The kingdom of Vanguard was a prosperous land with bounty from the sea and plentiful harvest from the soil. It was a time of peace among men and the King was skilled at providing what was necessary for his people to thrive.
The king had five children with his wife who he respected but did not love. It was well known that he kept company with a courtesan who had his bastard child. To the grievance of his wife she was forced to allow this son to stay in court and be raised with her children. She became bitter over the years and was tormented by his presence. She detested that the King seemed to favor him more than their eldest son. She knew that the courtesan had much power over him and was surely twisting his strings like a puppeteer. She plotted in the shadows with anyone she could trust who was in power. She wanted to assure that the harlot would not get her way in seeing her bastard son take the crown.
As time went by the King got older and was near death. He appointed the rightful heir to the throne his son born from his wife. This pleased the queen but she was ravaged with malice in her heart for the courtesan who stole her husband’s attention from her and the son they had together. The king spent his remaining months in the countryside only allowing the son he had with the courtesan to be in his presence. This enraged the queen further so when news came that the king had died the queen set out to kill the two who brought such misery to her life.
She watched and waited peering in the window of the courtesan’s bedroom outside of her apartment. The courtesan was in the heat of passion with the Duke in her bed. She tried to not make a sound as she watched disgusted tasting the vile in her mouth. She waited till she saw they were finished and heard the door slam with the Duke’s departure. She slowly opened the door a crack to shimmy inside. She instinctively grabbed a large knife from the kitchen table where a cheese and bread platter was set out. She slid her back against the wall to get close to the opening of the bedroom. She saw the courtesan bending over to fix the bedding. She jumped at the chance and stabbed her in the back. The courtesan keeled over and took her last breath. The queen jumped back with shock of what she had done and felt a release of all the pent up emotion she held from all those years now past. She cried and begged forgiveness from God for what she had done. She heard a loud sound coming from outside the bedroom window that shook her up. She wiped her tears off her sleeve and ran for the door to escape the apartment. On the way out she passed a servant who was dumping the trash into a barrel. A street cleaner. She kept far away from him not wanting her clothes to be soiled.
It took two days for word to travel to the courtesan’s son since he was in the country at the bed side of his now deceased father. He was given a title, land and money by his father before he passed as his inheritance. He had planned to start immediately after arranging the affairs of his father’s body to be transportation into the city for his remains to be buried in the royal cemetery. With the news he was cautioned to stay away from the city by his friend Larson. Word had been buzzing around in the low status taverns that the queen was the one to have put an end to the courtesan. Nothing could be done now that the queen’s son was king since her son had grown up despising him because of her negative influence on him.
He cried and felt pained for such a loss. Both his parents now gone. There was nothing left for him in Vanguard. He was sure that the queen would not let him take the title that was given to him. He had become friends with some of the families in the country. They were honorable people who were hard workers that toiled the land. They knew the love his father had for him. He came up with a plan and decided to have a meeting with all of the farmers.
He informed them that his mother was killed and he would not be returning to the city. He showed them a map and the markings of where his father had unsettled land in the far region outside of his kingdom that he bequested to him. He proposed that he would move there and wanted the families to come with him or allow there coming of age teens to join him to make a new kingdom. He promised that he would pay for their freedom and only indenture them for five years. The peasants were promised good land and a chance to become higher in stature. He made sure they knew that life would be rough since the land was wild but that they would be working for a better life for all. He answered their inquiries and then sent them on their way warning them not to speak of his plan to anyone else. He did not want word getting to the queen or her son who was now king.
The queen was in distress for what she had done. She hid from society for a week not allowing anyone to see her until her son barged in. She was on her knees praying in front of ten glowing candles. The air from the door being opened with such force swished in and blew the candles out. He stood there shocked to see his mother on her knees. She never seemed religious when he was a child growing up.
The whispers had finally reached her son. But not the one the queen feared. He heard of the plans that the courtesan’s son was going forth with in the countryside. His mother’s bitterness had tainted him over the years and he was ready to put an end to the bastard son… his half brother. His mother stood up and clutched his cloak in a tight grip not willing to let go as if her life depended on it. She begged for him to let him go and not draw blood like she had done with his mother. He stood back but already knew in his heart that his mother killed the courtesan and he could see the regret of the act written all over her face. He held his hand out to her and she placed her hand on his with their palms touching. For the love of his mother he agreed to put this to rest and assured her that he would let the courtesan’s son flee. His half brother would live his life out peacefully in the land his father gave to him outside of the kingdom. He was sure the loss of families from the countryside would not be severe and was hoping his mother would finally heal from this tragedy since his heart hurt seeing her this way.
On the morning Richard the courtesan’s son was set to leave there was a gathering at his door. He looked over the faces of those who were making the trip with him knowing they would soon be his people and his responsibility. He felt pride that they trusted in him. He had made arrangements for all the supplies they needed and transportation. His money was only good in Vanguard so he spent it all since out in the wild it would be worth nothing. Most of the parents sent their sons or daughters since they were too old to make such a trip. They felt assured that they would have a better life in the end and serve the beloved son of the king. He saw his two trusted friends in the crowd. One was with his wife and the other stood alone. He came over and pat them on the back. They would be his Duke and Knight. He was confident in their future to come.
The night before they left he married the daughter of the most influential family. Her status as a merchant’s daughter did not matter. She would be Queen and be the one to bear him a son. Her parents and brother were promised to be the first to own a store and bring trade to the families in the new kingdom.
They had traveled for five days straight when they entered the borders of the land. He had his two friends along with the journeyman carpenter to go ahead of the wagons and scout out the best place to situate their village. It took longer for them to travel since there were no roads just mud and grass. In a day his friends were back with a rough map of where to go and helped lead them to their new home which they named Rocheshire after his mother’s last name.
Sims 2 for you 