Prince Wolfe Hertz Grimm's Story

"Wolfe," his father began, "Remember to act like a noble man."

Wolfe looked at his father and nodded. They stood near his carriage a hundred feet from Castle de Deutschland. It was massive in size. And like all things built by Wolfe's grandfather, people got lost in the castle. Stairs that went nowhere; doors with no rooms; rooms with no doors; trapdoors. It had everything that you normally not find in a castle.

Wolfe's father then turned to Schaden, Wolfe's bastard brother and his appointed guardian. "Son, keep him well," he said. And so, the teary eyed father saw his sons depart from Deutschland, to a land far away. He was sad; Wolfe knew no politics and was 'touched by the Gods' (insane); Wolfe's father thought as the carriage moved, Lucky bastard. I was going to kill him myself. Now I won't see how he dies.

---

Two mornings later the carriage had traveled many miles of rough terrain. Deutschland was many days travel from King Avre's kingdom; which meant they had to pay no 'taxes'. Wolfe looked outside. It was just early morning. The rays of the Sun barely reached the carriage through all the dead trees. The Forest of Longborough, home to saints and rapists alike.

As they moved on one could hear screams of men, women and succubi alike. Wolfe grinned and tried to find out what was happening. "Keep your head inside," warned Schaden. Wolfe scowled and ordered the carriage to be stopped. "I want to see what's happening," said Wolfe and stepped. "Fine, whatever. Don't get killed," said Schaden and flipped the page of his little red book.

Wolfe walked towards the sun which still had difficulties lighting the area. It had been only a few minutes since the sun crept up from behind the mountain in the distance. As he moved, a large dog, head reaching Wolfe's abdomen, emerged from the shadows beside him. The dog had large fangs instead of teeth; it's mouth dripping with saliva. "Do you really need to find out?" the dog asked. "I'm bored. Schaden is no fun. He just stares at his little red book all day. Doesn't even know how to read," he replied and moved on.

The screaming meanwhile continued just ahead; a woman's voice. The trees were beginning to give way. Finally he and the dog reached a lonely house. The door was open; but since he could not see the door itself, it might as well be nonexistent. "A demon lives inside," the dog said and transformed into a Draugr. Draugrs were undead beings who could control an element of nature. Each Draugr could control whatever element he wished, but only one at a time. The former dog opened his palms and a fireball enveloped his hand. "A demon lives inside," the dog warned again.

Irritated by the illusion, the draugr, his mind created he willed it to disappear. And disappear it did. Wolfe needed no protection. The scream engulfed his thoughts as he stood at he door. Suddenly the screaming stopped. "Please, do come in," said a raspy female voice from inside. Wolfe walked in. Inside a man moved a large spatula in a drum of boiling oil. Inside the drum sat a woman it seemed. She has no skin. Wolfe noticed a heap of skin, some fresh, some rotting, lying near a corner. Half eaten bones, with some flesh on them, lay on a table.

The man continued stirring the oil. The flame below was white. The woman spoke, "Hello brother. Remember me? We used to play together; then Uncle used to play with me alone in his room; remember me, brother Grimm?" Wolfe bared his teeth, "And then you used to scream," he said. The woman smiled. Wolfe sat down near the flame. As Wolfe and the woman talked, the man occasionally stopped stirring to carve out some flesh from his hand and dropped it into the drum for 'flavoring'.

---

Schaden continued to read his little red book. Twenty days ago they had left Deutschland. Finally they were here. The carriage was now slowing down and once it came to a stop the driver began talking to someone. The number of guards had increased. Wolfe waved at one who looked like a friend of Wolfe's did. The genuinely surprised guard decided against waving back.

The carriage stopped and the driver announced that they had reached the castle door. Ahead of them another carriage just started moving. The moment Schaden and Wolfe stepped out, their carriage moved ahead into the parking area allotted for the princes and princesses.

A maid and a butler stood before them. Schaden removed Wolfe's overcoat, handed it over to the butler and turned his attention back to the book. "Do you even know what's written?" asked Wolfe, his voice low. "Whatever," replied Schaden. The maid waited for the banter to end before leading them away.

