1 The Begining of the End

It all started when I was on the prince's council. The prince was selfish and demanding. He had bribed several of the council to do his bidding. He even threatened to fire them if they would not take the money and went along on his side. Even though he did not have the power to do so, he still threatened. I, on the other hand, was the only council member who knew he had no such power. He wasn't always selfish, though. He used to be kind, playful, and humorous. The staff loved when he would run around greeting them and telling jokes. He would go into the kitchen to enjoy the smells while the chefs offered him food testers. As for me, the housekeeper, he would help me sweep and mop floors and I would hold him up when he wanted to dust something high. I would tell him ancient stories of the castle. Stories my parents, grandparents, and even the last of my great grandparents told me before death. He would sometimes pretend to be one of the characters fighting bravely in battle. Even though I was covered in dirt and wash rags, I felt like I was a part of the royal family. They treated me as such as well since the prince loved his time with me. The whole castle was one big family. We were all brought together by not only The King and Queen but also with love. That's how I ended up on the council. Even though things were wonderful back then, things changed. The King and Queen passed away three months ago today. Both were cursed by a witch. The witch was horrid, or at least that's how she showed herself. The typical green skin look. She had a long, crooked nose with a wart on her nose, left cheek, and right eyebrow. Her hair was a mess. Worse than what you are thinking. It had candy stuck in it with what looked to be honey. It was sticking up everywhere. It also wasn't the same length as most girls in the kingdom, it was short and spikey. She had a hunchback and wore black rags that were torn into a dress. When you saw her, you would have horrid chills fall down your spine. She cursed the King and Queen to die and ascend into a place called Hades. Hades is a place with eternal flames where bad people are tortured for what they did during their lives. The ruler of this underworld was also named Hades. He can be a little full of himself. But after the King and Queen died, the prince changed. He got tougher and meaner than before. He took answers from no one. The prince even shut himself in his room for the longest time. The staff would sometimes hear crashing in his room and weeping after the loud sound. He did not know how to grieve since he had never lost anyone before. At least not to death. Especially since they were his parents. I felt terrible for what happened to his parents, but I never blamed the witches for doing so. Even if his parents seemed kind in the palace, no one knew what they were doing outside of the palace. No one except for the lower classes. We all assumed we knew what they were like. We were brainwashed into thinking the family had ruled a kind and loving empire. The prince demanded to kill all the witches. That even meant killing those who are just accused of being witches, even when completely innocent. One day, a lovely young woman came in and requested to see the prince. She was polite and did not pose a threat, so we let her in to see the prince. The council was there to protect the prince if anything were to happen. She came into the room and asked the prince to help her with her finances. She was struggling with her mother. Her mother was sick, and she had nowhere else to go. She wished and begged the prince, but he refused. He looked at her and laughed saying that he could not care less about that. His parents were dead, why should he care if another's parents were dying. He felt no empathy toward her. She arose from her tears levitating from the ground. Two of the council members drew spears while the others protected the prince by crossing them, blocking her from him. She looked deep into his eyes asking who he cared most about in his life. She looked deep into his mind. His answer was hard to come by, but she came across a series of memories of stories I told him.

She then turned to me and whispered, "With the power invested in me, you shall be cursed a cat by day and a man by night." She then got louder and louder with this chant. Then, she fell to the ground, got back up again, came over, picked me up, put me in her basket, and ran away. I lifted my head out of the lid of the basket and looked upon what I was leaving behind. The last words I wanted to be were goodbye, but the true last words spoken out of my small mouth, were, "Meow."

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