Prince Selects His Sister Pt. 01

"Answer me this, Father." Adam said. "Can you think of any living man in this world who could love Sarah more than I? Who would protect her and cherish her? She is four years younger than me, and ever since I set my eyes upon her, I have loved her. I was there to teach her when she began to talk. I have watched her become the person she is. When she was captured by the Selucians when visiting our camp, I offered myself in ransom to them to rescue her. Is that perversion or is it love? After you, and then I, tell me who would be willing to make sure she is happy? Anyone?"

"No. I know you love her. I've seen it with my own eyes." Tarian responded. "I've seen you cherish her, and protect her, and take care of her. There is no doubt in this. I just cannot imagine you want her in this way."

"Our ancestors allowed for this for a reason." Adam said. "They did not believe it should be forbidden, so they gave any High Princess a choice. We should trust where we come from. I will honor her every day of my life like no man could. I am placing the power of the throne in her hands."

Diana stepped over to her son and sat down next to him, taking his hand. "You have been groomed to be High King. The undisputed monarch of our empire. We placed all our hopes in you. You have been general of all military forces not just so we could make sure you did the hard work needed to lead and earn your place, but so that the armies of this nation would be unquestioningly loyal to you. And they are. If you split the throne, what if you end up disagreeing with her? What if you fight? What will happen when two equals share the Crown and you end up leading to civil war? What if this tears you apart? We don't normally allow the power of the Crown to be shared and that is why. It's not just that most people consider it unnatural, it's that this can destroy the Kingdom as we know it."

Adam looked at his mother: "I cannot tell the future, but I can promise you that Sarah and I cannot ever go to war against one another. She and the children I will have with her come before any kingdom. I would abdicate and go live in a village in the Northlands as a farmer before I raise a finger against my sister. If she asked me to abdicate and be the general of her armies one day and let her rule, I would do it."

King Tarian sighed loudly. "That's madness." he said.

He understood there was no turning Adam's mind. He was in love, but more importantly, he was right about Sarah. She truly was everything Adam said she was. Tarian was proud of both of his children, but he was especially proud that Sarah, despite needing to do nothing and having been given no responsibilities - had worked hard to learn and master her education and all the skills of governance. And she was as kind and beautiful as she was strong and smart. Any man who married her would be sorely lacking in Tarian's eyes. Except Adam. His son truly was the only man who came close to being worthy of her.

He sighed and began to walk from the family's living quarters to go into his chambers. He had entered proud and strong, his age not showing in his frame, but now his shoulders hung lower, as if having suffered some defeat. He turned once to say: "I am trusting you with this Kingdom but had no idea I might also be trusting you with my little girl. You should know that the latter is infinitely more important to me than the former. I love you, and you are my son, but if whatever is happening now results in the slightest hurt to her, I will not hesitate to tear this kingdom to pieces to avenge anyone who harms her. If you do anything that might hurt her or betray her, I will wage war against you, my only son, and watch my house burn to ashes."

Adam looked at his father in the eye and smiled, with sadness and said simply: "We both feel the same about that, my King."

Tarian nodded, and went to his quarters.

"Should I go talk to her, mother?" Adam asked Diana.

"Yes. But let me go first. She will stand on her balcony and walk back and forth for hours unless someone breaks her out of it."

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IN SARAH'S CHAMBERS

"Baby, are you there?" Diana called?

Sarah was walking back and forth, as expected. "I'm here Mama" she said.

"What are you thinking sweetie?" Diana asked.

"I'm confused."

"Well I know what you're confused about, but tell me what you're thinking."

"You know, I'm not confused about him."

"What do you mean?"

"I have had a crush on him for as long as I've been able to feel crushes."

"What?" the Queen responded. She was shocked that she had misjudged both her children's hearts for so long.

"Yes mother. I've always held love in my heart for him the way that he loves me. I just, tried to kill it. To bury it. I always thought I'd have to see him marry some princess or duchess or general's daughter. I suppressed it for years. I didn't want to let it grow beyond a seed because if it was any more and turned into a tree I would have to burn the tree down." Sarah said, tears running down her face.

