The room, furnished with all the luxury the times allowed, was full of women running around, carrying bowls of water and clean towels, while the queen sweated on the bed, feeling the pains of childbirth that would bring the longed-for heir into the world. Her face transfigured a mixture of pain and pride. She knew that her husband, after being thrown out of the room by the slave girls, was waiting outside. A louder groan and a deep cry that would trouble the soul of any human being, was followed by laughter and applause. They brought the little baby so that the queen could see him, already wrapped in a blue blanket. He was a beautiful boy. The new mother only had time to smile and look with great affection at the prince, who was crying disconsolately in the arms of Martha, the queen's trusted slave, before he began to feel dreadful pain again, much stronger than that of the first child. And to the amazement of everyone, even the queen herself, another child came into the world. They were twins. More applause was heard, this time with less energy and without the smiles. The women looked at each other, for this was not a good omen. But the mother, as soon as she saw that little face so similar to the first, even doubted that there were two, and after they showed her the two together, she closed her eyes feeling like the most blessed woman in the world. But she couldn't rest yet. She would wait for the midwives to arrange her children, and she would breastfeed them herself. She could feel the milk in her breasts, which were now much larger, and although she had already provided a nursing mother for this purpose, at that moment she decided that she would not resort to her, because with the birth of the children, the desire to be a mother completely came into her mind, defying the natural order of things in the kingdom. A noblewoman never breastfed her children. She felt the women cleaning the bed and wondered how they did this without disturbing her. Her thoughts were accompanied by a great sleep. But she refused to sleep. She heard the desperate knocking on her husband's door and smiled. He would be in for a surprise. She thought with a smile.
"Martha, when everything is ready, bring my children for me to nurse them."
Martha approached with light steps and with emerald green eyes staring at her worriedly. She was a woman of small stature, but she was very beautiful. Lea wondered why she was not the chosen one? She was more beautiful than the queen herself, although she hid her beauty with loose clothes and hair tied over a scarf.
"Your Majesty... Are you sure? The mother of milk is already waiting...
"You may dismiss her, Martha. I will feed them myself. I will be a mother entirely..."
"Your Majesty, that is reprehensible for noblewomen. Forgive the audacity of having to remind..."
"You know well that I am not like them and may never be..." Léa said remembering the occasion of her marriage.
"Okay." Martha said with a cordial smile. "We have already cleaned and dressed the children, they are ready to be fed, however I am afraid that if I go to feed them now, the king will break down that door."
Lea laughed with gusto. Martha eventually followed her. The other women were playing with the newly stuffed babies. Everyone there, loved the queen.
The father, King Dartan, was then allowed to come in and meet his heirs, after all the despair he felt hearing his wife's cries of pain and soon after baby cries, but he was not unenthusiastic about the arrival of two children. Unlike the slave girls, he thought it was a gift from God and thought he was blessed just like the queen. As for the beliefs of his slaves, he found them empty and idiotic. He loved Lea, his wife, and would love his children with the same dedication that he had always treated and protected her. He promised Lea that he would always treat them equally. Which she thought was fine, not knowing that the king's attitude, even if it was out of love, would unleash a great storm in her life and in her kingdom.
After picking up and kissing each of his children, he left them in Martha's care and approached his wife, who from her bedside was watching him.
"Thank you, my dear. Just when I think I couldn't be happier, you surprise me by giving me, not just one, but two male children."
Lea smiled and closed her eyes, for she was exhausted. But, she opened them again when she felt her husband's lips on her forehead.
"What will you call the children?" She remembered to ask, before the sleep of exhaustion overcame her. Perhaps by talking to him she could nurse her children before bed.
The king thought for a moment.
"How about Luc and Ale?"
"Luc and Ale... They will be great men..." Léa managed to say, before falling into a deep, peaceful sleep, even though she struggled against it.
"Of course they will be, my dear." Dartan said softly, giving her a kiss on the forehead and withdrawing to let her rest.
Lea woke up and her first thought was for her children. She shouted for Martha, when she saw that night had fallen over the palace. The slave girl came quickly. She was in a corner, right there in the room watching over and watching over the boys' sleep.
"Your Majesty..."
"Martha, they must be starving! Bring them quickly!"
"Sire... They have been suckled by the milk mother. The king... We had to tell him about her decision to be a mother entirely..."
"Was he angry? Did he say he couldn't?"
"No your majesty. He said that if it was your choice, he would respect it, however, the children were to be fed while you rested..."
Lea breathed a relieved breath. She had accepted the right man to be her lifelong companion. And she knew she would continue to love him, even after they left there.
"Where is Dartan now?"
"He has gone to another room. He cursed his ancestors for having decreed that a husband could not lie in the same bed with his wife for forty-five and days after childbirth. But he left us warned to bring him his dinner. Should I go get it now?"
"Are my children asleep?"
"Yes your majesty. But it won't be long before they wake up hungry..."
