When I met the prospectus duchess near my father’s studio, my only thought was to end this stupid engagement. For a year, my parents have tried to get me married to any lady who would take me. They didn’t expect much of it and there weren’t many requirements: a noble lady, the higher the status the better; they should agree to abdicate the status of princess and don’t seek the throne; they should support the heir appointed by the king, in various ways, including but not restricted to monetarily; they should be aware that this relationship may never produce an offspring, and even if it does, they’ll have no claim to the royal status. I already expected this: the King wishes to exile me in any ways possible. And by marrying me to someone else he wishes to cut any relationship with me and put all responsibilities on my bride. I already conceded to all that. In everyone’s eyes, my life is already over. But it is not fair to drag someone with me.
However, after talking with her I concluded that this girl is… interesting. Her hobbies are unique, and she has been to many places I only dared to dream about. She speaks of things I haven’t thought, and she regards me as a general, a strategist and a powerful magician. I don’t remember the last time someone saw me like that. I have been so full of self-loath in the last years, I basically gave up. And her last request is unexpected.
“We are already getting married. What do you mean?”. I asked her.
“Yes, but this is in our father’s terms. You may not know, but I have barely seen my father in these two decades. I was a newborn when I went to live with my aunt, and that’s is something I’ll always be grateful. Father is a stupid and immoral man, capable of selling his own daughter. And, based on the words we heard before, your relationship with your father is not better than mine. Nevertheless, they are trying to squeeze all they can before throwing us away. I don’t want him to get even a dime from me”. Her expression was serious, almost malicious. When I was in the battlefield, I was unstoppable; a fierce beast with undying blaze for a heart. Her words reignited that feeling.
“What is your plan?”, I asked, getting closer, as if she would whisper some big secret.
“To take from them everything they tried to take from us”.
“I’m interested”. My family has tried their best to make my life a hell. Maybe I should give some of that torture back.
“I never wanted to get married; I’d rather retain my freedom, so that I could study and train as I always did. But, if I find a husband who agrees to let me keep this life I’ve made for myself, I’d have no trouble in taking him. However, I wish father wouldn’t get anything out of it”. She stopped. A mischievous smile in her face. “Of course, my husband should get something too. If you could realize your wildest dreams, what would you wish for?”
“Hmmm”, I haven’t thought about dreams or ambitions. But she asked me to go wild. “Well, in the best outcome, I would wish to keep the title and properties I’m entitled. The main objective in this arrangement was to drive me away and keep me out of the dispute for the throne. If it was to enrage the king, that is probably the best option”.
“That doesn’t sound like enough. You’re the legendary general, you can dream even bigger!”. Excitement overflown from her eyes.
“If you are talking about military power, if I want to go really insane in my demands, I’d wish to be reconduct to my position and be given back the command of the troops. I have some friends in the military who are still loyal to me.”.
“That’s what I’m talking about!”.
“But that is an insane demand. Without my legs, no one would take me seriously”.
“Then I’ll be your legs”. She jumped in front of me and hold my hands. She surprised me again. Considering that she has been training the thousand sword technique, there may be some potential.
“Okay. This sounds fantastic, but how do you plan to do it?”
“A contract!”
“That’s still vague”.
“Your parents pursue a bride and even offered a reward for any girl who accepted it because they believe you can’t find one on your own, right?”
“Correct”.
“So, I’ll propose a bet. Imagine if you could find someone who would accept to marry you in, let’s say, twenty-four hours, without any compensation? What would the king give to see that happening?”
“I see. You really are interesting. And you expect that with both our fathers drunk they will sign whatever we want, right?”
“Is my supposition correct?”
“Maybe, if we give them a push”. Things were really taking a fascinating turn. I never imagined our conversation would lead to such discussions. And her words just reminded me of a special paper and ink set that I saved from my general days. I rolled my chair close to a cabinet and grabbed it. She looked at me expectantly. “I think this will be a great use for this”.
“What is that?”
“Many military documents need to be filled in a special way to guarantee that all parts will fulfill their obligations”.
“You mean a magical contract? I never thought I would see one of those”. She looked surprised and her eyes glimmered with awe.
“The king would do anything in his power to invalidate this contract, and even the highest courts would be by his side. But if it is a magical contract, not even the pope can annul it. We just need to be really smart about the terms”.
It was about six o’clock when we sat to decide the terms of the contract. Duchess Astrea asked for a trustworthy servant to send a message to her friend, Countess Sybil Kovač, so that she could arrange the witnesses and the minister to celebrate the ceremony. We established a different contract between the two of us defining the terms of marriage and that she would receive no compensation in case she married me, and will be left with nothing if she left me. That was to be assured that Duke Fursey Conwenna wouldn’t try to break our marriage and take the money; and that the divorce money couldn’t be considered a reward of some sorts for contract purposes.
The terms of proposal for our “bet” were carefully thought. If I married someone in 24h without the royal family having to pay anything as compensation to the bride or her family, I would be able to keep my title and will be considered a candidate to the throne. By keeping my title, I will be entitled the lands, Ministeries, properties, money and every other responsibility – on the words used by the royal documents – attributed to the third prince and the Second General (my previous military position). I proposed we should add that those words should refer to the specific decree, at a specific time, so that they couldn’t change it later. I should also be reconducted to the position of Second General, with the respective commands.
