Stories From Out There - Volume I

Gift in a Basket

In a tattered blue dress, the small peasant girl worked her way through the throng at the castle gate. King Tedonius was holding public court and accepting gifts from his people, a chance for poor folk to see their king and show support.

The king was not kind, and sometimes, if the supplicant complained too much, begged too hard, or tried to earn favor with insulting bribes, they would not leave the castle, either ending up in the dungeon for the wizards to experiment on or leaving as part of a work detail.

A guard stopped the girl and looked in her basket to find what appeared to be simple bread. He frowned. "The king will not take kindly to such a plain gift, girl. Perhaps you should save it for your family."

Smiling up at the towering man, the girl replied, "It is the best bread his majesty will ever eat."

The guard shrugged and said, "Here, girl, you look a fright. Set your basket down, and I'll have a handmaiden make sure you are at least presentable."

"Sorry, kind sir," she said. "I cannot set it down. Any jarring and the bread will fall to crumbs."

The guard nodded, smiled, and waved her on, focusing on the next person in line. She followed the line through the large doors with increasingly larger and heavier armored guards until she was in the throne room. After an eternity, she stood before the king, regally sitting on his large, exquisitely ornate throne.

"Your majesty, may I present the best bread I or anyone else will ever bake. This gift comes from Fairweather Village. May Your Majesty enjoy its bounty as much as we enjoy your strong leadership."

She bowed, set the basket on the dais, and walked away. The king turned, looked at an aid, and laughed, his snobbish chortle heard across the large, finely decorated room. As the girl left the castle, she found the guard who had been nice to her and convinced him to come outside with her.

A little ways from the castle, she turned back and smiled as an immense Fire Worm came up from under the castle through the throne room, retrieving its small eggs from her basket and ending the king's reign in one massive bite.

The guard raised an eyebrow, then gave her a nod, smiled, and ensured she was safely on her way before helping with the panicking people fleeing the castle.