See our fair prince entering Pharaoh’s tomb, overburdened
with delusions of heroism: rescue the princess, triumph over evil. Pitiful,
really. Heroism is such an irrelevant concept, like good or evil. Time matters
most: erosion, evolution.
There are traps down there but they are momentary, tripped,
ineffective, then done, like a human lifetime. A good curse though, lasts
forever.
The hero wins, of course. What did you expect? The princess
is saved; they have many children. A grand dynasty is born.
They never suspect my sweet, lingering kiss in their DNA. I
live on, insidious as decay, sweeping through the centuries.
(Originally written for Lily Childs' Friday Prediction)
Oh chilling! Loved this line " A good curse though, lasts forever."
ReplyDeleteVery sinister for a fairy tale, but then again most fairy tales are. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, lots of greatness packed into a drabble.
ReplyDeleteInsidious, the word itself is enough to bring fear. I always think the dangerous things we can't see are far more dangerous than the big monsters that we can shoot at.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Helen. I liked that line, too. =)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catherine. Hadn't thought of it as a fairy tale, but it has a lot of the right elements: a prince, a rescue, a 'happily ever after' of sorts, a villain, archetypal tricks. =)
Thank you, FAR. =)
And thanks, Steve. Horrors that the mind can conjure and elaborate can be way worse than the drooling beasty at the door. ;)
Nice. It makes me wonder what the narrator *does*
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anke. =)
ReplyDeleteA sentient hereditary illness, mental or physical, or both? The third child, kept in the attic, unspoken of... Or a concept far darker and removed from human understanding, a greater game than a human mind can envisage? ;)
Actually, that's not a bad story idea... The family warns against the third child, the curse, but every few generations will come a couple who thinks it nonsense, when memory of the last dark son has faded... ;)