Well, it had a sad and dangerous ending. So I kept saying that I wanted to go and re do it at a later time. I wanted the story to be a little different. So today in this blog I will do just that. A side note on the art; most of it is random net finds but one of those pieces of art is actually by Chris Mars. I do not know him personally. He did not license it out. I found it online but he is perfect like Clive Barker with art and creation .... So I had to barrow it without asking.
All Of The Kings Men
By;
Jessica Singleton
" Ladies and Gentlemen , I am now locked up in a handcuff that has taken a British Mechanic 5 years to make. I do not know if I will get out of it or not. But I can assure you. I will do my best . " - Houdini
" From Childhood's Hour, I have not been as others were. " - Edgar Allan Poe
" When my father and my mother forsake me , then the Lord will take me up . " - Psalms Ch 27 v 10 KJV
Part 1
Once upon a time in a far away kingdom, there lived a great king named Winston. He loved his wife Lourie very much. They wanted a child of their own. For many years they tried to have children but for some reason they never got pregnant.
Then one March night something changed. The Queen had tried a magic potion that a wizard sold her and she got pregnant.
Nine months later a young prince was born. They named the prince Hampton Winston Harper the 3rd. Hampton was not like other babies. He was much smaller and tiny in the limbs. Hampton also would not stop crying.
So the queen and the king sent their knights to find a doctor who would know what to do for the tiny baby prince.
When the doctor came to the castle, he said that Hampton was fragile and he had something wrong with him where his bones were like glass. So most of Hampton's life, he would have to sit or be still upon piles of pillows. That way nothing could harm him.
Hampton was a sweet child and he felt very lonely and alone most of his childhood. He was locked up in his tower where he had no one to talk to but his stuff animal collection.
Lourie was a drunk and she lived in her own mind most of the time. As though his mother was locked in a past that she could not get back.
Winston senior was a money hungry king that worked all the time. He left home and would stay away for months at a time.
Winston would not even look at Hampton. Hampton was not the son that Winston had envisioned as his own.
Hampton was so breakable and tiny that he would never be a knight that went to war to save his country.
Hampton was still playing with action figures and reading comic books when he was 15 years old. Hampton slept with a teddy bear that he named George Washington. Most young men are already looking at girls at that age.
Winston wanted to cry when he thought of how far off his son was compared to others. Hampton noticed how his father looked and talked to him. As though he was the hired help and it made him sick.
Hampton lived in fear of his drunk mother most of the time. No one even gave him a chance. He was not dumb. He was not sick in the head. Hampton did not want to be a child forever. He was just from a different generation then his father.
One of the maid's children came to work in the courtyard and his name was Doh. Doh was a French boy who befriended Hampton. They both liked to read and they both had kept their childhood teddy bears.
One day at the dinner table King Winston addressed his son on the coming royal ball that was to take place on Halloween night.
" Hampton , I do not know if you have noticed but it is October and the royal fall ball is upon us. You cannot take the help to the ball. So have you thought about who you want to take as a date? "
" Nope. I do not care about that ? "
" You do not care ? You do not care about that ? Is it ? And why is that may I ask you ? "
" I cannot dance anyway. Those things are boring. I do not like any of the princess in the land. I just want to get a plate of food and go hid in my room. Doh says that he has a new board game that I can borrow. "
Winston's fork clanked to his plate as he lowered his hand suddenly and then his eyes made a second shelf approach to his sons gaze until their eyes met.
" What .... No... Let me ... Okay I have to know. No Hampton I really have to know. How do you plan on controlling a country on your own someday if you do not do anything but play with plastic toy soldiers and sit around your room reading books on the wild west frontier. ??? I have to hear this. In fact you should enlighten your mother and myself on what it is that you will learn from the wild west shows anyway? This is England and you are not from the deep south. "
" Well, my school work proves that I'm not stupid father. You don't have to act like a stuffed toy is a bomb. I'm not forty yet. There is no one to talk to . I do not harm others. I am sick of those events. They are just an excuse for mom to drink. Those girls know less about running a country then I do. They'd ruin any land. They sit down more then me. They laugh at other people that they do not know. That sounds dumber then playing with toy blocks. Then all they want is money but they do not want to have to do anything to earn money. Talking to them is worse then listening to the beggars ask you for insanity. I cannot do anything at those events anyway. I look dumb in that monkey suit that mom puts over me. I sit there and no one wants to talk to me. They act like I'm a creature from the black sea just because I'm short. Like they are so appealing to me anyway. I am just smart and mature enough not to voice my opinion in the room like a 2 year old brat that has to pee his pants. "
Lourie almost started to laugh but she swallowed hard on her wine before she looked off at the wall. Winston put his hand on his forehead and rolled his eyes.
" Hampton listen to me.... I think you are still a child in the head. Growing up is communication and moving forward. I do not like this new attitude that you are showing off. I think you need to be grounded and then that will give you time to think of your choice. I am forced to find you a suitable date on my own. I think the princess to Bozic is fine. I will send word to her.... "
" Oh no... please FATHER.... NO- "
" Hampton I am talking. No is not the answer. I will send word to her father and he will know that she is your choice, our choice for a suitable date. "
Hampton's eyes filled with tears. He just shook his head and he wheeled his chair off from the table.
Winston called out at his son,
" You will thank me someday son... Remember that . "
Part 2
Doh and Hampton were playing chess and listening to a record of Thrash Metal in Hampton's room.
