Hadassah tore through the letters. She always did the first time. Then, later, day after day, she would read them carefully over and over again. She started, as she always did, with her friends, then her siblings, her Aunt, and then…
My Dearest Daughter,
I can scarce tell you how pleased I am with your letters, and what they represent. I see that you have, indeed, given yourself, heart and soul to your Husband, as a Wife should do. May you continue to grow in grace.
Your last letter has, reluctantly, driven me to support the King’s policy.
As you know, when I support something, I do it not halfheartedly. I have made some drastic decisions. I would appreciate your Husband’s analysis of what I have done, and how they fit with his plans.
I have dealt with a Visser, and ordered a Schip built. I am afraid it was one of the worst negotiations of my life, as I really know nothing about Schippen, at least those bigger than the rowboat that we used to splash about the river. So I am sure that he charged me far too much for far too little.
But, that aside, I have begun to work on choosing people to send as colonists. I can’t let my very best people go, obviously. Nor would it do any good to send my very worst. But there are many second bests, some of whom may be too confined by their circumstances here, but might well excel on the mainland.
The people I am looking at are young but with large families. It seems from what you have told me that there are almost no children there. That will lead to problems in a few years, there will be a ‘hole’ in the population. No upcoming young Men, or Wives for them. I am hoping that the families I am sending will be able to fill that hole.
Really, though, the effect on our people has been marvelous, and far from having to search for volunteers, I am having to beat them off with a stick. I will eventually be sending your Brother as well. Not your oldest Brother, obviously, but Micah. It stuck in my craw, but I have him learning languages, which they all, after your visit, have been most eager to do. It seems that the Sjefen knows several languages and has been teaching them Kelii, of all things. What language do you think they should actually learn first?
Hadassah put the letter down, and cried. Dimly, but deeply, she realized that her Aunt had been right all along. Her love for her Husband had indeed proved a blessing for her entire family. She knew her Father well, and knew that what he said was true. Now that he was an ally, he would be an ally indeed. Her own Father would now be her Husband’s greatest supporter. And, knowing him, he would gain great power and influence out of it − and Micah would soon be some kind of Lord in this new land.
Her last reserve was now gone. Urged on by her Father and her Aunt, she had done her best to give herself, heart and soul, to her Husband. But now nothing, nothing at all stood in her way.
She dried her tears, and prepared to meet her Husband again, as she had never met him before: completely his; and his parents, before her tacit enemies, also now in a new light. Oh, that He Who Is should have done this for her!
“…but we can’t stay long, my Son,” the King was saying as she entered. “The kingdom is doing much better, but there are still wounds to heal."
“And besides, organizing these expeditions of yours is taking up a lot of my time.”
“And how are you, my Daughter?” he asked, coming over and kissing Hadassah, “Have you finished reading all of your letters?”
Hadassah curtsied, “Yes, my Father, thank you for excusing me.” She sat down next to Seth.
Seth said, when she was seated, “Well, I hope you are pleased with the result of our expedition?”
“More than you can imagine. Oh, it was disappointing when the first Schip took so long to come back, and discouraging when they told about the cliff and the Beasts. But in spite of all that, to hear we had a toehold; that you had started a castle on the edge of the cliff − and what a glorious thing it is, too. The view from this window is incredible.”
“Yes, my Father. The view from the other side is beautiful too, looking out over the ocean. But I took this side, because my heart lies here. This is what I was born for.”
“Speaking of births,” his Father said, grinning, “every single woman on the island is pregnant.”
“A lot of pregnancies, eh?”
“No, you have misunderstood me. I spoke literally. Every single married woman between the ages of fifteen and fifty is pregnant. I have heard from the other races, and it is the same among them, although the ages differ.”
Seth stared at the King. “But my Father, we have been gone for only four months! Even among the Troll and Dwarves?” he asked.
“Yes. Before, Dwarves births came years apart, and Troll, as you know, typically only have one litter of six. But they are all pregnant now.”
“Oh, so you’ve told him our news?” his Mother said as she entered.
The two men rose and kissed her.
“What news?” Seth asked, as Hadassah embraced her Mother-in-law.
“I told him, but he didn’t understand it. Either that or he doesn’t know you have but forty-seven years…”
Seth stared at his Mother, “Mother, you too are with child? Really!?
But I thought…?”
“Yes Dear, so did we. Now, don’t. Stare not so, it lacks politeness.”
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.
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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
Links
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.