made a Duke and his mother would have her vengeance.

His timing couldn't have been better.
The court was in shambles. Knight fought against his fellow knight. Jealousy and discord ran rampant. No one seemed to stop it, or to even care.  King Poe was well aware of the threat to his perfect world but had no idea how to fix the problem. He needed answers and peace. Why would his past come back to haunt him now of all times? He didn't even know his child's name.

    Finn began whispering in any ear that would listen that their was a person in the castle claiming to be the kings long lost son.
Gossip and rumors flew quickly around the castle until it reached the king himself.

       Reyna was with him when a squire brought him the terrible and shocking news.  She saw his face drain of color.

   "My lord, are you quite well?" Reyna asked with concern. Poe was usually so jovial and good humored, but his countenance took on a grey pallor when he received the news.

Reyna knew nothing of his past sins. He kept them to himself, guarding them well. Why should he burden her with his mischief making and poor choices of his errant youth.

"Yes, yes. My dear. Nothing to worry your pretty little head about."

She frowned. She detested how he made her feel like nothing more than a decorative ornament that can't handle the least bit of drama.

Poe smiled indulgently at her, then turned back to his maps.

She continued to watch him. He seemed agitated at first then his face calmed. Did nothing faze him? Surely he had to have noticed her change in wardrobe? If he noticed her changing figure he said nothing about it. Her morning sickness had passed a few days ago and the color was returning to her pale checks. She had no appetite and even the smells from the kitchen made her run to a privy.
Thank the Maker that was finished. Poe had looked at her with sympathy one particularly hard day and had said,
" Now , my dear , no more of those oysters for you. I heard there was a bad batch and many people are sick."
She was lucky that time, but her heart grew frantic with thoughts of the future. She couldn't hide this pregnancy for ever. Her ladies maids had noticed when she began showing. She passed it off as to much sugar cake. They believed her at first but she knew that wouldn't last long.
She had taken to carrying a hand muff in front of her stomach and it quickly caught on as a fashion accessory that all the high born women wanted to copy.

Now there was another problem at Court. Poe had finally had a talk with the young man boasting that he was the kings son.
Finn showed the ring to the king and that was all it took to be recognized and accepted as his son.
"How is your mother?" Poe asked, only slightly hesitant. "As ravishing as ever!" Finn lied. Poe assessed the young man in front of him. What games was he playing at? Why come here , after all this time and demand to be acknowledged? How had he and his mother been living? What could he do to make amends?
" We shall make you an knight!" Poe had generously offered.

"I, a knight?" It was totally preposterous. Finn was definitely not knight material. At only five feet five and scrawny, he could hardly lift a heavy basket of fish , let alone a thirty pound jousting Lance. Poe was not ready to announce to the whole court just yet that he had a secret illegitimate son. What would he tell Ben? How could he possibly tell his queen. It would devastate her. He decided to keep quite for now and wait for the right time to drop the earth shattering news.

One evening, as they dined in the great hall, Reyna looked over at the strange interloper. Why was he here, making trouble and sticking his nose in everyone's business?

What place did he have at court anyway? Was he a groom,or a kitchen boy? He couldn't be much older than herself.
Then as she looked at him closer, his features began to look oddly familiar.
The eyes and jaw line were exactly like her husband's. The skin tone and hair texture were the same as his with just a hint of softening on the nose and lips.
She looked back and forth between the two men and frowned.
Was it possible? No it couldn't be! Well, maybe he was not telling her all of his history.
Poe was ten years older than her and had lived a lifetime before she came on the scene. Why was she getting a strange twisting feeling in her stomach?

As she looked at this familiar stranger, Ben was looking at her from across the room. The dining hall was overflowing with loud and hungry courtiers. The lively revelry grew louder and more raucous as the food and drink flowed freely.
She sensed him looking at her , and returned his gaze. Her eyes bore into his, telling him everything with just a hungry look.

An unspoken message went between them. They hadn't seen each other in a week, which felt more like a year.

Unfortunately it was intercepted by Finn.