THE ABDICATOR KING: A PIECE OF FANTASY WRITING
The great king sat on his throne, awaiting word of his warriors. He sat with his hand on his chin, a brooding light in his eyes. His thoughts ran deep and tortured with no one to assuage it.
The great hall was empty save for two dogs who stared at the entrance to the the hall with bored eyes. The great fire had banked to glowing embers that gave no heat in the harmattan cold. There were no retainers to tend the fires, no counselors to whisper sweet counsel, no maiden to serve wine and entice the eyes of lords. There were no guards to block the paths of adversaries with sword, spears and life.
The great king was afraid of nothing though. He had been fortified by the greatest of witch doctors. He could level cities with the wave of his arm. He could bend men to his will just by looking at their eyes. His arm was still strong with the sword and the spear and he was known to be one of greatest archers to ever live. Yet he sat alone in his throne, awaiting news of his army.
The great doors opened and in glided his queen, a queen above all other queens. Age had not touched her face with its clumsy efforts yet. Her braids still hung down to her waist and her skin still glowed with the sheen of supple youth and life.
She glided towards the throne and stood before the king. She curtsied before her king but he took no note of her presence. Her eyes roamed over him and several emotions flashed across her face as she skimmed across his person; fear so deep and rage so hot then the cold, cold blackness of empty nights.
At first, it seemed as if the king had heard nothing of her words but gradually, as if rousing from a deep sleep, the king creaked as his head rose to stare at his queen. He studied her silently for a minute or more.
The queen raised an eyebrow and her eyes sharpened as she studied the king who had turned away to watch the embers of a fading fire.
The king stared at his queen while she spoke and long after she was done. He nodded his head after a time.
The queen walked to the table by the side of the throne and picked a hug of wine. The palm wine was cold with the chill of harmattan. She took the jug and a horn and walked to the embers of fire still glowing softly on the ground. She squated beside the embers and softly she coaxed a flame from the embers with her powers. Soon a bright flame danced merrily on the wood. She held the jug of wine over the fire for a few minutes then she poured into the horn.
She stood up and returned back to the king, curtsying, she handed the horn to him. Both of them stared at each other as the horn passed from the woman's hand to the man.
The king held the horn and stared at the liquid inside it. He shook his head and placed his lips on the rim of the horn and drank. The queen's eyes glittered hungrily in the flickering darkness of the half light.
The king finished the wine, he licked his lips and then he raised his eyes to stare at his queen. He cocked his head to the side and smiled;
He stood up, suddenly filled with purpose, then he turned to his sword that rested by the side of his throne. As his hand touched the pommel,he staggered forward. He raised himself to his full height and roared.
He turned towards his queen, his eyes red with rage. He staggered towards her, his sword raised. Ssweat beaded his face and his lips worked with strong emotion.
The queen stepped back, fear in her eyes. She watched him as he staggered forward again even as his body shook.
Betrayal is cold
like a viper's kiss;
choking spit, freezing limbs,
dying flesh.
Come to the void and see
souls unburdened of flesh
roaming free before endless silence.
Come and hear the moans
of terrified voices calling for home.
Betrayal is hot as ice
to the touch, to the skin,
like a cut of steel before blood bleeds,
like the touch of rigor mortis
before the mortician screams
At blue black lips prophesying.
Betrayal is in the whisper of steel,
the poisoned cup, the lover's kiss.
It is the muttered truth
and the grasping eye.
It is fulfilment of prophecies,
it is the deception of darkness.
Betrayal is the inheritance of kings.
The sound of the sword hitting the floor roused the dogs and they started barking. Soon dogs outside the hall, outside the palace, outside the city joined in the din.
The queen stepped around the body as the great doors opened and men poured into the hall. Leading them, was the first born prince, a smile playing on his lips.
He stopped before the queen and bowed then he moved before the body of his father. He squatted before it and stared at it for a long while.
He picked the sword then he turned to face the throne, ignoring the men who lifted his father's cooling body out of the way.
He settled the crown on his head and sat on the throne. As soon as his buttocks touched the throne, the flame flared and a shadow swept across the rafters. Everyone silently knelt even the queen.
