Deceit

By
Christopher J. Thomasson

I

Fumbling fingers,
Dainty and slim they were,
Almond skin,
Perfect.
The poison,
She almost spilled.

II

A king,
Loved by his friends,
His family,
His countrymen.
A good ruler he was,
His lands
Did lay peaceful,
Throughout his
Entire rule.

III

The prince,
Gallant dragon slayer
Was he.
Mighty warrior.
He guaranteed
His kings peace,
With his sword,
With his wits,
With his might.
Ill his father took,
And the land
Grieved Over the sickness
Of their king.
Pacing,
The prince sweat
Sweet drops.
His brow,
Creased with worry.

IV

The king,
Still young
For the time,
Took the illness hard.
Weak he was,
Voice soft,
He told those around him,
Of his love.
He knew that death,
Was soon to come.

V

The queen,
Ten years in the grave,
By traitors hand
Was slain.
The murderer,
Long since fled,
Left not one trace
Of their presence.
The prince paced more,
And thought of his mother,
And the circumstances
Surrounding her death.
Just like the king,
She had also
Grown suddenly ill.
The facts behind her death,
Hadn’t come to light,
Till her body
Was prepared for burial.
Her organs,
Once removed,
Revealed a poison
Had been used.
It was a slow death,
And the poison
Lightly measured
Over the time
Of five full moons,
The poison ate
At her organs,
Till one day she did collapsed,
Never to rise again.

VI

Into the gruel
She did pour,
Those delicate fingers,
A tiniest measure of death.

VII

His followers
He wanted to face,
And stand tall for their sakes.
They must see their king strong,
d‘spite the death to come.
Encourage them, he did,
With magnificent voice
Of his son’s reign to come.
He showed no outward pain,
‘Sept his family knew,
The hurt that lied within
And the torment
Behind the strain.
The staff sat nervous,
The prince stared with worry,
While the princess cried openly.

VIII

Gone were the crowds
And the king
And his son sat alone.
No words could be exchanged,
For there were no words
To convey
The love those
Two men shared
In their time as
Father and son.
“You shoes, my lord,
I could never fill,”
Said the son,
Kneeling beside the king.
“My son, no doubts
Should you have.
My people love my son,
In as much as they loved me.”
Coughing and spitting,
Another attack he did have,
And when it did subside,
He placed his hand,
Wrinkled and gray,
Onto the head of his son.
“My son, your kingdom
This will be,
And you will rule it
So much better,
Than even me.”
He hissed his breath
And lowered his voice
To an almost silent whisper.
“Now this I must tell,
And I tell you true,
There’s a traitor among us
And the name I tell you
Will strike you like a blow.”
The king named the name,
And such was right with the prince.
He doubled over as if struck,
Hurt from the news
That the king did present.

IX

She entered the chambers,
Silver tray in hand,
Food steaming.
Her eyes darted
Over the two occupants
Of the massive room.
The princess’s maid,
Grew nervous,
From the stares of the men.
The platters and spoons
Of the evening meal,
Shook at her nervousness.
She placed the tray
On the stand
Next to the kings bed.
He reached out a hand,
And grabbed her,
Roughly by the wrist.
Startled by the action,
The maid hissed in a breath,
Though, “Thank you,”
Was all he said.
She exited as fast,
As fast as she dare.

X

The wizard entered,
Black robe and hood,
He sucked the light
From within the room,
Wrapping the darkness
Around himself
Like a shroud of death.
The king and the prince
Exchanged a nervous
Glance of their own.
This man scared
The both of them.
“What is thy bidding?”
The magician asked,
Bothering not
To address them with reverence.
“We have need
of a poison,” said the prince,
mischievous grin on his face.

XI

To the dungeon
The wizard did go,
A concoction most deadly,
He must prepare.

XII

The prince sat
In darkness deep.
The castle he did watch,
The servants quarter to be exact.
There she was, He thought
as the maid appeared.
She crossed the courtyard,
On some secret errand.
Through another door
She disappeared,
And the prince sat back
To silently contemplate.
What was he to do,
As his father lay dying?

XIII

That night,
The magician did deliver,
An oily poison
To the prince.
First meals would be taken
As the sun would soon rise.
To the kitchen he would go,
And deliver the elixir
As he was told.
The prince hid,
In a secret passage
Within the kitchen,
And through a small hole
He did watch
The activity within.
Here was the maid,
Going about her chores,
Preparing the kings meal,
Like she’d been often told.
The prince so wanted,
To reveal himself
From his hiding spot,
But he kept watch,
As the king had asked.
It wasn’t yet time
For their revenge.
Then to his surprise,
Another figure appeared.
Someone he wasn’t expecting.
This was a place
She never came,
But here she was,
Just the same.
The prince watched,
As in the confusion
Of the kitchen,
The princess removed,
From the folds of her bosom,
A tiny vial.
A single drop fell
Into the kings tea.
The prince couldn’t breath,
Over the shock of what he’d seen.
His own wife, the princess,
His love, his life,
The traitor, full of deceit.
Just as suddenly as she’d come,
The princess was gone,
And the prince was left in hiding,
Struggling over his emotions.

XIV

The king,
Could neither believe,
What the prince had seen.
The death that was feeding,
Had been dished down,
By the future queen.
“Our plan stands,”
Said the king,
“Only our target
Has changed.”
And out he sent the prince,
In the name of revenge.

XV

He entered her room,
A pitcher of fresh wine
In his hands.
The princess smiled,
At the entrance of her man,
And into his arms
Herself she threw.
She fetched two glasses,
For the prince to pour the wine.
It was the prince’s turn
To battle his nervousness.
As his wife returned,
Glasses in hand,
He poured the poisoned wine.

XVI

The king woke
To the sound of alarms.
Bells sounded everywhere
And people’s shouts
Filled the halls.
The king called for his servant,
Who reluctantly appeared.
“What news do you have,”
said the king,
beckoning to the young man.
“Fetch my son,”
said the king,
“I must have him here with me.”
“Oh, my king,”
said the servant.
“Your son, the prince,
is dead, as is
the future queen.
Their bodies we did find,
Intertwined in their bed.
A jargon of tainted wine
Was found nearby.
Poisoned deceit, my lord.”
Deceit? thought the king.
Who had deceived whom?
The king lay back on his bed,
And wondered what
Had actually happened.
It never occurred to him,
That his son
Had truly been in love
With the deceitful queen to be.

The End

Copyright March 2001 by Christopher J. Thomasson

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