ACT I
(The king, in silent sequestration, whispering quietly to himself, moments before the prince
of an ajoining kingdom enters)
Ahhhh...the marvel of youth.
the suppleness of their simplistic satisfactions. Love doth I being in the presence
of such nefarious naivety. Cloaked in darkness they presume, conspiring in shadows
cast by the longing of the old to be young. And do you not mock us with sarcastic laughter
when we are out of earshot? Do you not find our supposed words of wit and wisdom loathsome
and stale as Beggar's bread? Truth be told we, the actors in the tragedy of adulthood, deserve such
treatment. It is no secret even when we are silent that we long for the call of youthfulness
to right the listing of the creaking, timeworn and listless sailing vessels we contemptuously refer
to as our decaying bodies. Yes indeed, foolish enough are we to aspire for the melding
of our aged wisdom to the gaiety of youthful indescretion. But this young prince doth have potential
in wondrous abundance. Handsome, charming and witty is he but I wonder...
(The king is interrupted in his thoughts by his Head of State entering to alert him
that the prince has arrived. He rises to greet the prince)
Here he is, here he is! Young prince welcome and please do not feel need to aquaint thyself
with hesitantcy. Oh, but my only lament tis the reason why we are meeting. Your father,
the king, was a dear, dear friend in life and with the blessings of the saints shall be
once again in heaven. The closeness your father and I shared compels me to insist
apon one trifle. Henceforth consider me to be the uncle you have never had. All of my
rather modest wisdom and experience in the throne is at your disposal. Yes, it has been
said that I am at times a fountain of mundane dissertation but nevetheless I am, at the very least
a willing and confident ear.
(The king walks slowly to the prince and hugs him warmly as he gestures for him
to have a seat)
I see you are no worse for wear after your journey. Youth doth indeed have priviledge of the
constellations does it not?!? Your lovely and faithful princess-bride is still away at her parents
is she not? Well my young nephew prince fret not for while we await her arrival here you and I
have time aplenty to become, as they say, peas in the proverbial pod. What say you to food
and drink! Oh my age tempered mind! Forgive me young nephew. I know, at this moment, your
only desire is for a warm bath and change of garments.
(The kings nods to his manservant and a bevy of servants arrive to assist the prince)
Mind my manners young nephew but I am old. Do forgive me as I nibble a bit whist you
freshen your mind, body and spirit. A grudging consession to aging this balanced diet
must be. Go then and take ample time to refresh. I will amuse myself with memories of your
dear father, my most close loyal friend, perhaps shed a tear as is my wont.
(The king hugs the prince once again and as the prince departs the king settles not at the
buffet table but in his favorite chair. The king's manservant smiles inwardly for he knows
king is a contemplative man and prone to instantenous bouts of melancholy)
ACT II
(As the prince, refreshed and famished, arrives in the banquet hall the king is found sitting
at the table nibbling absentmindly on a sliver of toast and caviar. Apon seeing the prince enter
we waves the prince to the chair closest to him. The king smiles as a prideful uncle while
the prince settles in and, without pause, begins to eat ravenously)
Yes my nephew eat! A young strappling prince such as yourself must maintain his strength
in these troubled and confused times. Many an enemy will knock on Hellsgate to summon
the demons of mayhem in an attempt to usurp your rightful ascendancy to the throne.
Oh the battles your dear father and I fought side by side, Kingsland by Kingsland, to repel
the covetous horde of Vandals and Visigoths of this modern age. I will not bore you with
tales of yesteryear for that, I fear, is an old man's erotic thrill and not a young man's desire.
Say this I will though young nephew. To be young is indeed a slendid occupation but to be
old is, in minute ways, wonderful as well.
In many a battle I felt I would not reach this fragile age, as your father, may he be at peace,
felt selfsame. It is only through the prizm of age that I tell you without our allegiance I shudder
to contemplate what would have become of our lands. Lest not be swayed by my memories
young prince. Your father was a stuborn, proud, pugnacious man as am I. Thus we did not
always agree on course of action within our sequestration but the forces aligned to destroy
our kingdoms did not witness our occasional bouts of discontent. Rather, he and I made
a pact, quite childish in many ways but endearing as well.
(The king leans over conspiratorially and whispers to the prince)
We promised in blood when in dispute to eat beyond our fill, drink beyond our limits
and rut damsels until our tallywackers begged for reprieve!
(The king laughs uproariously and soon the prince joins in as well)
Oh but when we subdued our lustlful desires the next morn we, without equivocation,
had basic plans in place be they battle or bargaining. This youthful and yet wise bond
made so many years depart is why our cojoined kingdoms have become the envy
of the known world! You see young nephew we did not allow our youth to be
an excuse for indulgent mental overexuberance. Foolish and frivolous we were at times
due to our youthfulness true, but, aware and serious we were in matters concerning the state.
