One Only

Copyright © 2010 by Shirley Hassen.

ISBN:       Softcover       978-1-4500-6224-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

Part 20

Part 21

Part 22

Part 23

Part 24

Part 25

Part 26

Part 27

Part 28

Part 29

Part 30

Part 31

Part 32

Part 33

Part 34

Part 35

DEDICATION

To a wonderful and caring family who have encouraged me no-end.

. . . not that I needed much encouragement . . .

But I love them all for their unwavering faith in my writing and my being published.

The Author

Shirley Hassen

Part 1

For many years after the handsome, eighteen-year-old Prince Mantor had been crowned King of Borrick, the village people lived happy and peaceful.

The peasants of Borrick were much assured of their God’s blessing in the rich-of-the-richest of soils. It was because of this fruitful soil that it gave the province an abundance of green vegetation and contentment for the toiling peasants. Hard-back-breaking hours these peasants worked. In return the soil always rewarded them with abundant crops. When harvesting time came, the peasants celebrated with much mêlée. Their healthy cattle herds and fowl were known all the other provinces.

Some mornings as was the usual, the mornings would start out hot with very little breeze to cool the scorching heat. By late afternoon, the light hot winds would become stronger, causing massive shadows from the vast clouds already enlarging across the sky. These clouds forming daunting slowly over the peasant villages, blocked out most of the sun’s warmth, bringing a cold chill. The cold chill was an expected and often occurrence. Although the peasants’ hard toiling earlier in the day had them perspiring to almost exhaustion, these farmers soon felt the cold chill of the changing weather, causing them to shiver. Although conscientious in their toiling the peasants ignored their hurt and discomfort by going faster. The darkening shadows from the low massing clouds, hanging threatening across the villages, the peasants; women doing their chores, men and boys in the fields, ignoring the darkening skies and the storm that would inevitably come with a vengeance these peasants carried on with their toiling. The stubborn sloughing of the fields, the peasants had no choice but to ignore the warning signs of the threatening storm. Working harder to finish their labouring before the torrential rains fell, the peasants groans and breathing vented the air.

While the women attended their indoor tasks, the loud sounds of happy squeals and yelling of their children could be heard from outside. The childrens’ loud floridity games echoed through the trees and across the fields.

And so it was, that for many years after the eighteen-year-old Prince Mantor was crowned King, the villagers lived contented. There was, of course, the exception of a few minor offenders for which the king himself tried these lawbreakers in his court. Some times, and with the king needing to deter some of these peasants from offending again, and going against his kind nature, King Mantor fined them severely and adding a severe warning, Another offence by your persons, I will have you locked in the dungeons for a long time. The worst offenders were, severely punished. Their punishment was many weeks of imprisonment deep in the bowls of the damp, foul smelling dungeons. At first, these hardened peasants were rebellious of their imprisonment and wreaked their fury verbally against their king. It had been for some time that these prisoners fought rebellious with each other from their dungeon cells, but by the end of their imprisonment and on their release, these unkempt peasants’ attitude to each other had changed towards each other and were much calmer when released.

Watching the peasants’ calmed attitude towards each other as the soldier-guards led the small group towards him; King Mantor grinned inwardly. His knowing he needed to assure these peasants that he would give a much harsher conviction next time, he threatened them with one last severe warning, I assure you, that your punishment will be harsher if you ever come before me again. King Mantor then ordered the repentant peasants, You are now free to go back to your villages! With their King’s words lingering with them, there had been no disruption from these hurriedly departing peasants.

King Mantor, although young, he was kind and just. His sentencing of the peasants was without malice and his forewarnings to them was also without malice, as he ordered them not to offend again. To the frightened peasants, desperately wanting to be gone from the courts, King Mantor’s softened words had gone unnoticed by them. It was King Mantor’s placidity that endeared him to his subjects.

At the age of twenty-two, King Mantor married the fourteen-year-old peasant girl, Bernice. Their marriage was an elegant event, and celebrated across the Province of Borrick. Much time having passed since the grand, royal marriage, it was with both joy to the Royal couple: and the peasants; that over this time that Queen Bernice bore King Mantor two children, a Prince and a Princess.

