Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived among rats. It was no secret to her that rats were afraid of the sun, but none of them were more fearful of sunlight than her father, the Rat King.
The Rat King was once an ordinary rodent who lived in the sewers of Vienna with his father and mother and the rest of their colony. When his father died, he led his people out of the dark, filthy world they were living in, relocating them to a kingdom in another realm who recently lost their king. The late monarch had a son who was to take his place as king, but on the day he was to ascend the throne, the prince's kingdom was invaded by the Rat King. He wanted the late monarch's kingdom for himself, and with help from a magic spell cast by his mother, the rodent leader emerged from underground, storming the city with his army under the guise of another spell that made him, his mother and his soldiers resemble a hybrid between a human and a rat. His mother, the Rat Queen, then cast a spell on the young prince, turning him into a doll-sized toy made of wood.
Soon, the Rat King banished the prince and took over his kingdom, issuing a decree that all subjects who refused to serve under his command would be put to death immediately. Some civilians refused to serve him, while most of them were sent to work in the smoke factories he forced them to build. During his reign, the Rat King fell in love with a beautiful, female rat and asked if she would marry him. The female rat said yes and agreed to be his bride. On their wedding night, the Rat King talked with his wife about having children and starting a family together, but less than a month after they married, their dreams of happiness were shattered.
One night, the Rat King and his wife went out into the real world with some of his soldiers in their original rat forms, looking for the prince who was rumored to be alive somewhere, but while they were searching through one of the houses, a man from upstairs heard the commotion and came down to investigate. The Rat King stayed hidden while his wife remained on the other side of the kitchen, but just when she thought the coast was clear and ran across the floor to reach her husband, the queen lost her life. In his sorrow, the Rat King ordered his soldiers to kill the man who murdered his beloved wife and brought an end to his bloodline.
Once the man was dead, the Rat King ordered his soldiers to search the house for any more humans, leading them upstairs and entering a nursery, where he discovered a sleeping baby girl in a crib. Rather than leave her to die, the Rat King took the infant back to the castle and vowed to care for the child himself, giving her a new name. Despite his hatred of humans and the objections of his mother, the Rat King took the human child to his heart, raising her like one of his own, all the while keeping his evil wrongdoings a secret from her.
Five years later, the Rat King continued to rule his gloomy dystopia with cruel intentions. While everybody saw him as nothing more than a false monarch and a vermin, the Rat King showed a more softer, fun-loving side to his followers, especially around his daughter. One night, he sat on the bed with his daughter, brushing her long, cherry red hair with a golden hairbrush before her scheduled bedtime. After he fed and bathed her and put her in a long, white nightdress that covered her from her small neck down to her little ankles, the Rat King wished to spend some time alone with his daughter before leaving the castle to attend to some royal matters just outside the city.
The princess was quiet while her father brushed the tangles out of her beautiful red hair, sitting still like the perfect, well-behaved child he brought her up to be. She was a patient little girl, humming to herself while she sat on the bed with him and waited for her grooming to end.
"Why don't we ever see the sun, Papa?" The princess asked him.
"You shouldn't worry about the sun, my dear", the Rat King said to his daughter. "So long as the clouds cover the sky, we are safe."
"But what is it?" She asked curiously.
"The sun is a ball of horrid light that hurts our eyes and burns our skin", the Rat King explained. "Sunlight is our natural enemy, so it is better that we don't see it."
"Where does the sun come from, Papa? Would you tell me?"
"Not tonight, my pet. If I tell you a story about the sun, you won't be able to sleep for weeks."
"I'm not scared. Tell me."
"No, no, no", the Rat King said gently, setting the hairbrush down on the nightstand. He stood up for a moment, holding his daughter with one arm while he pulled back the blanket and tucked her in. "Besides, it's past your bedtime", he added on.
"I'm not sleepy", his daughter told him. "Please, Papa?"
