I Followed Fires

VIII. Bash

His blue eyes were fixed on the three figures near the lake. 

Two days and a night here and she’s already befriending the future king and queen of France and England, Bash thought. Admittedly, he quietly envied Adèle. Although he has had few people tell him of her childlike shyness, she possessed a magnetic charisma that seemed to attract many to form friendships with her. But did it pull Bash into her “magnet” as well? That was a question still left unanswered.

Bash admitted to himself that she was beautiful, that was something only a blind fool would disagree on, but her beauty is reserved for princes or dukes from powerful countries, not a bastard. To marry her would mean to destroy all possibilities of her marrying a nobleman or anyone who truly deserved her.

A guard had just told Bash that his father requested his appearance in his bedchambers. Bash’s gaze immediately stopped looking at the three figures in the distance, and headed towards his father’s bedchambers. He erased all thoughts of Adèle, Mary, Francis or the growing power of the Darkness from his mind, as the guard had previously told him that the king wanted to talk of a very serious matter with him. What other serious matter to Bash would it be other than an impending agreement to a marriage?

“Father,” Bash spoke. He found the king caught in his thoughts, sitting on his desk chair, as maps were unrolled before him on his desk, along with wooden pieces carved to appear like knights. Some donned the banners of France, of Scotland, and of England. 

“Sebastian,” Henry’s eyes turned to him. “Have you thought of the offer of marriage to Adèle I gave you yesterday?”

“Yes. I have reviewed both the advantages and disadvantages of marrying Adèle, but I think she does not deserve a man like me. Perhaps a woman with smaller power and influence than her; someone that equates with my position,” Bash suggested.

 “Lady Kenna, perhaps?” 

“Oh God no,” Bash replied. “Not her, I beg of you. It would be too uncomfortable for me and for you too, as most of the court knows you once took her as mistress. It would be a marriage filled with great discomfort,”

“Then you have no other choice but Adèle," 

“It’s just not right, father,” complained Bash. “Her family will never accept me, I can guarantee you that,”

“Sebastian, are you unaware of the art of persuasion? It is something that even us kings can learn and benefit from. I will convince her parents, and then you two shall marry and live a joyful life filled with trueborn children. That is the plan that I have formulated for you, unless you still want to continue living as a bastard,”

Bash remained quiet for a while, and then gave his reply. “Are you sure she will love me? Even with my ways,”

“Of course she will. If you do not fall in love with her, I will,”

“What?” he asked, looking evidently startled by his response.

“She’s a very attractive young woman, Bash. Charming, shy, charismatic, beautiful, intelligent, strong-willed; everything a man would want in a woman. Oh, her shyness wakes a strange desire in me that I have longed forgotten. Do you not find her as attractive as most men in France do?”

 “I’ve never met every man in France and asked them if they desire Adèle Prouvaire before,” replied Bash. 

“A warning, Bash. If you do not wed her, I will take her as mistress. God knows there is no one better than a king and a ruler to take a girl’s virtue, even if she is unmarried,”

If there was one thing Bash despised more than blood sacrifices, it was his father’s arrogance. The way he spoke of women, in such a sexual and disrespectable manner, disgusted Bash. He took a step backwards and said, “I will rethink your offer again, perhaps now I will remind myself more of the benefits of accepting your offer, but I beg of you not to take her as mistress. She is a respectable young woman, and I do not want you robbing her of her virtue,” 

“Very good,” said the king. “You’re defending her. That’s the first step of falling in love with someone.”