Kingdom

by Dux
Once upon a goddamn time lived a queen. Fairest to ever live. Beautiful as the hand

picked mornings and as graceful as the calm lake she gazed upon. The people of the

kingdom loved her. She died of syphilis. Across the lake lived another queen sitting in

the balcony of her castle. She had just as much grace and beauty. Though it was wasted,

for she would do nothing but sit on her throne in the balcony. She rarely got up to eat, let

alone set a foot outside the castle. She would sit there daydreaming of another life. One

filled with adventure and romance. The queen did not disturb anyone, nonetheless the

servants became cynical. Tales in the kitchen grew as they prepared her lunch.

“I wonder what she does there all day?” one of the maids said.

“Only things devils can imagine,” another said. “It's a shame we must slave away

for her.”

The maid was cutting up some pork when she saw a rat nibbling on a piece of

cheese. Both the servants screamed in terror as the rodent scurried off the table. It

dashed back into the hole in the wall and escaped from the castle. The rat ran across the

field on to the stone-cobbled road headed for the town.

The night fell and shined when the rat found itself in a house that sold romances.

The wine on the floor provided a drink for the rodent. Soon enough it was off again,

scurrying through the town trying to find a meal. Till finally the rat met its fate. It died in

a mouse trap of the local town pub.

The bartender looked at the rodent in disgust before ordering his daughter to clean

up the bloodstains and feed the dead mouse to the dogs. The tender went back to serving
drinks.

“I hear she has another man up in that balcony,” a man said.

“My wife tells me stories about demon rituals,” the bartender added. In the corner

booth of the pub a man rose up to his feet. The peak of his life came when he yelled out

to the entire bar.

“The queen is a witch. A witch. She is in that balcony mastering her spells and

making potions. The death of you all shall come when she perfects her craft and murders

you poor souls. That is all. Now, where's my beer?”

The town quickly decided that the queen was indeed a witch. Stories surfaced of

queen and her witchcraft. Children and men alike swore that they sighted the queen

performing spells. Some claiming they got attacked.

Within three days the town gathered up into a mob. They got through the castle

walls and snatched the queen from her daytime slumber. They took her to the town

square and tied her up for the people to decide her fate. The ill-stricken and hungry

townspeople thought of only horrendous punishments. Voices filled with rage vibrated

the air.

The queen was left in tears and confusion. She kept her head down as the entire

town of people yelled at her. The voices of the old men did nothing to her. Though the

curses from the children she could not bear. Silence only came when the town's priest

walked up to the queen and raised his hand to the crowd.

They all listened.

 “My people,” the priest said. “Calm your hearts for just a second.”

He looked at the queen and raised up her chin with his fingers. He smiled, which

gave her a sense of relief. He then went back to attention of the crowd.

“If I can just have you minds for a second. We must think about this. We have

been betrayed, that is true. Our queen for whom we held beloved has hid a great sin. For

that should be punished. But what should we do? Chop off her head? What about the

king? Chop his off too? Then what? Chaos I tell you. Murder for power. And for what?

The king has been good to us. Ruled us fairly. There is no need to replace him. All we

need is a reassurance of his loyalty.”

While the priest talked the king was pushed to the front of the crowd. The priest

looked at the king straight into his eyes.

“You have betrayed us by keeping a great secret. We must be able to trust you. To

proclaim your loyalty you must repent. To do so, you shall be the one killing your wife.

And you will do so with this here knife. If you should still choose to be king, you must

eat the wicked flesh of your wife. Only then will we forgive you.”

The people cheered, the witch was dead, and the king was still a king. A pleasant

time of peace and prosperity ensued thereafter. Harvest was good, the town thrived, and

the people were happy with the kingdom. Yet it all came at the cost of making a young

girl motherless.

Little did anyone know, the queen gave birth to a child a few nights before her

death. The evening of the queen's death, a maid heard the cry of a baby on the balcony.
The general assumption was that the baby was the princess. But the kingdom was at

peace. So the child was allowed to live and grow to become the princess.

Her name was Anna.

