In the courtyard of William's stronghold

He stood in a sea of faces. Draped in his cloak and his hood shielding his face from curious eyes. Unknown to each and every one of them by appearance but not by name. Occasionally, he was shoved by those who stood the closest to him. They wanted to get closer to the front of the crowd so they could get a better view of what was about to happen.

If those around him would hear his name, they would not be standing so close, or shove him. If his name was to be spoken out loud, he would have plenty of space because these peasants would scatter to give him the room he deserved. Those around him would gasp, and get down on their knees in front of him. They would address him as 'your grace'.

If the people around him would have recognized him, all eyes would be on him and not look up at the steps, waiting for the event that was taking place within the castle walls to end. A coronation. So, he had chosen to go here in disguise. He needed to see if the rumors where true. Had his nephew truly married a filthy commoner and made her his queen?

Rowan's sister Eleanora, the boy's mother, had arrived shortly after that useless husband of hers had sided with their son in the matter.Why she had abandoned her castle Rowan did not understand since Uldard apparently left it to her. She could have just stayed there and held an important position that would be favorable for them in the war, but then again, his sister had always been one to act impulsively and unreasonably.

Uldard loved her from the moment he heard of her... Of course! Rowan heard his sister's voice echoing in his mind as he kept a close watch for anyone who could possibly recognize him. He comes from a purity himself, why would he want to taint ours by letting our son marry her? I tried my best to talk him out of it. William of course would not listen to me, he never has. But the boy's father cannot see the harm in fusing the girl's blood into ours. It is blasphemy!

Rowan agreed with his sister, but he did not tell her that out loud. Instead he just listened to her drunken slurs.

Eleanora had been drinking upon her arrival and had not stopped since. Ever since she had stepped foot into his courtyard she had rambled on and on about this girl that William had allegedly found on the side of the road.

I am so pleased that you waged war against them... She had suddenly blurted out.

Why is that? He had asked her puzzled but without letting it show in his face. They are your family. I would have understood if you had been upset.

Nothing can upset me more than the betrayal they have both committed towards me, dear brother. Her furious but calm voice lingered in his mind as he sighed and stared up towards the top of the stairs again. Would they ever show themselves? Do whatever you like to them... but promise me one thing; kill that filth first.

After his sister's unannounced arrival, Rowan had decided that he needed to see to this matter, himself. It sounded too bizarre. Would William truly marry beneath him, like his mother said he was planning to? Therefore, he left his own kingdom in secret and unaccompanied. He did not want anyone to know where he was going. Not a single soul.

To his big surprise, and even bigger disappointment, he found out very quickly that William had indeed married the peasant. The boy had made his mother's worst fears come true by falling madly in love with this filth; soiling their bloodline and making a mockery out of his mother.

According to Eleanora, the girl must be a witch because she could not see any other reason to her son's sudden change in behavior. Which Rowan himself of course found preposterous. There were no such things as witches, and the allegation only made his sister seem more crazy than she already was. This whole thing had clearly freed her from all sense and reason.

And in fairness, Eleanora was not the right person to speak ill about change in behavior... Since the day that boy took his first breath, his sister had transitioned into a completely different person. The Eleanora he had grown up with was gone and replaced with a bitter, distant and cold shell of the lively woman she once were.

However, Rowan did not dwell on the matter, he had heard many stories about women who lost their minds after giving birth. It did not concern him enough that he felt the need to worry about it. His sister would never accomplish anything else than the position she had gotten after her marriage to Uldard.

However, it seemed that Uldard had also gotten word about his wife's change in behavior, and he feared for the child's life. Apparently, one of the maids had warned him about women that ended up drowning their babes because they lost their minds. Therefore he took William away from Eleanora when the maids warned him that she was acting strange around the newly born babe. Uldard made that very maid William's governess. Her name was Elizabeth, if he was not mistaken. His sister despised that woman. Rightfully, of course. The child was hers, not the maid's.

But, due to his sister's history of being unreliable and impulsive, Rowan had not believed her at first. He had not been convinced that that boy could even feel love, or that he would ever take a wife. The few times he had met him throughout the years, he had watched him become as distant and cold as his mother.

Brother mine, you should have seen her the day she arrived! The governess and maids could barely make her look presentable. Long dark hair, eyes blue like ice and a tongue as sharp as a newly sharpened dagger, straight from the blacksmith. And she had the audacity to scream at me once! Can you believe it? I will not have it, Rowan! I will not! I want her sent straight to the devil, preferably after a slow and agonizing death.

His sister's screams and nagging cries echoed in his mind while he waited among the people. He was getting impatient. He was only here to confirm that his sister had not lost her mind, completely. Rumors spread quickly between the kingdoms, and he never was one for gossip and hearsay, so he just wanted to get this out of his way so he could return home. Preparations for the war was needed to be dealt with...

"Look, sweet child!" A woman suddenly gasped out next to him. On her hip she carried a two year old.

Rowan turned his gaze upwards.

At the top of the steps two figures emerged and the people around him started cheering and applauding. The sound was nothing less than deafening. It was William and his new bride. His new queen.

What are they clapping for? He growled to himself and frowned displeased as he looked up. He studied the two closely as they looked out over their people. The girl was dressed in blue, a royal color... It bothered him immensely. It was exactly what his sister had said; blasphemy. However, the girl was undoubtedly gorgeous. At least from where he stood she looked like a very beautiful young woman... but would that be enough to snare his nephew? There had to be something else about her...

Oddly enough, his nephew had a smile on his face. He could not recall ever having seen him smile. Not even as a child, but then again, Rowan barely saw the whelp, and neither had he wanted to.

