Read Online Match Made in HeVan by Lucy Kelly - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lucy Kelly
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home. Think back and remember what your wives were like when they neared the end of their pregnancies. How, even though they are glowing and beautiful as they grow with the new life inside them, they don’t believe it. Instead, they think they’re fat and without appeal. We need to make a grand gesture to show them how much we love them and are in awe of this miracle that only they can accomplish.”
The crowd of men cheered and clapped at the king’s words. He could tell they would agree to any plan that brought their women home. Holding his arms out, palms flat, he made a downward gesture to get them to calm down once again.
“I thought on this problem for many hours last night. This morning, I remembered a story about a far-off land. In this land, there are men and women who perform miracles. In this ancient land, there was a war and the king thought soldiers should not be married. He felt having a family would split a warrior’s focus between his duty and his family. And so the king outlawed weddings. However, in this same ancient land, there was a holy man, a priest. His belief was that if a soldier truly loved his family, then he had a reason for which to fight. So when he came across couples who loved each other, he married them. The king, upon hearing about this, had the priest arrested and thrown in jail. The priest, so full of love, made friends with his jailer. As a gift to his friend, he began to teach the jailer’s daughter. She was blind and had trouble with her studies.”
Ben paused and looked around the room and saw he had every man’s attention.
“What happened next?” asked a boy sitting at a nearby table.
“Well, the priest was sentenced to be killed for disobeying the king. The night before his execution, he wrote a goodbye letter to the young girl whom he’d been tutoring. Then he prayed for her. When her father, the jailer, took the note to his daughter, a miracle had occurred. Her blindness had been cured; she could see and read the note for herself. Because of this miracle, the priest was named a saint. Once a year on the anniversary of his death, people in love would pray for his soul and send letters to their loved ones. All this took place some two thousand years ago. Yet, in that far-off land, lovers still exchange letters and gifts on this day.”
“So we should write letters?” someone called out from the back of the room.
“Yes, we should write letters telling our women what is in our hearts. Also, in modern times, it has become usual to give a token of our love as well. Flowers, sweets, or a piece of jewelry are all popular gifts,” he said with a twinkle and a grin.
There were chuckles around the room as the men started exchanging ideas around the room of what they could do. Once again, the king gestured them to silence.
“I plan on making this a planet-wide feast day. I propose to wait eight days from now, to give everyone time to make the necessary arrangements. Are you with me?” he asked.
The answering cheer nearly deafened him. Laughing, he jumped down from the table. He was ready to have his meal now.
When GrumIo had his first rest period, he sent a detailed message to his sister, telling her everything the king had said.
Just before lunch, GremIo got the message her brother sent. As soon as she finished viewing it, she rushed off to speak to the duchess. She and her brother had served the king and his sister since they were in their teens together. They had always worked together for the happiness of the royal siblings and they would continue to do so for as long as they lived, just as their parents had done before them.
She tapped at the door to the duchess’s study before entering. The queen and the duchess were having another meeting on how to make things better for the women of KowLer. The Queen’s maid, GemMa, was at the end of the room cleaning.
“Come in, Grem, is there something we need to take care of?” asked BianCa.
“I’ve gotten a
The crowd of men cheered and clapped at the king’s words. He could tell they would agree to any plan that brought their women home. Holding his arms out, palms flat, he made a downward gesture to get them to calm down once again.
“I thought on this problem for many hours last night. This morning, I remembered a story about a far-off land. In this land, there are men and women who perform miracles. In this ancient land, there was a war and the king thought soldiers should not be married. He felt having a family would split a warrior’s focus between his duty and his family. And so the king outlawed weddings. However, in this same ancient land, there was a holy man, a priest. His belief was that if a soldier truly loved his family, then he had a reason for which to fight. So when he came across couples who loved each other, he married them. The king, upon hearing about this, had the priest arrested and thrown in jail. The priest, so full of love, made friends with his jailer. As a gift to his friend, he began to teach the jailer’s daughter. She was blind and had trouble with her studies.”
Ben paused and looked around the room and saw he had every man’s attention.
“What happened next?” asked a boy sitting at a nearby table.
“Well, the priest was sentenced to be killed for disobeying the king. The night before his execution, he wrote a goodbye letter to the young girl whom he’d been tutoring. Then he prayed for her. When her father, the jailer, took the note to his daughter, a miracle had occurred. Her blindness had been cured; she could see and read the note for herself. Because of this miracle, the priest was named a saint. Once a year on the anniversary of his death, people in love would pray for his soul and send letters to their loved ones. All this took place some two thousand years ago. Yet, in that far-off land, lovers still exchange letters and gifts on this day.”
“So we should write letters?” someone called out from the back of the room.
“Yes, we should write letters telling our women what is in our hearts. Also, in modern times, it has become usual to give a token of our love as well. Flowers, sweets, or a piece of jewelry are all popular gifts,” he said with a twinkle and a grin.
There were chuckles around the room as the men started exchanging ideas around the room of what they could do. Once again, the king gestured them to silence.
“I plan on making this a planet-wide feast day. I propose to wait eight days from now, to give everyone time to make the necessary arrangements. Are you with me?” he asked.
The answering cheer nearly deafened him. Laughing, he jumped down from the table. He was ready to have his meal now.
When GrumIo had his first rest period, he sent a detailed message to his sister, telling her everything the king had said.
Just before lunch, GremIo got the message her brother sent. As soon as she finished viewing it, she rushed off to speak to the duchess. She and her brother had served the king and his sister since they were in their teens together. They had always worked together for the happiness of the royal siblings and they would continue to do so for as long as they lived, just as their parents had done before them.
She tapped at the door to the duchess’s study before entering. The queen and the duchess were having another meeting on how to make things better for the women of KowLer. The Queen’s maid, GemMa, was at the end of the room cleaning.
“Come in, Grem, is there something we need to take care of?” asked BianCa.
“I’ve gotten a
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