Life as a prisoner

Let me introduce myself, my name is, well, I really don't have a name besides the ones the royals below gave me. I guess freak or revolting beast are the only ones I have. Although I am not a princess I do live in the tallest tower of an evil kingdom. Where the temperature is either freezing cold or excruciatingly hot, and the bed of hay is always damp due to the cracks in the turret ceiling. However, it's nice to have a couple of good friends. Even though they might be mice, rats, pigeons, bats and owls. They do have the most extraordinary humor that gets me through each day. Ever since I can remember I've always had this weird gift where I can communicate with these creatures and they understand me. Kind of strange isn't it? Talking to animals.

My furry friends and I share secrets, not to mention we keep each other out of trouble. All of us despise living in this tower. For example, the rats and mice say they don't like the stone walls because they're too narrow. The pigeons and owls talk about how they don't like the dead trees in the village because there's no support for their nests. The poor bats are always fussing about how afraid they are of the villagers because they like to hunt them down and kill them just for sport. So yeah, they all live here with me. You get used to the smell and everything else. I guess you can say we all would prefer to be in a warm soft bed, a spacious birdhouse, a dark cave or maybe a nice roomy mouse hole.

These are my friends, they are the only ones who love and respect me, despite my appearances. I don't know what I would do without my furry animal companions. It makes since why the villagers of this dark kingdom are so ignorant and spiteful to creatures who try their best to live here. From where the highest mountain forest of deadly greenery almost peaks, right before the eastern side of the broken stone wall where the vast village of drunk men and robbers live. All the way to the sun sets on the far west cemetery and the few putrid lakes beyond. These are the lands that are ruled by a savage and bloodthirsty king. His name is Scorp Goredrud Edmond James the IV, but all know him as his highness or dark majesty. He has black hair that is braided with carved bone beads of his enemies. His mustache is greasy, almost tar-like, and he has tiny baby skulls sewn into his beard. You can usually spot him from afar, because he stands out from all his guards. When I mean by stand out, I mean he's short, not too short, but enough to be mistaken for a pubescent prince.

The thing with this terrible ruler is that if you make just one mistake, he will slice you in half. You could be a cook, a bed chamber maid, or even a prisoner like myself. He still will kill you for no reason at all. You can call him a king but he's simply a vicious jerk and a coward. Scorp's family is no better than himself; ruthless and no mercy whatsoever. Let's start with Queen Ursa. What I've heard, she was named after the constellation Ursa Major. More like a major pain in everyone's butt, especially mine.

That's not all. Her appearances are not what you would think for a royal. I believe if you were to put a mink fur dress with silk sewn-in fabric on to a fairy tale troll, it would not even come close. In my opinion what really makes her stand out from all other queens is that Ursa has a giant wart on her face. It's very hard not to stare at the huge growth. Every day I see that thing it gets bigger and more disgusting. I feel as if that wart has a life of its own. Ursa goes out of her way to find the most expensive clothes and accessories, not just for herself, but for her daughters, Angel and Honey. Unlike their names, they are neither nice nor sweet. Angel is blonde with blue eyes, sort of big-boned with creamy skin. She usually wears light blue silk dresses with silver jewelry. Nonetheless, she is very mean and selfish and doesn't like to share or is grateful for anything.

She's also kind of dimwitted, in which I am not surprised. There's really no point talking to her about anything. Unless the question concerns her, cute boys, expensive clothing or money. Honey is more like her father, she doesn't care about anyone's feelings, or if somebody is in pain. She is also blonde with blue eyes and likes to eat sweets. Her wardrobe colors are usually pale pinks with gold jewelry. What I've heard, she makes an effort to purge all what she eats in the chamber pot of her room. I do feel sorry for the maids who have to clean up her mess. I really don't think that's a healthy thing to do to ones body.

Honey is even more thick-headed than her sister, but in different ways. These two princesses are always blaming me for things I didn't do. Half the time I am in my tower locked away for the last thing I did that wasn't my fault. Those princesses are always causing trouble. They're really starting to be a big pain in my tail. The kingdom of Basiliskah is chock-full of cut-throats, pick pockets and just plain terrible people. I've always wondered why I don't look like these beings.

I mean besides the sharp claws, scales, talons for toes, a long tail, large bat-like wings and fangs. I guess I would look like them? However, I would never act or do the things they do. I agree sometimes it does get a tad boring in this tower. At this point i do take a chance to sneak out in the middle of the night to look at myself in the nearby lake. I guess you could say i am reflecting on my past. I ask myself, “why am I here and why do I have to put up with all this? Maybe my real parents didn't want me? Maybe I wasn't what they expected me to be? Or maybe they were killed by a hunter of some sort? There's definitely no way King Scorp and Queen Ursa conceived me, or maybe they did?”

Every winter, I get a feeling that it's a special part of the year for me. I don't know why. Maybe it's because King Scorp has more of a heart and is less barbaric. Usually around this season he's kind of nice and sort of generous. He gives me more table scraps than usual and hand-me-downs from his daughters. Sometimes he has this look on his face, it's hard to describe. He looks as if he fears me. Or maybe he fears something else. I have a weird notion in the pit of my soul he has a secret that he's hiding. I wish he would just tell me.

This morning it really felt like winter. It was frigid but it wasn't snowing, just slitting. I was watching from the broken wall. I call it my window. It's also my escape hole. Looking down at the queen and her two spoiled daughters. Gazing at them as they were all getting out of the carriage from the late autumn ball. The nearby village was filled with lots of people fighting in the streets and the funeral man was taking his annual stroll through the cemetery robbing the graves.

Yes, that's your usual kingdom of Basiliskah for you. At noon time I am let out of my tower. Just for three hours, though. After those hours are up I have to go back inside. From midday to three o'clock, I'm trying to find things around the castle that I can craft and turn into beautiful objects for my room. During the nights when everyone is asleep, I take a chance to climb down and venture to the village. It's just to see what glorious findings people have tossed into their garbage. If i am lucky I will see a coin or two from someone who has accidentally dropped on the ground. In this case whatever currency is found I leave the money at the nearest cottage or building. In my heart it's the right thing to do.

King Scorp doesn't know I sneak out at night. It's a miracle he hasn't found out yet. I'm hoping he never will. It's amazing what people throw away. Winter and summer are the best seasons that people toss out their used or unwanted belongings. Just last summer the baker threw away so many over baked pastries I decided to give some of it to the pets that people have abandoned. I know in this kingdom these animals don't last long on the streets. The winter before the seamstress tossed away a lot of spools, needles, buttons and exotic cloth material. All because they were collecting dust on the shelves of her shop. I really had a ball decorating my tower and making clothes that week.

My motto is, 'another person's trash, is another accessory for my room or for me.' Even though my life may seem awful it does have its advantages. Looking at the positive, I do have three hours to search the castle. In which case leaves me plenty of time to do what I want outside at night. All my twelve years in this place have not been the most exciting or thrilling. To be honest, it has been a nightmare. I'm a prisoner and I will always be one. Trying all that i can to take some deep breaths and be happy for what i do have. "Things will get better, and I got a gut feeling they will. I hope that's not starvation.”

©2024 Julianne A.