Anna grew to be a person of great respect. The nurse took her around the kingdom

to expose her to all spectrum of lives. She became a lady of understanding and of kind

spirit. She knew of fear, but her mind was filled with only righteous thoughts. As

innocent as an unwed lady can be.

Anna read under the shade of a tree. She moved the book through the holes of

light to read each word more clearly. She had the local wise-man teach her how to read

when she first saw letters. Since then she's been on a journey to read all the books in the

kingdom.

“Are you read for your bath?” the nurse said. She walked up behind Anna who

laid on her tummy. “What is this nonsense you spend your time doing?”

“Getting me to eat those vegetables is nonsense. Yet you still spend time doing it.”

“Anna, you're getting to be a lady now. You must start changing ways.”

“You know, you have been saying that to me for most of my life. According to

you, I've been on the brink of womanhood for the past eight years.”

“Shut up and get in the pond,” the nurse said.

Anna floated gracefully. Laying as a cross, her arms on the edge of the pond,

while the nurse braided her long hair.

“Nurse?”
 “Yes dear?”

“How many stars are there in the night sky?”

“None if there are clouds,” the nurse chuckled. Anna took it very seriously. “What

does it matter dear?”

Anna paused and thought about it for a second. “I don't know. It seems important.

I mean we rest under them every night, so it'd be nice to know.”

“What is it with you and your questions?” the nurse said. “You are a princess,

what good will it do you?”

Anna never thought of that before. “What else is there to do?”

“Get you wed. You are becoming more of a lady each day,” the nurse kept talking

while Anna focused on something else. She looked up in a tree, covered by shadows,

two short little goblins. They were playing rock paper scissors and trying to slap the

other one off the branch. Eventually the spiky haired one fell off and splattered it's head.

Anna laughed as she watched the other goblin drag the dead corpse away.

“Did you even listen to me?” the nurse complained.

“Truthfully, no,” Anna said. “I have far too much to read.”

Anna grabbed open her book and began reading as her skin started to prune. The

nurse continued to braid her hair while staring admiringly at Anna.

“I wonder whether or not your mother would ever be proud of you. Or whether

you were ever like her.”

Anna fell asleep.

In a castle on the borders of the kingdom...

“I want you to imagine your daughter,” Edward Janson spoke. A man was tied up

at his feet, hanging upside down, and weeping while the tears fell down his forehead.

Edward had kept the man tied like that in his dark basement for the past three days. He

stole an orange from his garden.

“I hope you know I put a lot of work into that tree,” Edward said. “I've seen it

grow.”

“Sir Edward, please have mercy,” Edward circled around the man sharpening his

knife. A servant feed the man water, while crying himself.

“Sir Edward,” Edward said. “I like the sound of that.”

Edward paused in front of the man. “Servant. Undress the man, then if you could

kindly leave the room. What kind of man would I be if I let you stand here and watch

this.”

The servant did as he was told and quickly left the basement chamber. He took the

candle with him. The tied up man was once again lost in darkness. But now, there was

the voice of Edward to kept him company.

“Now I always ask people how they would like to die,” Edward spoke. “Many say

they wouldn't. Many don't think about it. Which is odd because death is the only thing in

this world that is certain.”

The man began crying some more.

“Then some say they would love to have a painless one. Which again, seems
absurd. You are losing your life. Saying goodbye to everything of value. Everything and

anything you held dear. Now I understand they speak of psychical pain. But death is so

much more than just a cut.”

The man stopped his crying and began whispering softly.

“Prayers never work. Or I still wouldn't be alive.” Edward took out his knife.

“You know how I would like to die? In bliss.”

Edward the sharp knife and started to softly drag it around the man's body.

“So as I said. I want you to imagine your daughter. You have a daughter right?

Good. Now close your eyes. Imagine you're both on top of a grassy hill. It's morning so

everything is still very much yellow. The shining sun leaves a glowing outline of your

little girl. She's smiling. Laughing actually. Laughing because you're handing her a small

little squirrel for her to pet. The fur tickles her arms and she giggles even more. You start

to smile. Knowing she's safe with you. Nothing can harm her and no one else can make

her happy.”

