The Dark Prince

The Dark Prince pt. 1

The curse:

The rain poured heavily, the night sky blinding the man who attempted to lead the carriage through the dark forest. His passenger, a prince of the Jeon family, woke him in the middle of the night stating an emergency and that he had to leave at once. As the driver raced through the night, he abruptly pulled on the reins, barely missing a woman in the middle of the road who stood almost invisible in the darkness.

"Why have we stopped", yelled the prince from within the protection of his carriage.

"T-there's a woman your highness."

The prince felt his heart grow cold and the shivers flowing throughout his body could not be blamed on the cold of the night. It could only be one woman, and he realized in that moment he had run long enough. Stepping out of his carriage cautiously, he squinted his eyes willing them to focus in the dark, preparing to meet his fate.

The woman turned around, her eyes brilliantly reflecting the moonlight as she pulled back

the veil from her face. She was beguiling and when the driver saw her, he immediately came down from his seat to kneel in her presence. Eyes glazed over, he indulged in the hexed caresses she gifted him before he took his last breath. Walking over his body on the dirt floor, the witch inched her way toward her target. Prince Jeon knew this day would come, his time had run out. Stepping back, he prepared for whatever fate this woman would bring, that is, until she kissed him.

"Just as you have broken my heart, I will break yours. You knew I loved you, yet you married another. I curse your descendants from now until eternity. You future sons will bear my curse and will never know love. You wanted another woman...so now...you're lineage will suffer."

One last kiss, she released a vapor from her mouth, waiting as it filled the royal's entire being. Smirking, she stepped back and disappeared into the very darkness from where she came, leaving the young Jeon to faint on the rocky soil.

+++

Several generations later:

"The queen has given birth, your majesty, and..."

The king glared at the lady-in-waiting wondering what her hesitation was all about. He had been waiting long enough, wondering if he would have the son he'd always dreamed of, the one to rule over the kingdom someday, but a piercing scream stole his attention.

"What is happening? I thought the queen already gave birth?"

The lady, fearful for her life and her position with the queen, fell to her knees, planting her face against the hard cemented ground.

"Your highness....the child...the child..."

Losing patience, the king spat out venomously, "SPEAK!"

Trembling uncontrollably, the girl spoke the words she knew the king would fear...the one thing he had prayed against for years, even calling in healers and witches to prevent.

"H-he's cursed."

The king's countenance fell, the news shocking him into silence. He had gotten all the promises, the assurance that the curse would certainly pass over his own child, but it seems all of them had lied. He wouldn't be so good-fortuned to have a curse skip his heir to the throne. Every generation before him suffered the same fate, but luckily they had other male successors. He, however, was not so lucky. At a young age, an accident declared him unable to have children, but by some miracle he had been able to get his wife with child. At his advanced age, he knew this was his last chance.