"So, you love him?" Diana asked.

"At first I was horrified at the thought. To marry my own brother? Then I thought about what that actually means. To be his partner in life." she said, quietly to her mother.

"And that thought did not bother you?" the Queen asked.

"No. It made me happy. To support him, and help him, and to have his support in my own life. We already do that for each other whenever we can. There is no other man after Father that I rely on more than him to be there for me. But to marry is more than this."

"It is to love, in ways sisters do not usually love brothers." Diana reminded her.

"Yes. To let my brother have not only my heart, but my body. To let him enter me. To let him find pleasure inside me. To let him release his lusts into my most sacred places." Sarah said, her voice quivering, almost a whisper. Simply speaking these words caused the area between the princess's legs to moisten. She could feel both guilt and lust slowly building inside her as she imagined what she spoke.

"And what does that make you feel? Disgust? Fear?" her mother asked.

"No. Desire." Sarah responded. "He is my brother. He has protected me, loved me, cared for me, played with me, taught me, and has been concerned for me as long as I have been alive. No other man has done these things. When I ask myself who deserves my love, who deserves the right to my body, who deserves that I gift him with my secrets - I can't think of any other man but my brother. I'd be proud to be the one he goes to not only to seek counsel, friendship, and comfort - but to satisfy his deepest lusts and desires, and to have him fulfill all of mine.

Nothing of him disgusts me. I'd be proud to be his forever. The thought of him ruling my body as he will rule this land makes me happier than anything I can imagine. I would be in joy to be the woman in whom he releases his every desire and to be the mother of his children. I'd be honored to be the woman in whom my brother relieves his every lust for everyday of my life." Her underwear was truly wet with her juices now.

"Sarah, my goodness, where did you even learn to speak like this?" her mother exclaimed, blushing.

"Mother, I may never have known a man but I am not for want of an education. I know more than you might think." she said, smiling.

"So" her mother clarified, "you are neither dissuaded from this by feelings nor by a lack of desire, nor by disgust. It seems to be you've been harboring a love for your brother longer than you let on."

"Perhaps I have been. I may have kept it inside, even from myself. But every moment that passes, knowing how he feels - I grow in my desire for him. I just, I don't know what to do." she said.

"Then what is holding you back?" Her mother asked.

"The Crown. If I marry him I become his equal. I become High Queen of Andoria. As High Princess, marrying him means I become a sovereign. I will have the power to command armies. This kingdom will look to me as equally as it will look to him. This is not the life I imagined. I thought I would consult for him or advise him as I do now, but this is different. I wish I could be with him without this weight. I wish I could marry him without this responsibility. I want him so much but none of his power." Sarah sighed as she looked out at the capital city from her balcony.

Almost as far as her eyes could see were thousands of lights in every direction, gleaming towers reflecting the fires of the city, and a moonlight that bathed it in a cool glow. The Shaylar River ran through the middle of the city, cutting it in half, glowing blue with the moonlight. This city was the glory of known civilization, the largest of dozens of cities across the kingdom just like it. She stood at a decision that would place her at its very head.

"Talk to him, he's at the door." her mother told her, as Adam walked in, apprehensively.

"Can I enter?" he asked.

"Enter" Sarah said. "Mama, can we have some time?" she asked Diana.

"Of course." she said. Diana kissed Sarah on the forehead and as she walked out and was about to pass Adam, she stopped. She held both his cheeks in her hands, brought them down to her height, and kissed him on the forehead as well.

"Soft, with her. And slow." Diana whispered to her son.

"With her, mother, always." he responded in a whisper, as she walked out of the door, leaving him alone with his baby sister. The tenor of his voice made their mother absolutely certain that he would be careful with her. For a moment, it made her proud of him. He was right that no one else could possibly love her as he did.

"Hey little girl. How are you?" he asked, as if he hadn't just unleashed the greatest disturbance their family had ever seen upon them.

