The Autumn Prince

A small, ruined kingdom sits in silence as golden leaves sweep the streets people used to tread.  Houses that were once upon a time filled with laughter and music sit and wait in silence, waiting for their families to return and resume their lives where they left off.

A pool of red leaves swirls around the bright autumn throne. A leaf brushes against a small brown boot.

A boy no younger than 12 sits on the throne. A heavy crown weighs on his head as he looks over an empty hall, watching the ghosts dance around. Some look up towards the throne and towards the boy who sits with the crown too big for his head. They smile and nod to him before gliding away, joining the sea of dancing ghosts.

The young prince slowly rises to his feet, the hall deathly quiet and empty.

Summer had charged upon the kingdom, setting it ablaze and scorching everything the King and Queen had held dear. Bells and screams of death filled the night air as the kingdom became a bright shining star against the night.

The king and his guards held their ground till one by one the guards with the gold leaf sown onto their uniform fell to the ground.

The queen rushed from her chambers and into her baby’s nursery.  A lonely cot sat by the window, a candle on the table beside an empty chair where the nurse had fled her post.

The queen scooped up her little prince in her arms as he cried with the bells and screams of the kingdom.

‘Ssh, it’s alright.’ She had whispered as metal footsteps pounded their way up the stone steps. ‘We’ll be alright’ She had stared at the open door, hiding the prince’s face.

‘She’s got to be up here’

‘Do you think she’s already fled?’

The queen looked over to the tapestry of autumn leaves falling from a tree. With quiet footsteps and a muffled infant, she hurried over to the tapestry to slip behind.

Down and down she went without a light to guide her. She knew the way by heart and by fear. Loud voices echoed down the stairs.

Guards dressed in different hues of red underneath their soot-covered armour all stood in the empty room.

‘Both Prince and Queen are missing!’

‘Turn back to the king!’

The soldiers bearing the embroidered leaf rushed out of the room and back to the king Who was in the centre of the great hall staining himself in red.

‘We found her!’ had echoed throughout the kingdom in a matter of moments. The soldiers dressed in white picked up strength as the autumn kingdom’s numbers dwindled rapidly.

The queen had wanted to get enough distance between the burning kingdom to hide with her child. Yelling came from behind her as hooves thundered against the mud. She could feel the beat of the hooves through the ground.

Her running slowed as she winced at the pain running through her legs and side. She hid behind a tree, gulping the cold night air into her lungs. The pounding got closer with each moment.

‘It’s going to be fine.’ She whispered. ‘You’re going to be fine.’ She scanned the woods around her, hoping for something to stick out. ‘You’re safe…’ A little bit further laid a small hollow log.

She made her way to the log and laid her baby inside the log. His face slowly and silently scrunched up. The mother hushed him with quiet words and a hand touching the side of his face, then letting him hold her finger in his hand with all his strength.

Lights, voices and the stampede of horses got closer. She took one last look at her beautiful boy and kissed him softly like a ghost before rising to her feet and running, running away from the soldiers who caught sight of her and led them away from the young prince.

When all was silent in the early morning, the young prince called out for his mother. Gentle hands had plucked him from the forest that morning and was taken home.

Leaves covered every inch of the cobbles as the young prince returned to the empty kingdom, walking down the lonely roads towards the castle, towards his home.

A large throne made of golden leaves sat at the far end of the great hall. Only the sound of his soft padded footsteps could be heard until metal scraped against stone.

The young prince looked down at his feet and picked up the golden crown, the bottom stained with dried blood. 

A boy no younger than 12 sits on the throne. A heavy crown weighs on his head as he looks over an empty hall, watching the ghosts dance around. Some look up towards the throne and towards the boy who sits with the crown too big for his head. They smile and nod to him before gliding away, joining the sea of dancing ghosts.

The young prince slowly rises to his feet, the hall deathly quiet and empty.

He casts his gaze over the grand hall like a king. Among the yellow leaves lay the bones who had fallen all those years ago, They all looked at him, the same way the hollowed skulls looked up at him as he passed them by in town.

The young king has returned to his rightful place amongst the Autumn Kingdom and her skeleton people.