A Princess of Lepanto
A quick prequel to my novel, 'Inquisitor's Promise'. Submission for S.E. Reid's flash fiction contest.
Author’s note: This is a submission for
’s flash fiction contest as outlined in her latest Talebones Weekly. This is the prompt:
So how does my story fit into this challenge? Two ways. Firstly, this short story actually serves as a prequel to my web novel Inqusitor’s Promise. The two main characters of this story are Aphrodisia and Anchises, the parents of that novel’s hero Aeneas. In the novel itself, Aphrodisia is long dead. Meanwhile, Anchises died pretty early in the story (not spoilers, it’s literally in the blurb). We all know how common “dead parents” are in fiction lol.
As for the second way, I’m not ready to show my cards just read. Just read on.
This is also a bit of a last minute thing. Since I already have a lot of things lined up for Germanicus Publishing, I’m just going to publish this one instead of sending it. I feel like I’m already putting in so much stuff to people’s emails as it is.
Without further ado, let’s go!
There once lived a princess in the 74th century of the Year of Our Lord. Hailing from the Duchy of Lepanto, Aphrodisia was of noble House Palaiologos. Sickly and frail all her life, she would have spent the rest of her life locked up in the forbidding Castle Lepanto.
Why? Because she was the only child of Duke Michael of Lepanto. Thus, the succession of the Lepantine ducal throne went through her. Upon the duke’s death, the role of Princess Aphrodisia’s protector would have been passed to her ambitious cousin, Vasil Palaiologos, the Lord Spartan.
Spartan had intended to use his cousin as the means to become the Duke of Lepanto. But this was not meant to be when Lord Inquisitor Anchises Aquilanus of Nepoli came into the picture. Initially on a mission to guard the Papal Nuncio to Lepanto, he soon fell in love with the dark-haired princess and asked for her hand-in-marriage.
Despite the warnings from both Duke Michael and Lord Spartan, Anchises insisted on taking Aphrodisia to wife. The princess was more than happy to cooperate. After all, she was the one who set the story on this course.
Duke Michael was pleased to have a member of the prestigious House Aquilanus as a son-in-law. But this situation meant that the son of Anchises would inherit the position of the Duke of Lepanto. Lord Spartan found this unacceptable.
***
At the moment, Aphrodisia Aquilana was watching the breathtaking view of the towering hive city Nepoli from her home Castle Aquila. It felt like it was only yesterday when she was a virtual prisoner of her cousin the Lord Spartan. But now she was free with a husband who loved her and a baby in her belly; she caressed it lovingly.
“Enjoying the view?” Anchises asked.
Aphrodisia turned and nodded to acknowledge her husband. To this day, she still wondered what she did to deserve such a handsome and kind and loving husband, but she was not one to question God’s gifts.
“I can feel the boy’s kick,” she said.
Anchises raised his eyes in confusion. “How do you know he’s a boy?”
“I just do,” Aphrodisia said coyly. “What name should we give him?”
The Lord Inquisitor thought briefly. “I think Aeneas would be a good name.”
“Aeneas.” Aphrodisia nodded. “A fitting name for our son. He’s going to be a great hero for the Church. And all the girls will fall in love with him.”
“What?”
“My apologies,” she said sheepishly. “I’m just talking nonsense.”
Even so, Princess Aphrodisia’s nonsense turned out to be the absolute truth. But that’s a story for another day.
***
The birth of Aeneas Aquilanus turned out to be more difficult than Anchises had anticipated. Perhaps the Inquisitor should have expected this, given his wife’s physical frailties. It was only thanks to 74th century medicine that both Aphrodisia and Aeneas survived the ordeal. Under most circumstances, both mother and child would have died.
With that ordeal behind him, Anchises hoped that this was the last of his family’s troubles. But the Inquisitor was to be disappointed.
Two months later was when the family’s well-being got put to the test. Around this time, Aphrodisia received a request from Duke Michael to visit him in Lepanto. Anchises would have accompanied her, but he had a mission from the Church. The discussion between husband and wife was as follows:
“Are you sure about this, Aphrodisia?” Anchises asked with worry.
“I’ll be just fine. I’m just visiting papa, after all,” she assured.
“Still, it just doesn’t feel right for a husband to not be around to protect his wife and son.”
Aphrodisia would have hugged Anchises, but she was holding on to Aeneas. Instead, she kissed her husband’s cheek.
“You also have a duty to the Church,” she said.
“I’m sure His Holiness would…”
“No, my lord!” Aphrodisia said sharply. “You are this close towards making it to Grand Inquisitor. If you back out of a mission, this will a blow to your career!”
