Re: Picture into story

[Herr D]

The Budding Genius

The king had four children, four allies, and one very big problem. His only son was only interested in men, and so wouldn’t likely manage an heir. Further, wedding him to an ally’s daughter would be an insult, once his ‘preference’ was discovered. To complicate matters even more, two of his daughters were in secret love with men from his own kingdom, and both were with child. Wedding either of them to a son of an ally would be an even more terrible insult. As if that wasn’t enough, his youngest daughter found men to be disgusting creatures. She had, from the earliest of age and no known reason, begun to declare that she loved her father best at arm’s length and that no other man was worth looking at.
The treasury was nearly empty, the silos full of mice, the armories full of rust, the keep full of sewage (thanks to an odd earthquake,) and the army full of men better suited to winning eating contests than fighting. Alliances through marriage needed to be made immediately. But how would he make them and not actually CAUSE war? His allies, possibly soon to be enemies, surrounded him. WHAT to do? As always, when he was at his wit’s end, he put on a hood, to cover his face, and went to see his best advisor–his youngest daughter. He found her, as always, in the courtyard, tending her garden.
“Father?”
“Yes, Corlana.”
“I know what’s been bothering you, and I may have our solutions.”
“Thank the gods! Tell me.”
“I can’t. You must trust me. You must bring the four kings, your allies to supper. You must tell them I am a seer, rather than a gardener, and you must convince them. Then you will be prepared to agree to marry me off first. I will see that they agree.”

[interrupted–will post the rest ASAP, probably by Friday 4am EST.]