Asher's Curse

This is just the story of how Asher Charming came to be the Big Bad Wolf.

Kim Bum is playing the part of Asher Charming

It was hard to keep himself from going insane. The hum drum routine of his days ate away at his sanity like a rat gorging itself in a garbage can.

Keeping count of his imprisonment had kept him lean, and it had kept him angry. He had been locked away in his cell for nearly a month. There were twenty-six scratches on the wall directly across from his face. It was his wake up call every morning. That and that damned guard banging on his door about breakfast.

As if he would eat any of the crap they served in a prison.

He was Prince Charming for Godmother's sake!

He had been brought in under the wax of the new moon and now the moon was nearing another wax. Asher had ben beyond furious when the card soldiers had burst into his private party at the Hatbox to arrest him. He had ben roughed up, trussed up and then dumped into a cell like some common criminal. 

All under the express orders of the magical pain in his ass, the Fairy Godmother. The bitch fairy is what Asher had nicknamed her. It wasn’t very original he was sure, but it was an apt moniker.

Asher sat on the thin mattress in his cell staring at a blank expansion of concert. He was cold. He was hunger, but most importantly he was pissed off. No one had told him what he was being held for and worse he had not been allowed to contact his father.

The small panel in the door slid open. “Stand up,” his jailer barked.

Normally no one dared to speak to Asher Charming in that manner, but this was not his normal. After a month looking at grey walls he was keen on getting out. His body was achy and he was sure his hair and clothes were fit for the trash heap at this point. He had started smelling himself days ago. Asher shuddered to think what he was going smell like once he hit fresh air. In the cell everything smelled the same so it wasn’t as offense as he knew it was going to get.

However Asher stood and prepared himself. He had a few choice things he wanted to say to his father and the upstart little Godmother when he got out, but for now he was going to tap dance to their little show.

The guard entered his cell and roughly handcuffed him again. Asher had to keep from rolling his eyes. Honestly, where was he going to go. He was in a prison. It wasn't like he could just stroll down the corridor and then out the front door.

Asher was roughly shoved out the door. He stumbled a few times only to be prodded into moving again by the grumpy guard. ‘He must not know who I am,” Asher theorized. There could be no other explanation. Once he was released he would have this card shredded and he would dance on the pieces.

On the slow walk back to civilization he finally got a chance to take in his surroundings. He had been quite drunk when they drug him in the first time. He was dismayed to find that there wasn’t much to see. Just a long dark hallway with arched wooden doors spaced evenly every few feet. He could hear moans and mumblings coming from a few of them. He dimly wondered how long some of them had been shut away. The guard prodded him in the back once more.

“Do you know who I am?” Asher asked.

“Sure I do. Everyone knows who Asher Charming is.” The guard sneered. He had been on duty with the prince was brought in. his wife still wouldn't believe some of the curses that flowed out of Asher's mouth.

“Then you know that I am going to have your pieced scattered to the four winds once I’m free.” Asher gritted.

“I might prove to be a bit of a challenge for you. Word is you only liked to pick on woman, your grace.” The guard felt Asher stiffen in his hands.

“You filthy commoner.” Asher raged as he started to struggle in the guard's hands. Arthur jabbed the hilt of his sword into Asher's ribs. The prince yelped.

“Oh come off it. Today is your reckoning.” Arthur directed Asher up a set of stairs and out in the sunlight. Asher had to blind as tears stung his eyes. Since he couldn't reach up to wipe them away the rolled down his face freely. He could feel the trail of grime the tears cut down his cheeks.

He could hear the sounds of civilization again as they walked past the windows that looked out onto the prison courtyard. They passed a few other guards who all stopped to stare at Asher like he was some sort of freak at Hatbox.

They were heading toward a set of double doors set into the wall at the end of the long hallway. He could see another set of guards standing watch over the doors. Arthur had an iron grop on his upper arm so there was no espace for Asher. As they approached the pair swung open the doors. 

Arthur pushed Asher through the doors and it took all of his concentration not to fall flat on his face. He looked up and found the entire Bean court staring at him. The court had been assembled for Asher's trial. He blinked back his surprise as he was ushered down the center aisle toward the wooden cage set at the center of the room. The Troll Tribunal was the last time he remembered the entire court being convened. 

He saw his father and brothers sitting on the dais next to the Queen and the Fairy Godmother. Asher glared daggers at them all. Especially his father.

How could his father allow him to me treated in such a manner? As if he hadn't done thing sin his past. There were murmuring in the crowd. None of them had been told why they were to assemble. It was not often they met. 

Asher threw his shoulders back and stuck his nose in the air. He was not going to give them the satisfaction of them seeing him beaten. "We see a month in a cell has not taught you any humility." The Snow Queen announced. All the chatter stopped. "Such a shame Asher. Your father had high hopes for you. And here you find yourself before this court. In chains and disgrace." Asher tried to snatch away from Arthur. The Queen raised a slender eyebrow. "We may have to look at the conditions of our cells if you still have such fight left in you." The queen was not amused.