“But…”
Anchises would not be able to voice his retort as baby Aeneas began crying uncontrollably. With Aphrodisia having to take care of their son, the conversation was cut short.
Later on, Anchises decided to allow his wife and son to visit Lepanto without him. This was a decision that he would later regret.
***
Aphrodisia still wondered how she got herself into this mess. All she wanted to do was to visit her father. She imagined that Aeneas would have fun with his grandfather, and vice versa. In her anticipation to see her father once more, the princess failed to account for her schemer of a cousin.
Speak of the devil, here he was. The door to Aphrodisia’s gilded cage of a bedroom opened, revealing Lord Spartan.
“What do you want?” the princess said bitterly.
“We’re going to have to work on your manners, princess,” Spartan said sarcastically.
“You kidnapped me and my son! You murdered the Nepolian servants and soldiers who accompanied us!” Aphrodisia shouted. “No, Vasil. It is you who should mind your manners!”
Screaming at her cousin turned out to be too much for the princess. She soon began to hyperventilate and collapsed. She would have hit the ground, but Spartan caught her. But far from grateful, she grew even more incensed.
“Get your hands off me!” she snarled.
“Enough of this!”
It was Duke Michael who said those words. Carrying the infant Aeneas in his arms, the Duke of Lepanto moved in between both Aphrodisia and Lord Spartan. Seeing her opportunity, the princess freed herself from her cousin into the arms of her father. She then sobbed softly.
Michael turned to Spartan and gave him a look which told the minor lord to make himself scarce. And so, he did.
With only the two of them in the room (not counting the baby), father and daughter talked with one another. The following was but a sample of their conversation:
“Why are you doing this, father? Why did you allow Vasil to kidnap us?”
“To protect you,” Michael responded.
“I don’t understand,” Aphrodisia said.
“Much as I love my grandson, he almost killed you,” the Duke said. “I can’t risk you living with your husband. You’ll die of childbirth, I’m sure of it!”
“And you won’t have to.”
“Pardon?”
“Anchises and I had agreed to a Josephite Marriage,” the princess explained.
For unaware readers, a Josephite Marriage refers to a marriage in which the man and the woman do not engage in sexual relations just like the Blessed Virgin Mary and her spouse St. Joseph. Back to the story…
“I see,” Michael said, flabbergasted. The Duke then walked away. “Will your husband come to your rescue?”
Aphrodisia nodded. “Yes. He’s not the type to leave a lady waiting.”
***
The Princess of Lepanto was correct. As it turned out, Anchises had been planning his wife’s rescue operation from Nepoli. The Lord Inquisitor had received the blessing of Pope Seraphim II to attack Castle Lepanto with a contingent of Nepolian soldiers and orcish mercenaries from the Mediterranean marshes.
To Aphrodisia, it all happened so quickly. The princess heard a large explosion, followed by continuous gunfire. But most important was when the large window to her bedroom was shattered by a man crashing through it; he was a handsome man wielding a sword in hand.
“Lord Anchises!” Aphrodisia said joyfully. The princess would have thrown herself at her husband, but she was holding on to her son. In fact, she had been shielding the infant Aeneas from the shattering glass.
But all was not well as Lord Spartan and Duke Michael appeared at the door. Spartan had his own sword at the ready while Michael had a pistol.
“We’ll take him out together, uncle,” Spartan said.
But Michael shook his head. Instead, he threw his pistol to the side.
Spartan looked on in horror as he realized what was happening.
“Traitor!” he shouted.
The minor lord would have killed his uncle right then and there, but Anchises charged at him.
Spartan was able to parry the Inquisitor’s first strike. But it soon became clear that the minor lord was outmatched. Having taken combat missions around Christendom in service of the Church, Anchises was clearly the more experienced fighter.
Spartan made a lunge, but Anchises deftly dodged. The Inquisitor then swung at his opponent’s neck. Before long, the minor lord held on to his bloodied neck and fell down.
***
Despite Duke Michael’s best efforts to get his nephew’s treatment on time, the Lord Spartan died that day. But the Lepantines did not hold his death against Anchises. After all, the minor lord’s death was simple justice for his sin against hospitality.
And so, Princess Aphrodisia and her husband Anchises returned home to Nepoli. As for their son Aeneas, he would grow up to become a great hero for the Church and all Christendom.
But that is a story for another day.
[Word Count: 1,492]
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Like this story? Then follow the story of baby Aeneas all grown up here:
Uh-wow! Yes, that's the word Wow! Nicely written....
I almost want to read more stories about Aeneas's parents.
On a secondary note, I never knew there was a word for your wife not wanting to have conjugal relations with you. Considering my name, that makes it doubly ironic, don't ya think?