blogwithvalor

To his Majesty’s Royal Guard,

I am writing you this letter regarding the kidnapping of His Royal Majesty, King Richard. His Highness has been under the care and imprisonment of my family for the past fortnight. We have treated him with all the respect and amenities we have available to us. I am hoping to find some clemency and grace by writing this confession and assisting with his return. Allow me to explain.

My family and I have never been wealthy people. My father and mother owned a small farm on the outskirts of the Kingdom before the expansion two decades ago. During the expansion, our farm was reclaimed by the Crown and my family given a diminutive home within the borders. It was a change that hit my father the hardest, who drank himself to death a year after. My mother died of influenza, not 6 months later. Truthfully, my brother and I believe her heart was too weak to fight back after my father’s death. My older brother is the only sibling I have, and he never truly forgave the Crown for the death of my parents. But he is good man, he did all he could to provide for me. He convinced the local chef to allow me to apprentice and later paid for a more talented culinary instructor to continue my studies. It is through his actions that I was able to achieve a place amongst the culinary members serving the Royal Family.

I thoroughly enjoy my employment and the kindness of the Royal Family. I stand loyal to the Crown. The Princess, herself, may attest to my conviction. I have spent much time with her designing her favorite meals for private events. Her kindness is a one that may tame the wildest beast. To me, she is the brightest rose in the garden.

The fault for this escapade, unfortunately, lies with the Kingdom’s enemies, the repulsive Black Conch pirates. Unbeknownst to me, my brother was contacted by the devils and convinced of working towards the King’s ransom. They knew my brother’s issues with the Crown and used this along with a guarantee of death to him and his wife to bend him to their will. They also knew of my own place of employment. I, too, was threatened with death had I not cooperated with the plan. My brother created false floors in one of the delivery carts and I was, reluctantly, responsible for leaving the proper pathway unlocked. That is the basics of the conspiracy, and the scoundrel pirates brought His Majesty to our home for imprisonment. They believe our dwelling less conspicuous. He is under guard by a dozen of their men at any one time.

I’ve heard their plans and know that they are eager to kill His Highness if no ransom arrives within another fortnight. But that is not the only danger I foresee for His Royal Majesty. The danger is twofold. My brother, his wife, and myself have been doing our best to care for His Highness and providing him as many luxuries as we can manage. But the trouble arises from a possible quarrel with the King and my brother. I have discovered that his wife was having tea with the King and he didn’t even know about it. They had been having tea most days, while my brother and myself have been out assisting the pirates as they have demanded we do. My brother is not a calm man, and if he finds out about their private tea parties, then I fear he may do something drastic. Please understand, that I suspect His Highness has many tea mates in the royal palace. He is a very charming and handsome man, combined with his God-given position I can understand the appeal of many a maiden to enjoying a cup or two with His Majesty. But my brother is a pious man that believes marriage means one should have tea with only one other. I trust many of those within His Majesty’s Royal Guard to be in convention of this belief.

Therefore, I plead with you to meet me at the Seashell Pub at noon, the day after the next full moon. That is four days from the day I write you. I will ensure His Royal Majesty’s tea parties stay confidential until then. Again, I petition that you find mercy for my family and myself. We are but poor souls that have been caught in the net of villainous pirates.

Your humble servant to the Crown,

Jonathan Bower