Two Kings – Page One

Once upon a time, an old king and his beautiful queen dwelt in a stately castle atop a mountain. They had no children, but unlike most kings and queens in such stories this was not a source of trouble to them. They shared a love of art, and filled their castle with objects of beauty and taste. It was a great expense, of course, but the king and queen cared little for the cost, as everything they needed was always at hand, already provided for them by the king’s late father, whose brutal taxation of the peasants of the land had yielded him much gold. It was this gold that had built the sprawling castle in which the couple lived.

The king and queen thus led pampered lives, alone in the castle with their many servants. The king fancied himself something of an artist, and spent many hours in his studio with pots of paint and brushes and sketchbooks, secretly drinking many a flagon of mead while he sketched. Meanwhile, his queen did queenly things; of what these consisted, the king did not know.

And yet it came as no surprise to the old king when his lady wife appeared at the door of his studio one day, resplendent in her short-waisted white fur coat from Neiman Marcus, with her servants carrying her Coach luggage behind her. The queen announced her departure to him. The king had no words to offer her. The queen expressed the possibility of an indefinite return. The king again said nothing, and the queen swept away down the hall, her servants trailing behind her. The king heard the front door close, and the roaring of the engines of her BMW chariot.

Two Kings – Page Two>

Read Two Kings in Full

Greer Hed is a writer who attended Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA and would love to share her writing with the Berkshire Beat community. Keep an eye out for more of her writing here at The Beat.

Please comment here or email her with any questions/comments/praise/etc. at: vegetableormineral@gmail.com