She looked at him for a moment, her eyes maintaining their focused, resilient gaze but her lips softening to a half-smile. "That was some barrage you dropped on us. Why didn't you tell me before?" she asked.

"Honestly, I was scared. I figured Mother and Father would yell at me but the thought of telling you and being rejected by you scared me to death."

"You've snuck into an enemy fortress after evading your own royal guards and opened the gates for your men. You are afraid of me? You had years to tell me. Why now at this last instant when we are racing against the time?"

"Of course I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of being rejected by you. And I'm so sorry about the timing. The truth is Sarah, I've been fighting for five years on campaign, leading men into battle. I could have died any of over 40 times in the past five years. I was reasonably close to being killed on more than one occasion. I did not want to confess my love for you, and then leave you and die, and leave you in this sad, confused, mess of a state. So I wanted to wait before I burdened you. When the battles were over. When the fighting was done. The risks were less. Now, when I am king, I won't be leading armies into the middle of battle. I definitely won't act like a foot soldier anymore."

"It's still stupid." she said, sitting down on the regal couch in her room, across from where he had decided to sit. "It's stupid you kept it in. It's stupid you didn't tell me. How did you hide it all these years?"

The doubt she held was that his kindness towards her was rooted in his desire. It bothered her deeply because his kindness, his selfless love - was one of the foundational pillars in her life. For it to be in any way selfish, or rooted in lust alone, would hurt her deeply.

"I don't know." he responded. "I guess the affairs of the Kingdom kept me busy and I embraced them as much as I could to keep from confronting this. I just kept pushing it out of my mind. What do you think? I need to know how you feel. Do you know how you feel?" he asked, looking at her, earnestly waiting for her thoughts. "What is that fear on your face?" he asked her.

She responded, clearly. This was no time to play the shy princess or the little sister.

"My fear, brother, is that many years of your love, your kindness towards me, your playfulness, your concern, has been rooted in your desire for me. Your hope for me to be your wife and consort and bear your children. That it was not out of the selfless love of a brother towards his little sister, but of a man who desires a woman. And that thought makes me feel sad. If that is true, it will hurt me beyond belief because it is precisely the selflessness of your love that I have cherished."

"Oh my sweet sister!" he rose and rushed to her side and sat at her feet. He took her hand and held it to his lips, and kissed it.

"Sarah" he said, looking at her eyes. He could make no mistakes here.

"I have loved you from the moment you came into this world. As your brother and as your friend. And if you tell me right now that you have no desire for me, for my proposal, for entertaining this - I will still love you in every way that I always have. You will remain my closest confidante, my best friend, and my beloved sister. I did not treat you with kindness, and race horses with you, and teach you to use a sword, and seek comfort in you out of my desire. I did it because I've never found any soul in the world with whom I feel what I feel with you - who makes me feel that I am home. No woman as kind, intelligent, brave, or thoroughly good. No person who complements my flaws as you do. A soulmate does not have to be a lover, and whether you accept me or not, as far as I am concerned, that is what you are to me."

"So if I say no, what happens?" she asked.

"You will break my heart. And my heart will mend in time. But yet it will remain yours. I will go on to do my duty to this kingdom and to Mother and Father, and to you as your brother and friend."

"Do you have another woman that you would propose to if I refuse?" she asked him.

This suspense was killing him, but she had a right to know everything. He was not asking for a bite of food. He was asking for a lifelong commitment.

"No, Sarah. There is no one else." he said, looking down.

"Really? You've traveled to twenty different kingdoms and nations and met the most noble women of every single one. As the most powerful man in the world, any one of them would accept your proposal. You're telling me you've never imagined marrying any of them?" she asked. She was truly shocked.

"Do you remember that day in the Battle of Acorns when a quarter of my guard was wiped out?" he asked her.

"Y-y-yes." she responded, confused about the story and its relevance. It was a battle from years ago, one of his first. On the verge of total defeat while fighting an invading army from the West, Adam had charged into the enemy, obligating his battle guards to follow him. What would have resulted in the destruction of their entire Western army ended up being a victory as the men took heart from their prince's courage and reassembled their battle lines.

