A Murderous Queen

The castle was eerily silent as the dark night crept in, tendrils of soot slipping through the cracks in the finely crafted windows and doors. Once inside, the spell began to morph into a dense fog, silver specks sparkling with crackling magic. 'Sleep', it crooned, coaxing the servants all around to fall into its clawed nightmare.

A clicking soon echoed through the stone hallways, a lone figure moving through the mist with a cruel smile lifting the corners of her lips.

"Well done," she purred, patting the fog as if it were a pet. "You have performed well, now, just one more task." Her croon made the magic purr, its shape vibrating with glee.

Moving quietly, she opened the bedroom door, its ornate gold handle standing out against the rest of the simple hallway. Once inside a few steps inside the boy sat up in his bed, his messy black hair falling in front of his defiant eyes as he glared at her.

"You!" Haru began, cursing the queen's entrance.

"Hush," she replied. With a flick of her wrist, the mist engulfed the room. Sliding across the floor like a snake it slithered up the bed and jumped the boy. He struggled fiercely against its hold, but his small body not yet mature enough to have formed the required muscles that could have changed his fate. "There is no point in struggling boy, it will just make this harder for both of us."

"My father will kill -"

The mist gagged him, then sewed his lips shut so that Haru's screams were caught in his throat. The image of the crown prince so vulnerable caused her majesty to laugh, it was a low hollow sound that had never graced the prince's ears before.

'Please no," he thought, his eyes streaming with fear. Trapped and at her mercy, he prayed for a swift death.

"Shame I cannot keep you" she moved closer, her long, golden nails stroking his face. "And please, believe me, I would," the sharp tip sliced into his skin with caused droplets of red to roll down his cheek, "if I could."

'Please', Haru begged fate, his eyes glued to the stone ceiling, 'Save me!'

"Haru, I hope for your sake we don't meet in your next life," the Queen whispered into his ears before her lips grazed his in a long, excruciating death kiss.

High above the prince's chambers, a girl stood on her balcony, tears falling from her eyes like tiny stars against the darkness. Grasping her palms together she looked up to the heavens, her heart clenching in pain and whispered one, single prayer.

"Please, let him live."