"Then fetch something for me. I need to be strong for them."
Martha left, and a few minutes later returned, bringing the tray with the queen's dinner. Lea ate, and as Martha predicted, the twins woke up soon after, hungry. Lea then actively accompanied the growth of the twins. She taught them to walk and played with them in the palace garden. The nannies didn't have much to do with them, as the queen made sure everything was done for them.
The two children were raised with the same dedication, as the king promised. But from an early age, it was noticeable that the older one, Luc, harbored a feeling of contempt for his younger brother, Ale, and resented the equal treatment they received, and never missed an opportunity to remind Ale that he was superior to him.
Lea and Dartan followed their growth and believed that their fights would end when they were older, because they were raised in an environment of care and love, and one day, all that love would be noticed by both of them and they would end up being influenced by their environment.
The servants who took care of them after they were at school age, did not believe that they would one day make up. And they were also divided in their affections. Some preferred Luc, and others Ale.
They fought constantly, for the most trivial of reasons, and had to be separated by the guards and teachers who accompanied them. Both were equally brilliant in their lessons, and it seemed as if they were always fighting over who would do best.
Lea constantly called out to them and made them hug each other and say that they loved each other. She believed that with this, they would end those fights that were already beginning to arouse in her a greater fear of what might happen in the future, when they were older. He always worried that the two of them would reach the age of reigning together. And deep in his heart he knew that this would not be good. And she began to understand the midwives' lack of enthusiasm for Ale's arrival after Luc was born.
When they were fifteen years old, they abandoned their wooden swords and went on to serious Kenjutsu classes. Both were good, and although Luc tried hard to prove he was better than his brother, at that time, there was never a winner, their fights always ended in draws.
The king, finally realizing Luc's animosity, began to worry about the kind of king he would become, for he was cruel and merciless with all those who served his brother. Ale, on the other hand, was cheerful and jovial and received his brother's criticism and humiliating words with patience, a mixture of defiance and, why not say it, disdain. Besides treating everyone well... He would make a great king? no doubt about it. But tradition and the laws of the kingdom demanded that the throne be handed over to the first-born son. And Lea would also not allow her oldest son not to receive the throne, which was rightfully his.
So Dartan hatched a plan to make them both kings. Even though Ale's kingdom, it would be provisional and temporary, it would only become permanent if Luc abused his power and authority, and so there would be a king as strong as him, to overthrow him from the throne. However, if he proved to be just, Ale would return him absolute power. He knew he could always trust that Ale would do the right thing.
He called his advisors together in secret and explained his fears, explaining his intentions. He wanted to divide the kingdom into two equal parts. One part would be ruled by Luc and the other by Ale, until Luc proved himself a good king and brought the two parts together again.
Some of his advisors showed reluctance, even raising contrary hypotheses, but the king refuted them all and they ended up supporting his decision, because they felt that in fact, the king only consulted them for pure formality, he was already decided to make that division that most did not look kindly on. Dartan, then, soon began the construction of a new palace, as pompous as that one, where Ale was to reign for five years when the time came.
But not all the councilors were discreet, and the subject of the meeting ended up being talked about throughout the palace. Luc, upon hearing of his father's decision, was furious and tried to dissuade him.
"My father, I fear you are not being correct with me or the kingdom."
"I have my reasons, my son. Years from now, when you ascend the throne, you will understand that I am being fair."
"I see no justice in taking from me half of the kingdom that would be mine by birthright."
"When the time comes and you reign with justice and dignity for five years, the other half will be returned to you."
"I do not believe that Ale will willingly return it to me. He is making a grave mistake and giving us cause to fight a future war."
"Ale is not ambitious. He received the news with contempt and even told me that he had no intention of being king, but would obey so that my will would be fulfilled."
"You told him! I learned about it from servants. And as for Ale, he lies! You are mistaken about Ale. He is not the good boy you imagine. He hangs around with guards of dubious character who are capable of unforgivable acts, as well as accompanying them in drunkenness, vice, and the giving of easy women."
"Don't slander your brother! I will not allow you to do so in my presence!"
Luc lowered his head so that his father would not see his eyes glisten with the anger he was feeling.
"If you really believe that what I say is slander, perhaps you need a doctor to treat your reasoning! Excuse me, I must retire."
"Go!" The king ordered impatiently. Dartan loved both his sons too much and it was hard for him to have to resort to that ruse to make sure Luc was a good king. But he owed it to the people. They had the right to have a good king. Dartan thought as he sat on his throne. Leah, who listened to the whole conversation in silence, sitting next to the king, as soon as Luc left she turned to the king.
"Darling... You promised me that you would treat both your children with equal love..." She said letting her annoyance show in her voice.
"But that is what I am doing Lea. Can't you see that Luc is very ambitious? If he leaves everything in his hands, he might even exile his brother when it's time to reign. He'll have to prove that he can be a fair and impartial king. That will be good for him. Luc likes challenges."
