The dining table was a long wooden chestnut-colored table. The elaborate carvings on the sides of the table were remarkable. The handmaiden’s eyes glossed over the intricate designs as she longed to squirm away from the eyes that seemed to follow every movement she made.

There was no dinner on the dining table. The dinner that the handmaiden was called for had turned into a staring contest. The palpitations of the handmaiden’s heart was gently beating against her ribcage. As the handmaiden eyed the stranger who sat beside her, the slight trembling of her hands began to cease.

Her curiosity got the best of her. She knew that this man who sat next to her --the king--- was evil. He was a troubled soul who has a history of inflicting pain on the people that he was meant to protect. Legend has it that he was a cursed beast who did not have any mercy on any creature --man, woman, or child. An animal understands no boundaries. A beast does not acknowledge any of the boundaries that exist in this world full of sin.

Some people may hope for a better future. The handmaiden prayed that she would see the sunrise of the upcoming day. His hair was enticing. It reminded her about the darkness that exists in the devil’s soul. Rumors across the towns of the nation had it that his father, the former king, was the son of a devil by the name of Kojin --the brother of the chief satan himself.

“Are you curious?” He asked, lifting a fork with his pale slender fingers. He played with the fork, as if he was playfully teasing the handmaiden. Seconds passed by as he softly hummed the tune of an old song --a song that foretold the death of hundreds of townsfolk. “Aren’t you curious for the what the night holds for you?”

The handmaiden stared into his eyes. She felt as if she was drowning in his dark orbs.

“Curiosity is not for me. Why should I engage myself in such useless matters?” As she said these words, Fayrouz could see something in shift in the king’s face. The air began to chill. “Is there something that I should be worried about, your Majesty?”

He did not respond. He merely nodded, then barked a vicious laugh that could’ve been heard for miles. The handmaiden had not noticed the sharpness of the King’s canine teeth until this moment. It was sharper than any teeth that she had ever seen.

Once the king had noticed the alarmed expression on the handmaiden’s face, his eye color had changed to a dark red.

“Yes, there is something that you should be worried about.” These were the last words the handmaiden had heard before darkness overtook her.

………………………………………….

Fresh blood dripped from the ceiling. Thousands of bodies were rolled into tapestries that hung from the walls of the castle. There was no living being in that room, in that dark room, save for the red eyed King. He yearned for more blood to be spilled. Something had possessed him --his hunger for blood had once again arose.

The sun had risen yet the heart of the king was as dark as it had been before. The curse of the witch had followed his heart for the last millennia.

The king could smell the flesh of the young yellow-haired man who had entered the kitchen of the castle. His brother. The flesh of his brother had called for him. It wanted to end what the witch --their mother-- had started.

The king could still smell the flesh of the handmaiden. If the king was able to do this, then this meant that his brother would be able to smell her also. Perhaps, he should pay his brother a visit.

As the king walked to the kitchen, he could hear the soft chants of his brother. “Li Okpa shir Okpirin, kahru mawt ilafh huwaaga contrarir mortemuh esu maluma.” Oh, God of the Gods, bring death to the one who brings death and destruction to the people.

The hands of the king’s brother were risen up. The king could understand the words that his brother was saying, after all he was the one who said it to his mother. His brother was speaking the language of the benevolent creatures.

The floors and walls of the kitchen began to shake as the King creeped behind his brother.

“Sharhyi-Alborzi, you should know by now to not enter the castle without greeting your dear brother.” The king had wrapped his bloody arms around the neck of his brother. He placed his head in the crook of his brother’s neck, then uttered a curse that would tattoo itself into the skin of his brother.

“Your time here will be coming to an end, Huwaaga Contrarir Moretemuh esu Maluma.” His brother remarked as the curse began to take a toll on him. “Mother will make sure of it.”

Within the blink of an eye, the king took a step away from his brother without releasing his hands from his brother’s neck. Blood shortly began to spill from the jugular artery of his former brother.

“I will take care of Mother as I have taken care of you. Rest in peace, Dear Brother.” Shortly after this, the bloodthirsty king disposed of his brother’s body, then went to search for the handmaiden. “ I am an heirless king who has yet to show any of my mistresses what their mission in my castle is.”

The king had a gleeful smile on his face as he opened the closet that he had placed the handmaiden in. His red eyes had returned to their normal color. "Wake up, my Love. You have an adventure that awaits you."