When you were born I recall fondly he saying you would have the benefit of two glorious
kings to show you the way! You see young prince it was his dream to retire to the countryside
and I, quite willingly, do the same and there we would whittle our remaining days away
whist you with the benefit of our combined wisdom elevated our lands and united our people
under one throne. I, as I'm sure your father mentioned to you due to battle scars, could not to my horror produce
necessary life quantities to allow my queen, saints rest, to bear child.
Quite content was I then to follow the precribed method of your father's wonderful madness!
Do you know it was I who insisted you be educated in my homeland? Yes indeed it was!
I, quite silently, followed your progress and knew you would eventually evolve into
the dynamic and defiant man you are today. Oh but my only deep and regretful sorrow is that
you dear father, saints rest, is not here to accompany me into our dream of the future hence.
But you are here young nephew and for that I am eternally grateful to the heavens.
Yes indeed, you are here in all of your youthful prowess and imbued with the indomitable
will of that great man, your father. Quite content am I...quite.
(The king allows his last sentence to trail off as the prince continues to eat and drink.
The king, with gentle aid of the prince, rises to pace and suddenly without hesitation
turns back to the prince)
ACT III
Yes young nephew.
QUITE CONTENT AM I TO SEE YOU SUFFER FOR THE STALE WINDS OF BETRAYAL
YOU HAVE USHERED INTO MY KINGDOM!!!
(The prince rises swiftly and attempts to reach the king but the king's guard and, surprisingly,
the prince's guard subdues the prince. The prince appears bewildered and a bit frightened.
The king laughs contemptuously)
I see I have your attention now young nephew. Good, good. Do not be suprised that your
guard is in conjuction with mine. I have mentioned to you the wonders of youth but,
in my meandering, failed to address the faults of youthful stupidity. Young nephew your dear
father and I understood one essential in governing a kingdom.
THE MEN WHO GIVE THEIR LIVES PROTECTING A KINGDOM MUST BE PAID
ACCORDING TO THE LIFEBLOOD THEY SPILL! You, in your haste to send the lovely
princess to travels, simply chose to fritter away the vast resources your dear father left
in your holding. Thus your adolescent and should I say impotent choice to cut your guard's
pay to a trifle of what they so graciously deserve. Not to mention your army and navy men
who have not, due to your reckless debauchery, been paid in three months.
I have read the reports of the civil unrest in your kingdom young prince. The peasants
are dying in the courtyard, women and young virgins are selling their bodies to the highest
bidder just to eat stale Beggar's bread. The childen are malnourished and killed...YES KILLED
for attempting to pilfer but a green peach from your royal orchards! Unrest in an ajoining kingdom
will most assuredly cause dissention in another. And so, instead of coming to me, what do yo do?
TELL ME YOUNG PRINCE WHAT DID YOU CONSPIRE?!? You attempted to bribe my loyal
and trustworthy manservant to poison me!!! Ohhh you young, faithless, mocking fool!
Think in this your final hours what you could have aspired to be. Think if you will of your legacy
that awaited if you had just added the potent ingredient of wisdom to your pot of manevolent
stew! My heart breaks young prince. Truly it does. In my winters I have felt the pang of pain in
seeing your father depart this earth and now I must ensure his son doth same.
These are my last words to you my traitorous nephew. Wisdom is not as they say wasted
on the youth. It is, in it's stead, wasted on the arrogance of youth. The stupidity of arrogant youth.
No need to beg now young prince. As you have ignored the baying of your subjects with bellies
rebelling I now ignore yours.
(The kings, with no trace of emotion, turns to his guards)
Toss him until morrow in the dungeon with that pox and puss riddled woman he calls his princess.
So foul is her vulva that even the carrion birds shall shy away from her decaying flesh! Oh my
young prince she has been pierced by so many man sword's that I fear she might have bled out
years ago. How could you have been aware? The foul cannot smell the foul. Have one last
night together in copulation. It matters not. I lost my ability to pollentate the flower of a woman's
womb due to the battle for the sancitity of my subjects. Do so I would again willingly. Your
disgraced princess lost her abilty to procreate due not to demonic destiny but to her
willingness to thrust her vulva on men swords! AND YOU! You are, and have been a disgrace
to the great man I called my friend and brther and you contemptuously describe as
YOUR FATHER!
(The king turns now to the Head Guard)
Kill her 'morrow hence swiftly. She is a wasteful harlot. He kill slowly and methodically.
Deconstruct him piece by piece but before you commence cut his inglorous penis off
and feed it to the dogs in plain sight of his traitorous vision! GO!!
The curtain falls
THE END