Shadow of the Crown, Part 1

Summary: Bastien researches his family history and learns that he is probably a descendant of Kenna Rys and Raydan Lykel.

The portrait of Queen Kenna Rys had hung in the Royal Palace of Cordonia for centuries. Bastien had seen it countless times, but as he gazed upon it, he saw it through new eyes. Kenna was the ancestor of King Constantine, Prince Leo, and Prince Liam, but was she more than that?

He heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and turned around to see Prince Liam. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Good morning, Bastien. Admiring the portrait?”

“Yes. Everyone in Cordonia knows your family’s history, but lately I’ve been wondering about my own. I even took a DNA test. I just got the results, and they were rather interesting.”

“Oh?” Liam looked at him curiously. “What did you find out?”

“The test gave me information about my father’s direct male line. Some of the men that I matched have the surname Rys. I wonder if I’m related to Kenna Rys.”

“A genealogist could probably help you find out. My father might be able to arrange for you to meet with one, free of charge. After all, who would refuse a request from the King of Cordonia?”


Bastien entered the Library and Archives of Cordonia and walked to the front desk. After signing in, he headed up to the third floor. He spotted a woman sitting at a table and walked up to her.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Diana Romero. I have an appointment with her.”

The woman stood up and extended her hand. “I’m Diana Romero. You must be Bastien. I understand that you want to learn more about your family history. Let’s start with what you already know. Tell me about your family.”

“My family has worked for the royal family for a long time. My great-grandfather Pierre Landais also worked as a bodyguard, and he was killed while defending the king of Cordonia. When my great-grandmother remarried, my grandfather took his stepfather’s name. That’s why I have a different last name. She hoped that my grandfather would choose a different line of work. But that didn’t happen. Although he didn’t remember much about his father, he was proud of him, and his uncle still worked for the royal family. So the tradition continued.” Bastien opened his notebook and showed Diana the list of names and dates that he had compiled. “This is all the information that I have. It only goes back a few generations. But I took a DNA test.”

“What kind of test did you take?” Diana asked.

“The one that tells you about your father’s side of the family.”

“The Y-DNA test. Why don’t you show me your results?” Diana motioned to a nearby computer. “Log into the DNA site, and we’ll take a look.”

Bastien moved over to the computer, logged in, and pulled up his results. “I matched many men with the surname Landais. That’s not surprising. But there are a few other surnames too. One of them is Rys. Could I be a descendant of Kenna Rys?”

Diana looked at the list of names on the screen. “You match men with the surname Lykel too.” She scrolled down and read more names. “And there’s one with the surname Rys-Lykel. These results suggest that you are related to Queen Kenna Rys and her husband Raydan Lykel.”

“Why are the surnames different?”

“Names can change over time. The children of Kenna Rys were given the surname of Rys-Lykel, but the name was probably shortened in some of the later generations, to either Rys or Lykel.” She pointed to a name on the screen. “Spellings can change, too. Here the name is spelled R-H-Y-S.”

“But how do they connect to the Landais family?”

“We would need to do more research. It may be due to a non-paternity event.” Noting the confused look on Bastien’s face, she elaborated further. “That is when a child has a different surname than his biological father. That can happen for many reasons. Adoption, infidelity, name change, taking a stepfather’s name, like your grandfather did. Or an illegitimate child might be given his mother’s surname.”

“Those are a lot of possibilities.”

Diana nodded. “And it could have happened centuries ago, or more recently. We may never know for sure. But the royal family’s history is very well documented, so you have a better chance of finding a connection than many people would. You probably won’t be able to trace the exact line of descent all the way down to you, though.”

“But at least I know that they are probably my relatives. Could you help me find some books on the Rys family?

“Of course.” Diana searched through the library’s online catalog. She wrote down the names and call numbers of several books, then stood up. “I’ll be back shortly.”

As Bastien waited for her to return, he thought about what she had told him. He had spent so much time around royalty, but never thought that he might be related to them. True, the relationship was probably very distant, and it didn’t really make him royalty, but nonetheless it was unexpected.

Diana walked back over to the table, carrying several books. She set them down and opened up one of them. “Here is some information about the family of Kenna Rys and Raydan Lykel. They had five children: Adrian, Adelia, Gabrielle, Marcelline, and Leonidas. Since you match the direct male line, you must descend from either Adrian or Leonidas.”

Bastien picked up the book and began to read.

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