Chapter One

“Are you still dead set against getting married, son?”

The Crown Prince of Cijan, known as Avalon to his few friends, glanced up and gave his father an indulgent grin. “My answer hasn’t changed from when you asked me last month, or the month before that.”

The King of Cijan’s grin mirrored his own as he shook his head. “There are some that say a married man is a settled man, one who shows responsibility and maturity.”

“At thirty-five I think the maturity can be assumed, and I don’t have the time for settling when you have me running between the World Council, Marinkaw, Westland, and Hooit every five minutes. I like my life as it is, Father. In fact, the only thing I’d change about my life in this moment is if I could find a way to stop my loving parent from repeatedly asking me a question he already knows the answer to.”

Avalon popped the last of his mushrooms into his mouth and pushed his breakfast plate to one side. “Was there anything else you wanted to discuss before I head off on the next set of tasks you’ve lined up for me to do on your behalf? The appointments you are clearly capable of doing, if only you could get over your slightly strange addiction to soothing your bones in the castle spa every evening.”

“I’ve already made three out-of-state trips in the past six months.” The king chuckled. “I like my home comforts and it’s good for our people to see you acting as our representative with other royal houses across the world.” But then his face turned serious. “There is something else, and as I hesitate to broach the topic, I ask that you hear me out before refusing me outright.”

Avalon eyed his father over the table. “You’ve brought up marriage again. If you’ve lined up another young lady…”

“No. This is different. I admit there were quite a few years where I’d hoped you’d marry and give me grandchildren, however after that business with the lovely Louisa…” the king’s words trailed off as Avalon winced.

“I don’t feel we need to rehash ancient history, Father.” Avalon pushed his chair back from the table. “If there’s nothing else,” he added, getting up to leave.

“Stay, Avalon.” The king didn’t have to snap or yell. As father and son, they were closer than most, and Avalon truly respected the man who raised him. “I asked you to hear me out. Kindly do me the courtesy.”

Nodding, Avalon relaxed back in his chair, his guts still churning at the memory of Louisa. Even after all these years… is this just a gut reaction? A habit born of the years I’ve felt this way…

“You are aware there were some issues with Queen Fiona’s family over in Lowenthorp recently?”

Avalon frowned, trying to remember what he’d heard. His father had been a friend to the King and Queen for decades, and since her husband had died, leaving her on the throne, his father acted as a friendly advisor to Queen Fiona on more than one occasion. “There was an abduction, was that right? Not Luigi or Felicity, her older children, but the youngest one. Am I recalling that correctly? I’ve never met the youngest of her three, but they got the man back, didn’t they? I take it he’s unharmed?”

“It was Prince Jasper, and yes, they got him back. Fiona was beside herself during the three weeks he was missing.” Avalon’s father sighed and tapped the table with the ends of his fingernails. “The boy, or should I say the man – apparently he’s twenty-four – by the time he was found, he’d suffered some lifechanging injuries, not least the loss of one of his eyes.”

“Ouch.” Avalon winced in sympathy. “I can’t imagine that was a pleasant experience. Have the healers been able to do anything to assist with Jasper’s recovery?”

“They can’t fix something that isn’t there.” The king grimaced, picking up his cup and draining the last of the sweet tea he liked to start his mornings with. “The thing is Fiona has asked me for help…”

“Well, of course, anything she might need.” Avalon’s hand dropped automatically to where his sword would be, but he’d left it in his room. “I can travel there immediately with as many troops as you can spare if that’s what the Queen is asking. I assume you’ve offered this young man protection, or is it that the abductors are still at large? Does she require our help to track down the people responsible?”

“The perpetrators of this horrific crime are still at large. The efforts of the World Council to find them are hampered by Jasper’s physical injuries and the fact he refuses to speak about the matter at all.”

Frowning, Avalon eyed his father closely. “It’s understandable that he might be reluctant to speak of his ordeal. He’s been through something traumatic, most definitely. But surely he’d feel a lot safer once the people responsible for his injuries are languishing in the World Council dungeons.”

“You would think that, as would I, but it would appear Jasper is… Well, the way Fiona mentioned it, it’s almost as if Jasper is protecting those people in some way, whoever they may be, and that is understandably a grave concern. His return was unusual enough. He wasn’t rescued as you might expect.”