“What about you? Don’t you want anything?”
“I’m afraid if I ask for anything they may be suspicious. And I will get a lot from what you asked”.
I didn’t think that was fair. She had the idea, and planned everything carefully. Still, I was the one being directly benefited.
“What about something from the duke? We could say it was a gift to the bride”.
“Well… I would love to keep the house I grew up in with auntie. It has been my home for so long, it’s the only one I know”.
“That will do”.
By 7 o’clock we finished the contract. Now it was time to use my acting skills, that were not well developed, but I hope it would be good enough to fool two drunks.
***
“Good evening, father”, I saluted as I opened the door.
“What are you doing here? I told you not to show yourself”. The king scolded me, as if he was talking to a little kid.
“I apologize for my behavior, but I would like to meet my bride”.
“For what? To scare her away?” He laughed. It was usual for the parents to celebrate an engagement with a couple of drinks; however, the King liked to clean the cellar. And he found a drinking companion in Duke Conwenna. His phrase proved that he was already intoxicate.
“Father, you underestimate me. I agreed with this marriage because you asked me, and as a prince I have a responsibility with the Kingdom”.
“Responsibility?” He laughed, again. “The only thing you can do for the kingdom is to get out of the way. What can a cripple like you do? You can’t even get a wife alone”.
That was easier than we predicted. The country was lost in the hand of such a stupid king.
“With all due respect, I may have lost my leg’s movements, but I’m still a prince and a legendary general”.
“Kiddo, you are thinking too much. You were a legendary general”. The duke Conwenna answered with an arrogant smile.
“You are correct, sir. I was a legendary general. However, that means I’ve already done a lot for my country. I fought and killed for this country…”
“Enough!”, the king interrupted. “You may have been someone once, but you’re nothing now. Put yourself back in your place. You’re lucky I found someone almost as useless as you to marry. During these last years, you were just an expense, and I’m happy to finally get rid of you. And, to do that, I still had to pay for them to take you. No woman will lay with you unless you pay them, that’s who you are. A good-for-nothing son that brings shame to our family”.
“That’s not true. I could have found a wife alone; I chose to marry the lady you chose”. As I said those words, the duke snorted. “You laugh sir? You must think I’m insane, but if you gave me two days, I could find someone who would be willing to marry me without any payment. In fact, I could do that in twenty-four hours even”.
“It seems you’ve lost not only your legs, but also your brain. Even if I gave you ten years, you’d never find such a woman”. Father answered.
“I’m certain I could find one in less than a day”.
“Go back to your room! You’re disturbing our guest”. He screamed.
“Your highness, father, you want the sigil back, right?”. As we talked, Duchess Astrea and I realized that we would need some leverage. Even if they were drunk, we couldn’t just force them to sign some random paper. After a long discussion, we came to the conclusion that this was our best bet. The military sigil has been lost for years, even before I came back from war. There were some leads, but nothing much conclusive. I had some information that I never shared, or, let’s say, I never had the opportunity to share. It wasn’t much, and in any other occasion, if the king was sober, they would only brush it off. But, after some liquor, even that small information could amount to something.
“As if you could get me that”. The king snorted and the duke accompanied.
“Maybe. I have some information about it that I never disclosed. So, would you like to make a bet?”
“Bet on what?”
“That I can find a wife on my own”.
“And how long I’ll have to wait for that? A decade? Maybe you can find some prostitute who would like to marry you”.
“So, what would you give me if I could find a fitting lady, a noble one, that would marry me without any payment? Let’s say… what about a day? Twenty-four hours, to be exact”.
“Dear prince, if my daughter wasn’t such a useless woman, she wouldn’t have accepted to marry you, even with the reward. Do you really think you can find someone?”, the duke laughed. His arrogance was infuriating, but it made me feel even better about our plan.
“The wedding will happen in two weeks, if I’m correct. There is no problem if I use this next twenty-four hours for myself”.
“If you could find a woman to marry you in 24h, I would give you the Kingdom, even”.
“I would be happy keeping my position as a prince”. Fake humility is the way to go at this moment.
“Let’s make a bet, you’d lose anyway”. The King answered.
“I’ll bring the paper. This is important to me”.
“Bring it. I’ll wait”. After the King agreed, I asked for a loyal servant to bring the contract. I told him before to take his time, as if he was writing it. While we waited, I asked for more alcohol to be brought, to guarantee they would stay drunk.
“Before we sign, I’d like to propose another term”.
“Another term? What? More time?”
That was the only part that was uncertain, but as Astrea suggested it could be our silver bullet against the kingdom.
“If I have a son, in a year, with the woman I chose, a legitimate heir, I want to be promoted to First General”.
“A son? Are you seeking a goddess or a saint? Or maybe expecting a miracle?” The stupid men laughed so loudly they sounded like animals.
“If you think it is such an impossible event, do you agree with the terms?”
“Another stupid clause won’t change a thing. Just add it”.
“And you, sir, what about a wedding gift, to this prince?”
“Whatever you want, your highness”, the duke answered, sarcastically.
When they signed the document, they didn’t even notice it was a magical contract. After I left the office, I could still hear the king say that if something goes wrong, he would just annul it. How could our country have such a stupid king?