It was over the years since his royal children’s births that King Mantor; to the chagrin of his councilors, had given Queen Bernice the freedom to visit her people in her village. His love for his queen was such, that he could not deny the beautiful dark haired Queen what she asked of him. Many who worked in the castle were judgmental of King Mantor. But their judgments went unknown to him. Conversing with each other, these condoners were predicting, The King will rue these times of lenience with his Queen. He gives her too much freedom then is warranted. She needs to be with the King’s heirs. They knew that to speak their objections to their king, that it would temporarily disturb his thoughts but in the end, their warnings, they knew, their king would ignore and the queen would have her way. Therefore, in his Queen’s absence and while he enjoyed the time with his children, King Mantor knew nothing of the Palace talk.

An every day ritual in the grounds of the fortress was that in these massive grounds above the dungeons of the thick stone walled fort, many large groups of King Mantor’s soldier-guards’ would clash their weapons in mock battle. Their eerie yelling was loud and fierce as they flayed and thrust their weapons blind and wild and with deliberate vicious feigning thrusts at their pretend, menacing enemies. The frightening thrashing and clanging of swords, axes, and long pointed sticks with heavy balls attached was ear piercing. Their warring practices were an everyday occurrence for the soldier-guards. This practicing of weapons was for King Mantor’s soldier-guards to be ready to defend the province of Borrick and; if ever war were to occur; to protect their good King from any enemy armies. Although, only in mock fierce battle the soldier-guards lashed expertly out at each other. These realistic charades had many soldier-guards hurt and needing to attend to their bleeding wounds. For protection from their fast bleeding, they would rip frantically at their undergarment cloths and use these for tourniquets.

It was in the year 1013 in the small, but well inhabited population of the province of Borrick that this melee of activity continued to echo across the villages. Knowing their king to be just and kind and not at war with other provinces, there was no cause for their fear.

It was the women and children of the villages who did feel much fear of a war. There being no cause for their turmoil, the women and children of the villages still felt much fear at the echoing weapons. They also knew to be fearful of the small number of cruel soldier-guards who secretly invaded their villages. UN-be known to King Mantor, these soldier-guards took many young girls and defiled them, leaving them to recover or die from the abuse. Had the villagers been brave enough to report such acts of violence to their king, the soldier-guards would take retribution on the informers. The soldier-guards would swear false accusations about the peasants before King Mantor, then having been persuasive to their king; and against King Mantors’ fair rule, those proven guilty of the false crimes, would be dragged to the dungeons and slowly tortured to death.

The peasants’ real fear, was that if they spoke of the continued raping of their women that other soldier-guards’ would be angered.

The century old dungeons, deep under ground of the fort were dark, damp, and foul smelling, lit only by wide spaced, low-flamed grass wall torches along many narrow roughened stone passages. Imprisoned in these darkened cells were tax evaders and supposed traitors to King Mantor. Most of these prisoners were harmless, minor offenders from the villages. These peasants were more argumentative nuisances than a threat to their king. Depending on each of the individual’s crime, King Mantor kept some of these minute, trouble-making prisoners an extra time. Some detained even longer. To deter these minor offenders, King Mantor, when he summoned them before him, meted large penalties to them. With his severe warnings of a more severe punishment the next time they offended, the villagers spent no time exiting from the courtroom and getting back to their villages.

In the villages surrounding the mammoth aged-old fort and Castle, crying women peasants welcomed their men back to the village then went about their every day, hard tasks. The released prisoners would eagerly join in the sloughing of their many small fields, while their women baked food and washed garments. These peasants’ lives; although ones of poverty, was lived almost harmoniously under the reign of their good King Mantor.

It was different for the more aggressive prisoners. After King Mantor meted out his decision to detain them longer, the prisoners were given extra time of imprisonment as a stronger deterrent for them to behave. You need time to think on your wrong doings. This sentence spoken by their usually kind King had them feared of perishing in the dungeons. When released, most peasants did adhere to King Mantor’s stern warning. A minute of offenders, often offending was ordered; to King Mantor’s distaste; a few lashes.

