"That's why I am tempted to tell you," replied his mother. "But first, I
may as well mention, that according to old whispers, there is
something
more than common about the king's family; and the queen was of the
same
blood, for they were cousins of some degree. There were strange stories
told concerning them--all good stories--but strange, very strange.
What
they were I cannot tell, for I only remember the faces of my
grandmother
and my mother as they talked together about them. There was wonder
and
awe--not fear, in their eyes, and they whispered, and never spoke
aloud.
But what I saw myself, was this: Your father was going to work in the
mine, one night, and I had been down with his supper. It was soon
after
we were married, and not very long before you were born. He came
with me
to the mouth of the mine, and left me to go home alone, for I knew the
way almost as well as the floor of our own cottage. It was pretty dark,
and in some parts of the road where the rocks overhung, nearly quite
dark. But I got along perfectly well, never thinking of being afraid,
Madhuri Noah
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