Once upon a time, in the enchanting kingdom of Cleaves, a king with no chosen heir, struggled to figure out a solution to the problems in his kingdom. His kingdom's main income was through crop selling, however after several dry seasons in a row, they had barely enough to feed their own citizens, let alone sell to other kingdoms. This led to their relations with those kingdoms getting strained, and their citizens, not understanding the trading had stopped, were outraged and started to riot over their royals ignoring their malnourishment.

Knowing that this was a problem, and no longer wanting it to be his, he decided to use it as a moment to test his sons. The king proclaimed that whosoever could restore the kingdom's glory before the drought would be deemed worthy of the crown.

It became a battle of the crown among the three Cleaves boys. Each prince went down his own path to try and find a solution. The eldest sought advice from neighboring kingdom's who were doing well with crops, the second tried to find a new source of income for the kingdom, and the youngest, Aldric, had no idea what he was doing.

The youngest prince desperately wanted the crown, but not knowing where to start, he would wander the streets aimlessly as if expecting a solution to hit him on the head. Then it did. A woman, annoyed the prince was in her way, knocked him on the head with her umbrella, he turned ready to shout, but as she dropped her fake face and revealed green skin, and a long disgusting nose, his mouth snapped shut.

"You boy, search for a solution, yes? I will solve your kingdom's problem in exchange for your finest crop at the end of the season." Prince Aldric debated the consequences, knowing the dangers of working with witches, but seeing no real harm to it, tried to agree, however the witch chose to warn him once more, pulling her hand further from his reach.

"Once our hands clasp, the deal is sealed. Beware of the consequences of breaking it." The prince nodded, motioning for her to get along with it, as his head was already filled with the proud look of his father and jealous looks from his brothers as he accepted the crown and became king.

While he was lost in thought she shook his hand, and the prince was slammed back into reality when he felt a sudden coldness run through his body and clasp his heart. Officially choosing the most sinister way of all to fix the weather.

As promised, Cleaves blossomed into a paradise with lush and green fields and all issues with other kingdoms and citizens were mended. Prince Aldric ascended the throne and became King Aldric and got to watch the jealous look on his brother's face and the proud look of his father as he was crowned king. And season after season the king preserved the finest crops, yet the witch never came to claim them, but the king never stopped or dared to throw them out, fearing the unknown consequences of breaking the deal he left the rotting crops right where they were, not removing them until the witch returned.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

One fateful day, as King Aldric was showing his son what it felt like to sit on the throne, the throne room's doors burst open. The witch, aglow with otherworldly power, stormed in. She sent the knights standing at the door flying as the ones in the room rushed towards her to take her down. But King Aldric, recognizing the witch, dismissed his guards and waited until they were out of the room before he greeted her warmly, as if she were an old friend.

"Welcome, dear witch. After all these years, you've come for your crops. They await you, though they've seen better days," the king said with a chuckle as the queen looked confused between the witch and her husband, holding her son tightly as she tried to back away. Noticing her fear and confusion the king motioned to his wife and child.

"This here is my beloved Lavinia, and my son Aldric Jr. It's all thanks to your enchantment that my kingdom thrives as much as it has. I must offer you a tour." The king clasped his hands together as the witch's eyes narrowed in on the child, Lavinia gripped him tighter, turning him away from the witch's gaze as she smiled.

"No, I'm just here to collect my crop."

"Ah, but I must insist, you have to see what you've done for my-" The king was cut off by Queen Lavinia's scream, he turned to look at her and found that his son was gone. She screamed again and pointed at the witch who was now holding the tiny toddler. The king then became alarmed, taking stance like he was ready to tackle the witch.

"What are you doing?"

"Collecting the finest crop now that the season is over." The witch tossed the baby into the air, and as he giggled the king ran at her only for her to teleport and he crashes into the wall.

"Ah-ah-ah. We had a deal, King Aldric. You stop me, your kingdom will suffer a permanent drought, and you'll lose your crown. But, if you're fine with those consequences here, take him." The witch then held the baby in front of Aldric as he lied on the floor, the queen tried to run forward but the witch made a motion and she slammed into the wall, before slumping down, unconscious. The king stared at his son, and started reaching out his hand, but stopped and turned away. The witch chuckled and disappeared. Once the pain subsided enough for him to get up again, he ran to his wife and then called for the guards, claiming that the witch could not have gone far.

Unfortunately for him, the witch was already at the outskirts of the kingdom with her giggling prize.

"A true crop's worth lies in its potential," the witch said to herself. "And if that's true, you have so much worth."

The End, for now

Thank you for reading,

Cursed Narratives 2: Prince Aldric Cleaves.