The Darkened King

It Begins

A/N: This is a really long chapter so I hope you enjoy!

Sarah wandered the hall ways of the castle until she found that she was exhausted. She had discovered the library, which was vast but empty, goblins did not read. However, she did find a comfortable fainting couch and settled upon it.

Sleep came almost as soon as her eyes shut.

The rain lashed against the widows, the slight chill in the air, the scent of hot chocolate and the promise of colder days ahead gave the night the perfect aphkistpehere for a story. Different stories had to be told at different times, after all, one did not go about telling a horror story during a sunny day. No-the night was perfect for a certain story, one filled with adventure and promise, death and life, and she had just the right one.

The small room was crowded with three other children, two girls who appeared about eight and a little boy who looked about four. All of them looked at her with anticipation at the tale she had yet to spin. They sat upon the two beds that filled the room and one of the girls moved to sit at her feet. A fondness for the younger girl spread through her and she unbraided the little girls hair.

With a gentleness that surprised even her, she began to put the little one's hair in elaborate braids.

"What tale shall we have tonight?" She asked the three little ones but did not expect an answer. Their lives of late had been so dreary, she doubt that even a well spun tale could lift their spirits.

"What? No requests. Shall I tell of the fair folk?" She expected at least a few shouts at the mention of the race that plagued her little village. Yet none of her siblings gave protest.

"Very well then, once, before the creation of humans, there lived a proud King. The King was of the sea and spent his time in a castle on an island that moved like a ship. He wandered the world in idleness for he had seen all the wonders that the world had to offer. However, one day, he went for a swim. While in the sea, the proud King saw a woman. The woman was in trouble for she did not know how to swim. She was nearly drowning. The proud King let pity move him and he rescued the woman, who he found to be very beautiful. He helped her to the beach and when she awoke they spoke. They spoke of many things, of crops, of traveling, of her life and his, but he did not tell her who he was. The girl was to be married within a moon and her husband was not one she would have chosen.

"Again, the man felt pity for her and, without her consent, he stole her away to his island. Now, the girl was relieved not to marry the man her parents had chosen for her, but she was enraged at not having been given a choice. She liked the proud King, but she had not wished to marry for some time. The proud King married her and crowned her as his Queen, the girl was content for a time but her anger ate away at her.

"One day, as she looked at the water that surrounded her kingdom, the Queen found that she could take no more of it. She could take no more of the pretending, of being someone she was not, and she found that she wished to end it all. The beautiful Queen left her room and attendants and wandered into the sea. Now, she still could not swim and the sea took her and she found a freedom in it that had never been hers while living." 

"Tell us a better tale, sissy." The little girl demanded from her spot on the floor. She smiled down at her little sister, she had expected her to protest, and pondered a tale that could take them away from the misfortune of their circumstance.

"Very well. Once there lived a young princess who wandered the earth, the princess saw many sights including a castle that could move and a giant who thought he was a mountain. She saw all that the world had to offer and then some. She passed through different worlds and watched as time spun around her and the seasons changed. She danced with the sprites and loved with the Fae. But, in the end, the princess was unhappy. For when she had traveled time had passed and her father was no longer as young as he had been when she first left. The princess traveled back to her father's kingdom but it was too late. He had passed on and a cruel man had taken his place. Through dangers untold and hardships un numbered, the princess fought against the man and reclaimed her kingdom. She reined as a kind Queen, as her father always believed she could be. The girl married and had children, all the kingdom prospered and all loved the royal family.