The Dead King Of Irilow

Prologue

The moon was shining brightly down on the fabled kingdom of Irilow. It’s light glistened off of the magenta maple leaves, which were slowly swaying in the wind. And on that fateful night, the palace was shining as bright as the moon. For in it’s ballroom, the entire kingdom was dancing the night away in celebration of their king’s thirtieth birthday.

Good King Gregory was in the middle of the dance floor with his beloved queen, holding her as closely as he could. You see, there was nobody Gregory loved more than Evangaline. But, as the song ended, he held her tight in his arms before releasing her and swiftly escaping the ballroom, heading up to his chambers. His head hung low with the weight of his decision, he opened his bedroom door and stepped in. 

An hour passed. His wife, Evangaline, was growing more annoyed with the townspeople than she would ever admit. Angie never wanted to have a huge party, or to fill the palace’s halls with good-as strangers. She had only just began to wonder where the man she so deeply cared for had ventured off to, when she heard a wolf’s howl outside the castle. It struck her with such fear that she quickly fled the extravaganza to search for her king. When asked, the staff explained that they had seen Gregory head in the direction of their bedroom. Holding her dress up so as not to trip, the unexpecting woman ran up the grand staircase.

What she found was far worse than any nightmare she had ever experienced. Her husband, the adored king, was slumped on their carpet, bleeding to death. His scarlet blood eerily matching the floor tiles. Evangaline’s attention was caught by a masked man who was running towards the window. Angie quickly grabbed her bow and shot the man’s bloody hand with an arrow, making him drop his used weapon at once. Wasting no time, the masked man jumped out of the window. The now widowed queen peered out of the broken glass, but even though the moon was bright, she could see no one’s broken body on the ground under the eighth story window. 

“A-Angie.” The king spoke his final word.

By the time Evangalina turned back around, the respected Good King Gregory was already dead.