With the two of them long gone, we didn’t feel the need to listen to our staff’s warnings about the consequences of our vices, and if any of them dared to challenge us, we locked them away in a dungeon for months at a time.
The only exception to this rule was Sola, our annoying cousin, who was the only other living family member we had.
Her job was to make sure whoever she let inside was “someone you could see on a wall of royalty.”
It was always that simple, and she almost always complied.
But she fucked up on one particular night…
In the middle of a storm that was ravaging homes and toppling trees every second, she took pity on an old, haggard woman who knocked on the door.
As if this woman was actually someone worthy of being in our presence, she treated her to a cup of tea and offered her new clothes.
Then she brought her down to our party.
“Oh wow!” She sat behind a harp, pushing two maidens away. “This party is far more interesting than I thought.”
“Well, that’s good to know since you weren’t invited,” I said, signaling for the music to stop. “Who let you in here?”
Sola raised her hand, whispering, “She needed a warm place to stay for the night.”
“And that’s not our problem.” Charlies rolled his eyes.
As if she wasn’t interested in our conversation, or the fact that she was in the wrong, the woman stood up and moved to the middle of the dance floor.
She twirled around under the sound of her own humming, shutting her eyes and acting as if she owned our palace.
My brother and I exchanged “What the fuck?” glances.
When she finally stopped, she realized she was all alone on the floor and my brother and I commanded our guards to take her to the dungeon.
“No, wait. Please!” She begged. “I only request a few nights of hospitality, Your Graces. I will be forever grateful. I can offer you both a special gift in return if you agree.”
“You’re wearing a necklace made of wet forest moss.” Charlie laughed. “I doubt you have anything of value to offer us.”
“Please.” Tears pricked her eyes. “You shouldn’t determine a woman’s worth by what she wears…or what she looks like.”
Annoyed with her intrusion, I snapped my fingers and again ordered the guards to carry her away.
“Let this woman wither away to ash in the dungeon,” Charlie said. “Feed her nothing and block the sunlight.”
As two guards rushed to grab her shoulders, she transformed into a beautiful goddess. A vision in bright red, with a crown of roses atop her head.
The entire ballroom fell silent, and we both gasped at the sudden sight of her beauty.
No other woman I’d ever seen had ever held my gaze like she did.
“It is you two, and not I, who will wither away.” She wielded a mirror from her hip. “You’ve subjected your entire kingdom to cruelty and lewdness, and I only came to see if you were as awful as the rumors from the Whispering Woods have said.”
“You can stay the night,” I said, suddenly remorseful. “We take everything back.”
“I agree.” Charlie offered a small smile. “We shouldn’t have turned you away so easily. We’re sorry.”
“Not as sorry as you’re about to be.” She held up a mirror, and within seconds the entire ballroom froze to stone. Every guest’s expression forever immortalized, their moves stuck in time.
“Wait, please.” We begged in unison. “Let us make this up to you.”
“You don’t have anything of value to offer me.” She recited Charlie’s previous harshness verbatim, and before he could step closer and ask for one more chance at forgiveness, she casted a dark spell.
“You will remain here in the darkness for the rest of your life, and you will become the spitting image of what resides in your heart.”
Our fingers suddenly transformed into talons, our pearly white teeth stretched into yellowed fangs, and dark fur erupted from every pore of our skin.
“You will both die here, alone and ugly, for that is what you deserve, and your entire rule will soon be forgotten.” She stepped closer as we writhed under the pain. “No one will ever know your cruel kingdom existed.”
The windows of the castle shut, and the room was now so dark that we could no longer see her.
“Of course, because I am much more kind than you,” her voice suddenly softened, “I’ll leave a caveat for you. You can kill each other if you like—the one who stays alive will have his life restored, but you’ll give up your bloodline. Or, if you can find a woman who looks past your disgusting appearance and…”
She laughed mid-sentence. “No, allow me to change a few things. I want you both to suffer differently as one of you, Charlie, is far more cruel than the other. And I want your pathetic little kingdom ripped in two…”