The man smiled. But Edward couldn't tell. He sighed.

“It's to bad you're going to die.” Edward began skinning the man from the waist.

The tears could be heard for only a few minutes. Edward's garden was amazing though.

“Why do we do this?” Edward spoke. He sat at head of the dining table talking to

his son who sat at the other end. His wife sat to the right of Edward while his two

younger twins, one boy and one girl, sat on the left.

The Jansons. A family of wealthy psychopaths. The most sadistic of all nobles.
The entire family sitting in one dining table. A painter once painted this scene. But in the

painting, a man on a pegasus flew in from the ceiling slaying all of them. But the ceiling

is of stone. And no one would dare to cross the Jansons.

“Do what exactly?” Duke asked. Duke was the oldest son of the Jansons. Old

enough for marriage and young enough for temper.

“These bloodthirsty murders,” Edward spoke. “When you were younger you

killed you nurse. You remember that? The women who fed you from her own body. And

you brothers and sisters. They have a collection of throughly dissected doves. Why do

we do this?”

Duke felt very uncomfortable. He looked down at his neatly separated food. “Has

it ever occurred to you that we are just sick and evil machines?”

“You told me what we are, you haven't said why for.”

“Pleasure I guess.”

“Pleasure indeed,” Edward spoke. “We seek pleasure in our madness. Is there

anything wrong to that?”

Duke was silent. His mother looked at him with a blank face. She always kept a

blank face. She always seemed calm, as if all the events around her were meaningless.

“Edward must we do this at supper? All the talking made your food cold. And I

won't have the servants make it again.”

“I'm sorry dear. It's just that Duke must think something is wrong. Rosa is still

alive.”
 Rosa is a servant of the Jansons manor. She is a simple and naive girl. She always

dreamed about marrying a prince of a far off land. Her only job was to massage their

feet. But she would sing a terrible tune while doing it.

“And you hate it. You hate her damn songs. So why is she still alive? It would

make your life simpler and it would bring you great pleasure.”

“Well maybe what we do affect other people,” Duke said.

“Everything anyone does affect other people. There is no use in thinking about

them. Maybe it's okay to think only about yourself.”

“Then why does it concern you what I choose to do?”

“Because it's like you said, we are a machine,” Edward spoke. “You have to make

sure they work. And basically I'm just making sure you are comfortable with yourself.

So you don't start blaming me for your troubled life.”

“And how exactly do you plan on making sure this machine works?” Duke asked.

Edward wiped his mouth with a serviette. He picked up his plate, moved it to his

right, and dropped it on the floor. The fine china broke into hundreds of pieces, along

with the food scattered everywhere. All the servants in the dining room stood still. Rosa

came out of the kitchen and headed for the mess.

“Rosa, while you pick all those pieces up, and be careful not to cut yourself,

would you mind singing for us. Just a little. The room is awfully quiet.”

Rosa started singing. She stopped a while later. All the pieces of plate she picked

ended up in her neck.

Deep in the woods a fairy was flying around freely. The gray clouds were covering the

bright rays and all the flowers in the forest were dying rather quickly. The fairy flew

around to each flower to give a drop of sweet golden nectar. The fairy stopped to smell

one of the white roses when an arrow split her head in half.

“Beautiful,” Samuel said. “Perfect aim, Anna. You really have been practicing

haven't you?”

“Well it's hard now. Most fairies are in hiding, only the young and naive come out

to play,”Anna said.

Killfairy was a game reserved for the royals and the rich. It was played with a

crossbow and depended on a point system. Five points for a shot in the body. Ten on the

head. Nevertheless, fairies became extinct after a while.

Anna and her uncle Samuel were walking through the forest with their eyes on the

ground, raising their feet looking out for branches. Samuel is the king's brother. Since

the death of his wife, the king disappeared.

It's rumored the king spends his time in the woods with a boy servant. It is said

that the servant kidnaps people from the town for the king to feast. The king's taste for

humans could explain all the missing people signs around the kingdom.

Hence for years, Samuel has been the illegitimate ruler of the kingdom. And

presumably the guardian of Anna.

