The Prince With Ten Brides - S01 E07

Story 2 weeks ago

The Prince With Ten Brides - S01 E07

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 7

The Prince With 10 Brides

The palace of Omalin was no longer a place of happy songs or the smell of roasting meat. It was now a place of long shadows and very deep sadness. The walls that used to echo with laughter were now cold and quiet. Outside the palace, the sun was shining bright, but inside, it felt like the night would never end. The King sat on his big wooden throne, but he did not look like a powerful King anymore. He looked like a very old man whose heart was breaking into a thousand tiny pieces. He had tried everything. He had called the best doctors. He had used the best medicines made from the rarest leaves. But nothing worked. His only son, Prince Azu, was still acting like a wild animal. The Prince was lost in a world of darkness that no one could reach. The King knew he had only one choice left. He had to call for the one person who knew more about the world than anyone else.

In his great desperation, the King summoned the Chief Priest of Omalin. This Priest was a very special man. He had seen a hundred seasons. That means he had lived for a very long time. He had seen the rain fall and the sun shine for many, many years. He knew the secrets of the earth. He knew why the trees grew the way they did. He knew why the river flowed to the sea. He knew about the things that people could not see with their eyes. The villagers said that the Priest could hear the whispers of the wind. They said he could talk to the ancient spirits of the land. When the King’s messenger arrived at the Priest’s small hut in the woods, the Priest was already waiting. He knew he was needed. He picked up his wooden staff and began the long walk to the palace.

When the Priest arrived at the palace, the guards bowed very low. They were afraid of him, but they also respected him. He walked slowly through the big gates. He did not look left or right. He walked straight to the room where the Prince was being kept. The King was waiting outside the door. His eyes were red from crying. "Please, wise one," the King whispered. "Save my son. He is all I have." The Priest did not say a word. He just nodded his head and pushed the heavy wooden door open. He stepped inside the Prince’s chamber and closed the door behind him.

Inside the room, it was very dark. The curtains were drawn tight to keep the light out. There was a strange, sour smell in the air. In the far corner of the room, something was moving. It was Prince Azu. He was not standing up like a man. He was huddled in a small ball on the floor. His beautiful royal clothes were torn and dirty. When a small ray of sunlight peeked through a hole in the curtain, the Prince did not smile. He did not look happy to see the light. Instead, he bared his teeth and made a loud, scary sound. He was hissing at the sunlight as if it were an enemy trying to hurt him. He looked like a frightened leopard trapped in a cage. He did not recognize the Priest. He did not recognize anyone.

The Priest did not move. He did not run away in fear. He did not reach for any medicine or herbs. He did not say any magic words. He simply stood there in the middle of the room. He looked at the Prince with very kind and very sad eyes. He watched the Prince for a long time. He looked deep into the Prince’s yellow eyes. It was as if he were looking past the animal and searching for the soul of the man inside. After many minutes, the Priest let out a long, heavy sigh. It was the sound of a man who had found the answer, and the answer was very serious. He turned around and walked out of the chamber, leaving the Prince in the dark.

The Priest walked out to the palace courtyard. This was a big open space where the King and the ten "brides" were waiting. The sun was very hot now. The King was standing in the middle of the courtyard, shaking with worry. The ten ladies were standing in a line nearby. They were wearing their best jewelry and their brightest dresses, but they did not look happy. They looked nervous. They were looking at the ground instead of at the Priest. The Priest stood on the stone steps and looked at all of them. His voice was not loud, but it was very strong. It echoed against the high stone walls of the palace so that everyone could hear him perfectly.

"This is not a sickness of the body," the Priest announced. "There is no leaf or root that can cure this. There is no soup or drink that will make him well." The King gasped and held his breath. The Priest continued, "This is a sickness of the soul. The Prince has been fed too many lies. He has been given too many charms. His mind is not clear anymore. His mind is like a knotted rope. Imagine a rope that has been tied into a hundred tiny, tight knots. You cannot pull it straight. You cannot use it for anything. That is what the dark magic has done to the Prince’s head. It has tangled his thoughts until he does not know who he is anymore."

The King cried out in a voice full of pain, "How do we untie it? Tell me what to do! I will give you all the gold in the palace! I will give you half of my kingdom! Just tell me how to save my son!" The King was ready to do anything. He was ready to go to the end of the world to find a cure. He looked at the Priest with hope, waiting for a magic solution. He hoped the Priest would ask for a special sacrifice or a difficult task that he could perform.

But the Priest did not ask for gold. He did not ask for land. Instead, he turned his head and looked sternly at the ten ladies. His eyes were very sharp, like the eyes of a hawk. He looked at Zola, who was shivering. He looked at Nneka, who was biting her lip. He looked at all of them, one by one. The ladies felt like the Priest could see right through their beautiful clothes. They felt like he could see the dark secrets they were hiding in their hearts. The courtyard became very quiet. Even the wind stopped blowing.

"The healing for the Prince does not lie in my hands," the Priest said slowly. "It lies in the hands of the one who truly loves him. Only the touch of a heart that sought him legally and purely can break the chains of this dark magic. The rope can only be untied by someone whose love is real. It must be someone who did not use charms. It must be someone who did not use lies. It must be someone who wants the Prince because they love him, not because they want his crown or his money."

The ladies looked at each other. Suddenly, the courtyard felt even colder than before. Their faces began to turn a strange, pale grey color. It was the color of guilt. They remembered the dark powders they had bought. They remembered the secret songs they had sung in the woods. They remembered how they had lied to the Prince to make him choose them. They knew that their love was not a pure thing. It was a stolen thing. It was a fake thing built on magic and tricks. They had wanted to be Queens, but they had never really cared about the man inside the royal robes.

They looked at the King, who was waiting for one of them to step forward. They looked at the door of the Prince’s room, where the "monster" they had created was hissing in the dark. They knew that they were the ones who had tied the knots in his mind. They were the ones who had broken his soul. But they were also very afraid. If they admitted what they had done, the King would be very angry. They might be punished. They might be sent away from the palace forever. They had worked so hard to get inside these walls, and now the truth was the only thing that could save the man they claimed to want.

The Chief Priest stood still, watching them. He was waiting to see if any of them had enough courage to tell the truth. He was waiting to see if any of them loved the Prince more than they loved themselves. The silence in the courtyard was very heavy. It was a silence that was full of a big question. The "brides" had a choice to make. They could stay quiet and let the Prince stay a wild animal forever, or they could tell the truth and lose their chance to be Queen. They knew their love was a lie. They knew their charms were the cause of the horror. But would they admit it to save the man they claimed to want? Or would they let him suffer so they could keep their secrets?

Do you think any of the ten brides will be brave enough to tell the truth to the King?

If you were one of the brides, would you admit you used magic even if it meant you would be punished?

Why do you think the Priest said the cure has to be someone who loves him "legally and purely"?

What do you think will happen to the brides if the King finds out they used dark charms on his son?

Where do you think Ada is right now, and does she know about the Priest’s words?

The secret is out! The Prince is not sick; he is trapped by the lies of the women who want his throne. The Chief Priest has given the only cure, but it requires a heart that is pure and honest. Will one of the ten brides finally tell the truth, or will they let Prince Azu turn into a beast forever? The suspense is reaching a breaking point! You cannot afford to miss what happens next in this amazing story.