It was the older peasants who; because of their aged knowledge, was unjustly accused of treason against their King by the disloyal soldier-guards to their king who were unable to defend themselves against the soldier-guards cunning. The peasants, painfully clasped in chains, the soldier-guards pushed them cruelly along the narrow tunnels then pushed them fiercely into the darker and damper dungeon cells. The poor wretches; with the false evidence accusing them, they were found guilty of the soldier-guards’ charges, and punished by days and weeks, sometimes years in the filthy smelling dungeons. Enduring the cold and darkness of the cells and their long imprisonment, many of the peasants died without proving their innocents.

The lawlessness of the King’s soldier-guards had not yet come to the attention of King Mantor. Capture of the older and innocent peasants continued by the soldier-guards. Treason was the vilest violation of the law of Borrick and it usually meant death. At the trials of the supposed ‘treason’ of the peasants, the soldier-guards, wanting bloodshed for their warped pleasures, had no remorse of telling their lies on oath. Blatantly they accused the old peasants’ with treason against their king. The innocent peasants, mostly the elderly from the villages, were much aware of the unjustness done to them by the soldier-guards. The elderly peasants’ who did manage to survive the soldier-guards’ capture, used their wisened minds to penetrate their wisdom upon those of the younger villagers, to whom some would not heed their warnings.

To avert much anger from the younger villagers that could lead them into a rebellion against the King, the older peasants told them only what they needed for them to know.

It was a small group of soldier-guards who had begun spreading suspicion around the court of some war mongering from other provinces. The accusations of this minute group of soldier-guards were unfounded, but their accusations were spoken with such conviction, that it was enough to cause unrest among the King’s armory.

King Mantor never heard of the injustices done in his province. Having no reason for believing that anything but justice to be done, his every thought was constantly about his beautiful Queen Bernice; of her beauty and loving nature. Over a short time, she had given him two more heirs another Prince and princess. It was because of his obsessive attention for his royal family, that this caused his judgments of many Kingly duties, to be secondary. It was therefore, that the peasants had no choice but to suffer these injustices done to them by the soldier-guards. Inwardly the peasants held strong retaliation for their accusers. They knew that to tell their King the truth against his soldier-guards, that it would mean more deaths of their families at the hands of these soldier-guards.

Within the sprawling villages, scrawny and dirty children played noisily and happily. Babies cried for their food. Where there were two babies for the mother to feed at the same time, a nursing mother having finished the feeding of her own baby, offered her milk to one or more of the other babies.

It had been over many days and the torrential storm had not lessened its fury. Now the fearful torrential rains had gone and many days having past, it left behind bog-mires of ample ground and deep ditches in its wake. Several days of scorching heat from the sun’s rays soon dried the muddied ground, turning the earth once again into dry parch land and hard to slough. The lives of the peasants; other than the usual disputes between certain farmers, there was a quiet discord for the King’s people.

It was inside the grounds of the daunting thick stonewalls of the fort and protected by thicker stonewall was the Royal Palace. Activity of the many servants and the Palace-guards were like insects hurrying around the courtyards of the castle carrying out their labours. Buckets rattled. Running feet echoed in the passageways as servants hurrying boisterous and taxingly about their duties. Pageboys hurried from one exhausting duty to another. Spoilt and giving out with some vulgar giggling, some of the Princesses chased each other brazenly and flirting past stiff-standing footmen and stern looking castle-guards. The maidservants of the rebellious Princesses were having much cause for worrying about their own punishment for their unwitting lapsing control over their charges. Each maidservant had in their turn, called to their princess, for her to act within her station.

These callings to each Princess were to no avail as the Princesses’ ignorance showed in their continuing with their amusements. Above the melee, screeching orders to the many Pages could be heard, Hurry Page! More water for the Royal baths! Attend to the Royal fire-hearths! It was regardless of the large number of deep fire-hearths, scattered throughout the high inner-stone walls of the castle, there was still coldness about the castle.

Days earlier when the terrifying noises from the storm sent eerie echoes around the castle, many suspicious servants had cause to be fearful. To these peasants their suspicions were real; they believed that the swishing moaning echoes of the gale-force winds and the icy phenomenon was a curse of something horrible to come. Other servants scoffed at these believers accusing them of being stupid, feeble-minded and superstitious.

