Once in a Kingdom called ‘Darkness Within´,  there lived an evil Prince called Damon. Damon was the Supreme Ruler of all the provinces that bordered the East, West, and South. The Northern Province was never once mentioned in Damon´s realm, because Damon considered those people his mortal enemies. If one were to even whisper a word about the Northern Province, that person was immediately put to death.

Damon ruled with an iron fist.  He made slaves of all who lived in his Kingdom, except for his wife Dilyn, and their four children (Atatah, Mia, Johaan, Dagan) and Damon´s wicked mother Annashawn.

Damon´s father, King Eshadad died at age forty-two, and everyone labeled his death as being very  mysterious. King Eshadad had been much different then his son, in that he seldom put any one to death. He was kind to the slaves and ruled his Kingdom in a peaceable way. Damon was his only son. At age nineteen, Damon became the Ruling King.  

After the King´s death, Damon´s sister Atatah was so filled with grief and sadness, that she took her valuables and escaped into the night. The knights had searched day and night for the beautiful Atatah, but no one had found her. It was as though she had just vanished. Of course, Damon and his mother were not the least upset about Atatah´s disappearance. Atatah was so much like her loving father. The beautiful Atatah was as different as light is to darkness, in this Kingdom.

Annashawn hated her husband, King Eshadad, and many in the Kingdom thought that she had been responsible for the King´s untimely death, and Atatah´s sudden disappearance. But these thoughts were only for the whispers in the dark of night, for they all knew better then to talk candidly in public, and not a word was breathed in the Castle about such things.

Damon was prone to evil, and many times at night, those in the Castle could hear the hideous laughter coming from his Room of Torture. Annashawn was the only person who knew what really went on behind the locked door. But his wife had overheard him calling forth demons, and more then once, she had seen ugly creatures roaming through the corridors in the castle. She never mentioned the evil spirits to anyone, and She only hoped that her three remaining children would never see what she had seen. Dilyn was a quiet woman with a sweet disposition. She had come from a wealthy, upstanding home. Many times, she had longed to free herself of her evil husband. She wished that she could be brave like Atatah was, when she escaped and left the castle. In her heart, Dilyn was certain that she knew where Atatah had gone, but she would never breathe a word of that to anyone. But she promised herself, that one day, when the children were older she would escape, and be forever free of  the evil King.

As the months passed, Damon seldom left the Castle, nor did he even step outside in the courtyard for a breath of fresh air. Neither did he have dinner with his family. Instead one of the slaves would take his food and leave it outside of his quarters. It became so bad that Annashawn was the only one who saw him, and she spent long hours with him.

Many of the slaves had began to get very nervous about the situation, and the children noticed the fear in the slaves eyes and the way they carried themselves. Several of the slaves decided that they were going to find a way to escape this evil Kingdom.

Dilyn was a quiet and loving mother and the children adored her. They, like Dilyn, wanted so desperately to run away from the evil Kingdom. But, it seemed that the day would never come, that they could escape the wickedness and find a new life.

Mia was now nearing her 13th birthday, and she was not thrilled about  that day. She hated the number 13, and she never celebrated Halloween. Mia´s mother Dilyn despised the things that happened on October 31st.  But Damon celebrated the whole month of October. He was so steeped in witchcraft and the occult, that he never saw his wife or their children. More then once, Dilyn saw Annashawn carrying a baby that belonged to one of the slaves. Dilyn couldn´t imagine why Annashawn took the baby into Damon´s chambers, but deep inside she knew evil was the motive.

A few weeks later, Mia saw Annashawn carrying a blanket stained with blood. Mia asked Annashawn, if someone was hurt. Annashawn grabbed Mia and screamed in Mia´s face, and told her to mind her own business. Then she stomped across the floor and went into Damon´s chambers.

