Summary: Kenna and Raydan’s family and friends reunite at Stormholt.
The family and friends of Queen Kenna and King Raydan gathered at Stormholt Castle to celebrate the return of Prince Leonidas from Ducitora. He had been away for five years, and during that time, he had married and fathered two children. As Gabriel’s guard, Julien had accompanied the Drammir family to Stormholt. Although he had become somewhat accustomed to being in the presence of royalty, he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of royals and nobles. Kenna and Raydan’s children had intermarried with members of many of the prominent families of the Five Kingdoms, and the families of the spouses were also present. Additionally, the queen and king had a large number of friends who were in attendance.
Julien looked around and spotted some familiar faces. He had already met some of the Nevrakis family: King Diavolos, Prince Damianos, Princess Gabrielle, and their children Constantine and Dimitria. He had been introduced to Queen Kenna’s master-at-arms, Val Greaves, when he stopped by the armory. He heard Val call out “Hey, Claudius!” In response, two men and a teenage boy turned around. Julien recognized Claudius Umad III, IV, and V from Fydoria. Claudius V was only a couple of years younger than he was.
A dark-haired woman with a baby approached him and smiled. “Hello, I’m Jolita.”
Julien smiled back. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Julien.” He was a bit surprised that one of the guests would approach him, since he was only a guard. He pondered how to make small talk with royalty. “This is a lovely castle, isn’t it?”
Jolita nodded. “It’s so nice to finally see the famous Stormholt Castle. I’ve heard so much about it. There’s so much history here. I look around and imagine Queen Kenna defeating Empress Azura. I literally owe her my life. If she hadn’t convinced my father not to sacrifice himself to Azura, I wouldn’t be here.”
“That’s amazing. Good thing it turned out well for him, and for you and little…” Julien glanced at the baby. “What’s your baby’s name?”
“Lianne. We named her after Empress Lia. My family is close to her. She’s also sort of named after her father. Lianne sounds a bit like Leonidas, don’t you think?” Jolita paused and looked him over. “I’m sorry, can you remind me how you’re related to Leo?”
She thinks I’m part of the family? Julien thought. No wonder she’s talking to me. “Oh, I’m not related to Prince Leonidas. I’m just a guard. I work for Prince Zenon and Princess Adelia.”
“You’re not? You look like the rest of the family.” Jolita turned around as a group of people approached: two men, a woman, two little girls, and a small boy. “This is Julien. Doesn’t he look like your family, Leo?” She then looked to Julien. “Julien, this is my husband, Prince Leonidas, and our son Kendrick. And this is my sister-in-law, Princess Marcelline; her husband, Koa Keawe; and their daughters Noelle and Railani.”
Leonidas considered Jolita’s question. “Yes, I do see a resemblance.”
Marcelline studied Julien closely. “You really do look like our family, Julien. Where are you from?”
“I’m from Abanthus. I grew up in one of the small villages, but my mother was from Lykos.”
Marcelline considered the possibility that Julien was a descendant of one of Raydan’s relatives. “My father is originally from Lykos. I wonder if you’re related to his family. Who are your parents?”
“My mother was Mina Landais. I…I don’t know who my father was.” Julien looked down. Here he was, in a room full of royalty, admitting that he was a bastard. How humiliating.
“What about your mother’s family?” Marcelline asked.
“My mother was an only child. Her parents died when she was young. She worked as a servant for Florian Tartassis.”
Marcelline’s eyes widened. She looked Julien over again. “Excuse me for a moment. I’ll be right back.” She turned and walked away from the group.
Julien looked to the others with a blank expression on his face. “What was that about?”
Leonidas shrugged. “I don’t know, but Marcelline has always been very observant, and she has a very good memory. Maybe she picked up on something. I suppose we’ll find out.”
Julien scanned the room and saw Marcelline approaching a man with long black hair. He kept watching them as they talked. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their conversation looked intense. He turned away as they began heading in his direction.
As they walked up to him, Marcelline motioned to the man next to her. “Julien, this is my brother Adrian.”
Julien turned his attention to Adrian. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”
Adrian stared at Julien intently. “Marcelline said that your mother was Mina Landais, and that you never knew your father. Could he be someone that she knew in Lykos?”
“It’s possible. I was born in a small village in Abanthus, less than a year after she left Lykos.” He looked back at Adrian, wondering why the man was staring at him.
Adrian took a deep breath. “Julien, this will probably come as a shock, but…I think I’m your father.”
Julien’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I met your mother a long time ago, when I visited Lykos. I didn’t know her for long, but I cared about her a lot. I was going to bring her back to Stormholt with me. But Florian’s daughter told me that your mother had been executed. I believed her. My father had the Black Asps keep an eye on Florian’s daughter, but all they found out about your mother was that she was gone. I had no idea that she was still alive. And I certainly had no idea that she was pregnant.” Adrian looked into Julien’s eyes. “I swear, if I had known about you, I would have been there for you. I’m so sorry.”
