A/N: Written for the EC week challenge. TBC.
One did not dare cross the Evil King. And if one did, one did not live to tell such tales.
His reputation had been brewing for years. The stories had always lurked just beneath the surface. There were whispers that many insisted were rumors (they could simply not handle that they could be true). The king could not possibly be as bad as they said. The king did not kill animals for fun, torturing lost puppies and kittens to their demise. There was no proof other than the random corpses that appeared in the forest-and those could have been from animals.
When your daughter cried for her lost kitten, it had simply been carried off by wolves. It was not the work of a man.
His parents had not been much more highly thought of in the kingdom's opinion. His father had been considered dark and sinister. His mother was rumored to bathe in the blood of young girls in order to keep her beauty. She had surely been beautiful, that was certain. At what cost, no one knew.
However, they did know that dozens of young girls had vanished in the kingdom for the past decade. It had stopped when the queen had passed, so it was only logical to think she was behind it.
Many believed the royal family liked the fear they held, that they felt better with such a reputation.
Then there was the talk that there were actually two princes. One was mad, and the other covered for him. The king and queen had been hiding the evil one for years. No one knew for certain, no one knew anything about the royal family with any certainty.
Except, of course, for their oddities. And those terrified everyone.
Two princes….one you see before you
His brother was mad. Everyone in the castle knew he was mad. It had started young, and had gotten worse. The puppies that their father brought home as hunting dogs had accidentally ended up hanged from trees in the courtyard. The kittens the stable help kept to run off mice ended up with their tiny necks broken.
And then the first girl had been bled to death in his room, and that was when the king and queen panicked.
His parents-fearful for their son and what he could do-had locked him away in the basement dungeons years ago. It was safer.
Now, after their deaths, it was his brother's obligation to care for him.
The king still brought him creatures-something for entertainment, something to keep him quiet, peaceful.
"James?" David held the squirming bag through the bars of the cell. "I brought you a plaything."
The filthy man came through the darkness, taking the bag. A faint hiss came from inside the bag. James smiled.
"Thank you, brother."
David gave him a tight smile. His parents had been just as afraid of James as everyone else. Imprisonment was the only way…it was the only option.
David felt pity for him. He had never seen such a terrible creature. No one could come near the castle with so violent a creature within-it was unsafe. No. The kingdom must live in fear until his brother died.
"You are my twin," James looked at him before he stepped way. "We share the same face, the same chemistry. You are as bad as I. Does it frighten you…that they'll mistake you for I?"
David turned, leaving. It was not something he wished to think of. He liked to think he was not like his brother….but perhaps he was just as bad.
He always took in public executions. It was sometimes quite satisfying. Murderers, thieves, David didn't mind seeing them go to their deaths. Of course, every time a particularly violent offender came up for execution, he thought of his brother.
Perhaps his brother did deserve to die. Perhaps then, he could come clean with this entire disguise. He could tell the kingdom that there were two princes, one king. He had ruled since his parents' deaths. His brother was the dangerous one. David could finally stop pretending he was the violent one, that he liked seeing the innocents put to death.
Innocents. Speaking of which, they were in the process of leading a young woman out for execution. David leaned forward in his throne.
She was lovely. Her hair was raven colored, matching her eyes. Eyes that held fire, dignity, even shackled. Even being shackled to the post in the courtyard. It was the last thing he saw as the guards tied the blindfold over her eyes.
"Wait!" David rose to his feet. The guards looked at him, curious. The king did not stop executions-at least he never had before.
David left the platform where he sat. He walked into the courtyard, approaching the execution platform and ascending the steps.
"What's her crime?" He turned to look at the guards on the ground below him.
"Witchcraft." One answered immediately. "She used magic on us when we approached her."
"I defended myself when your men attacked me," the woman replied from behind him. David turned, yanking the blindfold from her eyes. Those fierce dark eyes burned into him. No one had ever dared to take on the king. No one.
"How dare you speak to me in such a fashion." David was more shocked than angry. There was a gasp from the crowd. They were all certain now that the young woman's blood would be sprayed all over them.
"I speak the truth." The young woman kept her eyes locked on his. "You guards grabbed me. I fought for my own safety. I won't apologize for fighting for my honor."
David looked her up and down. Her body was covered by a faded gown. She was undeniably a peasant woman, but her hair and skin were well kept. Truly a beautiful creature.
James would like her.
"What's your name?" David asked, his eyes locked into hers.
"Regina." She stared back at him. David nodded.
"Aren't you going to beg me? Aren't you going to beg your king to save your life?"
"Never." She hissed the word with such ferocity that David was momentarily taken back. "I beg no one."
"Clearly." David stepped towards her. "But you are in a very bad predicament. One word from me, and my guards will put an arrow in your heart."
"In that case, what good would begging do me?" She raised one eyebrow at him. "How would it help me? You'll do as you wish anyway. I won't be the first to die at the hands of the Evil King."
David scowled at her. He turned, taking in the faces of the crowd. They were watching him, fearful. He had a reputation to keep. If he let the woman go, the crowd would see him weak.
But despite that, he couldn't bear the thought of killing her. Not this woman, for some odd reason.
"Do you do witchcraft?" David looked at her. He pulled a knife from his pocket, raised it to her throat. "Tell me so I can spill your blood with honesty between us."
"I can." Her dark eyes did not waiver. She was clearly not afraid of him. He was shocked. Everyone feared him. David took a step closer to her. The blade pressed harder into her skin.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
"I'm afraid of no one." She smiled darkly. "Nothing scares me-and no one. You will kill me if you wish."
"You could save yourself," David mused. "If you were truly magical, you could free yourself now and save your life."
"I cannot. Your castle has a shield, one that blocks magic from within. One that was obviously put in place by a powerful wizard. Perhaps even the Dark One himself."
David growled. He lowered the knife, stepping back furiously.
"Let her go." He snapped to the guards. "Now!"
There was a murmur among the crowd. This had never happened. The guards looked flabbergasted.
"Sire," one guard began. David leapt down from the platform. He caught the man by the arm.
"Only one with real magic would know of the shield," David hissed. "She's not a fortune teller-she isn't stirring uprisings. She's the real thing."
The guards moved quickly. They freed the young woman from the post. They led her down the steps, her hands still cuffed behind her back.
David moved to stand before her as the guards freed her. He raised his hand to stop them.
"I will let you go on one condition." She stared at him. He expected a fight. But she merely nodded.
"Anything my King wishes." It sounded sarcastic. He should have killed her on spot.
"I will spare your life," he told her, "but you will owe me a favor. And I will collect on it. If you refuse me, I will torture you to death myself."
He wouldn't, he'd let James do it. But she would never know the difference.
"Of course, your Majesty." She gave him a smile he was still convinced was sarcastic. She'd be less amused when he collected on that favor.
"Let her go." David called to the guards. "She'll be of use some day."
The guards removed the shackles. Regina pulled her arms in front of her, rubbing her wrists.
"Don't you have anything to say?" David arched a brow.
"Thank you, your Majesty." The words must have burned her tongue.
"Get out." David pointed towards the gates. "I will come for you, Regina."
She brushed past him, her worn gown swirling up dust. The courtyard did not stop whispering. David wanted them silenced.
"The next prisoner? Rip him to pieces."
The crowd now knew one thing: someone had crossed the Evil King-and had lived to tell about it.