“How do you mean? Was he returned in the dead of night or something?”

“Something to that effect, yes. While every guard and able bodied person was scouring the countryside looking for him, Jasper just appeared in a bloodied mess in the middle of the castle courtyard just before ten bells about a month ago. His clothes were torn to shreds, and his hands were clutching where his eye used to be. There was so much blood that the guards who found him and raised the alarm truly believed Jasper was breathing his last. From all accounts, Jasper appears happy to be back with his family, but he refuses to discuss what he’s been through.”

“That is very strange.” Avalon hadn’t heard anything like that before. “One would almost think there was magic involved, or some form of cultish behavior given the way he’d returned with no visible transport or clue to where he’d been or who had held him. But there hasn’t been a cult like that since the Crystal peoples were taken into custody by the World Council and confined north of Marinkaw almost a decade ago.”

Leaning back in his chair, Avalon scratched the back of his neck. “There are some clannish peoples living in the hills inland of Lowenthorp. Does Queen Fiona want me to go and search the area, and see if I can find any clues? Perhaps if Jasper could accompany us along with a suitable chaperone, of course, he might recognize something or someone from when he was abducted.”

“I did mention that suggestion to Fiona, but from what she isn’t saying, if you catch my drift, I believe she’s concerned that there could be individuals from one of their society families that could have ties to what happened, possibly even someone in the castle. Jasper acts as if he’s in fear most every time anyone sees or speaks to him, and that behavior is new, according to what she said to me.

“Recent news hasn’t helped.” The King sighed as he continued. “Since the wretched business with the princes in Gunkermal when King Caspian married your friend Crown Prince Nikolas, and then with King Mintyn’s husband stolen while they were still on Rosenhip territory, not to mention what happened with Prince Xavier’s new husband while they were still in Bentley, Fiona is terrified Jasper will get abducted again.”

“Sounds like it’s just as well Jasper isn’t under a marriage contract.” Avalon chuckled. “Although recent history would suggest that would be one way of bringing the perpetrators out of the woodwork.”

“I had a feeling you’d see things the way I did.”

Avalon’s eyes narrowed and he tilted his head to one side. His father was up to something. “Is Jasper under a marriage contract?”

“Not yet, however…” The King reached around behind himself, pulling a sheaf of papers off a small side table. “He could be.” He placed the pages on the main table.

“Father, no.” Avalon leaned back from the table as if the paper smelled bad. “Father, you promised, after what happened… you said you wouldn’t do this.”

“And I’m not breaking my word now. Listen.” His father reached over the table with his hand, and after a long moment, Avalon took it. “This could work for both you and Jasper, can’t you see?”

“No, I can’t see.” Avalon didn’t get stubborn very often, especially with his father, but there were some boundaries he would not let even his father cross. “Getting married isn’t compulsory unless the World Council has made law changes since the last time I was there.”

“It’s not compulsory, no, but you have to admit people talk when people get to a certain age, and they aren’t attached to someone, even on paper.”

“If what I do for this country already isn’t enough, then I don’t know what else I can do.” Avalon stopped himself, just in time. His father should never and would never be the target for the vomit of anger in his gut. The anger that seemed to erupt every time he thought about what he was missing as a single man. He lived by his decision – it had been his to make, but it hadn’t always been easy.

Inhaling slowly, Avalon let out his breath and said more calmly, “Please explain yourself. After what you promised me - you gave me your vow you’d never change your mind or go against your word – tell me why this stack of papers…” he poked at them angrily. “How could this work to mine and Jasper’s benefit? I’ve never met the man. I haven’t got a clue what he even looks like or what type of temperament he might have.”

“What he looks like is hardly going to be an issue, is it?” At least his father had let go of his hand so he could pour more tea. “This would purely be a marriage of convenience, a contract that could be advantageous to you both. Jasper would get the protection of your position and resources, something his dear mother is desperate for.”

“If he refuses to divulge what happened during his abduction, he’s not likely to ever be considered for a marriage contract by anyone of similar or higher rank than himself.” Avalon picked up his fork, tracing random patterns on his napkin where it had been discarded on the table. “There is always going to be a suspicion that something untoward happened to him, leading to all manner of speculation about him.”

