The child

King Gaius p.o.v

I was gone for two weeks.

But, in those two weeks, I accomplished quite a bit.

It started with my visit to a neighboring kingdom.

My relations with King Harry were tense, but Harry owed me.

I had gone on that journey with only a handful of my most trusted knights.

We needed to move quickly and efficiently to be back before anything drastic was done in the wake of my daughter's death.

I and my men were ushered into the large, dreary throne room in Harry's castle.

The throne room was nothing like my own, which was full of light and windows with a welcoming atmosphere.

No, Harry's gave the impression that he wanted his guests out of there as quickly as humanly possible.

Dark drapes closed part way over the windows, allowing only minimal light in, and the dark stone made everyone in the room feel as though we were trapped there.

Naturally, that made people anxious to leave and therefore out of Harry's hair.

"Harry, old friend," I greeted him politely, quite aware of the fact that my fellow king held all the power in our situation.

"I'd hardly call you that, Gaius. It isn't like you to visit without notice. What have you come for?"

So, we weren't wasting no time on niceties then?

All the better for me, as I was in a bit of a hurry.

"I need to cash in that favor."

"Good lord. You get saved by a man once and he thinks he can show up whenever he damn well pleases and 'cash in that favor'? I don't have time for this!" Harry slammed the end of his scepter into the ground.

The dark green wolf fur that adorned it and his green cape swinging behind him menacingly gave off a very intimidating and quite unnerving air.

I showed no hesitation as I stared into the cold, black eyes, looking for any sign that Harry planned to kill them.

It wouldn't go over well for Harry to kill his neighboring king, but I wouldn't put it past the unstable ruler.

I was encouraged by what I saw and continued.

"My wife has birthed yet another dead child. I need an heir, and it isn't likely that I'm going to get one the old fashioned way."

Harry paused for a second and then burst into laughter.

It was a strange barking laugh that sounded completely unnatural coming out of the thin mouth of the normally sulky king.

"What do you think I'm going to be able to do for you, Gaius? Impregnate your wife?"

I bite my tongue to keep back the response that was about to jump from it.

I took a deep breath and said my next words with as much confidence as man who has failed is able.

"No, Harry, I need you to give me a baby. An orphan that I can pass off as my own."

That truly stopped Harry in his tracks.

He cocked his head slightly, as though he was looking at me in a whole new light.

"You would lie to your people so that you could have an heir?"

"It would be better for them than to have my idiot brother take the throne because I had no children to take over."

Harry pondered this, tapping his pointed chin with long pale fingers.

I glanced around to see who was around to witness this interaction between kings and was surprised to see only two guards, both of which looked too terrified to care about what we were saying.

I knew my knights were loyal to me and would keep my secret, and the same went for my wife's ladies.

The only threat to my plan would be the way Hilda took it.

It was possible that she would consider taking in another baby as a betrayal to our daughter, to the royal bloodline, but I needed Hilda to be happy and this was the only way I could think of through my grief filled mind.

"Alright, Gaius, I will help you. But only because then you and I will be even. I hate owing people anything, especially someone with power such as yourself. Come with me."

I stepped forward, as did my men, but Harry held up his hand.

"The king only, gentleman. I won't help him if he doesn't accompany me alone."

The knights glanced from I to king Harry, but I gave them a look to stand down.

They did, but reluctantly.

"It's alright," I assured them.

I followed the dark king as Harry left the the throne room.

His castle was similar to his throne room; dark and unwelcoming.

I guess that Harry used his personality as a guide when decorating.

I and Harry had known one another since we were children.

Our fathers had been allies and good friends, but we the sons had never been able to see eye to eye. We often argued over small things or threatened to beat one another to a pulp. Our adult lives weren't much different. I had saved Harry's life once during a battle against the wolves that had been threatening the two kingdoms for decades.

Our fathers had decided to handle what they referred to as "the pest problem" once and for all; they were going to attack the nest. We the princes had tagged along. Harry was engaging a rather large, nasty beast and would have been eaten had I not stabbed the creature in the heart before it had the chance.

I had been waiting ten years for the perfect moment to cash in my favor and this seemed appropriate: a life for a life.

"Where are we going?" I wondered as we traveled deeper and deeper into the fortress.

"Someplace hidden. One of my soldiers decided to play the hero and I have been looking for a way out of the problem. You are the perfect solution, Gaius."

He suddenly stopped in front of a stone wall and I shot passed him, not expecting the sudden change in speed.

I spun around and caught back up to the other king as Harry pushed a stone into the wall.

As the stone was pushed in, a part of the wall popped out.

"Fancy," I admired the secret passage.

"I'm sure there are secrets like this at your castle. You were just too much of a goodytwoshoes to find them," Harry scoffed and walked into the hidden room.

I rolled my eyes and followed him into the surprisingly cozy space.

It was filled with the soft glowing light of candles and a crackling fire in the fireplace.

A large bear rug took up the center of the floor and a simple bed resided in the corner.

What drew my attention was the cradle beside the bed.

The room was devoid of life except for we the two kings and whatever was squawking in the cradle.

"This is one of the servant's rooms. There is usually someone here watching over the thing. I have no ideas where she is now."

I walked over to the cradle and peered in, not knowing what to expect.

I blinked in mild surprise at what I found.

With the way Harry had been talking I was expecting a monster, not a tiny baby.

Tbc