“So my dear, how are you? It's been awhile.”

“It has,” Anna said. “I've been well. Reading keeps me busy. But I have a fear that
I might be running out of books.”

“We'll be sure to get that fixed,” Samuel said. “But in the meanwhile, you might

want to put down reading those books and address other matters. One's involving

marriage.”

“You too,” Anna sighed.

“Well, I don't think you understand. It's not just marrying you off. I love having

you around. It's just,” Samuel was interrupted. Anna paid no attention to her uncle and

ran to a deer drinking by the river.

“This deer is getting old,” Samuel walked over to her. “You can see by the antlers

how it's becoming white.”

“I think it's still has some life in him,” the deer licked Anna's face. She giggled.

“Good day sir,” a voice came from across the river. Samuel was washing his face

in the running river water. As soon as he looked up, the water of the river became a faint

red.

“Hello Lord Janson,” Samuel said.

“You know far too well how to flatter me,” Edward spoke. He was holding a

shovel stabbed into the ground with his two youngest children standing next to him.

“A little too fancy for the forest I would say,” Samuel was speaking to his

children. They were dressed in formal evening attire.

“I am allowing them to dress themselves,” Edward spoke.

“And the shovel?” Samuel noticed the clean end of the shovel.
 “It's a fine walking stick,” Edward spoke. Anna kept playing with the deer.

“Would the children like to shoot some fairies with me?” Anna said.

“There's a bridge to our right,” the son said. “Race you there?”

The children and Anna were off their way toward the bridge leaving the adults

alone. Samuel grabbed an apple from his sack and fed the deer. The men began talking

with each other on opposite sides of the river.

“You're niece is wonderful. And coming of age. Just like my son,” Edward spoke.

“You're right. I believe they were born on the same night,” Samuel said.

“Who knows. I certainly don't remember.”

“You know you're son would make a fine king.”

“That is very flattering.”

“He is becoming a man,” Samuel said. “Sooner than you think. And every man

needs a proper woman.”

“I suppose,”Edward spoke. “But I hope you understand, I do believe in love. It's a

silly thing for our times. But it is how I feel. Now I know exactly where you want to go

with this conversation, so I'm going to stop you right here. Instead I shall propose to you

an agreement.”

Samuel was interested.

“That deer on the side of you. Use a knife and poke one of it's eye. Then put a

marking on it's antler. Allow it to runaway. Then by the end of this week, whoever shall

find and hunt this deer will the the guest of honor at the other's castle. At the feast, we
may be better acquainted with each other. More importantly, the two children may have

a chance to talk. From there we will see where it goes.”

Samuel thought for a moment and agreed. He did exactly as he was told, though it

was hard holding on the antler after poking an eye. The deer viciously fled from the

men.

“I've managed to get an X on it.”

“That's more than enough.”

“Then its settled. Whoever can find the deer will enjoy a feast.”
On the day of the feast the smell of smoked deer went throughout the castle. Anna sat

in the castle's library. The library was huge and was designed to be a maze. She was on

the floor reading a book she never read before. Anna got deep into her books. She would

get lost and wouldn't notice anything else going on around her. The nurse found ways to

take advantage of it. She would cut Anna's nails while she read. Stitch up her cuts.

Anna's last tooth was pulled by the nurse while she read Romeo and Juliet.

She finished a chapter and decided to close the book. She pressed the book up

against her chest and closed her eyes.

“What are you doing?” Anna jumped. She saw a boy sitting across from her with

his back against the bookshelf just like her.

“Who are you?”

“The man you are about to be married too.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let's not go through all that nonsense. We both know there is only one reason

this feast was held. I didn't even see your uncle in the woods trying to hunt for that deer.

I was in there for a week trying to find that wretched with my father. I was about to just

grab a random deer and blind his eye. And when I finally did find it, I had to tame

myself. It needed to die properly in order to be presentable to your family.”

Anna was confused and angry. She had no idea what this rambling boy was

talking about and it bothered her. She slowly raised up.