“That’s already been happening.” The King tapped the papers. “These were drafted in haste last night after Fiona contacted me via dragon courier. Her letter was filled with tears and concerns over what she could do. Four separate marriage contracts have been received since it was known Prince Jasper had returned.

“None of them are from respectable people Fiona would ever consider in normal circumstances. They were all aiming to secure a connection to her throne and resources through Jasper, provided certain conditions were met. Indeed one of the contracts mentioned bluntly that they would give ‘the reject’ somewhere to hide his disfigurement in exchange for regular payments of gold.”

“By the Goddess of Wind and Steel.” Avalon jumped to his feet. “Who dares present themselves in such a way to a victim’s mother? Someone who ranks as Queen. Have they no compassion for what this man or his mother has been through?”

“There are always going to be opportunistic beings who are quick the grab hold of any slither of attachment to a royal family. It’s the same the world over, you know this, my son.” Although the King didn’t sound happy either.

“Yes, but one of those opportunists could be the person responsible for Prince Jasper’s abduction in the first place. The man is deeply traumatized. You said Queen Fiona was so worried about him. Disfigured and possibly violated in all manner of ways, no one with any reputation worth having is going to consider him as spouse material. How do we know one of the marriage contracts isn’t from the person who committed the deed in the first place, doing so safe in the knowledge that Jasper is too terrified to ever say anything?”

“I don’t know how much Jasper may or may not be disfigured through his injuries,” the king continued. “I have no idea of what horrors he might’ve gone through during his capture, and how that might have impacted him mentally or physically. By all accounts, and yes, I did check, but from what is reported about him, Prince Jasper functions, albeit quietly, and he struggles to hide his nerves. He responds when someone speaks to him unless they ask him about his time with his captors, in which case he just shuts down and walks away. He dresses soberly, is always tidy. It’s not like he’s become a maniac or a madman.”

“Queen Fiona wouldn’t have approached you at all if he was ill from what he’d been through.” Avalon strode over to the wide windows overlooking the private garden at the back of the castle. It was more his mother’s taste than his own, but the manicured lawns and intricately laid out flower beds were what people expected to see on castle grounds. “There are plenty of quiet houses he could’ve lived in, in relative peace and surrounded by supportive persons. Why does the Queen believe a marriage is the best idea for her son in the first place?”

“She may rule a country, but at heart, Fiona is still a mother. She wants Jasper to have a life. He’s still young. He’s never stepped foot out of Lowenthorp before.” Avalon’s father left his chair to stand beside him. “First and foremost is her maternal instinct to worry about him, grieving for the horrors she can only imagine, because her son won’t alleviate her concerns. I’m not saying Jasper is wrong in that regard by not talking. Whatever rendered him in the state he was left in when he was returned is not for idle gossip, nor likely fit conversation for a lady, not even his mother.”

“First and foremost?” Avalon shook his head slightly. “There is more you’re not telling me. Why has she approached you about me as a valid spouse for her son now? Especially when she has to have known I have turned down every other possible marriage partner in the known world over the past ten years.”

“Fiona trusts you would not hurt her son any more than he already has been.” The King was staring out of the window at a point on a distant horizon. “She said when Jasper found out about the other marriage offers, something she had never intended he would ever hear about because they were so awful and insulting, he said…” The king broke off, and Avalon could tell his father’s upset was genuine.

“Apparently Jasper told his mother that she should sell him to the highest bidder. He claimed that now his worth as a royal was completely stripped from him, he would submit to whosoever bid the most among the low ranking social climbers who thought they could capitalize on his misfortune.”

“My gods, that poor misguided soul.” Avalon wasn’t heartless. He’d traveled the world over. He was well aware of how quickly a person’s reputation could be shredded by a night of drunken revelry in the wrong company. The fact that Jasper didn’t speak of his time while under the control of others, and yet would willingly submit to someone likely to use him in a crude and humiliating fashion… “He speaks like a man already dead.”

“Or as someone who has nothing to live for,” his father agreed. “Fiona came to me because she knew you never wanted to marry to raise children, or form a family. She doesn’t know the exact reasons why you’ve held that view for so long and I didn’t tell her,” he added when Avalon glared at his father.

