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THE DEMON AND THE KING

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The countryside reeked of death as the barbaric people of the north, the Horde, swarmed across the land. Nothing survived—not humans, animals, or even blades of grass—unless it fed the Horde’s war machine. It was said the Horde ate the hearts and livers of slain foes, including women and children, and danced on their bones. It was a dark, dark time.


As the Horde advanced, the people of the Kingdom, including its once mighty army, fled in terror to the fortified castle. There was no other safe place in the Kingdom. The Horde reached the walls of the castle like floodwaters against a berm and settled in for a siege. Those huddled inside knew the castle was strong, but was it strong enough?


The King pondered what to do. The Horde demanded a heavy payment to spare the Kingdom. If the King agreed and emptied the royal coffers, the Horde said they would leave and let the Kingdom’s inhabitants live. But the King knew better. The Horde never kept their word, and as soon as the Horde were paid, they would attack and leave death and destruction in their wake.
The King’s advisors assembled in the castle’s Great Throne Room. Some advisors counseled for peace. Others warned that was foolish; they could wait out the Horde. Still others pushed to attack the Horde in a surprise night assault. 


The King dismissed these options as foolish and sent his advisors away in disgust. Desperate, he called for the Grand Wizard. The Wizard arrived wearing a black robe with the sun emblazoned on the front and a crescent moon on the back. A hood covered his head, casting his face in shadow.
The Wizard was not a large man and no one, not even the King, knew his age. He had a secretive nature with a bushy salt-and-pepper beard that cloaked his facial features. The Wizard was known as a purveyor of white and black magic, but it was rumored he preferred the black arts. For that reason, many inside the castle feared him. He preferred it that way.


“Wizard, I have asked my council for advice, but haven’t received a satisfactory option. Their opinions have too many drawbacks. The longer I sit here failing to act, the more fear creeps into my subjects’ hearts. They will doubt me as a leader who can save them from this most vile enemy. I even hear rumors that I lack favor among my subjects. If I were to defeat the Horde, wouldn’t that erase any thoughts of a rebellion against me?”


“Yes, my King, I understand your dilemma. Your options are limited, and their likelihood of success is not good.”


“I didn’t ask you here to parrot what I’ve already heard. I need a new option! I must show my people that I am strong and can defeat this horrid foe. You’ve guided me in the past. I need to know, Wizard, what can I do? “


“I must be honest,” the Wizard replied. “I have my powers, but the Horde is strong. I can conjure magic to keep them out of the castle, but not forever. And I cannot persuade the people to have confidence in you. That is up to you, my Lord.”


The King sat on his throne, unhappy with what the Wizard had told him.
“I’m not sure why you’re a Wizard if you cannot help me defeat the Horde and save my Kingdom. What would you advise, then, Wizard? It better be a winning idea or my dungeon will inherit a wizard.”


The Wizard paced around the Great Throne Room muttering to himself, the bottom of his staff clicking on the floor with each step. The King watched him thinking, I’m finished. The Horde will defeat us and capture me. I will be tortured and executed in whatever cruel means they can think of. My people are helpless, my army is weak, and this muttering Wizard is useless. Oh, what can I do?  


The King put his hands to his face. When he spread his fingers apart, the Wizard stood inches from him with closed eyes. The King was afraid, but the Wizard calmed him with a soothing voice.


“Great King, there is only one way for you to triumph.”


“Yes, yes! What is it?”


“You must go to the great cavern in Mount Fire. There you will encounter a Troll. You must do what the Troll requests if you want to enter. Then, you must follow the pathway to the center of the mountain. After you make two left turns, you will enter a great cavern—the realm of the Demon.”


“What?” the King squeaked in a soft voice. “A Troll? A Demon? You’re sending me to my death, aren’t you, Wizard?”


“Why would I do that, my Lord?” The Wizard tightened the hood covering his head. “I want you to have the opportunity to succeed. Your success is good for me, too. You can reward me afterward. I covet a certain woman of noble birth, and only you can arrange a meeting between us.”


“Yes, yes, I’ll do anything you request. Just give me the power to survive the Horde.” Ridiculous, ugly Wizard, the King thought. No woman, noble or not, would want you.


“I assume you desire to have your subjects survive as well?” The Wizard interrupted the King’s thoughts. 


“Of course, Wizard, that’s what I meant, my subjects too.”


“I will give you one of my finest possessions: an invisible cloak. With the cloak you will be able to steal away from the castle undetected. When you are on the road to Mount Fire you can take it off. Give it to the Demon when you see him.”


“Yes, yes, Wizard. I hear what you say. Now, what about that Troll? I hate trolls! They’re slimy beasts.”
“Take this coin, my King.” The Wizard handed the King a gold coin. A blank, shiny face framed one side of the coin; an odd, unfamiliar engraving covered the other.


“I don’t recognize this coin, Wizard. What are these markings?”


The Wizard ignored the King and pulled a dagger from under his cloak. 


“This is the dagger of the Legends. It will give you superior fighting skills.”


“Excellent. Is there anything else I should know?”