At the cost of some of his personal guardsmen and some of his own blood, his actions saved thousands of his men and won the battle. The victory had been so complete and devastating upon the enemy that a reserve force hadn't even required to secure the front lines.

Adam had been injured so severely that he had been unconscious for two days and there was fear he would not wake up. Sarah ignored royal safety protocol and her had taken her own royal guard to the front lines to see him.

"If you both die, who will inherit this kingdom after me?" their father had yelled at her as she left the palace to go to the battlefield. He was furious but unable to stop her.

"We have cousins who can do the job!" she had yelled back as she left, infuriating him further. Adam was unconscious and she wanted to be next to him. Her presence had lit up the camp as the men both respectfully but with a bit of soldierly joking - welcomed her into the camp.

As part of her visit, she had emptied her personal royal allowance of half a year to purchase soaps, drinks, sweets, and blankets for all of the front-line battalions, winning their immediate gratitude. After thanking them for fighting behind her brother and rallying to his charge in an inspiring speech about how they were the saviors of the Kingdom, she had marched straight into his tent. If you didn't know better you'd think she was gaining their favor and playing politician, but she was truly grateful for their service to the nation and to her beloved brother.

Adam continued as these memories came back: "When I awoke in incredible pain, I saw your face above mine, and you were holding the bandage that was keeping my broken shin together." he said.

"Yes, I remember. I was so scared that you would die." Sarah remembered.

"I told you to let the medics tighten the bandage and tend to my wounds." he said.

"And I told you that they liked me more than you and might let you die and force me onto the throne and I couldn't let that happen." she said, laughing and remembering her joke.

"I laughed so hard despite my broken ribs." he said, chucking, still holding her hand and sitting at her feet in her bedroom.

"So what about it?" Sarah asked. "What about that day?" A decision needed to be made here and this wasn't time to reminisce.

"That was the day." he responded. "That was the day, upon looking at your face, hearing your laugh, feeling your touch against my cheeks, knowing your love and concern for me - I knew for sure that you were the woman of my dreams. The one woman I would gladly dedicate my entire life to. I stopped thinking of other women seriously since that day. It's always been you. I've met queens, and princesses, and duchesses from across the world. I've met beautiful women in amazing places. None of them are you. None of them come close to you. I decided that day, years ago that I would ask you to be my wife. You also looked really cute in the traveling-armor that your royal guard made you wear as a condition of bringing you."

"That was a long time ago." she said.

"It was. It's how long I've known. My heart has been yours for a very long time. But if you don't want it, it will still belong to you. I will always love you, and if you reject me I will continue to love you as a brother. I will honor you, protect you, and as much as it will break my heart, I will make sure you marry a man of your choosing so that you have every happiness that you deserve. I will accept him, respect him, love your children, and be your faithful brother as long as we are both alive."

Sarah's eyes moistened with tears.

"You would do that for me despite your feelings?" she asked him. He was many things, sometimes reckless, sometimes foolish. But he was not a liar. "You'd arrange and support my marriage with someone else?"

"Unquestioningly. Your happiness means more to me than anything." he said. "If I am not the man you want, or if you feel that it is too great a taboo to break, I will understand. I will make sure that you will have all the things you need to live happily, and we shall never speak of any of this again. You'll go on to marry and have children and do whatever you wish with your life, and I will do my duty to this kingdom."

"I didn't know anyone would feel that way about me. People look at me as nothing more than a royal beauty, to be paraded, exhibited, displayed as part of the greatness of this kingdom." she said, thinking.

"You are the jewel of this kingdom but not just because of your beauty. Because of your heart and your mind. And your love for it and its people. I don't know where you get your strength, your loyalty, and your kindness - but I look at you and know there is no one else I would ever want as the mother of my children, and as my partner in life." he responded. Quiet settled as they both thought. He broke the silence after a few seconds.