"Who?" The child on the woman's hip spoke simply with a chubby little finger pointing up towards their new rulers.

"It is King William." The woman told her child and nipped it with love in the cheek. "And look; our new queen..." There was admiration in her voice. "She is just like us, sweet child." She cooed the little one.

He suppressed the sudden feeling of nausea that struck him when she spoke those words. The only thing he saw, was a girl whom had robbed his sister of her crown and her followers. A wolf in sheep's clothing had been given a crown and a title she did not have the right to bear.

William and his queen descended the stairs and soon the were at its end. The applauding crowd did not stop. Their cheers and voices were still strong and sometimes a loud whistling sound ripped through the noise.

Rowan watched as they walked towards the crowd, closely followed by guards and the boy's father. Uldard had a proud smile on his face and it was sickening that he could stand by this.

The girl was as beautiful up close as she was from afar; her hair long and dark, eyes blue like the clearest ice and a smile that would enthrall every sane man. However, Rowan was not impressed. He saw her for what she truly was; filthy and poor. She might have learned how to carry herself like royalty, but her blood would soil the purity of his bloodline.

As they passed him he took a step back so his nephew wouldn't spot him, or his father.

He saw how his nephew's eyes fell on his new queen frequently. The eyes of a man who he had thought heartless, beamed with joy. Their union was not just to spite the boy's mother, or to make heirs. The whelp looked absolutely taken by the creature he had on his arm.

Rowan was just about to become even more furious than he already was, but then he realized that he had just been given the tool of how to destroy the whelp.

The girl... How he looks at her... This will be easier than I thought. All I need to destroy him, is her. I cannot believe that William is this weak... Why would he sacrifice all of this for someone like her? Or a woman at all? He thought to himself and started to back further in to the crowd. He had seen what he needed and now he could return back home. All that was left to do now was to find a way to get his hands on that girl.

Days later

"Do you trust me now?" Eleanora hissed when he entered the dining hall where she was already seated. In her hand she held a half full glass of wine.

"I never said I did not trust you, dear sister." He lied in response and took his seat by the head of the table.

"Still you went to-"

"I went to see it for myself, yes." He interrupted her sternly.

"And?"

"Your son is now king and the girl is queen." He answered darkly and watched as the servants placed his food before him, during which he had his eyes on his sister.

She went pale and then her eyes went dark. Her grip around the glass of wine tightened. He considered warning her about it breaking from her grip, but she probably would not listen anyway. It did not look like she would have cared if it cut her until she bled.

"You did not stop it?" She accused him with venom dripping from her voice.

Rowan chuckled amused and frowned at her.

"How was I supposed to have stopped it? I got there right after the ceremony had taken place. What was I supposed to do?" He asked but did not wait for her answer. "And why did you not do anything about this filth when your son brought her back from the countryside? It is not my mess to clean up... but here I am... having to deal with it still."

Eleanora's eyes sparked with fury from his words.

"You think I sat idly by while William did this, do you?" She spat out. "I tried to be rid of her! I sent an assassins after the scum but the idiot failed and got herself hanged!" She exclaimed in frustration, almost spilling her wine when she swung her arm to the side.

"It went very poorly, since you underestimated her and your son. And here you are, not a queen anymore." He chuckled. "I have to give it to William, he is stubborn. Perhaps even more than you."

"Are you just going to sit there and tell me how I failed, or do you have a plan?" Eleanora hissed. She had had enough of him mocking her.

"I am still thinking about it." Rowan answered and started eating.

"Thinking about what?" Eleanora urged him. "Just kill her and lets be rid of this nightmare!"

"I cannot just kill her, dear sister." Rowan explained calmly.

"Because?" She snapped back.

"Because if I kill her, your son will return to his old ruthless self. He will have nothing left to keep him grounded. Not to forget your husband's support from the people... If I simply kill the girl, they will all come at us with every sword and the last soldier they can find. With your son in the lead."

Eleonora rolled her eyes but he could tell that she knew he was right.

"What?" He asked. She shook her head. "Do you not believe that your son will come after us if I take her away from him?"

"Of course I do." She muttered and finished her glass of wine. Her fingers snapped impatiently and a second later a servant was pouring her a new drink. "You are right." She sucked her teeth. "If we kill her, he will want revenge. If we cannot kill her, then what?"

"I do not know yet... I told you this already." Rowan mumbled and went quiet for a moment. "IS there any wine left, or have you drunk it all?" He asked her and then gave one of the servants a nod towards his glass. The servant hurried over and poured him a glass.

"You have plenty." She remarked in dislike of his comment.

"Not since you arrived." He snapped back and lost himself to his own thoughts. Eleanora huffed but did not give him an answer.

To kill the girl was not the way to go... It would not work in his favor. William would lead his father's armies right to their doorsteps and probably stand first in line to kill Rowan himself. He needed to be clever about this, discreet. But how would he go about it...?

All he knew, was that he had the weapon he needed to destroy the boy... He just needed to figure out a way to use it without sabotaging his own victory in this war.

The only thing that could hurt that whelp was his queen... She was the only thing that mattered to him.

---------------------------

My loves,

This marks the end of The Prince's Choice. I feel a bit empty and sad but still strangely content. I finally finished the book, and I am proud that I did. A part of me didn't want to finish it because this world has always been my escape from every day life.

But, here we are!

I would like to thank you all for the wonderful support you have shown me and the story. It literally means the world to me to see you reading, voting or commenting. I never expected my story to be read by so many and I still cannot believe how many of you there are out there!

Sequel Update: 29TH OF JUNE

'HUNTED QUEEN' IS UP AND AVAILABLE FOR READING!

♡

Love Jenny