“Be honest with the Demon—he sees through lies. Go with good fortune, my King.”


The King did not thank the Wizard. He took the cloak, coin, and dagger and returned to his chambers. By midnight he was off to Mount Fire. 


Wearing the invisible cloak, the King found it easy to elude the Horde guards. He soon stood at the opening to Mount Fire, where the Troll came out to greet him. The King glimpsed bluish tinged eyes under the Troll’s bristly eyebrows. 


“King, I heard you were coming,” the Troll hissed through wart-covered lips. “Do you have something for me? You must give it to me to pass.”


“And if I don’t give it to you, what will happen? I have this powerful dagger.” The King brandished the blade the Wizard had given him.


“You’ll be my dinner. That dagger only works on humans. I’m not one of you. Give me the coin.”


“Worthless Wizard,” the King mumbled. “He gives me a dagger that can’t fight off a troll.”


“The coin, King. Now, or die.” The Troll licked his lips as he smacked his huge knotted wooded club against his grotesque hand. 


The King decided the wisest course of action, if he wanted to see the Demon, was to give the Troll the coin. 


The King tossed the coin with the blank face up. The Troll gazed down at the coin, then at the King, but he did not pick up the coin. 


“You don’t want the coin? I thought that’s what you desired.”


The Troll looked at the King. “Enter the cave through the opening, make two left turns at the forks and you will enter the domain of the Demon.”


“Will the Demon hurt me?”


“No, you are the King. Take the coin, but leave me the dagger and go.”


“But I will be defenseless.”


“So you will, King. Show bravery, if you can.”


The King reluctantly left the dagger, picked up the coin, and hurried into the dark, damp cave. After taking a left at the second fork, the King saw a shimmering light ahead. He followed it warily. Step by step he cautiously approached a large room with a damp and slippery floor. In the center of the cavern was a pool filled with an ink-black liquid. The King thought the liquid might be water, but didn’t dare stick a toe or finger in it to find out.


The pool suddenly changed to a bright white, then into every color imaginable, finally settling on a vibrant blue. The liquid began boiling and foam frothed at the edges of the pool. The King heard a deep, repetitive laugh.


The King expected the Demon to rise from the pool as a fearsome apparition, but was shocked to see the figure of a man emerge from the blackness at the far end of the cave.


The figure carried a staff and looked more like a shepherd than a powerful Demon. 


I’ve been tricked again by that traitorous Wizard. When I return to the castle, he shall pay for this—if there still is a castle to return to. The King swore to himself.


“I’ve been expecting you, your Majesty. It is I, the Demon.” 


“The Demon the Wizard spoke of?” the King asked.


“Yes. The Wizard tells me your Kingdom is under siege from the Horde. Is that true?”


“Yes, it’s true. The Wizard said you can help me save my people. Are you that powerful?”


“Of course. The Wizard speaks the truth.” The Demon paused. When he continued, his voice was low and ominous. “But to save your Kingdom, you must pay a price. Are you willing to sacrifice?” 


“Yes, of course. My people are afraid.”


“Are you afraid, King?”


“No, I am a king!” The King tried to project strength and courage, but beneath the surface he was quaking. First the Horde and now this Demon, he thought. The Wizard told me the Demon sees through lies. Show a stiff back, man.


“Good. Now King, would you give your life for your Kingdom? You have three taps of my staff to answer.”


The King didn’t wait for even one tap. “No, I couldn’t—I am the King. Who would lead and protect my people? They will not survive without me. How can you ask such a thing?”


“I see,” answered the Demon. “Then, will you pay with your soul, your essence of being?”


Again the King wasted no time in responding. “No, I cannot give you my soul. I would be a creature no different than a deer or a squirrel or a bug. I’d have no purpose. No, no. There must be something else.”


The Demon frowned. “You are proving troublesome. Well then, will you give me all your kingly wealth to save your Kingdom—your gold, silver, jewels, land?”


“Are you jesting?” The King reacted angrily without thought. “How could I pay for anything if I agreed to that? I can’t command an army without money. I say no, again.”


“I see, King. If you don’t agree to my request, then your Kingdom shall fall and you will be a ruler of dust as dust.”


“There has to be something else, Demon, please.”


The Demon took several minutes to think, rubbing his staff in circles on the ground. Finally, he stared at the King. His eyes glowed a deep blue—the color of the liquid in the pool.


“This is my final request. I will save your Kingdom, but it shall be in exchange for your wife, the Queen.”


“The Queen? Why? What will happen to her?” The King tilted his head as thoughts of what the request meant swirled in his mind.


“That is not your concern. She will no longer be your Queen. In exchange, you have my word that the Kingdom will be saved.” 


The King thought, I’m not fond of the Queen. After seven years of marriage, I have no heir and she will never provide me with one. She is not pretty like other young, beautiful women of my court. 


I think this will work out just fine. I’ll save the Kingdom and the people will be joyous. They will thank me and won’t mind if I take a new, young wife. “Demon, I have made my decision.”


“What have you decided?”


