The Bastard King

Prologue: The First Act

 Bastin ripped the solid oak door off its hinges, waltzing into his father's study with a burning rage. He knew.

His father's hunched back stood before him, the old king leaned against the stone balcony. His father did not turn, he did not acknowledge the angry man behind him, instead he stared out into the black abyss of the night, his last chance to see the stars that no longer shined.

"How?" Bastian demanded, full of spite, "You stole me away from the only family I ever knew! You damned me to your fate!"

Slowly, with shaking limbs the old king turned to gaze upon the man who had never been his son, no matter if he had loved him like one. "You were bound to find out someday," The old king stated his breathing uneven, his words brittle and cracked like the harden bones within his skin. "I rode into your village and I stole the last remnants of my beautiful lover. I took you!" he admitted his words no longer whispered, but strong, like he had once been.

Bastian was silent, the rage turning slowly into unbridled hatred. He was an abomination, a man with every title, a man with nothing but lies. His mother was not the queen. His father was not the king, his father was not the old man clutching the rails in front of him. Bastian was not the heir he had thought he was, he was a man with no one. He lost everything in that moment; his life shattered.

Alexander, stood straighter, trying to straighten his crooked back that had been bent from years of holding the kingdom together, with lies and deceit. The crown had always been a heavy burden but the way with which he used the power had shrunk him inch by inch. He was not a humble man, and he had raised a stubborn proud man, the spitting image of him in his youth. Now, he would be repaid for every dastardly lie he had uttered to Bastian. Karma would smite him with his most beloved thing. He would be defeated by his son.

"Kill me, I deserve it." the old king said; knowing Bastian would ascend the throne, then perhaps his kingdom could flourish under the reign of a new king. A king with better judgment, though one without royal blood.

Bastian turned, unsheathing his sword in a single turn. His arm shook, yet determination burned strong as he fought down any protests.With one last look smoldering between hate and love he slashed forward, his broadsword heavy in hand, singing through the air. Slicing his father's head from the crooked hunched shoulders it had been mounted on. It teetered not quite cleanly cut, before gravity acted. He watched it fall, thudding onto the pristine white carpet, the crown falling from the roughly severed head into a pool of blood spurting from the body, his father's body. Bastian knelt nudging the head of his adoptive father to retrieve the crown, placing it upon his head without bothering to wipe the crimson blood from it. He stood then standing like the dead king, a curse pressed to his head that pressed on his back, slowly grinding him into the floor. It was the misfortune of royalty.

With sure steps, Bastian walked past the still bleeding corpse, out into his newly acquired palace, blood running down his forehead dripping from his hair. The maroon droplets hardening with the passing of time, staining his forehead, coating his hair. He left a trail of perfectly shaped droplets away from the corpse. He wore the blood crown, the unholy gift of a king. He would wear the curse until he died, he would fulfill the dead kings dying wish. He was the new ruler and he was the latest monster. The most feared creature, something no one could love, something all mothers warned their children about. The very thing his fake mother had told him about. He was the bastard king.

(QUICK ENDNOTE: The cover is a temp. It is totally not final, the summary is also a placeholder for now. I will try to upload something new once a week but bear with me since I lack conviction at times. Let me know if y'all see any mistakes, especially if the name changes, since originally I had a different name in mind but I thought Bastian was better. Thanks for reading, Celery out.)