Queen & Prince Together Forever #5

Sad but true, the only thing in his favor was that his kingdom was poor. Having more to gain in conquering his rivals than his rivals had in conquering him, he had little to lose. He had nothing to give his conquerors but the loyalty of his surviving men, all proven fighters in battle. Yet, with them not loyal to anyone, not even him, they'd fight to the death for anyone who'd feed them, keep them warm, supply them with mead and wine, and allow them to have some gold in their pockets to pay for whores. It was up to him to make his move. It was up to him to control his destiny by not relinquishing his life to them.

William left a small contingent of his most loyal men behind to guard his wife, Emma, and son, Henry. After King Richard III lost his crown to Henry VII, William changed his son's name from Edward to Henry. Honoring King Edward IV from the house of York by so naming his son, he didn't need King Henry's men to see a reminder of the past by the name of his son. There'd be less chance that a king's guard would slit the throat of a boy name Henry than there would that a king's guard knifing a boy named Edward.

Changing his loyalty from one royal house to the other royal house, from his point forward, his son Richard would be called Henry in honor of Henry Tudor, King Henry VII of the house of Lancaster to soon become the house of Tudor. With orders for his most trusted men to slay his wife and son with a quick and painless death should the barbarians overrun the castle in his absence or in the event of his death, he felt better about leaving them behind. Should he die, they'll all die together. With every campaign that he undertook and with them all locked and barricaded behind his tower doors, he left the same men behind with the same orders should he not return alive.

He rode the several miles with his knights and officers to the nearest castle while his men slowly marched behind him. After leaving his wife and his son to fend for themselves, albeit protected by their personal security force, he finally and safely returned home from his conquering campaigns. Restocking his inventory of supplies with food and horses as well as his army with men, he was able to refortify his position. The powerful owner of five castles now, from the sea, to the mountains, to the forest, and to the valley, he owned lands in all directions further than the eye could see. Wielding as much power as he wielded influence, King William was a very rich man.

Now, the most powerful landowner in the region, he wondered if his success happened because he forsook his Gods to pray to the Devil. Always fearing and avoiding even thinking of the Satan before, maybe aligning himself with the Devil wasn't such a bad thing for him to do after all. Only, he wondered what the downside was in enlisting Satan's help. Surely, Satan did nothing for anyone for free. Figuring his soul would be damned to Hell for eternity, if only he knew that wasn't the only price he'd pay in his death, if only he knew he'd be paying the for the enlisted and invited help of the Devil while living, he may have reconsidered asking Satan for his help. Fortunately, no doubt with Satan's help, catching his rivals by surprise, his warring campaigns were all successful. Every time he conquered a castle, he returned a little richer with gold, horses, food, and more men. Amassing quite the army, he was building quite the reputation as a conquering hero to his people and as a conquering warrior to anyone who dare raise a sword and an army against him.

To be continued...