Once upon a time, in a Bookland far far away, there lived King Atgar and Queen Athena. Together they reigned over a beautiful and peaceful kingdom. There was plenty of food for everyone to eat and plenty of clothes for everyone to wear. Everyone lived a very rich and happy life.
As Queen Athena gave birth to a beautiful child prince, the whole kingdom cheered as a celebration was about to take place. The little prince was named Prince Julius.
The King and Queen sent out invitations to all the neighbouring kingdoms to the celebration party, unaware that one of the kingdoms was led by a Wicked Dragon Witch. Her kingdom’s inhabitants were all dragons.
The Dragon Witch had no one else to rule the kingdom except herself, she also had no heir to her throne, so she was greatly jealous of King Atgar and Queen Athena.
As she approached the kingdom with the pretense to join King Atgar and Queen Athena celebrate, she cast a spell into his kingdom. Everyone was put into deep sleep. When they awoke, they had forgotten who their real king was. They thought the Dragon Witch was their Empress and she was their ruler.
Little Prince Julius was turned into a half-human, half cat creature. Queen Athena was horrified! She quickly bundled up the tiny prince in her arms and ran out of the palace, and thus had escaped without any changes to her body. But now, she must run for her child’s life, as well as her own. Unfortunately, King Atgar could not join them because he was under the Dragon Witch’s spell as well. He now thought the Dragon Witch is his wife, and Queen of his kingdom.
The Dragon Witch now owned the King, his Kingdom, and its inhabitants. She also owned her own kingdom of dragons. She had now become stronger, with two kingdoms under her.
She also convinced everyone that an alien creature, which is half-human and half cat, had been born in one of the villager’s house, and this creature had to be eliminated for it is not fit to be human. She wanted this creature to be captured and brought to her. She also warned others that there could be more of this type of creature around in the kingdom and that they would all have to be captured and brought to her.
There were some palace advisors and guards who had opposed to her ruling in this matter, but they had been turned into tiny men of low intelligence who were unable to think on their own, but could only follow the Dragon Witch’s every command.
X X X
Afraid for the baby’s safety as well as her own, Queen Athena fled to the village and disguised herself as a simple peasant. She hid in the home of one of the villagers.
Because some of the villagers were already sleeping during the time of the spell was cast by the dragon witch, they were unaffected by her spell, as it would only work on those who were awake during the time it was cast.
Many villagers were now confused as to why the celebration of Prince Julius' birth was not carried out, and they wondered why Dragon Witch was now giving orders in the palace. They also noticed that many of the palace’s guards and warriors were turned into tiny men.
Queen Athena hid her crown in a safe place. She was very sad because the King could not recognize her. She soon became very worried because the strange Dragon Witch had turned baby Julius into half cat and half human, and now the baby did not seem to be crying or making noises like a normal baby would do.
The baby was very quiet during the night, but as the morning sun rose to the sky, baby Julius began to make noise, he also waved his arms and legs and smiled. Athena found that little prince Julius had the most cheerful smile, and even though his two eyes looked different to one another, they were both round and bright. Queen Athena was happy once again, and she thought Baby Julius was the cutest baby in the world! Her only hope now would be to reunite with King Atgar again soon. Just thinking about the king had made her feel sad once again.
The following day, Dragon Witch and King Atgar summoned all the palace’s officials to inquire about Athena and the baby, but no one could tell them anything. It was because many of the palace’s confidants and officials were now turned into tiny men of low intelligence.
Dragon Witch became mad and furious! She sent out notices to all of the peasants, ordering them to produce more crops to be offered and used in the palace. Warriors were sent out to the village everyday to capture people with cat faces because they were considered not fit to be human. When the cat-faced people were captured they were locked away in a special place to do hard work, such as building more palaces and castles for the kingdom. Sometimes, Dragon Witch would even send the cat-faced people to another place outside of the King’s castle to begin building another new castle for herself.
In time, the Dragon Witch had multiplied her kingdoms. She now had several castles, yet, she was still very unhappy, because many of her castles were empty castles without any inhabitants, so she had sent many of King Atgar’s men away to live and work in those castles. In one of those castles was where she kept all the cat-faced people. They were ordered to guard the castle with immense caution. No one should be allowed to enter it without first obtaining a pass from Dragon Witch, and no one was allowed to exit the castle either. Those who did not adhere to the rule would be hunted down and be severely punished by whipping in public, or sometimes they would be sent to one of the Dragon Witch’s own castles where it was run by a troop of dragon army.
As time passed, the Dragon Witch was still very unhappy everyday. It was because she still could not find Queen Athena and baby Julius. She knew if Prince Julius was not found, he would one day come back to reclaim his position and the kingdom.
A most interesting beginning to your story. It makes the reader want to know more. Thank you for sharing, Sandie. Love and best wishes to you...
Regis
Reviewed by Danny Underwood
8/20/2018
A good beginning to a fairy tale. It seems there is a lot more to tell with this story which can be developed into a storybook just by itself. Well-done, Sandie!
Olive the Green Dream Train invites Danielle and Nina to come with her to plant special trees that can heal the atmosphere better than other trees can. A mysterious angel guides them, and the Dark Phantom tries to mess everything up again.
A world of steam and springs. A breakneck race for power. Will one woman's defiance topple a kingdom? If you like feisty heroines, fearsome dragons, and fast-paced action, then you'll savor this steam-powered thrill-ride.
The Cat Who Would Be King
