Winter had come early to Babaria; the trees were without color, many of the houses in the village were snowed in, the air was filled with smoke from fire in the stoves, and the pubs were filled with people so drunk that most of them were behaving like animals. In one of these pubs, there was a group of young men playing cards at a table near the bar. The cards that they were playing with had portraits of famous people in Babarian history drawn onto them. The King of Spades featured the portrait of King Abraham III, who was the greatest fighter of the old Babarian Royal Family. The 6 of clubs featured General Nicholas Panthem, who was the youngest General in Babarian history for over 60 years. The Queen of Diamonds featured the portrait of Madam Danielle II, who was the wealthiest Governess of Babaria; sadly, she took her riches to the grave with her.
The card game continued for what seemed like endless hours, at least to the people who were watching because they were intoxicated, and anyone who had enough money to join would once there were enough cards available. However, the game was abruptly ended when a young man named Phil joined and drew the King of hearts; he looked at the card for a good minute trying to think of who it is. An elderly man who had been watching the game grabbed Phil’s wrist, causing him to drop the card onto the table. “I’d recognize that man anywhere,” the old man said, “That man was a King; not of royalty but of nobility. Were it not for him, you boys wouldn’t even be sitting here playing your little game. Hell, I’d bet that some of you wouldn’t even be alive today were it not for what that man did for us.”
This surprised the young men sitting at the table; some of them dropped their cards on the floor, and others were frozen in amazement. Phil was the first to speak up, “What kind of King was he, then?” The old man grinned, and pulled a chair out from under one of the dumbstruck card players, who then fell into a puddle of whiskey on the floor. “Though he was once a member of the Royal Family, he was cut out of the family when his uncle, Sir Richard, framed him for the death of his own father, Prince William. He then spent the next 10 years of his life trying to avenge his father’s death, and regain his position as a Prince of Babaria. His story may have a touch of happiness to it, but it is not a happy story. What is the most happy about it is remembering that without the sacrifices he made we would not be where we are now.” And so began his story.