This contest was set up by @Mikepm74, fresh 5 this amazing picture prompt was by @katalinaoma
As Nate held Mia in his arms, she felt absolute safety, she couldn't have felt better but Nate was in deep thought. He had always prided himself in being a very smart person but at the moment he was at a loss for what to do.
The elf's had five kingdoms, Nate belonged to the centrik clan, he was the heir to the throne. His father, king Jorah had been able to organise a peace treaty between all the kingdoms thereby ensuing peace throughout all the five kingdoms, it was not an easy feat but he accomplished it against all odds, it was his priority at that time even at the expense of his family, his extensive engagements in the peace treaty had distanced him from his family most especially his son Nate, they had a sour relationship. Nate lost his mother before he ever set eyes on her and his step mother, the queen was always so nice to him but he had a cold attitude towards her- towards everyone. It was a surprise to everyone when he met Mia of the infinity kingdom and developed feelings for her, she was sweet and had a kind heart, she was probably the only person who understood Nate. Perhaps, an obstruction to their blooming love was Sonja, the high priestess, she was a thousand years old but her magic kept her young, she had feelings for Nate and was wrought with anger whenever she saw Nate and mia, she had tried many times to persuade Nate against Mia but he wouldn't budge.
Nate's father, the king fell very ill with a sicKness no one knew of, none of the best healers in all the five kingdoms could profer a solution, it seemed as though his time had come. Shortly after the kings sickness begun , Mia's clan, the tennites declared war on all other kingdoms and asked them to surrender or perish, following this war ensued, there was chaos everywhere. This was probably not the best time for the lovers from the two opposing clans to meet which was why they were both forbidden to see each other. Nate who had always been stubborn and who takes orders from no one found himself following the orders of the high elders, he couldn't go see her, if he got caught, he would pay with his life.
The king gave up the ghost, it seemed his time had finally come and so he died in his sleep. Nate had become king and though this was somethig he had yearned so deaperately for, when he finally got it, he felt so helpless, deaths were increasing by the numbers, there was chaos everywhere, plagues threatened to wipe out the whole kingdom, he thought to himself, he couldn't have that and so he went to the one person his father had warned him against, Sonja. He asked for her help and so she told him a long tale of his forefather, Jacquel who also came to her in a time of crisis and sought her help and so she granted the wish for the price of his lover and so it has been done for generations, for balance and peace to be restored, his lover would have to be sacrificed, Nate couldn't believe his ears, his mother was killed by his father, h "Now, the ball is in your court, hesitate and your lineage would be wiped out from the surface of the earth with this curse ", she said to him. Nate staggered back home, he received a message from Mia stating how much she missed him and a date she picked for them to meet up, he was in a dilemma, kill the only one he ever loved, the one who made him smile and brought light to his dark and lonely life and save his kingdom or save her life and watch everything his ancestors build come down crashing.
And so as he held her in his arms, he thought of what to do, he closed his eyes and for a brief moment imagined a time of tranquillity, where everything was blissful, when he wasn't a cursed king, where it was just Mia and Nate.
Time has begun to tell on his kingdom, he had to make a decision and make it fast and so he made his decision, he walked towards Mia with a knife in hand and a determined look on his face, thrust the knife, he had to save his people, a loud scream was heard.
A funeral was took place in the kingdom, the people wailed, the curse had been lifted, the balance was restored, a life had been taken and so things were back to normal. Many years later, a woman told the story to her little boy, Nathan. Mia was with child before everything happened, Nate did what his ancestors couldn't do, using himself as the sacrifice instead of Mia, he broke the curse. I often did wonder, if Nate wasn't a prince, perhaps things would have been different, perhaps a time of tranquility.