“I don't know who you are so get out of here. How'd you get in the castle, let
alone the library? And you coming here sitting next to me. I should have you killed right

now.”

The boy looked at her with a smirk. Anna was intimidated that he was not

intimidated. It was the first time she ever threatened someone, and she really hoped it

would work.

“Are you going to calmly sit back down? There are still preparations being made,

so we have time to murder before dinner.”

Anna glared at the boy as she sat back down. They scowled at each other for a

good while before either of them spoke a word.

“I guess I am being rude,” the boy raised out his hand. “My name is Duke.”

Anna didn't take his hand, so he awkwardly waved it in the air before patting his

back. She giggled.

“My name is Anna.”

“I know. So that thing. With the book to your chest. Are you having pains?”

“No. No. It's just I like to take some time after I read. To allow the words to

resonate and properly say goodbye to the characters for until next time I see them.”

“They are not real you know?”

Anna ignored that statement and did not answer the question. “How did you find

me sitting here?”

Duke thought for a moment. “Well, like you, I have a thing for books too. So I

naturally found you library and wandered around.”

 “So you just fancied yourself a spot sitting across me.”

“I did say hello when I first saw you. But you didn't respond. So I sat here hoping

you would notice.”

“And you decided to just stare at me.”

Duke laughed as he exhaled. “I know what you are thinking. And yes. I was

staring partly out of admiration. But mostly to figure out what was wrong with you. I

was deciding between mute or insanity.”

He paused expecting a laugh. But Anna was instead offended.

“But I guess you appreciate the arts like no other.”

Anna blushed. She turned around and looked at the array of books. She picked

one of the books and then crawled next to him.

“I think you should read this. This is one of my favorites.”

Duke's voice got a little nervous. “Oh. I would love too,” he grabbed the book.

“The thing is I lied. I don't read. I would love too, but I don't know how.”

Anna wrinkled her eyes. “I thought you were a noble. Yet you don't know how to

read?”

“It never interested me. I was more interested in numbers and stars. Which

actually led me to this room.” He pointed at the ceiling which was painted just as the

starry night sky.

“Oh right, my mother had a painter to that just after I was born. She wanted me to

be able to look at the stars without suffering the cold.”

 Duke laughed. “That's part of the fun.”

Anna yawned and slowly grabbed the book away from his hands.

“Well why don't you tell me about the story,” Duke regained confidence back into

his voice.

Anna looked at him. His faced look sincere enough. “It's not just one story

though. It's tales of a boy and a girl in a house floating around on a river. The have

adventures navigating the house through rushing river and calm lakes. They meet many

creatures and help each other have fun.”

“Are they siblings? In love maybe? How'd they get on the house?” Duke asked.

“That's why it's my favorite. They aren't in love. They don't know what love is.

They just want adventure. Pure, untainted adventure. We don't know how they met or

how they got there. It probably doesn't matter. As long as they are there.”

Duke sat there contemplating. “I guess it's why reading never interested me. This

stuff makes not one bit of logical sense.”

Anna frowned. “So you lied to me. About all this interest in art.”

“Well, no. I did once commission a paint..”

A bell rang for dinner. The two hungry adolescents got up and headed out the

maze of books for the dining hall. They stood before the huge closed door of the hall.

Anna reached for the handles when Duke stopped her.

“I'm sorry but I noticed you keep you mouth open a little. I assume you keep it

open for breathing. In my youth, boys would talk of how girls who did that were good at
kissing. Now all boys lie. But..”

And he did what all writers before me wrote about. He kissed the princess. He

then opened the door and entered the hall, leaving her in awe.

Anna and Duke sat at the large dinning table. Again they found themselves across

from each other. Samuel and Edward spoke about the state of the farmlands and talks of

the peasant uprising in other kingdoms. But the main conversation revolved around the

dragon beast that occupied the land not to far away.

“The adventurers say the dragon is progressing toward us. It's hungry obviously,”

Edward spoke.

“Well, we should not worry. I'll have knight Carl take care of it.”

Regardless what the conversation was about, neither of the kids listened. Nor did

they speak. They just glanced at each other and smiled between bites. The heat from the

furnace gave an excuse for the blushes.

