Rebirth And Second Chances

[Tireless, they are immune to most damage, magic, and all disease.]

[While hunting, nothing can stand before them.]

[They are death.]

[No matter who you are, peon, king, G.o.d, if the Wild Hunt forms and you are their target, you will die.]

[Armies have fallen before them trying to protect an individual.]
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[They are the monster parents warn children about. Behave or the Wild hunt will come for them.]

[They cannot be distracted.]

[Led by Gwyn ap Nudd, he controls how, where, and when Wild hunts are formed. They always answer the call when summoned to punish oathbreakers and kin-slayers, and if you appeal to Gwyn ap Nudd for justice, the appeal had better be true or the Wild hunt will take you instead.]

[Gwyn ap Nudd is the Huntsman, a G.o.d of Chaos, and merciless. He has been their leader since the first Hunt was called and will be their leader when the last Hunt rides. It has been said that he rides to atone. That he was kin-slayer and oath-breaker, and this duty is Divine punishment for his crimes. But no one knows for sure.]

"So, I could have called for justice and the Wild hunt for what Thom did to you?" I asked

[Yes. He did break guest law. Although I was not kin, Lord Kel recognized me like family. Perhaps not in words, but certainly with his actions. By housing, training, and requiring me to attend family dinners he made known to staff and servants that I was of House Kel.]

[I do not think Gwyn ap Nudd would have ignored the summons. Unless the transmigration of souls, the moment you became me, reset Thom"s fate.]

[Understand calling the Hunt is done for extreme cases.]

"I get it. Don"t summon the Wild Hunt for frivolous matter. The consequences can be deadly," I agreed.

[It isn"t death you need to worry about. Some, who summon the Hunt, pay for their service by becoming part of the Hunt. Doomed for eternity to ride and dispense justice and vengeance.]

A cold chill traveled up my back, to be trapped for eternity was horrifying, and I made a mental note to stay as far away from the Hunt as possible.

One last glance, making sure there wasn"t anything else left to collect, and I moved to the door, "I think we are done here, we should head to Thom"s room. Do you know the way?"

[Not exactly. I know immediate family quarters are on the second floor, but I"ve never been invited to his rooms.]

[I"m sure once we get to that floor, the guards will direct us the rest of the way.]

The trip down to the second floor was uneventful. The decor the same cold harsh stone-scape that I"d seen so far. Caraid was correct in his a.s.sumption about where we were headed. Looking both directions once we hit the second-floor landing we were directed by a chambermaid towards the right. A couple of guards were standing at attention before a door midway down the pa.s.sage.

Walking quickly in their direction, I was quick to inform them that I was expected, "Lord Kel asked me to meet him. Is he available?"

"Prince Mac," Lord Kel answered from inside the room the guards were stationed in front of, "come in, let"s see if any of this can benefit you."

Thom"s room was as different from Caraid"s as a shack was from a mansion. It was easily five times as large, and where the rest of the keep was cold and lifeless, this room was an explosion of color and discord.

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for how things were placed. Thom"s storage method seemed to be, toss it and wherever it fell was its place. The disorder did nothing to detract from the sumptuous appointments, gold trim offset warm rich wood panels. The room exuded wealth and was clearly meant for a person of power.

Paintings and tapestries gave life and movement to the walls.

Lights were cleverly placed to allow for utility as well as to highlight strategically hung tapestries and paintings.

The pedestal bed was engulfed by rich purple drapes that could be artfully positioned to showcase the bed or hide the bed"s occupants.

My shock at the opulence of the room must have registered with Lord Kel because he turned from inspecting a pile of gear to see what it was that had caught my attention. Closing my mouth quickly, I attempted to convey a sense of dispa.s.sion and disinterest, but I"m sure I failed.

Lord Kel actually began chuckling at my expression.

"Looks more like a courtesan"s bordello than it does the room of a Knight protector doesn"t it, Your Highness?" Lord Kel asked.

I startled slightly as he used my new t.i.tle, grinning sheepishly at him, I answered, "Sorry, I"m not used to the whole Prince thing yet. Yes, it does seem a bit over the top."

"First rule of royalty and command. Never apologize. You outrank all but six people in the world. Queen Mab, King Lugh, and Prince Consort Puck of the Seelie, and the Morrigu, Queen Moriggan, Queen Bodb, and Queen Macha of the Unseelie."

"Royalty practice polygamous marriages?" I asked Caraid.

[Yes. But not only Royalty.]

[We"ve found that often, as a person"s rank increases, the fights, politics, and machinations to work against each other increase, it"s safer and more stable to have a trinity.]

[For people that live as long as the Sidhe are capable, marriages of equality between two people don"t work, each person has their own agenda. And those agendas become entrenched and habit as time progresses.]

