I decided to start the MacBear tale from the beginning by translating it into English. I know the translation is not perfect, but hopefully it is passable. My apologies for any errors in the text.

I hope you enjoy it anyway, even if the story is progressing slowly. Translating my story from Finnish into English is not an easy or quick task. And now, the story itself.

****

The morning sun colored the fortress of MacBear’s walls in gold and purple tones. It was a happy time, as the king and queen were finally blessed with the son they had long hoped for. There wasn't a prouder father in the kingdom than King Richard.

Initially, MacBearien life had seemed bleak when Richard’s father Henry had suddenly died. He and his son were putting a lid on a small skirmish at the kingdom's border. Unfortunately, the old king was pierced in the heart by an enemy arrow. He died immediately.

With a heavy heart, Richard took his place as King and married a beautiful princess of a neighboring country, as was a custom of the times. In the beginning, he wasn’t enthusiastic about his arranged marriage. But, in time, he fell in love with the beautiful Hermione, who felt the same towards him.

And now, one year after their marriage, Hermione gave Richard the gift of a sweet baby boy. Both parents loved their son passionately.

Richard was happy with his life. He had a loving wife, an adorable son and a peaceful kingdom. King Richard spent his days taking care of his administrative duties and preparing Prince Erik for his future. But, when the Kingdom was at rest and little Erik was finally asleep, Richard's nights belonged to Hermione.

Time passed and it seemed nothing could ever disturb the idyllic life of the MacBear family and kingdom. But oh, how wrong this belief was. For evil was lurking very close to both family and kingdom. Evil in the form of a trusted member of the royal court, Julian Black.

Julian Black, a royal adviser and steward to MacBear kingdom, wanted to hold King Richard's power and wealth in the grasp of his fingers. In his mind, Julian entertained getting rid of King Richard and taking the beautiful Queen Hermione as his wife. But eventually, he decided against this idea. He already had a family of his own, a family he loved deeply. His dear wife had already given him two sons and a daughter. So, he would settle for the kingdom instead.

To this end, Julian invited Gabriel and George MacLaggenin to Macbear Castle. He had to surround himself with men that he trusted, men that were already loyal to him. For the right amount of gold, these two brothers were willing to do whatever he wanted them to do. Julian intended to use the MacLaggenin brothers to remove the one barrier between him and the throne, the cursed heir. However, Julian would not kill Prince Erik. But, he would use the child as a weapon, if necessary, against King Richard.

Julian decided it was too soon to take the crown for himself. He had to wait until the time was right. Until then, he put things into place with King Richard, making it easier to take the kingdom when he was prepared. He had to keep the king out of his way so he could continue to plot in peace without Richard realizing he was behind it all.

There were things that threatened his plans. Julian had surrounded himself with people who owed one or another service to him, but they also knew too much. One such woman posed a huge risk to Julian. She was a whore and a drunk. Julian wanted to make sure she did not accidentally let slip the private things that were shared while visiting the village inn. Julian wanted to make sure that the woman kept her mouth shut. During a night with this woman, he used physical force to 'suggest' that if she told anyone about his plans concerning Prince Erik, that she would experience a slow and painful death. When he left her, he was confident that this threat would be enough to keep her quiet.

One night, Julian waited patiently for King Richard and Queen Hermione to move to the royal bedchamber. His patience was soon rewarded. He was finally able to set his plan into motion. With Gabriel and George at his side, Julian headed towards the prince’s bed chamber. He would never have dared to do this alone, especially if he wanted to succeed.

They reached their destination without disruption and found the little prince awake. Prince Erik watched the newcomers curiously. While the MacLaggenin brothers were strangers to the child, seeing Julian put him at ease. Julian often played with Prince Erik, so the young prince smiled happily and wondered if Julian might have a fun surprise for him.

Prince Erik did not resist as Julian brought him to his lap. After all, a child so young cannot understood the wicked mind of such a man. A child trusts only what he knows, as always. Julian felt a small, nasty sting in his heart as he looked into Erik's face and eyes, which reflected innocence and sincere curiosity. But, he silenced that feeling and allowed his heart to harden. He couldn’t give up now, or the power and riches would be just a dream.

“Let’s go,” Julian hissed. He glanced quickly at the MacLaggen’s brothers. They nodded silently and began to stride out behind Julian.

Unchallenged, the three men swiftly headed to the dungeons with Erik in tow. Earlier that night, Julian paid the guards a few gold coins for their silence, for them to look the other way. Erik also made things easier because he didn't cry or make a sound. Instead, he thought that it was just some kind of play. The poor innocent child didn’t yet know how much his world would change or how soon he would truly learn what the fear was.

Gabriel and George stood guard at the dungeon door as Julian, striding with the prince in his arms, made his way along the dark corridors, lit only here and there with a few torches. As they moved through this dark, strange place, Erik grew scared. He pressed closer against Julian, not realizing just how treacherous he really was.

They came at last to large, dimly lit room. Despite the murky lighting, they could see skeletons hanging on the walls, waves of blood on the floor and rats weaving about in the debris.

Erik squealed in fright and clung harder to Julian. Disgusted, Julian yanked the boy’s little hands away from himself. Looking down at the boy, he prevented Erik from getting close to him again. Erik immediately burst into tears. No one had ever treated him that way.