" So who is the lucky girl that will hang around you ? "
" Boznic . "
" Oh. "
" I do not want to talk about it. I do not even want to know about it. Do not make a joke. Please. "
" I do not laugh at you. You know that. "
" Thank you. I cannot stand this house. I want to move out. The day that I turn 18 years old. I am running away. I swear I will. "
" I will come with you. I want to be an artist. We can join the circus. I can paint the clowns faces and you can just tell people what to do. That is what kings do. They are like ring leaders. "
" That is just it. I do not want to tell anyone what to do. It makes me think of my father. I cannot stand him. I love him. I would never hurt him but he looks at me the way I want to look at him. "
" What does it matter? You are you. You are the crowned prince of England. You are famous and you rule a whole world.??? "
" It is not that. Those things do not change you as a person. It is the moral of it. My mother drinks herself silly. She lives like a child in her head. He takes off like he does not have a home or family all the time. What would I do, if I did not read ? Sit and stare at the wall like a drunk wizard ? You'd think that he'd at least treat me like his son. I am his family. He cannot stand me. He brought me into this world. It hurts. He cannot take it back. "
" I think I understand. People talk to me like that. Like I'm just the hired help. Like I am not a person at all. It gets to me. They act like I do not matter. "
" Can we just play chess here and not hear about the wow is me for a while??. It reminds me of the way that people look at me. ? "
" Sure. No problem. Do you want to borrow that record for a while? I can leave it for you? "
" Yeah. I like that metal up the ass song. "
" Hey if swamp thing came at your dad like a demon out of hell singing that, I bet he'd piss his own pants. haha "
The room was filled with laughter for a while over that comment.
Part 3
Lourie came to her son and took him out to the garden. There was a hot air balloon waiting and she took him for a ride in the sky to look down at the world. It was beautiful and crystal clear in the August Sky.
The day of the ball, the staff was busy decorating the royal ball room. Royal blue silk curtains lined the windows in a midnight sea. Peacock feathers and orange tiger lilies filled carnival glass vases. Amber colored goblets and autumn gold plates lined the tables. Huge bouquets of pumpkins and candies were places in the center of each table. Black emeralds and red Amber stones were used to make custom lighting fixtures for the dinning hall.
When the event started Hampton and his date sat in the corner drinking punch and watching the adults drink.
" So you sit down a lot. Are you not able to walk on your own.? "
" No I can actually walk, I just do not want to. "
" Then why are you always sitting down like that ? That does not make sense. What is wrong with you.? "
" Nothing is wrong with me. Look I can walk. Why don't you walk? I should ask you that too. All you do is sit around and chew when you do not have anything in your mouth to munch on? Although listening to you talk is about like when people chew. Nothing is going on then either. "
" Oh I get it. You are royalty like me. I am the same way. Why should I have to do anything ? I mean who cares? . If I want it then its mine right. I just tell my daddy about it. He will get it for me. "
" Look, princess , I am fragile and it is okay if I want to walk. It is up to me. But they say that I break easy , so it is better to be careful. It is not like I'm an asshole who acts like a baby because the truth is, there is no way that I could think for myself long enough to do much more then beg others for what I have never earned . You know ? "
She did not get it. She said,
" Yeah tell them what you need and they'll get it right or else. "
Part 4
Years passed and shortly after Hampton turned 18 years old the country had gone to war. Winston was at wits end. He was not winning and there did not seem to be anything that he could do. One night the king and all of his men were gathered around a table with plans and maps everywhere. They had been in that room all night.
Hampton just happened to be walking down the hallway. He popped in and he sat down at the table with all the king's men.
" What is going on ? Maybe I could help out. I am good with maps and school work. My test scores are above most. "
Winston rolled his eyes before he addressed his son.
" I doubt that. This is not for you to worry about. You are just a boy Hampy. Just go back to play with your records and let daddy take care of the country. "
Edgar one of the king's leading men was standing there and he spoke up.
" No Winston we could use any input at this point. I say we give the boy a chance. He may know a way around this problem. Hampton if you could help in anyway, please help. The country needs something anything really. "
" What is the problem ? "
" Well, we can read maps too. The biggest problem is that we cannot come up with a game plan that lets us move around the enemy without them knowing. We also have a problem with them getting past our borders. We have men all over the place. Not only that as if that was not enough, we are short on man power now. They have killed most of our men. "
Hampton picked up the maps and he studied them. Then he said,
" You sink their ship from the sea. "
" What ? "
" Dogs smell you coming. They bark. They have killed your men but they do not know that . Make a trip through the water. Dogs will not trace you there. Just cut the line in the middle. Use plastic soldiers like toys. In case the enemy wakes up. They are keeping all their bombs and man power on ships. Sink that thing. Blow it up. Then they have nothing. USE beggars in case it goes wrong. Then you do not lose anymore men. Then once you have their weak spot, take the hills and come in from behind. They will not see it coming. Then you force them to surrender or be sent to the oubliettes. Off with their heads. They are on your land. They are not allowed to take your land. That ship is yours now. By law there is nothing that they can do legally if you do blow up their power. Even if you do not win, by taking out what they have against you, at least they cannot blow up your country anymore. "
Winston looked at his son for the first time since Hampton had been born and he smiled out of respect. All those battle ships and plastic toys worked out.
" I am sorry Hampton that I called you an egg head. Those are great ideas. I am proud that you are my son. "
Hampton was so surprised that he was speechless.
England won the war. And years later Hampton's father watched his son get married and become one of the greatest kings that England had ever known.
The End
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