Womanish Lady

Chapter 29.5:

 Seven decades ago:

Seven decades ago, the Village of Everspring - presently, the Kingdom named Everwinter - was slowly growing overtime.

The Headmaster over Everspring had a strong heart for preserving his people the best way possible, and, because of this, underdeveloped villages felt secure, and aligned their villages together. All aligned villages eventually came together and made one maturing kingdom.

There was peace.

The Kingdom of Everspring was getting large, and, because such a rightful King was over it, villages who didn't want to align themselves didn't worry.

There was peace and prosperity all around.

There was one village - not truly a village - of highly skilled archers, swordsmen, strategists, craftsmen and all-round warriors. This 'village,' mighty small in comparison to any other village, was formed by one woman and her siblings, who all believed that the peace would be short-lived, and prepared to preserve only their precious land, and family.

Only for a few years, they did not have to be on guard, for everyone around them felt the same.

Six decades ago:

The First King of Everspring had children. His five children were as kind-hearted as he, but there was just one son of his that he worried about, Lenon.

"Father. Our kingdom has gotten pretty large."

"Yes my son, it has."

"But there's villages who still haven't acknowledged us and refuse to merge with us. Doesn't that pose a potential threat?"

The King, who was overseeing his kingdom, turned around.

"My son. Acknowledgement is not why those villages merged with us. And, just like I, you have also seen the growth of this kingdom and the neighboring areas. There has been no sign of threat from anyone as of now."

"'As of now,' you say, but we have to ensure that our prosperity lasts."

The King studied the look in his youngest son's eyes.

"What are you implying?"

His son was aware that he had aroused more suspicion towards him.

He bowed.

"Nothing serious. Just that we instill a bit of fear into those villages. As a warning, and symbol of our power -"

The First King banged his hands on the ledge.

"Nothing serious? Even by the villages that haven't aligned with us - we're trusted by everyone to protect them! Putting fear into maturing children doesn't instill complete security in their parents! Harming these villages does not ensure our continuous prosperity! It was trust that brought us together!"

His father had walked right into his trap. Keeping his head bowed, his son smiled wide.

"Oh? I wasn't talking about destroying our neighboring villages. That's a great idea, father! I'm glad to see that you're thinking about our future! You have reassured me. I'll take my leave now."

Lenon left without looking at him. The smile still on his face.

"I wasn't talking about destroying the villages either. My son,"

The First King looked up at the sky and sighed.

"I thought it was just the breeze, but it seems the weather will not stay warm for long."

On the opposite side of the Kingdom was the First Queen of Everspring. Like her husband, she was very kind, with a strong heart.

She had such a strong heart that, more than her husband, she often lectured their youngest son, and would try multiple times to reprimand him.

Unfortunately, the Queen's wishes are second to the King's.

"Our son's heart is not right." said the Queen one night, when another request of hers was dismissed by her husband. "Why do you keep dismissing what I'm trying to do?"

"Because," the King was also distressed. "He needs to see for himself that this Kingdom is under no threat. You want to restrain him from leaving this area, but if you do, he'll never see that, my Queen!"

"I'm sure you feel it too - letting him roam free, the way he is now, is not going to work!"

"I do feel it. But, we have to believe in the power of the aura of this Kingdom! There's one heart like his, but there are countless hearts opposite."

Like this, the Queen never was able to reprimand her son.

Then, the time came for a new King and Queen to be chosen through their five children. The First King wanted to consider Lenon to be King, but, as he feared, his son hadn't shown any signs of changing his viewpoint, so, the King's title went to his eldest son. And the title of Queen, went to their first daughter.