Authors note: In case this is not clear, this is a slight fantasy story in which an orphaned son is raised by nuns, and one in particular is a strong maternal figure. All characters are over 18, and there is only a brief mention of the main character's situation growing up. All character likeness to other real or fictional/ imagined stories is purely coincidence, but I must admit the situationship is inspired by a rather infamous Reddit AMA. I did not mean to copy it, nor do I intend to copy it or anyone else. Please enjoy.
Your Graceful Grace
John Wenzel did not know his last name was Wenzel. In fact, the only Wenzel he knew was a supreme ruler, and his lordship felt as distant to John as the furthest stars in the galaxy.
When he was born, his queen mother died during childbirth. The king, distraught and angered, ordered his servants to destroy the child. The majority of the servants were steadfastly loyal to their dead queen. As the rightful heir, they conspired to keep him alive and smuggle him back to his mother's homeland. The pope caught wind and conspired to have the child raised by nuns and strictly reared to be utterly beholden to God and only God. But also by transitive priorities to the Pope. The nuns all did as instructed. Even the youngest nun, Sharon.
A recent sinner herself, she had lost her unborn child at a very young age, and her family, so ashamed, disowned her and forced her into a life of servitude to the church. Her life led her to help raise and educate John.
Although on strict orders from the Pope, the Mother Superior thought of child rearing beneath her and handed all motherly duties to the lesser nuns, including Sharon.
Although extremely devout and strict, all the nuns found joy raising the child. Although they would allow him to play sometimes with the nearby village children, they were hard on him for his studies. Some of the children were sent to learn with him under the influence of the Pope and with auspices to educate possible future bishops. However, John was isolated and often treated with higher expectations by his teachers. He learned quickly to find solace in reading and writing.
At the age of 18 years, he had grown up to be a robust and brilliant man, though still very sheltered and strictly religious. All of his life so far, no one had mentioned anything about his lineage. Indeed, almost everyone around him did not know.
King Wenzel ruled for all those years, and his kingdom prospered and flourished; even the remote village near John was eventually connected by roads that all led back to the heart of the growing empire.
But when the king passed away, he left a tremendous power vacuum. His son Charlemagne did not inherit his father's ethics, wisdom, and temperance. Many old rumors about the existence of a rightful heir have been rekindled. The new king also had his vices, drinking, gambling, and whoring. Very quickly, the scrupulous network of taxation, bean counting, and security net vanished seemingly overnight, and raiders and warring bands became emboldened. The Pope, seizing his chance, began to move pieces to return John to his proper status.
