The King's Pact

A prince makes a deal with the devil, selling his soul to become a handsome incubus. This is the tragic story of his lust as he reigns as king.

A kiss was sin.

Passion was forbidden.

Greed was widely cast

among the people of the city.

Taboo was whispered

to the neighbors suffering

and hinting thoughts of prosperity

and wealth

and love.

A drop of blood was all it cost,

and with a spell

and powerful words,

you would receive your wish.

Even the most heinous of

desire would be granted by

trading enough flesh.

One prince caught the gossip

on the wind.

And the day before his reign

he visited the Demon,

sacrificing a drop of his

own crimson lifeline.

Materialized into a beastly beautiful creature,

he reigned dominantly.

Flesh was given,

for every pretty maiden who

looked his way

would dissolve into the depths

of his lust.

Blood...

and flesh.

Sex and death.

For those maidens who

refused to trade flesh for passion

would become his wife.

The prince,

who was now a king,

had four wives whom

he refused to admit love.

With a turn of the key,

each marriage was locked away

in a tower each night.

Until one night,

a beautiful maiden came.

She did not refuse her flesh to him,

but he did not murder her still.

Soon to be the fourth wife of the king,

she was once a friend

to the same man who was

once known as prince.

Locked in a tower,

she loved the king,

but wished for death,

for she wanted to live outside.

One drop of blood

became many

on the day the king met his final maiden.

Beautiful as a rose,

eyes daring like knife,

she appeared at which was

most convenient.

The king had plans to make

the final maiden his,

offering a trade of flesh,

before a piercing pain

shot into his body.

The king stumbled back,

eyes wide,

the front of his robes

stained with red,

with crimson lifeline.

He fell...

he fell to the floor.

The final maiden,

who's hair had fallen short

along with king's descend,

was certainly a man,

planning to send the beastly king

into the depths of Hell earlier

than bargained for,

for he had found his long-lost lover.

Releasing the four wives

from her prisons,

three flee away to freedom.

As the king's breath threatened

to cease for all eternity,

he gazed at the one remaining wife

who hadn't disappeared.

With a final glance upon the man

who stripped her of freedom,

she left.

“Wait!”

cried the king fast.

And he writhed in pain,

reaching for his fourth wife 

as she slipped away,

his childhood friend,

she who was not murdered

even though her flesh became

his without refusal or force.

His eyes shuttered,

his breath ceased.

And his last words became known

only to him,

for no one other would be

present to listen,

“I haven't yet told you I loved you.”

Reviews

[Rasputin]

Damn. I really liked this one, because you managed to write a story (it's a poem, I know) that's dark without being overly graphic. The language seemed a bit...off in some places, but with poetry, it's not the grammar that counts, it's the content. I'm sure you already know this, but this is a great modern take on the Faust story, with a bit of Rapunzel thrown in for good measure (I haven't actually gotten around to reading Faust yet, but everyone already knows what it's about).
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, great job with this one. Whenever I like a piece of writing, I tend to leave a long-winded analytical review about it, and for that I apologize.

[Jen Ro]

I was drawn in from the first line. I loved how there were so many elements laid out in the piece. It had a lot of fluidity to it and depth as well. I would love to read more of your poems that are written out in this story style.

[closed..acct]

This is so amazing!
I really enjoyed the imagery I got with this.
Awesome!

[Danielle Renee]

You pulled me in from the start. Great read and awesome word choice.

[Kristina Moulaison]

Great story! Some of the lines are magnificent. This has everything, passion, tragedy, irony, violence, love! I like the ideas represented here of trading flesh for love. What a sad figure you have created in the king. How did you make the font do that? Is that an option on here? It created an interesting feel to the piece, all overlapping like that. I liked it! You're a good writer!