The Summer Kings

✵ The Tale ✵

Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, there lived a King and Queen happily in love. They wished nothing more than to have a child together. Time and time again, they attempted to conceive a child, but it always failed. The King and Queen were devastated, thoroughly convinced they could never have a child together. The kingdom plummeted into a period of depression as the heavy blue of the monarchs manipulated the people.

One warm summer's eve, the Queen mourned in the palace gardens, surrounding herself with emerald-green leaves and Revlon-red roses. The sunset painted the sky with the vivid yellows and oranges of fall and the hot pinks of summer. The Queen sat at a pond. She listened to the water, begging to forget. A divine toad floated towards her on a lily pad, hoping to console the grieving Queen.

"Your majesty," it greeted, approaching her passively, "I bring a blessing of the heavens to sooth your distraught soul. A child you wish for, a child you shall receive."

The toad disappeared as quick as it came, abandoning the lily pad. The desperate Queen rushed to her husband, excitedly spilling about the toad. It seemed utterly ridiculous, but it couldn't hurt to try. Much to the couple's and kingdom's shock, the Queen was found pregnant with a baby boy. The staff attended to her constantly, ensuring nothing could lay a finger on her. Slowly as his birth approached, the kingdom rose from its melancholy mud pit and began to see hope.

On a day where the shining sun rose high and cast the land in glittering gold, Prince Valor Adrian-Reese Charbonnet I was born to King Chadwick Charbonnet III and Queen Karen Charbonnet of the kingdom Bethahelm. The world rejoiced that day, holding colorful parades and effervescent festivals celebrating the birth of a miracle. 

The most illustrious celebration was held by the King and Queen. They invited every noble across Europe to come to see the child. They also invited the faeries of Bethahelm, magical, ethereal beings loyal to the crown. It took days to travel, so the celebration lasted two weeks. On the final day, three faeries arrived at the palace doors, eager to bless the young infant.

They flew to the child, showering him with praise and love. They were so enchanted, the faeries declared they would bless the newborn with divine gifts. The first gave the gift of beauty. The baby prince's eyes were sapphires carrying a thousand skies, his lips two tender pink rose petals, and his hair soft, shining spun gold. The second gave the gift of grace. His manners would be impeccable, and he would hold the kindest heart in all of the land. His every step would mirror the elegance of a thousand queens. The third approached the cradle, but just as she opened her mouth, a livid roar rocked the stone walls of the palace. In their haste, the King and Queen forgot one faery, Maleficent, the sorceress of the mountains.

By a flash of lightning, she arrived, terrifying the court and the guests. The King and Queen sat on their thrones, quaking in her presence. The faeries cowered, but the third hid close by.

"My my, he is absolutely gorgeous," she cooed, stroking the baby's hair. She chuckled when he let out a small, oblivious babble. "Such a shame."

"Please, have mercy on our child!" The Queen wailed. "He is my angel, my star. I love him with all my heart. Please, I beg you, do no harm to him."

"Mercy holds no power in the clutches of justice," she seethed. Howling winds of souls ripped through the air, flashing maimed, agony-worn faces of the damned. The hall shrieked as Maleficent swirled the winds above the cradle, causing a confused Prince Valor to cry out. In a tone to make empires crumble, she bellowed, "On the night of the Prince's sixteenth birthday, he shall prick his finger on a spinning wheel and die!"

The monarchs wept for their son, the Queen still begging for forgiveness.

"No!" A shout rang out. The third faerie. "He and all of the castle will fall into a deep slumber, a curse only broken by true love!"