Madness! Two counties in Beruvan have risen against the most gracious and able king Nydon, declaring for an imposter prince who dares to claim a name similar to his Goose Cursed daughter. Worse still, a conniving elf and traitorous twin mages are with him. Nydon dispatches his most loyal troops, certain their leader (who always showed affection to the princess) will do what needs to be done. -- Deathshead419
[AN: Referring to an earlier tale here: @internutter/challenge-04607-l223-ultimatum-solution ]
The peasants were revolting in the district of Halhollow. How dare they! After everything Nydon did for them. He had kept their entire district under his exacting principals, and enforced them at sword point. All for the low, low price of their taxes.
Their neighbour, the district of Sunhill, was also revolting. They'd ridden the tax collectors out of the district on a rail, and were rallying with Halhollow under the banner of someone calling himself Prince Reginald.
There were reports of his twin mages and the traitor Elf in their number.
This was an outrage! As if he didn't have enough trouble with his Goose daughter and the excruciating delay of her marriage to Prince Connow the Reluctant. At least the good nation of Lunnarigan was fine with Connow's happiness to wait for a proper solution. There was something amiss with that lad. Nydon remembered being extremely enthusiastic about marital delights, but Connow was almost... relieved by the curse's delay.
Nydon sent troops to quell the uprising, but the squad he sent joined the rebellious peasants! There were even some of his Barons and Dukes endorsing them. Adding their armies to the revolting throng. He tried pulling his magical charms from the uprising territories. Letting them have the storms he had kept from the realms.
They reveled in the alleged freedom. The lunatics!
Nydon had to quell them. He gathered up his entire army, and borrowed half of the Prince Connow's forces. Leaving just enough to see to his safety in the highly unlikely event that the lad had to flee for safer territory.
As if there was anywhere safer than Bevuran.
Nydon sent them all off with every weapon they could possibly want. A show of force to quell the pretender with a likeness to his own dear -if cursed- daughter. All with his orders to come back with the rebel leader's heads or not at all. They even had warding charms to protect them from that devilborn bard's charismatic words.
Prince Connow was staring at the woodcut of the rebel 'prince' from the news sheets.
"Have no fear," said Nydon. "My armies have never been defeated. You won't need your guards to hurry you to some bolt-hole somewhere."
He had no idea that his words were the twisted truth.
His armies weren't defeated. They merely defected to the rebellion.
Connow did not need his guard to hurry him away. He and his guard were rescued from King Nydon by the rebels. And that was when some sunny serendipity came to the fore.
The reluctant Prince Connow of Lunnarigan had been reluctant to marry a princess because he was gay. Further, he had been quite enraptured by the rebel Prince Reginald.
He was very glad to discover that the former princess was transgender, and had undergone the process to become the young man he'd always known he was.
The overthrown King Nydon was not pleased to witness the marriage he thought he wanted. Not between a prince and princess, but between two princes who were very happy with each other.
As for the goose? Wraithvine changed her back to her truth. The newly-married princes named her 'Trudy' and made certain she was kept in the lap of goosy luxury for the rest of her days.
Everyone in Bevuran agreed that things were a lot better without Nydon on the throne.
[Photo by Ishmak Rahat Rafi on Unsplash]
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