When he was born, he was A Grim of a Boy. When his mother held his hands, he showed no emotions whatsoever. His father said to his mother, "Wow, he is A Grim of a Boy." He made no noise, cried not even once, and smiled for no one. When the priest raised him up to God, his little hands raised along with him as if he was reaching out to God. Maybe he thought that if he could grasp the power that is God, he would no longer be A Grim of a Boy and become simply a boy.
And what was the name of this Grim? His mother wished to give him the first name of her father, Gregory, but when the child heard the name, he began to cry—a sight that had never been seen until that day. So, his mother knew it would not be his name. She gave him another name, Grimea, and the little baby boy smiled, so she knew then and there that that would be his name.
His father agreed and said, “Yes, that is a fitting name.”
And there we have it, on a snowy day in the middle of the woods, in a cabin not so small, but not so big, with one fireplace and the sounds and smell of burning wood flakes. A baby boy was born, and his name was Grimea Gregory Cobin.
---
**The End**
*BANG, BANG, BANG BANG*
“Open the door, now! You have been ordered by the king to give up your baby. We know you’re in there.”
“Oh no, honey, what do we do? You said that this wouldn’t happen. You told me that we would be together as a family once you became the king's right-hand man. Why would he do this?”
“I’m so sorry, my love. Yes, that is what I believed, but I guess I was foolish to trust even my own king’s words. He did promise me that our son would not be harmed. Maybe he changed his mind, but why? I don’t understand. I did everything that he asked, and yet still—”
“What do you mean everything he asked? Calvit, what did he ask you to do? Calvit!”
“It’s okay, my love. You don’t have to cry. I will take care of this. I will not let them hurt you and Grimea. I promise.”
“You are taking too long; we’re coming in!”
*The door bangs open with tremendous force, causing the entire house to shake, and the wood in the fireplace to break.*
“There, how hard was that? To think, the right hand of the king doesn’t even know how to open a door. Ha ha ha ha.”
“Shut up! You come into my home intending to take our child away and find that funny! How cruel are you? I will not hand my son over to you or anyone else. Tell the king that—”
“TELL THE KING WHAT? Tell me, what makes you believe that you have any say in this matter, Calvit? Your title means nothing to me. I don’t care if you’re the right hand of the king or the hand that wipes my ass. The king gave his orders, and I intend to carry them out, unlike you. Now hand over the child before things get ugly; I wouldn’t want to have to teach that gorgeous bitch of a woman you have a little lesson in following orders. Or maybe she’d be glad for my lessons.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Do not speak of my wife like that! What are you—”
“I will never do a thing you say, filth. Men like you are pigs and will always be pigs. You will not lay a finger on my baby. Now leave us alone.”
*This is bad, it’s only been a few days since Emily gave birth; she is in no shape to run. I must do something before this escalates further.*
“Woman, don’t you know that your kind are not supposed to talk back? Be a good little lady, stay where you are. I’ll be coming to get you soon.”
“Look, Horin, all I ask is one night, please. Give the king this message for me: I, Calvit, vow to give up my son and wife and promise to serve him until the day I die, doing whatever he asks. All I ask is for this one night with my family, please. You can trust my words, Horin. I have no family anywhere else outside of this kingdom, nor do I have anything to run away to. I am bound to this kingdom and have always been bound to this kingdom my whole life, so I’m not going anywhere. I promise you that, and neither is my wife. She is nothing without me.”
*I need to look at Emily; she knows when I’m lying. I can’t have her messing this up for me. Emily, please don’t do anything dumb, PLEASE.*
“------”
*Damn, she understood, but I didn’t mean to make her cry this much. God, I’m a terrible husband. She’s going to kill me for this, but I had no choice. I had to keep you both safe. Forgive me.*
“Let’s see here, I was ordered not to harm you or your lady. My orders are the kid, and just the kid. So, if you intend to do what you just said, then I’ll give the king your message, and I will give you this one night. But if I catch you leaving this house, you will be killed, and I’ll be the one taking care of your family from now on. Ha ha ha ha. I’ll be placing my men around your cabin tonight. So, sleep well, Calvit.”
*Finally, they’re gone. Now, I need to comfort Emily. Man, what have I gotten myself into!*
“Emily, please, don’t cry. I have a plan. I just can’t talk too loud before Horin’s guards outside hear us. Emily, please, look at me.”
---
“You have beautiful eyes and a beautiful smile, and our son, he has the same. I know he’s going to grow up and be just like you—with all your kindness, love, and charm, even if his face says otherwise. Sometimes his actions may be off, but he’s going to be a good boy. I know it. I’m sure of it.
So, please stop crying. I need you to listen to my plan, because it’s the only way for you to keep our son.”
“Why are you speaking as if you won’t be around to see him—
No, Calvit, what are you—?”
“It’s going to be okay, Emily. I am not the best father, and I’m definitely not a good man. I’ve sinned and done more cruel things than you could imagine, all because I had to protect this family. But I can’t allow all my sins to go in vain. I made my decision long before to bear all the sins of this family, and I won’t allow you or Grimea to suffer because of it.
Now, I need you to listen to my plan and do as I say, alright? I need you to raise my son and take care of yourself. I need you to be the mother that I know you can be. Love him, teach him lots of useful things, tell him stories of me—good ones—and don’t let him ever look down on you. I need you to be his pillar of hope until he’s old enough to know God. Please, do this for me—that’s all I ask.”
“Sniff, Sniff—
Okay, I’ll do it. Calvit, I need you to know one thing before you do this. No matter what you’ve done, I have and will never stop loving you for the man you were at home. Do you hear me? You are a good man. And a good father.”
“Thanks for that. I never knew what words like those could mean to a man like me until now. Bye—”
*God, this is Calvit. Please, hear me, hear me now. I have committed more sins than I can count on my hands, and I’ve done everything possible to protect my family, and I’m still doing it. My plan has only a fifty percent chance of working, and I need it to be more. So God, please; I need a miracle.*