The Cabin

It was a stormy night as the blizzard crashed and rattled the small cabin that stood alone, silently taking in the cold-cutting winds of the swirling blizzard.

In that small cabin lived an old man with his grandson

Although their lives were very humble, they were always happy, because they had each other.

The two were warming themselves by the fireplace, and awaiting for their hot cocoa to get ready.

“Grandpa! Grandpa!”

“Yes, Alex?”

“Could you read me a story while the hot cocoa gets ready?”

The old man stared into the crackling fireplace then waved his wrinkly hand to the boy to signal him to fetch a story.

The boy clumsily stood up and ran towards the large bookshelf that took up a quarter of the house.

As the boy went through hundreds of books the old man rose up from his seat and made his way towards the boy.

Then a book caught the boy’s attention. A book that was located just too high for the boy to reach. However, its dim yet bright red coloured leather cover stood out from the rest of the books.

The boy jumped and tippy-toed to get the book with no avail.

Then in the nick of time the old man swept in from behind him and grabbed the book.

Then he slowly walked back to his comfy rocking chair by the fireplace, as the boy jumped around him. The old man smiled slightly behind his thick white beard.

He sat on his chair, then blew the dust that collected over the years on the book, that revealed an old ragged cover. The cover was so decrepit in fact the title of the book now resembled a ragged mop.

The old man’s smile faded for a second as he read the book’s name.

“The Nameless King.”

The man continued with a calm and sage voice.

“I never thought I’d read this book again.”

“The Nameless King? What’s that, Grandpa?”

The old man thought for a moment, then spoke.

“It’s a very special story that tells the story of a foolish human that took the help of a demon to reclaim what wasn't his to begin with.”

The boy looked confused.

“Now, why don’t I read this story to you, take your seat.”

The boy quickly obliged the old man’s words then sat down in his small chair.

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

Once upon a time, a long time ago there was a thriving kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a wise and fair king whose love for his people was equal to the love for his two sons.

The First son was smarter than the wise. He could read an entire library filled to the brim with books, within a day.

The Second son was the strongest man to live to this date, he had the power to wrestle three bulls with ease.

The future of this kingdom never looked so bright.

That was until the wise king became ill.

The illness couldn’t be cured by any kind of medicine.

Many well-known doctors and wizards tried to cure the king but failed.

On the king’s deathbed, the king told his two sons to share the land equally, but the first brother wanted more land from his younger brother.

For in his arrogance, he thought that he alone had the intellect to bring this kingdom to its former glories.

The Second brother, wanting to follow his deceased father’s wishes, declined the First brother’s offer.

The First brother was furious.

Ambition turned to greed, greed turned into an argument and the argument turned into a war.

A civil war broke out within the kingdom.

The First brother gathered the best minds in the kingdom to create a flawless plan to win the war.

The Second brother gathered the strongest and most fearsome army this kingdom had ever seen.

Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years. Hundreds and thousands of people were slaughtered on the battlefield for a cause that the first brother believed in.

In the end of this grueling blood shed, what sealed the fate of the first brother was not the battlefield nor his resources, but rather a simple miscalculation.

A miscalculation of the breaking point of the humans’ mind.

His people were tired and miserable from the war that was inflicted on to them, but most importantly, they were tired of their king.

One by one his people left him, until there was no one left beside him.

Abandoned and alone, despite the end closing in, the first brother continued to press on stubbornly in his ways.

After the second brother had won the war he banished the First brother to the mountains to wander aimlessly until the day he died.

The First brother obeyed his orders.

Each day the hatred towards his brother grew and grew, until it became unbearable as anger slowly engulfed him.

This went on until that fateful day when the First brother collapsed from a hard day, but when he opened his eyes, he looked around to see nothing but pitch black surrounding him, then suddenly something started to emerge from the dark void. It was nothing the First brother had ever seen before, a beast with four pale faces that showed a giant toothy grin.

However, the brother didn’t feel scared.

He somehow knew what must be done.

The brother faced the beast, and the beast slowly asked the brother a question while turning its faces one by one.

“What”.

“Is”.

“Your”.

“Wish”.

The brother answered with no hesitation, “I want the power to rule the world” and with the snap of its fingers the First brother’s wish came true.

The First brother returned to his former kingdom, faced the Second brother, and with his new power, he killed him and all of his subjects.

As the First brother left his brother’s lifeless body, he turned his way toward the crown and picked it up and looked up at the empty throne.

The throne his father used to tell him, that he and his younger brother will inherit equally, was now tainted by the tears and blood of his people.

He slowly walked towards the throne, it felt cold and hard like a giant block of ice.

He placed the crown on his head, which only added an extra weight to his head. So, this was what he was fighting for all this time...

He smiled and started to laugh maniacally.

Tears were muffled by the rain that came down upon the broken throne room.

As he looked down from his throne, he looked through his empty eyes to see he had nothing.

Nothing but a ruined kingdom, an empty throne, and an ostentatious crown.

As time passed, people started to forget about the legend of the once great and mighty kingdom, and the brother was never heard from again...

Some believe that the First brother has yielded in the face of time and joined his brother to atone for his sins .

However, some believe that he is still out there sitting on his throne and still holding on to the crown that he once wanted more than anything in the world. Waiting for someone to find him alongside his forgotten name…

“The End”

the grandfather said, as he closed the pages of the book.

Alex thought for a moment.

“Grandpa, do you think the prince and his kingdom are still out there somewhere?”

The old man stared outside at the blizzard that engulfed the entire house along with the mountain. “Out there…” The grandpa mumbled with a small voice.

“...”

“Grandpa?”

“I don’t think I can say for sure Alex.”

The old man said as he stood up from his chair.

“Wherever that prince might be, I believe he’s still suffering for the sins he’s committed. He may never find peace again…”

The boy looked shocked, as the old man turned his head away to hide his face.

“Well then why don’t we drink some hot coco to lighten the mood?”

“Yeppy!”

The old man led Alex to the kitchen. As they drank the warm coco and warmed their bodies, out there, across the ocean, across many rocky mountains, and through the field of thick fog. Laid the kingdom that laid waste after all those years, and on that throne was a creature. A creature that missed its home, a creature that will never return to that day…

The creature opened its mouth as it held the sword of its brother, on one of its hands.

And with its cold and frail voice it spoke.

“I’m sorry…”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***