Once upon a time there were two kingdoms side by side. These two kingdoms were friendly most of the time, but they had kept to themselves mostly for many years. That was until the Leo monarchy took control of one of the kingdoms. It was around this same time that the Pax monarchy took control of the other. After these two kingdoms came to be, King Leo took initiative and went to see King Pax. King Leo looked to form a solid alliance between the two kingdoms once and for all. They were both kingdoms of success and power, and harbored no ill-will toward one another. There wasn’t any reason the two shouldn’t publicly announce an official friendship, he thought.
And King Leo went to meet with King Pax. The two Kings were delighted in conversations, and instantly bonded over the issues they both faced in their powerful positions. However, there were a few issues they could not bond over. King Leo could not relate to King Pax’s complaints of his son, Prince Pax. King Leo could not relate to any complaints of family matters at all, you see, because he had none. He was given his power as a young boy and, despite growing into a man, he’d not yet found a wife to bear him a son.
Similarly, King Pax could not relate to King Leo’s wishes to find a family, because King Pax was always worried by the stresses of his own. King Pax was always fussing over his son, the Prince. He was a young man near fully adult. And yet the Prince had never expressed any interest in ruling, power, or leadership. The Prince never showed any interest in finding a princess to rule with. This angered King Pax, and he desperately searched for a solution. Every time he would send his son to mentors and scholars in hopes he would learn to change his ways, they Prince would run away night after night until there seemed to be no hope for him at all.
And this is truly how the story began. When the two kings met, they drank and laughed and moaned their grievances. In the wee hours of the morning the two kings realized they could help one another. King Pax asked King Leo to take his son on a hunting trip. He asked King Leo to teach him how to hunt, how to be a man, and speak to him of leadership and power. In return, King Leo asked King Pax to look for him a lover while they were gone. King Pax agreed to the arrangement, and the plan was set into motion.
The Prince was not pleased to hear about his hunting trip. He was terrified, actually. And he was beside himself with depression as he was unable to tell another soul why he didn’t wish to go with the King.
Once, long ago, when the Prince was just a little boy-no more than 3 years old-he was playing in the woods behind his castle. He wandered off a bit too far, but he still had courage when he was that age. He roamed further and further into the woods until the day began to sink into the night, slowly. When he turned around to return to the castle, he was met by an evil, magical woodsman.
The Woodsman lived all alone in the forest as an outcast from the kingdom. He wished so badly to seek revenge on the kingdom by taking power over the entire land no matter how he had to do it. And so he waited in the woods and studied magic for years. Those years turned into decades. And those decades led him to that certain night when he met the young Prince Pax. He did not harm the boy right away, but rather placed a spell on him before he let him go. The spell he placed on the Prince had many motives.
According to the spell, each night the Prince would turn into a hairy, sharp-toothed wolf and run into the woods. He would then have no choice but to sit, heartbroken and howl a painful cry to the moon until sunrise. This spell, the Woodsman hoped, would keep the Prince from ever learning to take power or control over his people, and it would keep the boy in need of comfort for the rest of his life. And with a weak Prince, the monarchy would be much easier to manipulate when the time came for the Prince to take his seat as king. That was when the Woodsman planned to strike against the kingdom. But he needed more time to study his magic before his assault.
And that is why the spell worked well in another way. With the sounds of a wolf howling night after night, the people of the kingdom began to fear the woods at night. And when the people were afraid of the woods, they would never come looking for the Woodsman. This gave the Woodsman all the privacy he needed to study magic and plot his revenge.
But the Prince knew he could never tell anyone in the kingdom of his curse. So he acted out in every way he could otherwise. He refused to be seen after sundown. He refused to take command when instructed to. He knew that if he was ever to be made king, he would fail, and let his people down. And most of all, the Prince felt scared that he would never allow himself to love a princess and make her his partner in ruling. And no king had ever ruled alone. This is why he did not want to go hunting with King Leo in the woods. But the Prince had no choice but to obey his father. His father was the king.
The King and the Prince finally met for the first time on the day of their hunting trip. It was a cold, foggy morning. The Prince had refused to get out of bed on time and was dressed for warmer weather. When he came out of his castle to meet the King, he was surprised to find warmth in his eyes. He stopped and admired the King from afar before collecting himself and walking closer for introductions. The King was also taken aback by the Prince. He instantly knew before any words were exchanged that the Prince was cold in the chilly morning air, and offered the Prince his jacket. The Prince accepted with a warm smile, hoping to match the warmth he felt from the King’s eyes.
They were led to the entrance of the forest by a band of helpers, but the King insisted they begin the trip officially by themselves. And thus began their trip into the woods.
The King was a very skilled hunter, on top of many other things he was also good at as a King. As a matter of fact, the King was known throughout his and other kingdoms as one of the best hunters in the world. Most people did not know, however, that he was cursed with one very inconvenient fear: wolves. The reason the King was as great as he was at all things experienced Kings are good at was because he started his reign at a very young age.
When the King was a young boy, no older than 10 or 11, he was visiting the forest with his family. It was a peaceful day. He remembered laughing, playing with his sisters, and gathering rare leaves for his father on scavenger hunts.
