The Prince

There was once a king who ruled his people well; as well as could be expected for a people who had a need to be ruled.

The king had a son that was his favorite. The prince was next-in-line to be the king.

When the prince reached his teen-age years, the behavior of his father began to change. The king was gone from his kingdom more often than usual and for longer periods of time. His reasons given for these prolonged absences were obviously untrue, and the prince began to wonder what was happening to the king as his behavior had become more erratic as time passed.

The king gradually lost touch with his family as it reached a point where he was gone more than he was there in the kingdom. He no longer had time to spend with his son and they grew apart.

Unlike earlier days, the king’s decisions handed down upon his subjects were often unjust, favoring the party having the most money. Also, he had taken to counting his gold and the task often kept him occupied for much of the day.

But the worst actions of the king did not surface until after the fire. The granary had burned down on the outskirts of the village. With winter coming on, this did not bode well for the villagers.

The king immediately blamed the kingdom of the east, a land comprised of people who were said to hold strange beliefs and customs that were mostly unknown to the villagers. The king told the villagers tales of religious intolerance and punishment to anyone who went against the will of their ruler of the east. He told them that not only should they seek retribution against those who would have them starve but this would also free the people of the kingdom of the east from further oppression by their evil king.

The prince remembered the king saying all of this just after the fire. He also remembered the prolonged trip the king had taken just a few weeks before.

During that time, the prince had decided to follow the king on his journey. The prince remained out of sight from the king’s caravan as their tracks in the desert sand guided him along the way.

Interestingly, the first place that the king had gone to visit was the kingdom of the east! The prince noted that the king had disguised himself while in public and then had met with the ruler of the kingdom of the east. The prince did not know what they had discussed.

But the king was not finished with his trip. After he left the kingdom of the east, the next place his father went to visit was what was known to his people as the kingdom of darkness. When interacting with the people in this kingdom, the prince saw that the king certainly did not travel incognito and was recognized and treated as if he was their king.

“Wait a minute,” thought the prince watching the peasants groveling in the dirt before his father. “That’s exactly what he is to them. He is their king also!”

During those times in which he was gone from the kingdom of his own family, the king had been ruling over another. But even a king cannot serve two masters.

The prince’s people had always been told that those in the kingdom of darkness were insane. They saw everyone else in other kingdoms as their inferiors by birth while they sacrificed the innocent to their god of war. Because they were a small kingdom and could not often overcome their enemies by brute force, they were said to be skilled in the art of deception.

“And their king is our king” the prince thought to his horror.

But there was even more for the prince to learn on this day. The king then stood before this dark kingdom and actually told them the truth:

“Greetings my subjects,” said the king. “Our plans will soon be accomplished,” he said with a malevolent smile. “Soon, we will launch an attack upon one kingdom and blame it on another. This will turn both of our enemies upon each other. After we have enough of them kill each other off, we will betray the ruler of the kingdom of the east, as I promised him more gold and power for selling out his own people. He, of course, will be put to the sword also.”

The peasants laughed heartily.

“You are my chosen so I will tell you the truth,” said the king. Our overall plan is to expand our kingdom while destroying all others!”

The peasants cheered.

At the end of his speech, the peasants were allowed to share in a huge outdoor banquet. Few of them realized that the food had been taken from the fruits of their own labor and was now being fed back to them as if it were a gift.

The prince left the village still shaken trying to process what he had heard. Just about everything he had ever learned from the king had been a lie. Somewhere down the line, the king had sold out his own people in his thirst for wanting power over all people.

The prince now found himself faced with a dilemma. Should he try to expose the actions of the king to his people? How could he convince them that what he said was true when he could only tell them what he himself had seen and heard? Obviously, his life would be in great danger from the king if he chose to follow this path.

Or should he keep his mouth shut. After all, he was heir to the throne and all of this would be under his control once the king passed on.

During the time in which he had followed the king into foreign lands, the Prince had come to an understanding. He had seen how power over others corrupted the soul and no longer wanted any part of it.

Now remembering how recently his father had lied about those responsible for the fire, the Prince knew what he had to do. Sadly, he could already envision the difficulties of trying to convince people that the king was a traitorous liar and they didn’t have to live as slaves anymore. How do you convince those who think they are free?

But mostly, he knew that his most difficult task would be to keep them from transferring their obedience to the king onto the prince himself. He wanted the villagers to rule themselves. That meant that even if he survived this rebellion, he would have to leave society or be worshipped as a god by small minds who had no access to the kingdom within.

In a moment of clarity, the prince remembered the timeless stories of those who had come before him. Always, there had been those who had given up so much only to be turned upon by those they had attempted to set free.

It was his time now. Even with all the risks, the reward for humanity was too great not to try.