Svelte Sven

A Fairy Tale

This story is true, in a manner of speaking. There once was a King whose fortunes were turning sour. The King was proud of all his dynasty had accomplished, having descended from much wiser, more powerful kings than himself. It was his greatest wish to restore his realm to glory, but he didn't have the wisdom or power than his ancestors did. What he did have was a dwindling treasury, a loving Queen, and three children. Those children were the Dutiful Heir, the Beautiful Princess, and the Sullen Boy.

Even after consulting with nobles, seers, madmen, and priests, the King could not find a way to restore his kingdom. In the meantime, he had to find a way to keep the coffers filled. Though he thought it below him, he often visited neighboring monarchs and begged for their favor. Whenever he visited these foreign sovereigns he brought the Heir, the Princess, and the Boy. The Princess was the darling of any court, and to the King's delight his hosts often showered her in gifts. The Heir had a silent dignity about him, and many of his hosts' own children were drawn to the Heir. This delighted the King as well and he hoped the Heir might attract a bride with a sizable dowry.

However, the Boy hated the visits to foreign kingdoms. His father would always parade him and his siblings around and he would be forced to smile and speak to strangers. Whenever he could he would hide and sneak away from the balls and feasts. This angered the King and he would often chide the Boy for his disobedience. The Queen would try to assuage her husband's wrath and appeal to the Boy's love for his family, but alas, the two continued to quarrel.

A year before the boy would come off age, a wealthy Governess visited the King. He was distraught that his younger son had attracted no betrothals or offers to squire from foreign kingdoms. The Governess smiled promised that if the King would entrust the Boy to her, she would shape him into a proper gentleman. The King was eager to be rid of the problem child and had heard of the Governess from other monarchs who praised her ability to instruct willful heirs. The Queen was more reluctant to part with her son as he begged her not send him away, but she was convinced by the Governess that her instruction would help heal the rift between the Boy and the King.

After a year and a day, the King and Queen were astonished by the Boy's transformation into a Studious Cavalier. Now he was obedient, cheerful, and brave. The King fawned over him and the Queen wept at seeing her son and husband reunited. But the next time the King left with their children to cavort with other nobles, the Queen was awoken in the night by pitiful sobbing. In the dimly lit hall outside her bedchamber, she spied a young boy. When she drew closer and held a candle towards him, she realized that it was not a boy, but a boy's Shadow. It sobbed and wailed pitifully in a voice that was strangely familiar. "You threw me away!", he cried. Startled, she called the guards but by the time the arrived the Shadow was gone. For years to come, however, her dreams were haunted by the Shadow's sobbing and she could never bring herself to love the Studious Cavalier.

Durance

Sven's Keeper loved fancy parties. Galas, balls, salons, any manner of fancy party was being thrown at a given time in the Fae's Realm. She would even invite other Lords of Arcadia for special occasions, though they rarely accepted. The only thing she loved better than the parties was the gossip and storytelling from guests at these gatherings. However, what the Fae failed to understand, or perhaps did not care to understand, was that when all of her guests were slaves who knew no life outside of Arcadia, there wasn't anything to meaningfully discuss. If your life consists of nothing but attending parties at the same place with the same guests for all eternity, your supply of anecdotes and humor eventually runs dry.

Because of this, there was more or less a writer's room of Changelings whose task was to come up with interesting stories to be surreptitiously spread amongst the partygoers.