[By creating a trinity, when issues of disagreement occur, a quorum can be called to solve the dispute. It has led to a more stable monarchy. When your King and Queen can live forever, having a referee equal in power between two powerful personalities can be beneficial.]

"Why doesn"t the Unseelie monarchy have a King or Prince? How can they have children?"

[There is no need.]

[Offspring are the product of s.e.xual intimacy and intent. It"s the joining of magical energies that produce progeny. Not biological joining of seed and ovum. The Unseelie Queens have given birth to children.]

[The issue isn"t how for the Seelie and Unseelie, but when. Both factions are slow to reproduce, maybe because we are so long-lived, if we weren"t, we would overrun the planets in no time.]

"So, I will have to marry two people, and they can be men or women?"

[If you plan on having children, not necessarily. As I said, it is a mix of magic and intent, so two people can produce offspring. But if you ever plan to rule. To claim a kingdom, then you should know that a trinity of power is most accepted. Male or female won"t be as much of a concern as species.]

[Each court only has one unmarried child, at present. Prince Patrick of the Unseelie and Princess Cerne of the Seelie. If you want to ascend to rule the Seelie or Unseelie, marriage to one of those would be expeditious.]

[I would suggest not approaching them. It would be better to seek a relationship with a pit of vipers.]

[Safer.]

[And the vipers would show more affection.]

[Seek mates from those of lesser Rank or from the other Sidhe races.]

"And if I"m not OK with bis.e.xuality?"

[Bis.e.xuality?]

[Ah, an Earth affectation. If you"re not OK with it, get over it] Caraid suggested.

[When you consider inter-racial breeding can occur between Kelpie as horses, Selkie as seals, or with Slaugh as monsters, then a bit of bis.e.xuality should be the least of your concerns.]

[Stop projecting your prejudices from your past life on this world.]

[Whoa! I didn"t say I wasn"t OK with it, I just wondered what would happen if I wasn"t, or if I"m not attracted to the Prince or Princess. If I don"t love them?]

[Love? Attracted? This isn"t a fairy tale. You are an Ascended Prince of the Belenos bloodline. Love and attraction have nothing to do with dynasty and duty.]

[You may die before this becomes an issue, lose rank and fall back to a commoner, but if you remain a Prince or become a King, love and attraction will have little to do with whom your co-rulers will be.]

[Stop worrying about their gender and start worrying that they are not monsters. You need to make powerful connections with people that have combat, magical, and political influence.]

[Of course, there is a third option, if you want to rule but can"t stomach the Seelie or Unseelie. Start your own kingdom!]

I had to admit he had a point. Even on earth, a Prince or Princess seldom married for love. And Kings and Queens never. They may have been enormously wealthy and influential, but their positions came at a cost.

I honestly thought the fact I would have to marry two people in order to procreate was weird enough, but when I considered how a child was born if both of my mates were male. I admit to a certain queasiness, I had never been a fan of harem literature, certainly not literature where men were giving birth! s.e.xist, I know, but shouldn"t the woman be the gender to give birth?

Maybe my imagination about how something like that was even anatomically possible was feeding my concerns.

No maybe about it, I was already crossing my legs.

"The clothes can be ignored, we"ll have our tailor meet with you later to fashion a wardrobe suitable for your presentation at Court. But check out the weapons, armor, and jewelry. He has a few bags of holding here. See what you can use, what you want to keep.

"What you don"t take I"ll have his mother and sister distribute. Look behind that tapestry that depicts the goblin horde battle, there should be a hidden chamber that probably contains usable items.

"I"ll have the retainer that searched Thom, and his cohorts bring you what items they were carrying," Lord Kel directed.

"Thank you, Lord Kel. I know this isn"t easy for you but. . ."

"Stop!

"You are blameless in this mess. I don"t know if the fault is mine for how I raised him, or if there was just some corruption that was always there.

"Take your time.

"Go through this mess and take what you want and can use. I don"t want to see any of it again.

"When you"ve finished, see the tailor, and then meet us in the family dining hall for dinner. We"ll discuss what your next step is tonight."

I would like to think that Lord Kel meant what he was saying. But I had a feeling he was adept at hiding his true emotions. And that he was not only furious at Thom for forcing him to act, but he was also furious at me for forcing him to cast out his beloved son.

Thom didn"t grow up in a vacuum. He was taught that his actions were permissible. And Lord Kel was likely at fault. His actions and how he treated Caraid fostered those actions, I thought.

Thom saw Caraid given the bare minimum, so why would he believe that Caraid was important or beneath contempt. He had been taught that Caraid was worthless and acted.