“I understand.” Julien swallowed. “You’re really my father? I always wondered about my father, but my mother would never tell me anything.”
“I wish she had. And I wish she had found a way to tell me about you. How is your mother? I hope she is well.”
Julien’s lip quivered. “She passed away.”
Adrian looked at him sympathetically. “I’m really sorry, Julien. Your mother was a very special woman.”
Julien nodded. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
“I hope I can be a part of your life. And I want you to meet my family. I should go tell them about you first, though. It will be a big shock to them as it is. It would be too overwhelming if I just brought you over to them and told them that you’re my son. And I need to be sure my wife knows that you were conceived before we were together.”
Adrian reached out and hugged Julien. “I’m so glad that we found each other.”
As Adrian walked away, Julien looked to Marcelline and Leonidas. “So you’re my aunt and uncle.” He motioned to the children. “And these are my cousins. This is mind-blowing.” He paused as he was hit with another realization. “And I’ve been working for my own family. I should go tell them.”
Julien walked over to Adelia, Zenon, Kevan, and Gabriel. “You’re not going to believe this. I’m still in shock myself.” He turned to Adelia. “Your brother Adrian is my father. You’re my aunt.”
Adelia gasped, then wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “No wonder it felt like you were part of our family. You are.”
Gabriel looked up at him. “You’re my cousin?”
“I sure am.” Julien put one arm around Gabriel and the other around Kevan, and pulled them in for a hug.
As he spotted some of the Nevrakis family, Julien motioned to them. “I should go give them the news too.”
As he walked over to Gabrielle, Damianos, Constantine, and Dimitria Nevrakis, Julien smiled at them. “I have some big news. We’re family. I just found out that I’m Adrian’s son.”
Gabrielle placed a hand over her mouth and stared at him for a moment, then embraced him. “I had no idea that you were my nephew. Welcome to the family, officially.”
Julien pulled Constantine and Dimitria close for a hug. “Hey, cousins!”
As Julien noticed Adrian approaching, he walked over to him. Adrian led him over to a light-haired woman, two boys, and a girl.
“Julien, this is my wife Ciara, my son Kenneth, my daughter Daniela, and my son Claude.” He looked to his wife and their children. “This is my son Julien.”
Ciara smiled at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Julien.”
Claude looked at him curiously. “You’re our older brother? Does that mean you’ll be king someday, and not Kenneth?”
Julien noticed the troubled look on Kenneth’s face. “No, it doesn’t. I wasn’t raised as part of the royal family. Nothing has changed, except now you have another brother.”
Adrian patted Julien on the back. “Would you like to meet your grandparents?”
Julien nodded, and they walked over to Kenna and Raydan. Julien gazed at them, awestruck. The legendary Queen Kenna Rys was his grandmother. It was so surreal.
Adrian gestured to Julien. “Mother, Father, this is my son Julien. Your oldest grandson.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Julien.” Kenna wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.
Raydan reached out and shook Julien’s hand, but then pulled him close and gave him a hug. “I’m glad we found you, my grandson.”
Later, as everyone gathered together for dinner, Kenna raised her goblet into the air. “I’d like to propose a toast. To my son Leonidas, his wife Jolita, and my grandchildren Kendrick and Lianne. And to my long-lost grandson Julien. To returning family.”
Many of the guests had already departed, and soon the Drammir family would be returning to Fydoria. Adrian walked over to Julien and sat beside him.
“We have so much lost time to make up for. How would you like to stay here at Stormholt?”
Julien considered his father’s words. “I’m so glad that we’ve been able to spend time together. I want us to get to know each other better. But I don’t think I can do that. I’m not a prince. And if I were to be declared a prince, wouldn’t that jeopardize Kenneth’s birthright? I don’t want my brother to resent me. And as Gabriel’s guard, I have a responsibility to him. I know that Aunt Adelia would probably release me from my obligations, but I’ve grown very fond of Gabriel and his family. And I don’t want to leave my girlfriend, Susanna. We haven’t been together for that long, so it’s probably too soon for us to talk about marriage, and I don’t think she would want to leave her family. But she is really special to me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I hope that someday, when the time is right, we’ll get married.”
Adrian nodded. “I understand. But I hope that you will come visit often, and that I can come visit you.”
“Of course. And I’ll ask Aunt Adelia if she brought any of those communication orbs with her. If not, I’ll have to give you one the next time I see you.”
“Please do.” Tears welled up in Adrian’s eyes as he looked at Julien. He reached out and hugged him tightly. “I love you, son.”