Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time – Prologue

In a far, far away kingdom, where special creatures and magic existed, there was an evil ruler.

He was greedy and his soul revealed a horrifying emptiness to those who challenged him. His word was the law, ruling above all, extending his kingdom’s lands to unimaginable distances and chasing his enemies until the darkest confines of the earth.

The evil king also had many wives, to assure an heir was made to ascend his position.

But the wives didn’t satisfy him, so he raised a special harem, only for the king’s private use. A black swan was his favourite concubine, always fulfilling his every whim.

Unfortunately, she had been impregnated and he didn’t know if the child was his. The guards protecting the harem boldly visited the maids in the middle of the night, to engage in their carnal desires. It wouldn’t surprise him if they visited the concubines too.

His fame had reached many empires; he knew the rumours traversing his palace’s hallways; rumours about revolution and freedom. He believed the swan was part of the conspiracy against him, for her charms reached not only royalty, but enemy hands too.

The king already had plans forming in his mind.

***

A week later, the concubine was arrested, by the crimes of witchcraft and corruption against the kingdom.

The king still didn’t want to lose such a golden chance at obtaining an heir though. The orders given to the guards were to confine the swan to the dungeons until the child was born. Afterwards, she would be killed.

***

The swan couldn’t have been more blameless. All her life she was taught how to pleasure the customers.

The king’s apparent favouritism for her made her live a short fairy tale, in which the king used to love her.

After being arrested, the fairy tale shattered, leaving an odd loneliness in her heart.

***

Six months passed, the concubine’s belly was as big as a beer keg. Only a month left till the pregnancy reached its peak.

She didn’t know which triggered the earlier delivery, the nervousness for her death being so close or the unhygienic environment inside the cell making her nauseous.

After hearing the distress cries of the swan, the guards outside her door called for a midwife.

She was assisted on the delivery, but didn’t even see her son before the guards entered the cell and removed the child from the midwife’s arms.

No more aid was given to her, so she cried all night from the pain and the loss of her son, death knocking at her soul’s door.

***

The next morning, she was taken to the main square, naked. The only merciful act she had a right to, was to be hanged before being burned on the bonfire.

By her side, a small child and a man, also naked, where being condemned to the same destiny as hers, due to crimes committed against the kingdom’s special guard. Truth to be told, they probably refused to bed some lecherous sentinels and were now paying the price, even if the only real crime they ever performed was to maintain their dignity.

The sky was clouded, conditioning the heavy feelings surrounding the bonfire, in which three poor spirits burned without compassion.

Indeed, it was a sad day.

***

A few days later, there were questions on the folk’s lips. “What happened to the boy?” everyone wondered aloud.

The swan’s child was delivered to a maid, to be raised within the palace’s walls.

***

a/n: new story! I’ve been having lots of problems related to beta-reading, and that’s why Haunted Reality is still on the 2nd chapter… Now that I’ve got the plot for Haunted Reality created, guess what? There will be a supernatural pair (ghostxhuman) included  I wasn’t much sure at first, but after reviewing the whole thing, I noticed it was lacking something in that area. This story is a new little present I have for you guys. Hope you’ll enjoy it.