“I will trade the Queen for my Kingdom’s safety, and you will remove the Horde from my lands. Giving up the Queen is the price I’ll pay for my Kingdom.”


“And you don’t care what happens to her?”


“I wish her well, of course. And I shall remain King. The people need their King.”


“I couldn’t agree more,” said the Demon as he picked up his staff and held it parallel to the floor.


The Demon chanted a series of long phrases in a language foreign to the King. Afterward, the Demon turned to the King. “Rest and wait here until sunrise. At that time, you can return to your Kingdom. The Horde will be gone.”


“How can I trust you, Demon?” 


“You must have faith.”


“Can I have the invisible cloak in case there is a problem?”


“You won’t need it anymore, nor the coin. Give them to me.” The Demon held out his hand for the items. “Besides, I think your subjects will want to see you walk into the castle, triumphant, rather than sneak in with the aid of magic, don’t you agree?”


“Yes, of course. I like how you think.”
*
Sunrise came as the King awakened. He made his way back out to the cave’s entrance. The Troll was gone. From there, he walked quickly back to the castle. Trepidation became his sole companion as the castle came into view. The Horde is still there, I just know it! I will be captured and roasted over hot coals, he thought.  


Then he saw the castle gates and his spirits lifted. The Horde is gone! The Demon’s word proved true! 


Two burly guards positioned in front of the main gate refused to let the King enter as he approached. 
“I am your King!” the King shouted, furious. “Take me to the Great Throne Room immediately! Then I will have your heads!”


The guards complied. The walk into the castle stunned the King. Instead of roars from grateful subjects, he was met with silence. More guards surrounded him as he walked. They were his guard, but they ignored him. Inside the Great Throne Room, the King was shocked to see someone else sitting on his throne: his brother. 


“Why are you are sitting on my throne, Brother? Remove yourself immediately!”


“You must be ill,” the King’s brother replied. “I am King, and have been since you fled the Kingdom like a coward several years ago. The people crowned me King in your absence. Now, you are talking treachery as a usurper, so mind your tongue.”


“What?” The King was stunned. “I’ve only been gone a day! Where’s my Queen, you pretender!”


“You’ve been gone for years. You no longer have a Queen. I declared you dead, and she became a widow. She has since remarried.”


“But, I saved the Kingdom,” the King countered.


“Impossible. You weren’t here.” 


It was too much to bear. The King collapsed to the ground. When he awoke, he was lying on a straw-filled mattress.


“What? Where am I?” The King struggled to get his bearings.


“You’re in my quarters. They brought you here after your fainting spell.” The Wizard appeared from an adjoining room carrying a bag, the hood of his cloak drawn up around his head, obscuring his face.
“You!” The King blurted. “You tricked me! I trusted you and you tricked me!"


“I did no such thing. You have only yourself to blame. You never should have deserted your people.”
“But I saved them!”


“No, no, you didn’t. You wouldn’t sacrifice your life, soul, or wealth. The Queen saved them when you sacrificed her.”


“Traitor!” The King became desperate. “What is it that you want? That damned Demon betrayed me, too!”
“No one betrayed you. The Demon did as you wished. The Horde is gone, and, alas, so is your kingship.”


The King’s thoughts shifted briefly. “What did the Demon do to rid the Kingdom of the Horde?”
“I will tell you, and then you must leave. The Demon appeared in a dream that entered the minds of all the Horde chiefs. The dream convinced them to abandon their siege and move elsewhere. And they did.”


“A dream?”


“More like the most horrible of nightmares. The Horde are a superstitious people. In the nightmare, the rocks in the Kingdom turned into giant, black hairy spiders and gruesomely devoured the Horde piecemeal. Mixing superstitions and nightmares is a powerful weapon.”


The King shook his head in disbelief. “Where is the Queen?” 


“She’s mine now, and we’re happy.”


“What? How? No!” the King raged. “What would have happened if I had agreed to exchange my life or soul or wealth in exchange for my Kingdom?”


“Then we would not be here.” The Wizard stared coldly at the King, his eyes sparkling in the shadows of his hood. 


“Take him to the ship,” the Wizard ordered the guards who had entered the room. “You are to be exiled. Your brother—the rightful king—mercifully agreed to exile you over execution for deserting your people and the Queen.”


The King pointed to the bag the Wizard was holding “Is that the bag with the …?”


“Yes,” said the Wizard. “It has the invisible cloak—the dagger, too. And give this to the captain of the ship when you board.”


The Wizard tossed a gold coin to the King. Trembling, the King grabbed and inspected it. 


His fears were confirmed. On one side was the strange engraving he had seen previously. The other side, which had been blank, was now etched with writing of unknown origin. The King knew it was the same coin he had tossed to the Troll and then given to the Demon. “What does the writing mean?” he implored.


“It was your choice. The writing on the coin reveals your fate. Farewell!” The Wizard threw off his hood, revealing his deep blue eyes.


“It’s you!” the King exclaimed in recognition. “But how?” The King shouted as he was led away.

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THE END

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Copyright 2024 Scott D. Prill. All rights reserved.​​

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