Chapter Text
Once upon a time in a land where magic and dragons exists, there lived a king and a queen in the Crishean kingdom that was desperate for an heir. Try as they might, day and night, no child was conceived out of their union. Discretely they have invited various famous magicians and healers and even third parties to come and aid them, but none helped them to make a babe. Herbs and spices and special devices, positions and potions were advised and drunk but they were out of luck.
The seventh annual celebration of their marriage came and there was still no babe.
They did not marry young and were not getting any younger. There were rumors and whispers in the court of the queen’s inability to conceive and this has weakened her and her spirit to live. The fair-haired queen cried alone in her chambers blaming herself and her inability to do her wifely duties to her liege.
The king stood by and watched, eyes glistening and knowing that his queen was not to be blamed. He knows the full truth; it was his fault!
For when he was but a lanky lad he was hit in the crotch by an ewe for coming close to the lambs. The ewe was a beast, an enchanted one surely (probably). He but wanted to pet the little lambs but who knew that that would cause his crown jewels to lose its luster and never shine bright and proud.
Such a story he cannot tell for as a husband and as a great king, he had appearances to maintain most especially to his beautiful wife. If the reason was a curse from a witch or from a battle injury then he could at least say to his wife that he is infertile. Alas, the cause was an ewe and his desire to touch small adorable lambs.
His heart aches and he swears that he will do whatever he can to make sure his line will continue! He will make it so his future son will never have the same problem again.
The king decided to right his ways.
He will not stand by and let his queen be disheartened and be blamed for his shortcomings. He will have an heir, a strong and able prince who will rule their lands justly and surely. For this to happen, he must make a deal with a demon.
One evening as the twilight sky was engulfed by clouds of night, he went to the enchanted forest alone. The stars do not shine in the enchanted forest. Instead, eyes of countless demons shine and observe their new visitor. His father’s father, all kings of old, had struck a bargain with the demon king to maintain peace. Dark creatures will not come out of the forest and will await prey to come to them. In turn, anyone that enters the forest was not expected to come out and was deemed as a sacrifice.
The demon king of the forest knows that a human has entered. He could feel the human make his way through the earthen path of his flesh and the twisting barks of dead trees of his veins.
The demon king was immense and powerful. The trees were his veins, the soil his flesh, the billowing wind was his breath. He can feel that the human holds a promised blood with a wish he had already heard and agreed to, but has yet to grant or collect payment for.
Humans are curious creatures. All of them are. He always longed to know what it feels like to be one of them. What it feels like to bleed, to die, to feel so deeply and hold such a strong desire and purpose in such short lives.
It was something he found admirable and enviable ever since he granted a little human girl her wish. His own curiosity of being human will soon be sated once he fulfills his end in both entwining wishes.
Upon seeing a clearing, the human king saw a silhouette of a man with a cloak standing proudly in the middle. He held up his torch to see better. It was not a mere cloak, but a cloak made from shadows and raven feathers and a crown made from sleek ebony bones. The proud being underneath cannot be seen but his immense presence can be felt. The king knows he was in the presence of a greater king, one that was much much powerful than he.
The human king introduced himself and told the demon king of his wish. He said that he was infertile and he wanted an heir, a son. He wants his line to continue and his son to conceive sons and have healthy children so that his line will never have to be worried of infertility again. He was willing to pay in gold, barrels of it even. He spoke of feasts and offerings and promises he was not sure he could keep but kept on talking.
The demon king stopped him by raising a hand. He was curious about this added specification to a wish that had heard before. He wants this son to conceive sons? The demon king decided to grant it to its fullest anyway for he himself had something to gain out of it.
"I can grant your wish. Your wife will be able to bear you children and your line will have no problem conceiving children, however, you have to give me what I require. I can see our desires leading to the same path as I myself need a vessel. You have to pay using flesh and blood from your line, it cannot be yours and it should be your firstborn son’s. I will not claim it now. I will claim my price when the seeds have been sowed. Know that your first son will be mine.”
The human king was scared at first for the demon’s price, but decided to agree as he was willing to pay any price in his desperation. By the time his first son is born, he will be able to figure out how to keep the demon away. He knows countless of strong magicians that can cast spells to protect his family. It was dishonorable to agree to a pact that he intends to break, but he can do nothing now that he agreed.
The demon king nodded and upon a branch of a tree, a fruit grew ripe and fell. The human picked it up and was instructed by the demon to bring it home. It was a blood colored pomegranate with a smell so sweet and ripe. He was instructed to feed the whole fruit to his wife, seeds, flesh, and all before they go to bed.
As he rode his horse back to the castle, he knows that he will have a son soon.
Behind him, the enchanted forest was dying. It no longer breathed. It simply became a skeleton forest for the human king carried its soul away.
***
Months have passed and the queen indeed became pregnant. She was so happy with the turn of events and yet was still looking frail despite the care given to her. The king smiled a sad smile knowing the demon king will claim this first baby. He cannot tell her that he struck a bargain with the devil.
A storm raged outside the castle the day that the prince was to be born. Many saw this as a bad omen but did not say a word. The roar of thunder covered the sounds of the queen’s labor screams and the sound of shattering glass from the other room.
The king made all precautions to prevent demons from entering the castle by inviting powerful magicians. They made sure that the protective spell on the castle’s perimeter was secure. He made further precautions by contacting Lanoste, the leader of the Association of Magicians. Lanoste made a vow to the king that his first born child will be kept safe by strong blood magic and that his very own son will serve as the protector. This made the king smile and clasped his old friend’s shoulder.
Despite all this, the king knew that the inevitable would occur. The demon king would come and claim his son but he will not allow it.
The door opened to the chamber and a midwife announced that prince was born blue and not breathing. He was a stillborn. The room became quiet and yet she continued with more bad news. The queen was dying as well and was losing a lot of blood. She requested the king to come quickly.
Devastated, the king cursed himself for ever striking a bargain with a demon! He still doesn’t have an heir and will now also lose his beloved wife. He knows that he will be unable to have an heir with a different woman, and even if he can, he does not want a different queen.
Beside his queen’s birthing bed, which will become her deathbed, the king sat beside his weary wife listening to her dying whispers. “My king, our—our son... I am sorry but I did what I can to protect him. You must understand that I only wanted for him to be safe. Please forgive me. I am not a good wife and could not give you a family that you wanted.”
In this moment, he ceased to be king, and was just a husband holding his dying wife’s hand. “No, you are a wonderful queen. My love, this is all my fault. I struck a bargain with the devil to give us a son.”
“I have bargained with a devil as well to be able to marry you. I have something to confess. I have a son before our marriage. His name is Kielnode and he is just a child. I was never a mother to him but it is not late to show him kindness. Please treat him well. I apologize for my inability to stay by your side.”
With tears in his eyes, the king simply nodded. He will grant whatever his queen wanted.
The queen closed her eyes wishing the best for her two sons and her husband. She has done everything she can so they can live safely even if she needs to lie to her husband that that their son is dead. All she can do now was to trust what the demon king told her when she was but a young sheep farmer’s daughter who entered the enchanted forest. Happy and sad memories ran through her head as she sees her life before her eyes. She remembered the day she was laughing at a princeling crying over lambs. She remembered making a pact with the devil so she can marry the king she loves so much.
She smiled and breathed her last breath.
***