There is silence for a second only before the door swung open again and a warrior ran into the hall. Without ceremony, he screamed, "we are under siege!"
The body was dropped on cold ground outside the palace and the men moved to gather wood for the pyre. As soon as they are gone, a shadow stepped out and a figure covered in dark cloak knelt beside the body. The figure muttered as it opened a pouch and rubbed some leaves in its hands. It placed the mixture on the nostril of the prone body and suddenly the dead king sneezed and jerked awake.
The figure studied the man before it for a while then it stood up. The moon rose at that moment and the face of a queen, the queen above all queens peeked out of the cloak.
The king nodded and took the cloak from her. He donned it and covered his face. He turned to face the palace.
He nodded absentmindedly, his eye still on the palace.
Again the king nodded and rolled his shoulder. He turned to stare at his true queen, the mother of his children and the greatest witch doctor to ever live. He bowed.
They walked in silence, bond by secrets, rituals and purpose stronger than life, bond by love. The two old souls, they walked even as the roar of scared men clashing in battle fill the air, even as the earth tore open about them and men gurgled bleeding throats into silence, even as brothers clashed; they walked on.
What a great writing of love and betrayal :D.
Though these two themes are often used together, on this story, it takes an unexpected turn. I am glad that this family managed to escape shedding blood of each other, and instead they're going to cause rivers of blood of others ... errr ^^;.
Congratulations for your curie vote ^_^.
Thank you very much. I appreciate this.
Well the parents simply stepped aside while their children battled for the throne.
Do stop by again @scrawly.
This is a beautiful love story and a very sad betrayal story at the same time. Waiting for his son, knowing why he is coming and what he want to do. Being betrayed by your own family is the worst what can happen to you. There was an unexpected positive twist with his witch queen. I was expecting a very sad story but at the end you made me smile.
I also love the combination of the story with poem. It was a lovely surprise. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading your story a lot!
Thank you very much for your comment @delishtreats. It was going to be a sad story but I just let my imagination roam and I am glad I did. I tend to write sad stuff. It feels good to get a happy ending once in a while.
I mix poetry with my prose a lot. you can see from previous posts.
Interesting story, intriguing, in every Kingdom there is a fight for power and to be at the power. I can imagine that the King already knew about that plan to rid of him so they created another plan him and the real queen-witch. I am glad that he survive and I hope for them that they find a new place to settle. But I wonder if they strike back :)
Yes the fight for power is a constant in every state. I like to think that they did find a place to settle. They are quite powerful. Lol
@warpedpoetic, i loved your story. I can felt the loneliness of the king. Sat lonely in the castle and waiting for his son. Your story has caught me from one surprise to another surprise. First the betrayal of his queen, then the awakening of him by his witch queen.
The flow of the story was good and it attracted my attention to read it in one breath. And hope that you won't end the story so soon :P. I love this type of story, it easy to digest and the story line was attractive.
Congratulation on your curie vote and you deserved it.
Thank you very much for stopping by to visit my post. Indeed the surprises were even surprising for me as I had written the story without thought on where it was going and how it would end.
I am glad you liked it. Do stop by my blog soon.
@warpedoetic, wow you are good because you write as your mind and idea flow. And the story was so attractive. I definitely will stop by your blog to read your other story since I like to read novel a lot.
Wow! What a story. Its intriguing, engrossing with so much twists and turns. I totally loved this. I totally got lost in their world, lol! But i found myself...
Didn't see that ending coming, but what seems like a tragic ending in the first part didn't quite end up as a tragedy. I do love the ending. Peace in chaos, oh and love too😉😀
I do like the poem in there too, betrayal is never nice. Sad thing is it is usually done by people close to is....
Its been a while since I last stopped by but I am glad I did today...😊
😂 I am glad you did too @audreybits. I didn't know how it was going to end until the king died. I didnt want a tragedy at the end though, so...
😂😂😀 Oh well, I guess that was a great inspiration within the story itself. Lol! Nah nah, tragedy ain't nice, so glad it ended that way...😊
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Hi warpedpoetic,
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Hi warpedpoetic,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
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