ALL DARK PRINCE

Down a long  hallway, behind a door to a very large bedroom, in a tall rustwood house, there was chatter among many small voices. Whispers, laughter and speaking among other small voices in soft tones. This chatter was overheard by someone who wished the small voices to be…..asleep. 

The door quickly flug open with a WOOSH and a fast creek of the doors hinge.

“I KNOW!!!….my littel puddlejumpers are NOT still up far past their bedtime!!!”. Shouted a tall Anarian mother with a stern face. The small children froze in place. Some with mouthes still open, all eyes very wide and fixated on their mother standing in the door way. Their mothers face still holding a look of stern dissaproval looking over the many tiny green faces. The air was silent as the mother looked around large bedroom at the twenty something tiny faces. Just after making eye contact with each of her children….she let out her breath with laughter and a smile.

“MOMMY!! YOU SCARED US!!” was the uproar of all the children to their mother who had startled them. 

Their mother laughed and laughed. Still chuckling, she settled into a warm smile and look of warmth as she watched all of her little puddlejumpers fussing together and speaking with one another. She enjoyed the moment, it filled her heart and overflowed it with love.

She snapped her large green fingers together and got the attention of all the little ones.

“My babies, what is going on? Why are you ALL up past your bedti…” Before she could finish, one of the little girls spoke out quickly and loudly

 

“HIYMRON FROM SCHOOL TOLD ME HE SAW A SKELETON IN THE SEWER AND IT WAS ALIVE!!!”

The mothers face settled into a annoyed look that was closer to when she initially burst in on the big bedroom full of her Anarian children.

“My dear, that…is nonsense. Skeletons are not alive, they are just bones.” Responded to the mother. 

 

Before the mother could begin another sentence, a little boy with spotted green skin spoke up quickly “HIYMRON FOLLOWED THE SKELETON DOWN INTO THE SEWERAND SAID IT HAD A LONG CUREVED SWORD!!”

The children now in an uproar among themselves. All talking over each other and at their mother. Their mother, now with an annoyed look on her face, snaps her fingers and shouts out a “Quiet!! Quiet!!! The sewers are not a place of play, you all know this. I think I’m going to speak with Hiymron’s mother and father about the tall tales he has been telling to the other children and I’m certian his parents will punish him for sneaking off to places he should never be alone in without an adult. Maybe a paddling is in order on his tiny green bum, hmmmm?”.

Their tiny faces now no longer trying to make eye contact with their mother due to the thought of getting a paddling to the backside for going somewhere they should not be. 

Their mother breaks the soft silence in the room. “Have any of you heard of the all dark prince?”

“All dark? Is he just really dark green like the Sudzu vines that grow in up the city walls?” asked speckled olive green face still lying on the top of the five stack bunk beds. 

“No, not quite” replied the mother. She walked to the center of the room and sat down and crossed her legs. 

“Many dynasties ago, there was a fierce young prince of the royal house. The prince was known for being a fighter, for winning many wars and showing off the great strength he possessed. As the princes fame grew, so did his hunger to rule the Anarian Empire. The King and Queen, his mother and father saw the power their prince had. Soldiers, mages, legions all followed the young prince and swore their allegiance to him. However, the King & Queen were not ready to turn over all the stars in the empire to the prince. When the prince demanded to be the sole ruler of the empire, his parents told him no, it was not his time. This angered the prince. The prince told the King & Queen that he was going to assemble all of his loyal soldiers, leggions and mages to remove the king and queen and place them in the dungeons deep below the capital city. But before the powerful prince could call his personal army together, the King & Queen ordered their royal spellcaster to stop the prince and prevent any harm to come to him and the King & Queen. So, before the prince was able to leave the throne chambers, the royal spellcaster quickly cast a spell on the prince. “

“THEIR OWN SON!?!?” cried out a mottled skinned puddlejumper laying in the middle of a bunk stack, holding her pillow over her head with her little green fingers. 

“Yes, the King and Queens own son. He was going to do something that would get alot of people hurt, including his own self. So they needed to stop him.” Said the Anarian mother to her daughter.

“After the spell was cast, the princes body immediately dissapeared. Vanished, *POOF* into the air. His blue glass armor and his great sword all crashed down to the floor and slid across the throne chamer. It was silent for a moment betweeen the King & Queen, their royal spellcaster and the other guards in the room. Then, from under the Prince’s cape covering his armor….a  eight legged onyx colored weaver big as your head crawled from under the prince’s cape”

The children’s mother raises her four fingers of each hand to the sides of her head to show how big the weaver was that crawled out from the fallen armor on the floor. Holding the hands to the side of her head while she slowly turned her head. Looking at each child with a serious expression. 

“When the weaver crawled out from under it turned to the King & Queen and let out a SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM!!”. The mother immediately began laughing as she  watched the children sitting on the floor all scream and scramble to their bunk stacks and get under their covers. 

“MOMMY!!! THATS NOT FUNNY!!! In a salty tone some of the children shouted to their mother who is still laughing at them. 

Still sitting on the floor, mom continued the story. “The screaming weaver startled everyone who saw it. The weaver, with black eyes, black legs and wide matte black body, quickly ran out of the room. Still, screaming an awful sound out of its mouth as it moved thru the capital chambers. The only time the weavers screams stopped was when a guard managed to catch the weaver, but only to have the weaver bite them and get away again. The screaming was heard all thru the capital. Until, finally, the weaver managed to get into the sewers. Thats where the screams were finally last heard coming from the weaver.” The mother pauses for a moment.

 Chatter among the children rises, whispers of “Weavers are bad” can be heard. 

“So what happened to the weaver after it went in the sewers?” asked a little one sitting on the side of the bed with legs dangling below. 

The mother unfolds her legs and stand upright and looks at the little green face that asked her the question. “We don’t know. The guards who were bit by the weaver lost their arms and hands where the weaver had bit them. The King and Queen sent scouts into the sewers to find their son, the all black weaver, but he was never found. A great deal of time later, people had heard screams coming from different parts of the sewers. When guards or other people went to investigate, they never returned. Its believed that the prince is still in the sewers. Screaming to attract guards, children or anyone who hears the noise to come investigate. Then once someone steps into the sewers, the all dark prince catches them. “

As the mother looks around, all her children are in their beds and under the covers with concerned looks on their little green faces with big eyes peering back at her. With a half smile half grin she says to them “Its ok my little puddle jumpers, there are no weavers anywhere near our homes now. Not even close to any of our stars. You will never see a real weaver in your life. The all dark prince is just a story my father told me when I was your size.”

The mood is lightened a bit among all of the little green ones tucked in their bed and some relief is expressed on their faces. 

“Now, to sleep you all go. I’m going to speak to Hiymron’s mother and father tomorrow about the tall tales he’s telling other children. So…where are you all NOT EVER going to go play at?” She asks her brood while standing still in the doorway. 

A collective “THE SEWERS!!” is shouted back at her from the small Anarians about to sleep away into their dreams. 

With a smile, the mother blows a kiss goodnight to her little puddlejumpers and closes their door.