Arthur jabbed Asher in the ribs again and he stopped struggling. His side was going to be rightly bruised if this punishment kept up."Arthur if you please." The Queen indicated the cage with her hand. The door swung open on silent hinges of its own accord. Asher was roughly shoved inside. The door slammed again of its own accord. "Godmother if you please," The queen nestled back into her throne.

The Fairy Godmother had been called to act as the prosecutor for Asher's trial. She stood up and walked down the steps of the dais. In another setting Asher could have called the Godmother lovely in her pale yellow gown. The bodice sparkled with yellow sapphires and rubies. She was even wearing glass slippers. Asher never could figure out how women wore the things. Though they sure as hell were sexy. "Asher Charming, prince of the blood you have been accused of crimes against women." Several throats were cleared and a few mouths flopped open. 

It was a foul thing to abuse a woman in Bean. Bean was the only queendom in the realm. Women held all the important and political jobs in the country. Men weren't ill treated, but the Snow Queen, nor the Fairy Godmother tolerated caveman antics in their land. If Asher hadn't been a prince of the blood he would have been dealt with sooner.

"On two separate occasions you have taken sexual liberties against minor females." One of Asher's brothers shifted in his chair. Their father looked utterly sick to his stomach. He had not raised his sons to behave that way. 

The Fairy Godmother walked around Asher's cage. He could actually see her blue dragonfly wings shimmering in the sunlight streaming into the court chamber. "You have raised your hand against several woman and abused your position as prince to avoid punishment." She came to a rest in front of Asher. "Do you have anything to say to this court?" She stood back. 

Asher clapped rather loudly and sarcastically. "Oh that was marvelous Godmother. REally it was. I'm so glad I skipped breakfast for this. I have a lot to say to this court." He spat on the floor of his cage. The Godmother glared at him. "Though I doubt you want to hear any of it." He sneered. "You dragged me out of my birthday party for this." He threw his hands wide to indicate everything. "You think this little show was going to sway my feelings. Those woman were trash. Not even of noble blood." He turned around and faced the court. "They weren't even real woman. Whores and cock teases the lot of them." He couldn't believe he was having to explain himself. "Sometimes you have to put a woman in her place." He grabbed at the bars. "I'm Asher Charming. I'm a prince. I do as I damned well please." He could see the color draining from his father's face.   

"We shall see young prince." The Godmother promised. 

"Well that was certainly a performance." The Queen commented. "We are disappointed in you Prince Charming. Have we not treated you as one of our own?" She looked over to her daughters. The princesses nodded in agreement with their mother. "Did we not welcomed you into our bosom when your father petitioned for our help against the Jabberwockies?" The queen stood up. Her ice white gown stood out in stark relief to her milk chocolate skin. Her crown threw rainbows across the marble floor."Did we not help to rebuild The Everlands after the Troll Wars." She stepped down from her dais. The royal guards went to move, but she stopped them with a wave of her hand. The Queen walked towards Asher's cage. "Are we not friends my dear Asher?"

Asher scoffed. "I am not my father." 

"That much is obvious to us young Charming. You dare to raise your hand against our sisters." She walked right up to the cage to peer at Asher. He had the crazy thought to reach out and wrap his hands around her throat. He could kill her before her guards could get to him. "So this is how our generosity is repaid." She leaned back from his cage and slowly returned to her throne

King Phillip Charming stood up from his chair. He was a wizened man in the latter stages of his life. To see his youngest son brought to such a place was not doing wonders for his health. "Your majesty I would ask that the court be lenient with my son." King Charming asked. 

"We think that your son is beyond leniency." She reached over and patted the king gently on the the arm. "We find no pleasure in this, but justice must be meted. Asher Charming you are from this moment until we deem otherwise stripped of your title. You forfeit all land, holdings, and purses connected with your position." The court were sitting in a state of shock. It was rare for the Queen to strip someone of their title. Asher's brothers were green around the gills as his father looked close to fainting.   

"Asher Charming you have spent your entire life getting into trouble and using the power of your name and position to get out of the consequences of your actions. You have shamed your father and the house of Charming. For this I bestow a curse upon you. From this day until the time you go into the Summerlands." The air in the court chamber dropped. Ice crawled across the glass and lightened arched across the ceiling. Several people screamed. Asher was wrapped in a blanket of seething black light. He writhed in pain. "Beast you are and beast you shall become. I curse you to be wolf in the dark and in the light. I curse you to be prowler of the night. This I will make it soon for wolf you shall at the next full moon." Asher screamed till he felt his lungs pop and his back crack. 

The last thing he saw before he passed out was the sad eyes of his father.