“I do believe matters of these two need to be discussed,” Samuel said. “It is

apparent of what is going on between the two.”

“I don't know what you are talking about,” Edward spoke. “They haven't said a

word to each other.”

Mrs. Janson stopped her conversation with the nurse. “Excuse my husband. He

never really did learn about the beauty of silence.”

Anna and Duke still weren't listening. They just admired each other, both

simultaneously daydreaming of a life together. Though both daydreams quite different.

 The feast ended with drunken laughter. Duke didn't bother giving another kiss. He

knew very well that his father arranged for them to meet again.
He was right. After sending letters to each other for a week, his father had planned an

evening with Samuel and Anna in the forest. They started their hike a hour before sunset.

The adults ran off talking about plans for a new castle. Anna and Duke were left alone to

pick at each other's mind.

“What's your favorite scent?”

“Red roses. Our garden was full of them, and I remember being a child spending

my mornings picking them.”

“Funny. I feel same about daisies.”

They both walked and talked, resisting the urge to kiss. They talked about their

dreams. Their literal dreams. Not their goals or ambitions, but the strange visions of the

night.

“I ran through the town... chasing that toad... it turned around... grew before my

eyes...talked to me...”

The sun already was already engulfed by the horizon. Only the top rim remained

struggling to shine the land. That was when Anna asked to be excused. Duke sat on the

log waiting for her. He turned his looking for wood to start a fire. Except when he turned

his head he saw his little brother standing right in front of him.

“What are you doing here?” Duke said.

His brother sat down exactly where Anna sat.

“Do you plan on marrying that girl?” he said.

“It seems inevitable.”

 “Are you in love?”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you in love?”

“It too early to know.”

Duke looked down on his brother. His brother looked at him directly in the eyes

with a blank face.

“What do you suggest I do?”

“Find out.”

“How do I do that?”

“Like father says,” his brother reached into his coat pocket. “Find them in their

darkest moments.”

His brother handed Duke a small bottle.

“What is it?”

“A fear potion,” his brother said. “It makes them see things.”

Noise came from the bushes and Duke's brother left quietly. Anna appeared fixing

her dress. Duke smiled at the sight of her.

“Should we make a fire,” Anna said. And they did. Anna kindled the fire while

Duke started drinking the potion.

“What are you drinking?” Anna said noticing her own dry mouth.

“A potion,” Duke said. “For strength.”

Anna nodded her head softly. “I don't like witches.”

 “I don't like them either. But this is own only liquid for now. The stream is at the

bottom of this mountain.”

Anna finally decided to take the bottle and drink every last drop. She enjoyed the

refreshing liquid adding some moisture back into her mouth. Duke then looked up into

the dark night sky. He admired the stars.

“I wonder what's between the stars,” Duke said. “What's the blackness

surrounding it? Is it some dark cream that nest the shining beauties.”

Duke looked at Anna. She had her hands press against your chest.

“Are you okay?” Duke said. Anna nodded. “You don't look fine.”

“Okay,” Anna's mind was somewhere else.

“Here I know,” Duke said. “We'll play a game. It'll help you get your mind off of

things. How about hide and seek? I shall count and do the seeking, you go hide.”

Anna unknowingly agreed. Duke started counting but the voice seemed to be

coming from the sky. Every number echoed. Anna turned but Duke wasn't there. The

voice still counted but now she was all alone. The smoke from the fire started circling

around until it started choking her throat.

She stood up and the smoke was gone. Anna began running down the hill. After a

few step she bumped into something and fell to the floor. She looked up and saw a tall

thin woman with green glowing skin. A witch.

“I told you to hide,” the witch said. Anna stumbled up and ran back on top of the

hill. The fire continued to burn. Around the fire toads began hopping out of the dirt.
Hundreds of them hopped their way toward Anna. They jumped onto her skin and she

began laughing. They felt ticklish on the skin. But as more and more got on her, the

feeling turned into pain.

