Long long ago, far far away, there once was a kingdom named Mora.
The king of Mora was named Trad. He married his one true love, the beautiful Queen Selene, and together they had 3 children: Henry, Grace and John.
Unfortunately, Queen Selene got sick and died shortly after John was born.
King Trad was heart-broken. Selene had been his one true love, and he knew that no woman could ever replace her in his heart.
But a king has certain duties, and marriage is one of them. The king needed to secure his alliances with the powerful families of the kingdom, and so he took another wife from one of the old families. He married Queen Eleanor from the family of Anet.
The next year King Trad died in battle. No one was surprised. King Trad had always been too brave for his own good. He had always led his army from the front, and he had always plunged himself into the most dangerous parts of the battle. His nobles had warned him to be more careful, but he had never listened.
When King Trad died, all of his children were still young. The oldest child, Henry, was not quite 5 years old at the time.
So Queen Eleanor married King Trad’s brother, Richard. And together, Richard and Eleanor became the caretakers of Henry, Grace and John as the three children grew up. Richard and Eleanor were the official regents of the kingdom, ruling in place of the young prince Henry.
As time went on, Richard and Eleanor became more powerful. And Richard found that he was actually good at ruling the kingdom of Mora. He knew how to please everyone. He kept the noble families happy, and he kept the generals of the royal army happy. He kept taxes low, and unlike his brother, he kept the kingdom out of unnecessary wars. People liked Richard.
Eventually, Richard and Eleanor had children of their own. And at this point, people began to suspect that the children of King Trad were in danger.
Even though he was dead, King Trad still had many old friends left who were loyal to his family, and these friends began to urge Prince Henry to flee the country in secrecy. Henry would not listen.
When Prince Henry was 17, he decided that he was old enough to rule the country by himself, and assume his rightful title of king. His friends begged him not to do it, but Prince Henry would not listen. He challenged his Uncle Richard in front of the council of nobles.
The nobles liked Richard and Eleanor, and besides, Eleanor came from one of the most powerful noble families. Henry was young, and knew nothing about ruling. But the nobles knew that lawfully the crown belonged to Henry as the firstborn son of the King.
While the nobles were debating, various whispers began to be heard. It would solve a lot of Richard and Eleanor’s problems, people said, if Henry and Grace and John were to disappear. And perhaps that would not be such a bad thing, people said. After all, Richard was a capable king. And Henry was young and untested.
As the whispers grew and grew, the friends of King Trad realized that Henry’s days were numbered, and they would have to move fast.
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