A Grim Fairy Tale

Chapter Thirty-Three

Charlotte stood at one of the castles many balconies and for an hour she just watched castle gateway for any sign of her father. When he still did not appear, she turned her attention to the village and despite being at quite a distance from it, Charlotte had sharp eyes that allowed her to observe the area very well. She expected to see the peasants throwing their own victory celebration this evening. They been known to do hold more humble events since they couldn't attend the grand balls. They once even had a flower festival in order to celebrate her birthday so surely tonight they would be cheering and dancing and laughing in honor of their beloved king returning.

But Charlotte could not see such things. She could not see any colored lanterns or common folk dancing. She couldn't see vary many people at all. She couldn't hear any music or cheering or laughter. She couldn't hear anyone crying with joy at the war being over. That was odd. Did they not her father was coming back? Or perhaps something was wrong?

Her inner monarch urged her to investigate. She quietly borrowed a horse from the royal stables and trotted down to the town square. But the town was nothing like she remembered it from her childhood. She recalled it being a very cheerful and prosperous place. One where the peasants worked hard but expressed such a passion for life because the fruits of their labors had been great. Fertile crops and green grass, healthy livestock, small but clean and strong-built houses sheltered the peasants, children playing,  everyone appearing happy most of the time. 

But now the crops, the trees, and the grass had all withered away and died. No livestock was to be seen and buildings were crumbling. The few people she saw were far too thin and dressed in rags with eyes full of starvation. The entire kingdom had sunk into poverty. 

"What's happened here?" She wondered. 

Charlotte got down from her horse and began to look around more. She specifically sought out someone who could possibly tell her the events that led to such a dreadful atmosphere. Unfortunately all the people who saw her jumped, ran away, and hid. They're were so terribly fearful, though not personally fearful of Charlotte. Just fearful of anything or anyone that can near. But why?

She finally spotted someone who didn't run. He was a very dirty looking man and not pleasant to look at. He didn't appear very afraid either. A feeling warned Charlotte to be wary of this man so she decided to speak to him at a distance.

"Excuse me sir." She called, only staying two feet away from him. "May I ask what happened here?"

He took a swig from the jug that he carried in his left hand and for a moment he only stared at her.

"What do you mean, what happened here?" He asked.

"I mean this kingdom, it was once so very prosperous. It was fertile and thriving, very few who lived here were starving. The conditions were nothing like this."

"You've been away for a long time. When King Percival left for his crusade, the queen decided that we all needed to pay a few taxes to show our loyalty to the crown. She squeezed every last coin out of us and  if you couldn't pay, you'd rot in a cell or hang."

Charlotte was horrified. 

"And if that wasn't bad enough, then she started stealing some of our womenfolk."

"Why?"

"How the hell should I know? All I know is once those women were taken to the castle they were never seen again. As the years went by this 'prosperous' kingdom was turned into the biggest shit hole in the world."

He took note of Charlotte's appearance again. She was clean, obviously well-fed, and wearing a gown and jewelry. 

"But you seem to be pretty well off."