She began running again trying to shake off the toads. But the toads wouldn't

budge. She ran down the hill again. Her heart beat faster and harder. She could feel

every beat drumming her whole body. She kneel down to the river take a drink. She

body couldn't stop shaking. On all floors, Anna looked down on her reflection, focusing

on her breath. Each breath got harder and harder to accomplish.

“You're not very good at hide and seek now are you,” Anna turned and saw the

witch sitting next to her, splashing her feet in the water. Anna didn't move. She couldn't.

She looked upstream hoping to find Duke.

“What are you going to do to me?” Anna asked.

“What I did with them,” the witch said.

Anna continued to look up stream. She saw a giant dark figure getting bigger as it

got closer. It was a cabin, going down the stream. As it passed, Anna looked into the

house. The door was opened showing a shadow of a boy and a girl with their necks tied

around a rope attached to the ceiling. As it moved passed, Anna saw the boy's foot jolt a

little.

“Want to see what kind of adventure they went on?” the witch said. The witch

laughed as Anna closed her eyes.

A slight tap bothered her cheek. The tap became a slap. She woke to be in the
arms of Duke. She turned her head and looked around. She was back on top of the hill

where she had been with Duke.

“Witch, Witch,” Anna whispered. She looked at Duke's face. Her body started

freezing from the toes up. The sound of her breath began to dominate her hearing.

“There are no witches. There are no kids. There's none of that. You were here.

Running in circles around the fire. And I saw you. I sat on that log and watched you. The

fear in your face. The confusion. The amazement. And I didn't feel a thing.”

Anna's body felt numb but her face tingled.

“I didn't feel anything. Not one thing. They saw when you love someone, or care

about them even in the slightest, you can't bear to see them in pain. You have the urge to

help.”

Duke stroked her hair.

“But I didn't. Not one bit,” he smiled.

“You know what I love about hide and go seek? No one ever wins. They just keep

playing and playing,” Duke said. “How do you suppose the game ends? When someone

gets tired?”

Anna, scared and confused, began crying.

“Sorry. I guess I did go off topic. But as I was saying. I didn't feel a thing. Not

one. Instead I had the urge to get rid of you. Rid of you because I didn't feel love.”

Duke stopped smiling and looked at her with concern.

“You can't breathe can you?” Duke said. “May I help?”

 Duke got out a knife from his jacket. He wiped it with the dress she was wearing.

Then he put the tip of the knife on her chin. He slowly pressed down and heard it cut

through the skin. He then dragged it down toward her chest.

Duke put head from his lap to the floor and sat beside her to admire his work. The

cut was in a perfect line down the middle. But then he noticed something.

“Oh how could you?” Duke yelled. He raised up a portion of his jacket. “Look

what you did. You got blood on this silk jacket.”

He got up and and dabbed the stain with a pocket napkin. He began walking away

mumbling.

“Now I have to get this clean. It was my favorite too.”

Anna laid there feeling the the sting from the air grazing her blood. She closed her

eyes trying very hard not to swallow. Tears finally dripped down her face. But it made

things worse when the tears touched the cut.

A tall thin man emerged from the trees of the forest. walked through the forest. He

was led to the top of the hill when he saw the light of the fire. He was relieved to see a

figure on the floor. He moved closer and saw a bloody body of a girl. He kneel down

and put a finger on her nose. Then a noise came from behind a bush.

“Master, it is a miracle,” the man said to the bush. “I have found a body in the

forest. She still has some breath in her.”

A grunting man crawled from behind the tree. He crawled straight toward the

body and began sniffing it.

 “It is strange. This girl is wearing nice clothes. She must be a gypsy,” the man

said. But as the thin man continued to stare at the the half bloody face. “I'm afraid I

recognize this face.”

The king growled, licking the blood.

“I do understand you are hungry. It's been far too long since you've had a proper

meal. But you must forgive me. It has been hard capturing people now. But this girl. She

looks too much like your wife, may she rest in peace.”

The beast grunted.

“But you daughter must be the age of marriage. She must be off safe in the castle

having a wedding.”

And so the king ate. He ate till he was full. And waited. For hunger to strike again.

The End
 Author's Notes:

I hope I made Walt Disney proud.