The castle itself was four stories accompanied by four ten story towers at each four corners, the paths that led to the sides and back of the castle had cherry blossom trees to either sides, and the castle seemed to glitter from the sun hitting large gems that decorated parts of the castle. Once they passed the large white gold double doors they were welcomed by the staff that greeted them in a royal manner. Wolfe greeted them while Schaden somehow managed to remain engrossed in his little red book while dodging obstacles.

As Schaden and Wolfe walked pass them and went up the main stairwell that circled the walls of the foyer which the ceiling appear to reach the highest floor, Wolfe wondered what lay in store for him. At each floor there was a set of double doors which he assumed lead to the rest of the floor but they passed each floor and only stopped when they reached the third floor.

"This will be the floor where you will be residing in," The maid informed, then nodded at the two castle guards that worked part time as door openers. Her speech seemed calculated, as if everyone was ordered to say the same thing.

"The bedrooms on the left are for the princesses and the ones on the right are for the princes," The corridor they were in was long and filled with decorated doors on both sides, it seemed to be endless. When they reached the fifth bedroom the maid stopped and stood beside the door beckoning him in, "this shall be your room and I will show your bodyguard to his room."

"You want this one?" Wolfe asked but Schaden and the maid had already left. He walked inside.

The door creaked and guffawed as Wolfe pushed it out of his view. It's sight sickened him. Doors always meant surprises and this wooden piece of covering was no different. His room was not proper; it was a disaster. As the door ran behind the wall to hide itself from the princely demon, Prince Wolfe Hertz Grimm walked in.

One leg fell before the other as he slowly paced about the room, soiling the red carpet. The carpet had to go, yes sir. It was a disgrace, even if it was beautiful. Wolfe fell on his knees and touched the carpet; pure Arkansas silk it was. The finest one could find this side of utopia. Smooth to touch but strong enough to bear the incessant tugging by Wolfe's clenched digits. Wolfe's posture straightened slightly as he began to roll the carpet, when something grabbed his attention like a blood does to a vampire or cheese to a rat; or death to Wolfe.

The stench was macabre at best, abhorring at worst. A mixture of dead rotting sewage rats and the putrescence of rancid food, Wolfe deduced. The source was the green hideous vase, an old Vesuvian era delineation encompassed the width of it. Inside it the former legatee of the quarters, a dead rat and his ill-fated piece of cheese.

Wolfe's legs moved again, covering the epigrammatic distance between the carpet's brown tainted edge and the vase whilst dodging the rusty iron bed. His feelers danced gracefully and with one fell swoop the vase was out of the small window, glass crashing. Next to the window stood another slammer, perhaps to a balcony. He'd have to look into it later.

The rolled carpet stood majestically beside the supports of the double-bed, like a faithful red silken soldier. The bed looked indecent, showing its painted legs; paint showing its age and the effects of the corruption that lay waste to the land of Ascavia. On the bed slept two red sheets, in all likeliness hiding the begs that gave men nightmares. A measly yellow stained white pillow adorned the sheets.

Sighing, Wolfe looked around. A lonely chair stood, barely, near the nightstand. It was diminutive and rusty, jagged edges protruding it's green back cover. One of it's legs was in desperate need of a wooden leg. Its hands made of yew and colored blue, even a slight rub would send splinters in Wolfe's hands.

The nightstand was in its prime, new and shiny. Now that the vase that had christened itself on it had left, it looked beautiful. A design swept across the red being. Star and contrasting, when the room confronted it, the design remind him of the blood vessels of a Draugr. The design marched in some places, danced and drove in other part. It had to go, Wolfe decide and groaned.

"Master, is there a problem?" a raspy, creepy voice spoke making the follicles on Wolfe stand. Wolfe swiveled to face the woman. She was fair, old and boils embellished her face; her stature small and bent, much like her nose. She had the eyes of a Draugr, thin, long and red.

"No," Wolfe's moved across her body. She wore a blue blouse and red ankle length skirt. The blouse greased up from hours of work in the kitchen; her skirt torn in many places, showing off the red sores on her epidermis. A black liquid oozed out from the crevice near the knees.

She looked down. Her foot missed kissing the ground because of a pair of brown broken slippers. Her right hallux was missing and the left one half-eaten. "Do you not like me?" her lips shifted, dodging the leaking pus.

"No," he said the saddened creature left. Stupid creatures of the dark...