Read Online The Cup and the Crown by Diane Stanley - Free Book Online
Authors: Diane Stanley
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hardly warm from the touch of his brow, he gathered an army and sailed across the waters to conquer our people. That was long ago, hundreds and hundreds of years.”
Molly loved a story. She leaned in, her elbows resting on Pieter’s desk, for a closer look at the three small images of kings on their thrones: one above, two below; two fair, one dark.
“Now the Great King married a lady of his own race, and she bore him a son, Harald—also several daughters, but they were of no account, for women could not rule. This is Harald: the fair one who sits below his father on your left.
“Now in time the queen died, as queens do, giving birth to yet another daughter; and the Great King married again. Only this time he chose a lady from the conquered race, one of our own. Here is their son, on the right, with the dark hair. He was called Magnus.
“Now the Great King loved his second wife, and the son she bore him, more than he loved the first. And when his life’s thread had worn thin and was near to breaking, he made his desires known regarding the succession; to the astonishment of all, he chose Magnus as his heir instead of the firstborn son.
“Well, you can imagine what happened after that. It was war all over the kingdom, with Harald, who claimed to be the rightful heir (and surely you can see his point), driving Magnus off the throne, after which the once-conquered people rose up in revolt. Many died in those terrible times.
“And it was all utterly pointless, for Magnus was a mystic and a scholar, not a warrior or a man of the world; he had no desire to rule a country or lead an army. Yet all over the kingdom his people were dying in his name, dying to defend his right to an unwanted throne. So he formally renounced the crown and acknowledged his brother as king.
“But it was already too late. The pot was boiling; everyone was angry—conquered and conquerors alike. Our people were convinced that their king had been forced to abdicate. Their people were sure the crown had been stolen from the rightful heir.
“Finally Magnus made a proposal. There was a large island belonging to the kingdom called Budenholme, just off the coast. As the soil was poor and rocky, it was mostly uninhabited. Magnus said it was all the land that he would claim. He would go and live there, never to return, but any of his people who wished to follow him must be permitted to do so. He would become the ruler of his own tiny kingdom.
“Harald agreed to this, and provided Magnus with ships to carry everything he and his followers would need to start their new life on the island. Then he left them in peace to live as they wished, just as he had promised.
“But there were others, wild raiders with fast ships who swore allegiance to no king. They noticed that the once-barren island was now sprouting cottages and wheat fields; the hillsides were covered with herds of grazing sheep. And so they came sweeping in time after time, stealing sheep, pigs, grain, and now and then a comely maiden. It was so easy—why, the innocents who lived there didn’t even have an army! They had no weapons at all!”
“Horrible!” Molly said.
“Yes, it was. So clearly they would have to find another home, someplace safe, quiet, and remote. But where?
“Magnus needed to consider the matter, and to do this he needed to be alone. So he climbed to the top of the highest hill and built himself a crude little shelter, just enough to keep off the sun and the rain. And there he stayed—we don’t know how long—living on nothing but the bread and water that were set outside his door every morning. And during that time King Magnus had a vision.”
Molly gasped.
“He saw a lush valley fed by rivers and guarded by mountains on all four sides, the coastal range dropping precipitously down to the sea. He saw a few peasants living there, growing crops, cut off from the rest of the world since the time before time. He saw dense, honey-colored stone ready to be
Molly loved a story. She leaned in, her elbows resting on Pieter’s desk, for a closer look at the three small images of kings on their thrones: one above, two below; two fair, one dark.
“Now the Great King married a lady of his own race, and she bore him a son, Harald—also several daughters, but they were of no account, for women could not rule. This is Harald: the fair one who sits below his father on your left.
“Now in time the queen died, as queens do, giving birth to yet another daughter; and the Great King married again. Only this time he chose a lady from the conquered race, one of our own. Here is their son, on the right, with the dark hair. He was called Magnus.
“Now the Great King loved his second wife, and the son she bore him, more than he loved the first. And when his life’s thread had worn thin and was near to breaking, he made his desires known regarding the succession; to the astonishment of all, he chose Magnus as his heir instead of the firstborn son.
“Well, you can imagine what happened after that. It was war all over the kingdom, with Harald, who claimed to be the rightful heir (and surely you can see his point), driving Magnus off the throne, after which the once-conquered people rose up in revolt. Many died in those terrible times.
“And it was all utterly pointless, for Magnus was a mystic and a scholar, not a warrior or a man of the world; he had no desire to rule a country or lead an army. Yet all over the kingdom his people were dying in his name, dying to defend his right to an unwanted throne. So he formally renounced the crown and acknowledged his brother as king.
“But it was already too late. The pot was boiling; everyone was angry—conquered and conquerors alike. Our people were convinced that their king had been forced to abdicate. Their people were sure the crown had been stolen from the rightful heir.
“Finally Magnus made a proposal. There was a large island belonging to the kingdom called Budenholme, just off the coast. As the soil was poor and rocky, it was mostly uninhabited. Magnus said it was all the land that he would claim. He would go and live there, never to return, but any of his people who wished to follow him must be permitted to do so. He would become the ruler of his own tiny kingdom.
“Harald agreed to this, and provided Magnus with ships to carry everything he and his followers would need to start their new life on the island. Then he left them in peace to live as they wished, just as he had promised.
“But there were others, wild raiders with fast ships who swore allegiance to no king. They noticed that the once-barren island was now sprouting cottages and wheat fields; the hillsides were covered with herds of grazing sheep. And so they came sweeping in time after time, stealing sheep, pigs, grain, and now and then a comely maiden. It was so easy—why, the innocents who lived there didn’t even have an army! They had no weapons at all!”
“Horrible!” Molly said.
“Yes, it was. So clearly they would have to find another home, someplace safe, quiet, and remote. But where?
“Magnus needed to consider the matter, and to do this he needed to be alone. So he climbed to the top of the highest hill and built himself a crude little shelter, just enough to keep off the sun and the rain. And there he stayed—we don’t know how long—living on nothing but the bread and water that were set outside his door every morning. And during that time King Magnus had a vision.”
Molly gasped.
“He saw a lush valley fed by rivers and guarded by mountains on all four sides, the coastal range dropping precipitously down to the sea. He saw a few peasants living there, growing crops, cut off from the rest of the world since the time before time. He saw dense, honey-colored stone ready to be
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