Turning his eyes away from the boy, Julian spat a command to a man cloaked in a hood, "Take care of it!” Julian turned his eyes away from the boy. His guilt prevented him from holding or looking at the small prince. He knew his actions would change the boy’s life. Perhaps the life of the man as well.

Erik's shirtsleeve was rolled up and a man rustled about, before raising a glowing iron to the forge. Now ready, he chimed, “All right!”

As the hooded man pressed the hot iron against the boy's arm, Erik’s cries echoed through the room and bounced off the rocky walls before rising into shrieks of terror. He screamed in horror and pain, trying to wriggle himself free. But the big man was stronger than he, so he could not. That screeching would haunt Julian’s mind for rest of his life.

“That’s it!” The cloaked man gathered himself and opened an outstretched hand toward Julian. A small heap of gold coins were dumped into the man’s palm.

“Thank you, and you better keep your cackles to yourself or you will die”, Julian warned.

The man wearing the hood grunted something in response and strode away from the scene, the image of Julian and a tearful Erik fading out as he glanced back.

With the branding over, Julian and MacLaggen brothers also set out. They travelled through the night and all of following day. Late in the evening, they finally reached a small dilapidated cottage. The yard was unkempt and a few goats and chickens roamed freely. It seemed the owner of the place had little interest in caring for anything, not the land or the animals.

Julian demanded that the MacLaggen brothers wait as he when he strode into the small hut without knocking. The inside of the cottage was just as disgusting as the outdoors. It was raunchy and smelled of old wine, dirt and urine.

“Fanny!” Julian shouted. Soon, a small chamber door opened and a sturdy woman wandered into the room. Her eyes, nose and cheeks were glowing red and her face was swollen. But, this was not because she was in good health.

She responded, “Yeh, what?”

“You remember our agreement, Fanny,” Julian said as he wrinkled his nose in response to the various odors that wafted from this woman as she fumbled closer to him.

“Yeah, I remember,” Fanny said. She tried to focus her eyes on Julian.

“Remember what will happen to you should you talk too much when you’re in the village! Remember what will happen if tell anything to the boy!” Julian spoke in a harsh, but hushed manner.

“I remember,” Fanny said.

“Good,” Julian growled and shoved Erik into Fanny’s arms.

Strangely enough, the boy didn't make a single sound. He was tired and perplexed as he stared at the red-faced woman whose arms he was forced into.

Julian glanced at the wobbling woman and then he disappeared out of the hut.

Fanny listened to the sounds emanating from the outside, waiting until they dampened into the distance.

“Well, then. Now we are two”, Fanny said, looking into the bleary eyes of a little boy. His face was smeared with dirt and tear striations.

Erik slowly looked around. Confused, he once again burst into tears, realizing that he was no longer at home.

“Oh, there is nothing to worry about.”, Fanny soothed, trying to calm his crying. She felt something motherly within as she began to read the emotions of this strange little boy. “Aunt Fanny will take care of you now.”

Fanny chatted tenderly to the boy as she dressed him in an old nightgown and put him to bed. He stared at a hanging braided basket, which was just as big as he was, before falling to sleep.

****

Richard's dreams forced him to wake to a feeling that something wasn’t right. His rising woke Hermione and they both rushed to Erik's room. The room was quiet. Too quiet. Despite the growing feeling that something bad had happened, they approached Erik's cradle only to find that the boy was not there.

“Erik!” Hermione gasped in horror and confusion at the empty cradle. “He’s gone!” she said turning to look at Richard. The king stood like a statue. His face was without expression. The warm twinkle that was usually in his eyes was gone, replaced with a bottomless sense of grief.

“We’ll find him, if I have to turn out both castle and country,” Richard yelled, his fingers forming a fist as he spoke.

At that moment, he thought he heard horses neighing in the courtyard. Richard rushed through the halls, through the great hall and outdoors. But, he saw nothing. Whoever was there, had already managed to leave and no doubt they had taken Prince Erik with them.

“Guards!” Richard roared. His voice was heard throughout the courtyard and the windows of the castle began to up the lights.

“You call us, your Highness?” one of the soldiers asked.

Searching for a suitable name for the kidnappers, the king bellowed, “Find the person...the thing…. the monster who took our son! Send all your men to look for him and do not come back until my son is found!” Richard's voice was shaking as he held back rage, horror and grief.

“Immediately, my lord," the soldier replied, quickly running out of the room.
As the soldier disappeared from sight, Richard walked back inside consumed with sadness and stood in the middle of a large hall.

He had been happy just yesterday, but now the sadness and worry about his only child plagued his mind. He didn't know why anyone would take his son this way or what they planned to do to Erik.

“Richard?” Hermione's gentle voice called to her husband. She walked towards him.

“Hermione.” Richard said with a thick voice.

With tears in her eyes she asked, “Our son, has he has been taken?”

“Yes, my dear,” Richard said. He put his arm around his wife, trying to protect her from the evil of the world.“But I will do everything in my power to get him back." A tear rolled down his cheek.

While the ruling couple fell into deep gloom, they did not give up hope. They believed that one day they would see their son again. Every room in the castle and the whole of the surrounding land was turned over, but Erik wasn’t found. Richard even announced to the people, that whoever found Erik would be generously rewarded. But it didn’t help. The little prince was still missing.

****

Thank you for you help StephSim. Here is litle gift for you. I Hope you like it. :)