"Why did you let Luc know about this division by the servants? That's not equal treatment! You're overlooking Luc in favor of Ale! Can't you see that you're giving them reason to be rivals? It's as if you agree and collaborate with this epic fight of the two of them. You should have consulted me before committing this folly... What would become of the other children if we had succeeded? They might be influenced by your attitude and despise Luc's primogeniture and never come to respect him as you did Ale. Lea said without holding back and hurriedly left, not expecting any answers from Dartan. She knew he didn't have any.
When Luc left, he was dismayed and unconformable. He left with his thoughts in turmoil. Now it was more than clear to him that his father would never believe that his youngest son was capable of such cruel acts. Nor did he tell him about the looting he used to do with the guards chosen to guarantee his safety, the houses of the poor who feared to denounce him, nor about the dozens of virgins he deflowered against their will, and then paid a pittance as compensation to their families, who kept silent for fear of reprisals from the young prince himself. He knew that for his victims, the news that he would also be king would make them unhappy and worried. And it was for their sake that he tried to dissuade his father. But he seemed spellbound. He would find a way to protect the people from his brother. He would increase the number of people who were already watching him and coming to tell him about his tricks and his idiocies.
Lea, Dartan's wife, unlike him, had no suspicions about Luc's character. She thought he resembled her father and had faith that he would be a good king. However, she kept with her the certainty that Ale would be a selfish man, because of his rebellious and irresponsible acts. However, she would never tell Dartan her opinion, because she could see that he was blind to her son's attitudes and true character. He seemed happy, believing in this farce.
And so the two were raised and completed their eighteenth year of life. At this time, Lea was taken by an unknown illness, which destined her to live in her bed. She was in terrible pain and could no longer stand up. It started with a headache. Then her legs started hurting every time she stood for more than five minutes. The pains intensified and spread throughout her body. She was unhappy with her fate, until she discovered the origin of her illness and the ineffectiveness of all the medication she was taking. She decided to resign herself to her fate and make the most of the visits that her husband and children often made to her. She believed that she was lucky not to be abandoned in bed, as happened to many noblemen she met.
Dartan, with his wife's unexpected illness, called in the best doctors in the kingdom, and they did not abandon her bed, but they did not discover the origin of the illness or its cure. They applied medicines to her, only to alleviate her pain, since nothing they did showed a positive reaction. Dartan loved her so much that he never thought that one day he would lose her. He could not imagine his life without her. He now spent most of his time by her side, wanting to enjoy her presence until the last minute, but he couldn't stay when one of the doctors went to care for her, because he thought his presence could embarrass the queen, so at those times the doctor was alone with Leah.
His sons, Luc and Ale, didn't leave his side either, except Luc, who sometimes withdrew to take care of duties delegated to him, after the king, who was worried about his wife, didn't give much importance to the affairs of the kingdom. Ale just walked away, going to the window, to let tears wash away his pain, because he knew he would never see his mother standing up again. But as soon as he pulled himself together, he returned to his side.
One afternoon, one of the doctors, after meeting with all the others who cared for the queen, called Dartan and warned him that his wife would not survive the night. Dartan, totally upset, asked everyone to leave and to leave him alone with the queen. Ale objected, because he did not want his mother to be even one minute without the attentions of a doctor. But the king, filled with energy and an inexplicable urgency to be alone with his wife, was firm, sensing that this last moment alone with his wife was very important. Ale, resigned, withdrew.
Dartan stared at the door that closed behind Ale and the doctor as if he could pierce it with his gaze. He couldn't believe what was happening. He had to think of something to save his queen. She thought about going to a priest and asking him to give years of his life to Leah, and thus have the chance to stay longer by her side. He knew that even after they left their love would not be lost. What they felt for each other was too great to end. But he was not yet prepared to see her go. He was not ready to live without her presence. Maybe he never would be. He opened the door and ordered the guard who was there to fetch the priest. He looked into the eyes that stared at him in silence. There was so much intelligence there. There was humor, there was love. He could not think of ever seeing her smile again. Her life was not what he promised her. When he invited her to be his wife, he promised her that they would have many children and that they would grow old on a farm surrounded by grandchildren. However, she was leaving without completing her forty years. This was not right. It wasn't fair. And that was why he would give his life so that she could meet her grandchildren.
The priest did not stay long. He worked in a chapel on the outskirts of the palace. He listened carefully to Dartan's request. Then he went to Leah and examined her. He talked with her for a while, and did not linger, because he did not want to take the few words he had left from the king and gave Dartan the sad news that nothing could be done. What was happening to her, however, was her own fault and the king's own. Therefore, since it was not something that came from the spiritual world, but from the will of both, nothing could be done, and he could not share his years with his wife. Before he left, taken by the certainty that he would never see Dartan again, he advised him to take another wife. It was not good for him to be alone. The priest saw the anger in the king's eyes, and he left, fearing that he would be the first person sentenced to death in Dartan's reign for his audacity.