Title: A Black Fairytale
Author: Twilight Lament
Rating: T
Genre: AU supernatural/fantasy
Summary: The King of Karakura must make a deal with the cursed King in order to save his small kingdom from the growing power of the Seireitei.
Disclaimer: I, in way shape or form, own or am affiliated with Bleach.
Chapter One: La Tierra De La Oscuridad Eterna
Once upon a time, long, long ago a great warrior roamed the ancient lands. In a time before great kingdoms, when the Seireitei was still only a dream, warlords and mercenaries ruled the land. Yet even the mightiest of fighters feared Hanima, he of no soul.
No one knew his real name, nor where he came from. The only thing that mattered was that when Hanima stepped in your path, you ran or risked death. As the years passed and the bloody conflicts between warring clans grew, Hanima gathered more under his banner until it seemed there would be no force on the entire planet to stop him.
With his enemies laid low at his feet and no one left to challenge him, Hanima turned his eyes to the Heavens above and realm of the Gods.
"If no man can defeat me, let us see if the Gods hold anything more to offer." With a devious smile upon his lips, Hanima marched his forces to the Heaven's Gate ridge, a tall group of mountains, so high that their tops disappeared into the clouds themselves. It is said that at the top of highest one could find the path to Heaven. The few that had ever tried to scale the treacherous peaks before were never heard from again.
His armies spent months battling the mountains and the cold of the heights. Many of them died on the journey. Not all of them succumbed though and one day Hanima and his remaining men pierced through the veil of clouds and found the silver staircase leading to the Gate. With renewed energy and a thunderous cry, Hanima drove his men and himself forward towards the waiting guards.
The battle between the great warlord and those at Heaven's Gate raged on day and night. A battle that seemed like it would never end even as Hanima's remaining forces fell around him. He battled on with the taste of victory on his tongue. He believed that he could do it alone, bring down the Gods.
When it seemed that he might succeed and make it to the Gate, a blinding light filled the air and forced even Hanima to his knees. He screamed and fought against the invisible chains holding him down, yet not even his tremendous will could break the unseen bindings placed upon him.
It was then that she stepped forward from the light. Her kind smile impossible for Hanima to ignore. The gentle faced Goddess knelt in front of him and wiped the blood from his brow.
"So much death you cause," She said with a soft, sad voice, "Why? Why would you do this? With your great will, you could do so much good." He wouldn't get the chance to respond for another voice rang out.
"Step away from him. One with a soul as tainted as his could never understand." The God's voice dripped with scorn and Hanima watched as the All Father stepped forth. Again he pulled and tugged against the force holding him. The All Father snorted and said to the assembled Gods.
"Kill them all, cast them down." Then he turned and walked back to the Gate.
With a deadly cry, Hanima lunged forward and he felt the invisible bindings break free. He grabbed his sword and shot towards the All Father's retreating back. Victory tasted sweet, or so he would think until a shining gold light halted his blow and barred his path. He saw despair in the Goddess' sweet face and the rage in the All Father's eyes.
"A lesson you need, and so you shall receive." With a crack of skin against skin, the God sent Hanima flying backwards. "Trapped in your body you will be, immortal you will become, but in the land of the Living you shall not reside. Only in the soulless lands may you reside. You will be the cursed King of a cursed Land and may your rule be long and bitter."
With those words, the All Father threw Hanima down from the steps of Heaven, past the black mountains and into La Tierra de la Oscuridad Eterna, a land where only demons and monsters crawl. There he lives even now in his palace of Las Noches, venturing into the lands of Living only when the sun sets and the full moon rises high. Only then does the veil of the Living and Darkness lift enough for him to pass.
"Again! Again! Tell it again Mother!" The woman laughs and shakes her head.
"No, no my Orihime. It is past time for bed." The little girl pouted oh so cutely, but her Mother, well used to the sad expression, only tucked the covers in around her.
"Now little Princess, you should not disobey your Queen." With a kiss and a hug Orihime's Mother headed for the door of nursery.
"But Mother, you never tell me how the story ends. What happens to Hanima?" Her Mother turns and offers the little girl a small smile.
"My dear, he still sits on the throne of Las Noches." Queen Akiko Inoue watched her daughters eyes grow round as saucers at the realization that the story was not just a story told about a place that no one ever visits. She turned off the light only to be stopped again.
"But Mother, wouldn't he be terribly lonely after all this time?" The Queen offered her daughter a small smile.
"I don't think people like him get lonely. Goodnight, Orihime." And then she closed the door. Orihime curled up under her blankets and sighed softly.
"I don't believe that's true. Even Hanima must get lonely." It was thoughts of cursed King and his endless solitude that occupied the younglings mind until she fell asleep.
Author's Note: Reviews are welcome for this and any other story. A beta even better, heh. This story will be very AU although it will contain certain Bleach elements. Enjoy!