By: Charlotte Bistodeau

Once upon a time there was a prince, an o so beautiful prince, whose long hair shone as bright as the stars. But though he shone bright, his heart was rotten. Rotten and brown with greed and desire. He would steal from the poor and give to the rich. He would punish the innocent and free the guilty. But he cared not, for his father was the king, and he was the prince. No one dared to stop him. Until one fateful day, an old lady visited the prince’s castle. And as she walked down the corridors decorated with gold and gemstones, she was plagued with anger for all of those jewels he had not earned, but stole from the beggarly. There, she was let into the throne room where the prince sat haughty in his chair, looking down on her as if she were a mere roach.

”Speak old hag! You should feel lucky I have even let your eyes wander upon me, so speak!” 

“I only wish for you to give back what you have taken…”

”Taken?! What is this you speak of? All I have is what I worked for! I am not like you, who sits and does nothing but complain, you peasants are all the same,”

The words the prince spoke had angered her. And as her anger turned to rage the skies started to rumble, being overtaken by the dark clouds of wrath. The winds howled and blew throughout the castle into the throne room making all of the candles that lit the room go out. 

In the silence the prince saw nothing but dark, his guards nowhere to be found. Only a faint voice so dull and somber that one would think it was the whisper of the wind. 

“You pitiful prince,” The whisper started, “Your greed and insolence will turn this kingdom to ruin,” The wind had stopped, “So I shall give you a gift, a gift that lets you take and take and take without getting full.”

”You- YOU FOOLISH WENCH! HOW DARE YOU LOOK DOWN UPON ME!? I SHALL-“ he stopped as he heard the sound of the old lady laugh. She was laughing and laughing and as she laughed he had realized that he was no longer in his castle, but somewhere in a different realm. 

“YOU WITCH, TAKE ME BACK TO MY CASTLE!!”

”My poor prince, that castle was never yours to begin with.” 

Suddenly the prince’s vision began to haze over as a smoke thick like poison, filled the room making him slump to the ground. Then the witch spoke for the last time.

”Goodbye my fair prince, for when tomorrow comes, you shall wake-up to find yourself cursed by this old hag.”

Daybreak had come and awakened the prince from his slumber. He looked around scared to find a trace of the previous day, but there was none. He must have only dreamed it.

“My prince!” a servant cried as the throne room doors creaked open, “What are you doing in here? The king wants to see you in the dining hall for breakfast! Immediately!”

So the prince made his way to the dining hall, his stomach growling as if he hadn’t eaten for days. And having finally made it to the dining hall, he looked across a table filled with all kinds of foods. Each and every food making him drool and stare, as in a daze.

“My fine boy, does the food look so good to have bewitched you?”

The prince responds, “Ah, I believe I’m just a little hungry as I fell asleep before dinner.”

Then the prince sat down and began to eat. He took one bite, then another bite, then another bite, then another. To the king’s horror, he looked up to find the prince had started to eat up every single dish on the table, as if he were a ravenous animal.

“My son, what is this nonsense? Are you that of a beast!?” the king cried.

“No, father! I don’t know what came over me! And it’s not as though we can’t get more…”

“You fool! This is not about more, you selfish swine! I refuse to have such a beast in my house! You have done far more than enough, you don’t even know the half of what I’ve had to cover for you, do you!?” The king was furious, “I hereby banish you to the kingdom in the woods! Until you get your act together and make up for your sins, you are no longer my son!” So the prince was sent to the woods, to rule over its kingdom. Cursing and scowling the whole way there, understanding just then that yesterday’s feat was not just a mere dream.

When the people of the woods heard the coming of a new ruler, all they could do was hope he would bring prosperity to their cursed lands. But when the prince finally set foot in his new kingdom, all he could think about was the pain from his abdomen that shrouded his thoughts with agony. He was hungry again. It had only been a couple hours since his last meal, but he knew what his very first order of the kingdom would be. He ordered all the people of the woods to hand over all of their food and crops, and in return he promised to give them enough food to last them a thousand years. They believed this as they had nothing left to lose, but they realized their mistake when they heard the prince had eaten all of their crops in one sitting. 

“Such horror,” the farmer said.

“What beast is he,” the knights all sang.

”How could the king leave us to such a glutton,” all the people cried.

But the prince was still hungry. He then ordered for all the animals to be sent to him, slaughtered and cooked. 

“Such vile behavior,” the people all thought, but could not betray him as they were still hoping the prince might keep his promise to them.

Soon after eating all his people’s delectable livestock, the prince thought about the things that might fill him up other than food. He came to a conclusion and ordered for all of the jewels and gold to be stripped from his new castle walls. The people of the woods saw him as crazy, but did as he asked as they were afraid what he would do if they betrayed him. 

“Such divine jewels,” the prince drooled. He ate the whole pile and finally, no, he was still hungry.

This made him angry. The hunger he had tried to stop, that ravaged inside him, felt as though it would eat him alive. 

“BRING ME THE POOR AND THE FILTHY! NO! BRING ME ALL THE PEOPLE OF THIS KINGDOM!” He finally screamed, “I will do anything to satisfy my hunger.”

All of the prince’s servants were now terrified. What did the prince plan to do with the filth of his newfound kingdom they wondered. As his royal subjects began to pour into the castle, the prince’s hunger worsened. Scraping and tearing as if trying to rip him open from the inside out. 

“Hah…, Well, come into my dining hall,” he declared, “I told you I would have you for a royal feast, didn’t I?” 

His people didn’t know what to think about the sight they let their eyes upon. A long table filled with thousands of dishes, at least a couple helpings for each of them once over. But as the dining hall doors shut behind them, so did any chance of their escape. It was said that the screams of terror from inside those halls could be heard from two kingdoms away. A truly horrid sound.

But that was not the end of the prince. Wandering the empty corridors of an o-so empty kingdom, looking at the empty walls where gold and gemstones once adorned each and every wall, he realized the witch had gotten what she wanted. So he sat down on his brand new throne, thinking. He still had not yet satisfied his hunger. In fact, the hunger had gotten worse, as if everything he had eaten made the pain grow. Then he realized something. That the scraping and tearing was not just a feeling, but it was his stomach eating away at his very own flesh. He hated the feeling, but weak in his famished state, could only look upon the empty throne room, cursing the witch for bringing him to such a desolate place.