Part 2

The storm suddenly abated and the chilling air that had accompanied the storm finally passed followed by the scorching heat of the sun. For the next few days the sun shone hot and searing through the long narrow windows built in the high walls of the castle. This heat spread much needed warmth across the lands but it did not warm many of the wide corridors and spacious but open rooms of the castle to a comfortable ease.

The Royal family rooms were much different, in that there had been no such discomfort. Orders from King Mantor for the fires of the royal rooms to be comfortable for his Queen and heirs were diligently, attended to by their many servants.

Therefore, it was that Queen Bernice and her children were oblivious of the cold beyond their rooms and of the discomfort of the servant peasants.

The massiveness of the Royal rooms gave the two princes’ and two princesses much room to play noisily. It was on this rare occasion that King Mantor was relaxing across the long thick cushioned liaise chair as he watched enthralled, and happily at his Queen: his Queen being once the beautiful peasant girl, Bernice from the village, had become his beautiful Queen. He laughed aloud as she playfully teased their children. For all the adoration King Mantor showed to his children, he adored his Queen more. He loved Bernice greater than he could ever put into words. His love, he knew, was such that he would unconditionally lay his life down for his kind and beautiful Queen. His not wanting to deny Queen Bernice any of her pleasures, King Mantor, to the angst of his court, had allowed her great freedom of the palace. There were many rooms of the Palace; King Mantor knew he could not give even his Queen access to. However, these forbidden places did not worry Bernice. Knowing so little of ruling a Kingdom, and not needing to know about such things, she avoided, with respect for her King, the forbidden areas of the court.

King Mantor knew, from when he took the beautiful peasant wench for his bride, that she would miss her family, and it was rightly so. It had been at her beguiling request, Your Majesty. So many soldier-guards to protect one such as I, is too many and they do give much fear to the peasants, The king allowed her the privilege of having but a minute soldier-guard escort to the peasant villages. King Mantor was not a weak king, he was just a pleasing one and it never occurred to him to deny his Queen of anything she asked of him. Whenever his Kingly duties freed him, he would spend this time to be with his queen. In Alice’s presence, his heart was joyous and free of discord. His nights had no problems for him, he allowing his person, long hours of being undisturbed for his arduous lovemaking to his queen.

Although King Mantor showed sternness to many of the dungeon captives, he was a fair and just ruler of his people. Although kind in nature, he knew he had to rule his province with some kind of sternness. It was this strong protection to his people and his law enforcing that had him unwillingly, making enemies among his soldier-guards and some of the villagers. Warned many times by his Court advisers about the minute, but apparently serious allegations, King Mantor chose to scoff the serious allegations off as them not wanting more than a fine. Perhaps his ignoring of the accusations was because of his yielding nature. It was this constant enforcing of the law of late, in the royal court that his ruling of his Province gave him little time to spend with his royal family. While being firm and tiresome in executing his duties, King Mantor always dwelled inwardly about his sincere love for his Queen.

It was some days later, while passing a tight penalty on two prisoners standing before him, that a wearied King Mantor warned them, Your continued offending of your King’s laws will not be tolerated further. Pressing his hands hard to his waist, he threatened, Come before your King again and you will be severely punished! The two trembling peasants intensively nodding their heads, King Mantor turned to one of his castle-guards as he ordered, Take these peasants to the scaffold . . .

The terrified peasants yelled, No! No! Your Majesty! We will obey your laws!

Putting his hand up at the Castle-guard to halt the soldier-guards’ descending on the two peasants, King Mantor ordered, Go back to your watch! To the trembling peasants, he stated sternly, Do not come before your King again for any lawlessness! Now go! Watching the two almost falling over each other in their attempt to get away, and smirking inwardly, King Mantor knew he would not see the two offenders before him again.

It was a short time later while King Mantor was having an audience with his court that he over-heard one of his personal soldier-guards whispering blasphemy against his beloved Queen. The accusation being an insult to his person, and his fury at such treason against his queen, King Mantor gave into an uncontrollable rage