luke castellan ; 23 ; prince regent of the united states of america

a prince regent, or prince-regent, is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign’s incapacity ( minority or illness ) or absence ( remoteness, such as exile or long voyage, or simply no incumbent ).

when luke was born to king herman & a self-proclaimed psychic may castellan, naturally there was a public outcry. despite the modern day & age, relations between a royal & a commoner was still something to be kept hidden, not celebrated as in the case of the young bastard. but celebrated it was. the king had grown quite fond of his common-born lover & immediately embraced his new son, showing him off to the entire kingdom. comments were made that the boy was cute ; that he shared his father’s mischievous smile & slightly up-turned nose ; that he had his mother’s eyes & blond hair, but then he was quickly forgot about. he was just another bastard child to a king who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

until the child’s first birthday.

it was on luke’s first birthday that king herman announced that he was making the child his heir ; that he was legitimizing luke’s claim to the throne, effective immediately. this time, there was no outcry. the public were glad that the king finally had an official heir. some complained about his birth, about his blood, but for the most part people had got over the fact that king herman celebrated this child over his others ; a bastard king was better than no king at all in their eyes.

luke grew up living two lives ; free to do as he pleased, he lived part of the year at court, & the other part of the year with his mother ( who had refused to accept the king’s offer to move her into the castle, or to legitimize their relationship ). he was happy this way – until his father left. the united states was in the middle of a war when luke was 9 years of age, & it was during this year that king herman disappeared without a trace. no ‘i love you’s, no ‘goodbye’s, no ‘tell your mother i love her’s – just an absent space where the king used to be. but there was no national turmoil ; the country had an heir ready to go : luke castellan, bastard-born with a legitimized claim to the throne, old enough to reign in his father’s absence until his own coronation.

his mother’s descent into madness was reminiscent of lady macbeth’s in its swiftness ; not only had she lost her lover ( the only man she had ever loved ; the only man who had promised he would never leave her ), but she was losing her son, too – she could feel it, she could feel that this would pull him away from her.

& pull him away from her it did.

it wasn’t long after the announcement that the mother & son got into an argument, may’s unhappiness & instability scaring her son into saying things he didn’t entirely mean. he moved into the castle that night, & has not spoken to his mother since.

the past fourteen years luke castellan has spent on the throne, ruling not as king but in his father’s stead as prince regent, waiting for the day his father returns or is officially announced dead. he & his advisors decided long ago that the boy’s official coronation will be held on his twenty-fifth birthday regardless of the king’s return, & luke knows that he was only a year & a half left of being forgiven for his mistakes before he shoulders the burden that comes with the official title ( changes in role & responsibilities not very likely ; he shouldered that burden long ago ).

a year & a half away, but already he has to start thinking about it, about the kind of king he will be ; about what will better his country, his kingdom. & of course, that’s where the arranged marriage is. though he is not a fan of the idea, luke knows that he needs to do what is right by his people ( he won’t put another bastard child in the same position he was put in upon birth ), & he knows the reasons for arranged marriages. but he isn’t worrying about the actual marriage for now ; for now, he has more pressing matters on his mind than his long engagement culminating in a marriage. more pressing matters such as what disguise he’s going to wear this week as pretends to be a commoner, or what item he’s going to steal upon his travels, or how many times he can hide chef’s rolling pin before chef has a nervous breakdown.

he might be prince regent, but he does enjoy his fun, & he prays that his mischievous side will never fade, even when he becomes  both a king & a husband.

IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS: -

• peyton carmichael of france - arranged betrothed ( @agelessheiress )
• lydia martin of holland - close friends since childhood ( @shewailed )
• tracy stewart of china - friends since 2011 ( @formidare )
• josh matthews of the usa - one of luke’s knights ( @whirlwiinds )