"Ah, yes, well, you see..."
"I am Prince Jan van Praet." Such a dramatic moment is ruined by following it up with,
"Of course I do not expect you to believe such a thing without proof, so, ah, if you will give me a moment." As Ovidio retreats back to his home the crowd of citizens starts to buzz with conversation. Judging by the tone and casualness of the onlookers, they had heard his explanation all before.
It doesn't take long before Ovidio, the self-proclaimed Prince of Aen, returns with a bundle of papers in his arms.
"Several years ago, I was surprised when I was invited to dine at the table of Councilman Livio Abate. Naturally, as a humble citizen of Alife, I thought that this request was some kind of, ah, joke. It was not until repeated invitations were made that I finally accepted that it was real. At the Councilman's house I was robed in finery despite my protests and given the place of honour at the table. Before the meal began, Livio told me of the wonderous story which had prompted this behaviour from him." As his tale continues, he hands out several of the papers for the mercenaries to look over. Assuming that they could read, of course. Many of the pages are signed and stamped with various seals, presumably to confirm their accuracy. Those who had lived in Alife before would undoubtedly recognize the coat of arms of Councilman Abate that was often reproduced in the seals. The Councilman's signature is also in abundance.
"He had been visited a few days before by a monk from Evreux. His name was, oh, Father Laurentin, if I remember correctly. The monk was on death's door and had a certain secret which he needed to share. The secret of my parentage and circumstances of my childhood. You see he was the confessor of, well, I suppose he would be my uncle. A nobleman in Evreux where Prince Jan, that is myself, supposedly died of illness. On the noble's deathbed, he told Father Laurentin about the truth of what happened and made him swear to keep the secret safe. With no one else he could entrust it to, Father Laurentin shared it with the Councilman, hearing of his great virtue and piety. If you are curious the story is also laid out in the papers which I had given you. I will, well, briefly summarize it for you."
"You see, the nobleman of Evreux kept an orphanage on his estate as an act of charity. The young Prince was often allowed to play with the orphans, since they were a ready source of companionship in his young age. One orphan, in fact, was noted for his, ah, resemblance to the young Prince. Quite a strong resemblance, in fact. When illness struck the orphanage, the Prince and his friend were among those who fell ill. At that point, ah, several agents of Heinric van Gruuthuuse, the current and false King of Aen, bribed the doctors to kill him. In their greed they accidentally killed the Prince's friend instead, having never seen the boy before. Only when one of the doctors confessed to the nobleman did the true story become known." "My uncle, the nobleman of Evreux, decided that returning the Prince to Aen would be certain death. H- My father was not long for the world, and Heinric was the second in line for the throne. So he decided to send the body of the Prince's friend back, lamenting his supposed death, while the actual Prince stayed in his orphanage with his true parentage suppresed. Eventually he decided that he would be far safer away from his estate and so sent the boy to Alife, where he, that is to say I, was eventually adopted by a local merchant. The rest is, well, personal in nature. I will not bore you with the details." "Suffice to say that I did not believe what Councilman Livio Abate was telling me. It was all quite... unbelievable, even with his confirmations of its verity. So I pretended to play along and took whatever papers and gifts he showered upon me that night in his house. Once the Councilman died I thought that that was the last I would ever hear of such things. But less than a year ago a great plague swept through the city and..."
"..."
"And I lost my wife and children." "I decided that this was punishment from Sohrab and Khordad. By allowing a false ruler to sit on the throne of Aen, despite knowing better, I was helping evil spread in the world. As such it was my duty to reclaim my rightful place and do good. It was, ah, not an easy decision to make but one which I needed to be done. I no longer had any family to worry about beyond myself. No reason not to stay in the city, beyond commercial ones. So I started my preparations and called you all here to serve as my bodyguard. I believe that is the entire tale as laid out in my papers. I am willing to answer any questions you may have. It is... quite the story I am sure, but I am confident that it is all true." The man does his best to stand regally in front of everyone, which hardly does anything to dispel the fact that he is still a stuffy merchant through and through.
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Topic: Fire Emblem on Forums: Crown of Aen (IC Thread) [Unknown Wanderers] (Read 13600 times)