4, Punishment Fit For a Prince
Once upon a time many years ago. There lived a wicked prince who everyone thought was kind and good. Only the witch who lived alone in the wood knew the truth. The prince was about to be married to a lovely princess who knew nothing of his bad ways. People were happy and held celebrations for the couple all over the land, then the night before his wedding day as the respectable prince lay asleep, the witch entered his room. She was dressed from head to foot in black for she had a great sadness deep inside her. She didn’t look old or ugly. Her black flowing robes moved silently as she crost the room to where the prince lay. The witch looked at the sleeping prince and put a curse on him.
He would not marry the princess or any other for that matter. For when he woke he would be half man half beast and he would walk the world alone for all time. She laughed at him sleeping there so soundly and looking so innocent. For his torment was about to begin. Revenge would be hers forever. Then she left as quietly as she had arrived. The prince suddenly felt odd and awoke from his deep sleep. He noticed that the windows were open and the velvet curtains were blowing across the room. The prince arose and walked towards the window. But a strange shadow in the mirror hanging on the wall above the open fireplace stopped him. His room was only lit by the flickering flames of the log fire, so he moved closer to the mirror puzzled by the shadow.
As his eyes fell upon the reflection in the looking glass he was filled with horror and despair. It was his reflection – but it couldn’t be, for he was a hansom man, but this thing staring back at him wasn’t even human. His head was that of some kind of monster and so were his hands when he looked at them. What kind of trickery was this? But it was no illusion. In his panic he ran through the window and out into the night, for only the mantle of darkness could hide him now.
The wicked prince entered the woods and after a while stopped to take a rest. From out of the shadows walked the witch she called to the prince by his name. He looked up but for the first time in his cheating life he was afraid to hold his head up high for more than a few seconds, Who was she this lady all in black. Why and who had done this terrible thing to him. The witch looked at him with cruel unforgiving eyes so deep and black as her clothes. She knew his hidden secrets. The black hearted prince now looked as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside. No one else would ever be deceived by him again.
From that time on all who saw him would try and hurt him or capture him and display him as a freak among men The vain prince’s fate was surly a dreadful one for he had been the centre of attention all his life and had soaked up every little bit of it like a sponge. As the lady in black melted into the mist that slowly surrounded her again he asked why. She stopped and looked at ugly creature and said look into your soul you will find the answer there.
One day if you are fortunate and someone takes you as you are the curse will be Brocken. Until then you sealed your own fate and you will wander the forests and valleys for ever. Night after night the beast walked the earth, years passed now he only felt safe in the darkness. Torment and fear were his only companions as the years became decades. He lost all hope of finding the one who could release him. Death was all he longed for but the peace of eternal sleep was denied him. He who had once bean loved and respected and worshiped wrongly was for all time lost hated and alone
A fitting punishment for such a respectable prince.
© Susan L Smith