Sighing in defeat, the Rat King reclaimed his spot on the edge of the bed and said to her, "All right, but just this once. In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness. For years and years, the universe was cold and quiet without any disturbance, then one day, a burning ball appeared in the solar system, shining brighter than any star in the galaxy. It was called the sun. Back then, there were large, scaly creatures called dinosaurs, but unlike rats, these monsters were tolerant of the sun and could look up at the sky filled with blinding, yellow light without harming themselves. You know what happens to a rat when they appear in the sunlight?"
"No."
"One look at the sun will cause a rat to burst into fiery flame, turning them into nothing but a pile of ash."
"Is that why the smoke flies up to the sky? To block out the sun?"
"Yes, my love. Each day, the smoke from my factories rises up into the sky, painting a canvas of dark clouds to block out the sun so that it protects us."
"What happened to all the dinosaurs?"
"They were all destroyed. One day, the universe decided dinosaurs were unworthy of existence and wiped them all out."
"Were there any people back then?"
"Thankfully, no."
"I wish I could have been around to see dinosaurs."
"Why on Earth would you say that? If you were around during the time of the dinosaurs, you wouldn't have survived on your own. You would have been eaten up. When I found you five years ago, you were an abandoned baby with no one to care for you. I admit, I was concerned about raising a child who wasn't one of my own kind, but then your mother..." The Rat King's voice trailed off.
The princess sat up a bit, looking at her father with curious eyes. "What about my mother?"
The Rat King crossed his arms over his chest and sighed again, looking sad at the mention of his deceased wife, but put on a brave face for his daughter and returned his gaze to her. "I'll tell you about her when you're older", he said. "Now, then, my love, it's time for you to sleep. You've had a big day and need your rest."
The princess sat up straighter and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him and whispering softly into his ear, "I love you, Papa."
The Rat King's thin frown morphed into a small smile as he wrapped his arms around his daughter and gave her a hug in return. "I love you, too", he said. "Now, it is time for bed."
The princess released her hold on her father and lied back down, letting him pull the blanket up to just a little bit above her chest.
"Good night, Rodentia", the Rat King whispered.
"Good night, Papa", said the princess, turning over onto her right side so her back was facing him, making herself comfortable before getting ready to shut her eyes and go to sleep.
The Rat King rose up and went to the door, taking one last look at his daughter over his left shoulder and flashing her another smile before turning the light off, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
Once he left, the princess turned her head and looked over her shoulder towards the door to make sure he was gone before sitting up again, throwing the blanket off her body and getting out of bed. She threw her legs over to the side, placing her feet on the floor, and went to the window to pull back the curtains and look up at the nighttime sky, seeing moonlight trying to break out through the clouds. Her father once told her that moonlight wasn't nearly as fatal to rats as sunlight was, but she was still confused about the difference between the bright, golden orb that shined during the day and the bright, silver planet that changed shape almost every night.
Hearing a door slam below, the princess looked down and saw her father walk out to the front of the castle, where some of his soldiers were waiting for him. She watched him swing one of his long legs over the leather seat to sit on his Rat Bike and start the engine, which roared like thunder and hurt her ears, causing her to cover them. The loud noise didn't seem to bother her father none. He was used to loud noises.
The Rat King revved the engine once more before heading off down the cobblestone street on his motorbike, with some of his soldiers following behind him, and rode towards the factory to continue some important business he neglected to finish earlier. His occupation as king was a trifling affair, but so long as he continued to inspire fear into the people of the prince's city and rule his kingdom with an iron fist, his soldiers would respect him and carry out his orders. Rebels who wished for his death were non-tolerated, and those who were found conspiring to overthrow him or bring harm to the Rat King or his family were often met with severe punishment, whether it be death or being put to work in the smoke factories, where unspeakable atrocities occurred under his dark, watchful eyes.
The Rat King returned to the castle sometime after midnight and went to check on his daughter before retiring for the rest of the evening. He opened the door ever so slightly, peeking into her room and seeing she was asleep, her arm wrapped securely around the teddy bear she held close to her chest. With that in mind, the Rat King closed the door and retreated to his chambers, looking forward to another day of ruling his kingdom.