The following day, one of the female slaves went to see to Dilyn. She franticly knocked on Dilyn´s chamber door, and Dilyn quickly allowed her to come in.  Dilyn could see that something bad had happened, and she asked the slave why she was so upset. The woman burst into tears, and she told Dilyn that the King had taken her infant and sacrificed the child on Damon´s altar.  Dilyn was shocked and it took Dilyn several minutes, to get her composer back.  She looked at the weeping woman and took her into her arms to console her. She gave the woman a cup of hot herbal tea to try and calm  her. There was silence in the room for some time, and then Dilyn decided  exactly what she was going to do. She knew that this would be very risky, but she knew now, that it was time. Day after day, Dilyn had dreamed of their escape. But first, she was going to free the slaves one at a time, so Annashawn didn´t notice what was going on.

Several of the women were with child and she wanted them to escape first. Dilyn appointed one of the older men, to sneak the women out in the early morning, before dawn. It took 2 weeks for all of the women with child to get out of the Castle.

Annashawn seldom went to the kitchen anymore, because she spent most of her time with Damon. Dilyn left enough of the cooks and the house keepers, so no one would notice what was going on.

Dilyn decided that the older slaves would pretend, to have died from some strange aliment. Annashawn saw the ‘supposed´ dead covered in white sheets, and she told the Master Slave, to dig a big grave and throw them all in a hole. After all of the older slaves had escaped, the Master Slave covered the empty grave will rocks and anything they could find to make it looked as though the dead were buried. There was a large wagon hiding behind some trees, and the slave Hosea was attending to the horses. The wagon  was large enough to take all of the first company of slaves to safety.

A day later, someone knocked on the Castle door. The slave hurriedly went to tell Dilyn that someone was at the Castle door. Then he ran to open the door. No one ever came to visit at the King´s Castle. But a few seconds later, Annashawn came down the stairs and opened another door. She invited a strange looking man into a chamber room. Dilyn stayed at a distance, so as not to be seen, she was sure she had never seen that man.  

Annashawn seemed very happy, and she said, Wizzard Golay, it is so nice to meet you. My son, Damon, will be here shortly, please come in. When Damon arrives I shall show you his Chamber of horror.

Dilyn slipped into the darkness, so she wouldn´t come in contact with Damon. She was filled with fear. Hideous noises could be heard throughout the Castle, including the bleating of a lamb. The stench of evil permeated throughout the Castle.

Dilyn gathered her children and the remaining slaves, and one by one the slaves slipped out into the darkness. They ran as fast as they could, to reach the second large wagon. A large Carriage was waiting for Dilyn and her children, and the things they would take with them. A sliver of moon gave them enough light to see the path. In the distance, wild dogs were howling.

Dilyn and the children took as many supplies as they could, and they ran into the darkness ~ never looking back. Traveling in the darkness made everyone nervous, but   three hours later, the sun peeked through the morning light.

There was no castle and no evil King. But, there was a beautiful forest for everyone to share for the day. Dilyn was so happy to have escaped, and she thanked God. Everyone enjoyed there new found life and the children were frolicking around and having a wonderful time. Shortly before night fall, everyone got back into the wagons and the carriage. They traveled in the night, just in case no one in the Castle may have found out that everyone had left the Castle.

Two days later, they found their destination. It was a beautiful town and everyone there was so friendly. The first thing that Dilyn did was to give all of the slaves their freedom. Dilyn gave each person who came with them, enough money to find housing. There were smiling faces, happy children, and new friends. Dilyn had hoped to see Atatah when they arrived, but there wasn´t a trace of her, and that made Dilyn very sad, but she vowed to find her darling daughter. Once in a while, some new people would come into town, and Dilyn would always ask if they knew about her daughter.

One morning, in the early Spring, a beautiful Carriage came into town. Inside the carriage was a lovely lady holding a baby and a handsome Prince. The Prince stepped out of the carriage holding a large piece of paper. He spoke and said, People of this town, I have News for everyone in this Province. The Kingdom of Darkness Within, is no more! The Evil King is Dead!

Dilyn and her children were stunned, and they ran to talk to the Prince. When Atatah heard that, she quickly stepped out of the carriage. In front of her, was her loving mother that she hadn´t seen in years. Happy tears flowed from Dilyn and Atatah´s faces. What joy and happiness was on the faces of  everyone in the town.

Tara Hart © 2007