The Court of Mirth and Madness

All Rights Reserved ©

Summary

Prince Kieron de Taifas is convinced he's going mad. Absolutely, stark-raving mad. He's not sure what he did to deserve such a cruel fate. All he knows is that one day, he woke up hearing a voice no one else seemed to. It tells him to do things he would never do. Say things he would rather die than utter. Each request is more ridiculous than the last, and at first, Kieron was able to ignore it. He could live with a little madness. But then the voice starts threatening violence for his disobedience, and bad things start to happen. His life starts to fall apart. His kingdom crumbles. So he gives in. Better to live on the whims of an unseen madman than to singlehandedly ruin the lives of himself and everyone he's supposed to rule over. Suddenly, everything starts going right again. As much as he hates to admit it, as long as Kieron does what the voice says, his life will be fine. And everything does go fine. Until Liora shows up. Liora wasn't supposed to matter. She was a normal girl in a normal village, living a quietly boring life. But after her village's harvest festival, everything changes. She starts saying things she knows aren't true. Going places she would never go. Things start happening that not even a seer could explain. And all that isn't even mentioning the mysterious prophecy written on her left arm. As the two unwitting and unwilling heroes embark on their journey together in a dangerous balance of rebellion and compliance, they can't help but wonder: How can one escape a being that can rewrite history at the drop of a hat? And if their lives are being written by somebody else, were they ever really theirs to begin with?

Genre
Fantasy
Author
Thea
Status
Ongoing
Chapters
36
Rating
n/a
Age Rating
16+

Summary

Prince Kieron de Taifas is convinced he's going mad.

Absolutely, stark-raving mad.

He's not sure what he did to deserve such a cruel fate. All he knows is that one day, he woke up hearing a voice no one else seemed to. It tells him to do things he would never do. Say things he would rather die than utter. Each request is more ridiculous than the last, and at first, Kieron was able to ignore it. He could live with a little madness.

But then the voice starts threatening violence for his disobedience, and bad things start to happen. His life starts to fall apart. His kingdom crumbles.

So he gives in. Better to live on the whims of an unseen madman than to singlehandedly ruin the lives of himself and everyone he's supposed to rule over. Suddenly, everything starts going right again. As much as he hates to admit it, as long as Kieron does what the voice says, his life will be fine.

And everything does go fine.

Until Liora shows up.

Liora wasn't supposed to matter. She was a normal girl in a normal village, living a quietly boring life. But after her village's harvest festival, everything changes. She starts saying things she knows aren't true. Going places she would never go. Things start happening that not even a seer could explain. And all that isn't even mentioning the mysterious prophecy written on her left arm.

As the two unwitting and unwilling heroes embark on their journey together in a dangerous balance of rebellion and compliance, they can't help but wonder:

How can one escape a being that can rewrite history at the drop of a hat?

And if their lives are being written by somebody else, were they ever really theirs to begin with?