But when night started to fall and his family began their trip out of the forest, they came upon a pack of angry wolves. These wolves were sent by the evil, magical Woodsman to kill the entire royal family. However, the feast in which the wolves made of the poor King’s family included every single member of the Leo’s except for the orphaned King. From that age forth he was the ruler of his kingdom, and vowed to do his best to protect his people until the day he died. Nothing scared him. He hardened into a stoic, strong man. But he never conquered his overwhelming fear…of wolves.
Luckily for the Prince, the King was only planning to stay in the forest a few hours and come back well before sundown. The Prince was unaware of the King’s phobia, but he knew well he’d best get home before the woods were overwhelmed with shadow.
The hours passed, and the King seemed to actually have a knack for teaching the Prince. He was able to bring the shy boy out of his shell and soon they were laughing, sharing stories, and walking hand in hand.
Just when it seemed that the day was a success, the two men fell into a deep hole dug as a trap by the evil woodsman. In his greatest plan yet, the two kingdoms were sure to fall. The Prince would have no choice but to eat the King at sundown and the King would be defenseless. And how would the people react when the Prince came home in the morning with the King’s blood in his mouth? The Evil Woodsman was delighted.
While down in the hole, the two men cared for one another. They calmed each other’s nerves. Eventually there was no choice but for the two of them to admit their weaknesses to one another, seeing as they were soon to be an issue.
When the King admitted his fear first, the Prince was heartbroken. He had begun to fall madly in love with the King and felt somehow the King could possibly have been his savior. Now he knew he, himself, would be the very reason the King would die unless he could get out of the forest and away from the King. \
And when the Prince cried and admitted his curse, the King was overwhelmed with shame. He had never once faltered as a King, and now that he, too, was falling in love with the Prince, he would be unable to save the first and only love of his life.
Night fell. The King was terrified as he watched the Prince slowly morph into a young, healthy, dangerous looking wolf. And then he heard the sad wolf’s song. It made him cry instantly. While others in the town had complained of this terrible noise for years now, it was the King’s first time hearing the wolf cry. And he was instantly overwhelmed with empathy and depression upon hearing the sound. He wanted to help, but he had no choice but to stay on the other side of the hole and watch in sadness.
It was then that the Evil Woodsman pulled the King and the wolf out of the trap hole with his magic powers and through them on the ground in front of him. Night was the time for the Evil Woodsman to strike. And now he knew was the perfect time to make sure the King and the Prince met their sad fate.
But, to the Woodsman’s surprise, the wolf never attacked the King. He simply moved closer to the King looking for comfort. He was crying his song towards the King now, and not the moon. But the King remained defenseless and moved away from the wolf each time, trying to remain calm. His heart was broken, but he could do nothing.
The Woodsman was furious that the wolf would not kill the King. And he started to attack him. He kicked him in the ribs over and over again.
Just as the torture began, the King was possessed with a power he had never known before. It was a power that came from his heart. He pulled his sword from his sheath and went to attack the Woodsman.
The Woodsman, however, was a skilled fighter and a dirty one, at that. He used magic to melt the King’s sword, and began to beat the King instead in an epic hand-to-hand battle.
It was a mighty fight that lasted what seemed like hours. The wolf stayed, hurt, on the side of their battle grounds, howling at the moon.
After a long while, however, the King was badly hurt. When the wolf stopped looking at the moon for a short moment, he saw that the King would certainly be killed if he were to take one of more the Woodsman’s blows.
And in that magical moment, the human Prince inside of the wolf imagined what his life would be without the King. He thought of continuing his life of hiding and unhappiness. He thought about what would come of him knowing forever that he watched as the one man he had ever loved was destroyed in front of him. And in that moment, the wolf’s song became the most loud, beautiful, astounding song ever made by any animal.
The shear force of this howl’s song instantly made the Woodsman’s ears bleed. He was rendered defenseless instantly. And yet the King was overwhelmed with love when he heard the song of his wolf. He thought of a life without him, and how sad and lonely his Kingdom would be without his love to rule beside him. And it was then that the King rose to his feet, and with one well placed and powerful punch, knocked the Woodsman’s head off of his body and saved the forest from his evil.
The wolf melted back into the Prince as the night birds slowly began their chirping once again. The King and the Prince embraced instantly and shared, there in the moonlight, love’s first kiss.
They returned to the worried kingdom the next morning and announced their engagement. There was a joyous celebration, and all of the kingdom’s people attended. The two kingdoms were joined from that day forth, and there was never another complaint of late-night howling from the town again.
The King went on to be a powerful and fair ruler for the rest of his life. He never once again feared anything or let any invaders attack his people. He knew now why he was such a protector. His life’s purpose was to protect his lover, the Prince, and he would never fear anything again.
The Prince became a loving and peaceful friend to all of his people. Since he no longer harbored his secret pain, he was able to speak freely as he wished. And it turned out he was a lovely, pleasant man just waiting to be there for his people whenever they needed him.
The King and the Prince were finally together, after saving one another in the battle for their lives. And they lived happily ever after….
