“Can you tell a goodnight story Mama? Pleeeeaaasseeeeee?” My daughter’s big dark eyes, just like her father’s, look up at me. “I suppose darling. Settle in.” She leaps under the covers and stares expectantly. I chuckle and sit on the bed next to her. “Once upon a time…”

They used to call me General during the war. We were in the middle of a mission with a few other soldiers when something happened that changed the course of my life—and my kingdom. We had set up camp for the night, but I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk in the forest that surrounded our camp. I was so deep in thought, that by the time I realized someone was behind me, they already had me in an inescapable hold. After a short conversation, my captor let me go—only for me to turn and hold my dagger to his throat. He told me his name and I told him mine, and I eventually lowered my dagger. We talked vaguely about life before I realized that I had heard his name before. He was the son of my father’s sworn enemy and heir to the kingdom we were at war against. I knocked him out swiftly—at that point he wasn’t expecting anything of the sort from me and was completely relaxed. I took him back to where we had set up camp and woke up my soldiers. We tied him up and determined that a few of us, including me, would take him back to my father, the King, while the rest finished carring out the missoon we were sent to do. On the journey back, he rode with me. Aerion (that was his name) was quite chatty, as well as cheery, for someone who had just gotten captured by the enemy.

“Mama!” A small ouraged cry pulled me out of my memories and back to my daughter next to me. “But Aerion is Daddy’s name right?” I smiled softly, proud of her for figuring out where this story was going. “Yes darling, but shush. You must let me finish the story.” I took her silence as agreement and continued.

Over time, he wore down all of our defenses and some of us even began treating him like our own. But he wasn’t, and I tried hard to remember that. It was difficult though, when every time I smiled at him or laughed at something Aerion said, he looked at me with such deep longing it pieces my hard heart. One day, I referred to us as friends and when he asked if I truly meant it, I firmly assured him that we were and I would not let the King kill him. We finally arrived at my home, the palace. I defended him in front of Father and Father agreed, albeit reluctantly, to let Aerion go home and attempt convincing his father to end the war. And although he tried, Aerion’s father was not a good man and wanted to take all of our resources. He refused to end the war. I am a little ashamed to admit it, but I snuck into Aerion’s father’s rooms that night and killed him. The next day Aerion was crowned King. After calling soldiers back into their respective kingdoms, the process of writing treaties began. One thing Aerion required though, to agree with anything, was that I marry him. Certainly, this surprised everyone, even myself, although later I realized that an action like this fit his character very well. I said yes, of course, and we lived happily ever after.

“The end.” I finish softly and kiss my daughter goodnight.