“She only knew anything at all because I had to tell her something when she kept hinting about you marrying Felicity two years ago. I made it plain at the time you would not settle down and that you preferred your life of travel and working for the good of the country – something that would be unfair to foster on her daughter who longs to rule her own castle. On the plus side, if you agreed to marry Jasper it would save you and I a lot of paperwork as I continue to refuse requests on your behalf going forward.”

It would solve that issue at least. “I assume Queen Fiona doesn’t expect our marriage to last?” Avalon made his way back to the table where the papers were sitting, picking them up and flicking through them. “What penalties are required in the event I invoke the piss-off clause?”

“She’s merely asking for an allowance for him, substantial enough that Prince Jasper can live comfortably in private for the rest of his days, which is hardly an issue, is it? You or I would’ve done that for the young man anyway. But by marrying him, he is granted the protection of our family name as well as his own.”

The penalty was more than fair, and Avalon could see his father’s point. “And if Prince Jasper finds me intolerable to live with and invokes the clause on his own behalf? I’m hardly going to take an allowance from him, especially when I have no need.”

“You’ll find that clause on the bottom of page four, paragraph six.” The King turned back toward the window again as Avalon found the right place on the stated page.

The words didn’t make sense. Avalon read them again. “What in…”

“I know. I know.” Avalon’s father raised his hand. “Apparently Jasper agreed to a marriage contract, any marriage contract mind, on only one condition. He believed, that in light of what he’d been through in recent months, any person of any rank or designation, should they enter into a contract with him willingly, no matter what they did to him, or how he was forced to live, he refused to sign any document that included a piss off clause designed for his own comfort or safety.”

The sacrificial fool. The man was clearly bucking to be killed, or eternally humiliated. Jasper might just as well have written the words as a separate paragraph scrawled in elegant script. Laying the pages back on the table for support, Avalon spared a thought for Louisa, his reason for shunning a marriage to anyone at all. It wasn’t as easy to recall every inch of her features, thanks to the years that had passed since he’d seen her last, but he would never forget her compassion for others. Compassion she would want me to share with Jasper. I can be his friend if nothing else.

Grabbing a pen, Avalon scanned over the contract quickly, initialing the basic paragraphs relating to titles, incomes, and benefits on death, and approving Jasper’s rank to be increased to match as consort to his own Crown Prince position.

When he got to the paragraphs concerning the infidelity clause, which Jasper had crossed out where they pertained to his spouse – this man has no respect for his self-worth at all – Avalon added the clause and then initialed it. He had no plans to share any intimacy with the troubled man, but he wasn’t going to insult any spouse, even one in name only, by refusing to offer something easy for him to give.

The piss-off clause was easy to put a line through. If Jasper felt that he could go into a marriage without the standard clause most marriage contracts included, then Avalon could do it, too. Worst case scenario, they were totally unsuited to spend time together as Avalon went about his regular duties, in which case Jasper would be happy and safe at the castle with his father.

But there was no need for either one of them to look for reasons to get out of a marriage it would appear neither one of them wanted in the first place. Reading through the final clauses, invoking World Council law and all that jargon, Avalon signed with a flourish.

“I assume it will be a quiet wedding? Has a date been suggested?”

“If you’re happy with only Jasper’s immediate family presence, then the wedding can be held as soon as you arrive in Lowenthorp, with a reception banquet held here within the month afterward.” His father was smirking. Of course he was.

“I suggest you have someone find and dust off the consort coronet,” Avalon said heading for the door. “I can hardly turn up to my own wedding empty handed. I’ll be at my ship, getting it ready, if you can have it sent down to the docks for me. I’ll sail on the tide.”

“If you’re wanting to take a gift to your intended, then ensuring you have extra troops might be a good idea, too.” The older man’s eyes twinkled. “Who knows, maybe the security of marriage might loosen the young man’s tongue about those who took him.”

“We won’t count on it. You and I both know that’s not why I’m doing this,” although it wasn’t a bad idea. Avalon hadn’t had a project of his own for a while, and chasing abusers who dared to steal a royal could be invigorating.

“Congratulations on your impending nuptials, my son.”

The urge to snort, or make an obscene gesture was strong as Avalon opened the door. Instead, because his father was the king, Avalon bowed to show his respect and headed down the hallway.

I can’t believe I’ve just agreed to marry a man I haven’t met. Maybe there was something in those mushrooms. Avalon shook his head as he headed outside.