Her life began working the lands with her family, a poor bunch of farmers who could barely make ends meet. While they all did their share of work during the day, she usually ended up with the most tedious and important work. And though the rest of her siblings, 6 in all, were happy with their lives, she hated every moment of hers. "What a pathetic existence," she thought to herself. "Even though we keep this land from faling apart, we always get the least of what the world has to offer. What is the justice of keeping us under the boot of the rich when without us, they would simply wither and die? Inexcuseable!"
Despite how twisted it may seem, her thoughts were true. In fact, there was justice to what she was saying. It was hard for the rest of her family to not resent those with more power than them. On top of that, even though she was the one who did the most work out of all of them, she barely recieved any recognition for it. This made her increasingly bitter about her life. "If I were in charge," she thought, "We, no... I would be the one on top of this country, and people like my family and I would finally get the power and admiration we deserve!" She knew, however, that it would never be possible. Why, the only way to gain any power would be marriage to a noble, and what noble would come out here to the middle of nowhere?! Simply put, it would take a miracle for her and her family to have a shread of power in the country.
Little did she know, that miracle would come in the worst form possible. For when she went to sleep that night, she would find herself inside the most distorted dream that she had ever dreamed. And in that distorted dream, one of the darkest forces of the overworld decided to come to her.
"What.....who are you?" She asked the dark shadow looming in front of her.
"I am known by many names. 'The Old One,' 'The Great Archfiend,' but you may call me, ' Nulgath'."
She reflected on this for a moment. "But why would you come here, and why to me?"
He responded with a menacing cackle, and then said, "Isn't it obvious by now? I could feel your lust for power, and I am here to provide you more power than you could ever dream of!"
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. " You mean..... I would be more powerful than the nobles of this country?!?" The great shadow then snorted like a bull, releasing collumns of fire from his nostrils.
"Don't be ridiculous! I would offer you enough power to topple even this country's king, but it will cost you a very valuable price."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Finally, the power she wanted all her life was falling in her lap. All she had to do was accept the offer that The Old One has given her. But then it dawned on her,
"But not even a king would have enough wealth to pay for such tremendous power." Then, the great shadow simply cackled and replied,
"I do not ask for gold, I ask for something you already posses if, that is, you're willing to part with it?" While she didn't know exactly what he would take, he couldn't refuse this offer. She simply sighed and said,
"Alright, it's a deal." The Archfiend then bore a horrifying grin and said,
"Then, when you wake, look in the mirror, and you will see the result of your new power." At that point, the room then burst into a huge funnel of pure fire, and she woke with a start.
When she woke, the confusion on her face was obvious.
"Was it just a dream?" she thought. Just to be sure, she decided to look in the mirror, as she was told by the great shadow. Whet she saw took her breath away.
The reflection she saw was infinitely more beautiful than she has ever been in her whole life. Her crimson red hair, instead of being matted and tangled, was sleek and smooth. Instead of wearing her ratty nightgown, she saw herself in a sleek, satin red dress. But what suprised her most was her face. It seemed absolutely flawless, and her teeth shined brightly enough to make any noble green with envy. She was not just pretty, not even just beautiful. She was as radiant as the sun.
Admiring her new-found beauty, she couldn't believe that this was happening to her. In fact, she started to wonder what other benefits could possibly come from her deal with The Old One. She would have kept thinking of her wisdom in accepting the Archfiend's offer, except for the fact that her father was calling her for breakfast.
"Okay, I'll be right down." She then went downstairs to the kitchen, and when she finally went to her father to greet him, he stood there in shock.
"How,.....you're beautiful, girl". And after that, all of her siblings were asking what happened, and how she managed to get her dress, and what she did to make her skin so beautiful. But she didn't tell them about the deal she made with Nulgath in her dreams, out of worry that it would scare them.
After that, their luck began to change. Whenever her father would bring her to talk with the kingdom's merchants (which he began to do almost every time), he would make more money from a single deal than he could have ever hoped for. Their crops recieved a generous supply of rain, and they managed to produce more wheat than they ever had, even in the best of seasons. At that moment, everything was perfect.
However, when she was alone in her room, her thoughts were still as frantic as they were before. In fact, her thoughts had begun to become more menacing. "
Why does something feel like it's missing?" she thought. "Why can't I just rest and enjoy our luck?!"
At that point, an even more frightening idea occured to her. What if her restlessness was because she needed more power? Not only that, but she began to remember that Nulgath told her that she was given enough power to crush even the king of her country.
With that one thought, she began to realize that she needed to do just that, in order to fulfill her part of her deal with the great shadow. "If I had that much power, then my family.... no, I would finally be seen for the wonder that I am. All that power..... it must be mine!"
Since that day , she began to look for a way to rise to the throne of her country. Every thought that she had was beginning to revolve around her having the power that it would bring. It was only after two weeks of searching that she was lucky enough to see her chance, while her father was busy with one of his best buyers.
That chance came in the form of a strong man, about in his mid 20's, with a proud expression and a handsome amount of gold. When she noticed the royal emblem sewed onto his coat, her heart stopped.
"Here's my chance. All I have to do is recieve his hand in marriage, and the throne is as good as mine!" On that note, she walked over to him, hoping to trick him into asking for her to be his wife.
It didn't take long before she had him completely wrapped around her finger. In fact, only six months passed before he finally proposed to her, meaning her plan was nearly complete.
"All I have to do now," she thought, "is to dispose of the king and his little fool of a son!"
It was the night after her wedding. While the king was asleep in his chambers, she was lucky enough to share a room with the prince. The perfect moment to enact the final part of her plan.
Right when he fell asleep, she managed to put a bag over his head and get him in the closet. He only stirred once, after she got him out of the bed. But after that, she managed to get him into the closet without complications. He could've been dead and nobody would have known the difference.
Then, she went off to the kings chambers to finish her plan. Oddly enough, there were no guards around the chamber door. Did they want someone to end their king's life?
At that moment, she realized something important. The Great Archfiend seemed to be going out of his way to help her enact her sinister plot. This was proof for her that this was her part of the bargain for Nulgath.
So, in order to fulfill The Old One's wish, and to finally gain the power she deserved, she entered the king's chambers. To her misfortune, he was wide awake, wielding a knife and obviously ready to defend himself if necessary.
"Stay back!" he said shakily, "Im warning you! Back!!"
Just then, she realized she would have to fight him in order to finish what she started. She sighed, and then rushed forward, knocking the blade from his hand with ease. After that, she managed to knock him out with a single blow to the head.
To the king's horror, he awoke in the prince's chambers, tied to his son and standing before their captor in complete despair. The prince was absolutely shocked by this.
"W-why are you doing this? You said you loved me!"
Instead of being angered, as the prince had expected, she simply began to laugh maniacally.
"You really bought into that ruse?!? All I ever wanted was the power I have always desired, the power I deserve! And now, it will finally be mine!"
Then, her face began to change. Her eyes began ignite, and her pupils turned into flickering flames. And her smile, instead of the full, beautiful lips she had before, turned into a glimmering, silver maw. With a snap of her fingers, a funnel of flame burst from the floor, burning both the king and her former husband to the bone.
The kingdom was shocked to see what happened the next morning. Acting grief-stricken by their deaths, she had been crowned as queen the next day. She finally had the power she had desired all her life.
Yet, even in that moment of absolute power over the country she once despised, she still wanted even more power. She decided that day,
"I will go out into the Overworld, in order to become the most powerful being of all time, and I will destroy anything and anyone who stands in my way of absolute power!!"