Feast & Famine at Ficklevale


Once upon a time, there was a lonely little village, called Ficklevale, which rested on the edge of a forest. This village was quite special. Why was it special? Because it had very talented bakers and confectioners who made the most delicious sweet treats you could imagine; candied oranges, ginger cakes, maple drops, lemon tarts, toffee puddings, and more. They were greatly admired and respected. Someone else who was respected, but also feared, was the witch, Malevola, who avoided the villagers and lived atop the old cemetery to the North. Once a week, she brought her bucket to the community well, and people whispered suspiciously behind her back.

Being isolated, the people of Ficklevale suffered hard times between trips to the city for supplies. During those times, some succumbed to starvation or malnutrition. But, in the forest, lived another witch named Benevola. She was very rich, but she felt compassion for the people of Ficklevale. One day, she came out of the forest and cast a preservation spell upon the village so that the fruits, vegetables, milk, breads, and meats would never spoil. This was a wonderful gift! Why was it wonderful? Because they could now store lots of provisions that would always be fresh and no one would die from starvation or malnutrition again. The people thanked Benevola and enjoyed fine health for several years.

After awhile, though, many of the villagers became dissatisfied. They never went hungry and no one had died in recent years, so why were they unhappy? Because health wasn't enough. They wanted wealth, too. So a messenger was sent to the house in the forest where Benevola lived and he asked her to bless the village with riches. But though she'd helped them to avoid great hardship, she refused to satisfy their greed. Disappointed and desperate, the villagers sent the messenger to Malevola in the old cemetery. She agreed to help and quickly cast a "Sweet Tooth" spell on Benevola to make her crave, and purchase, all of the yummy treats made in Ficklevale.

From then on, Benevola did, indeed, buy lots of their treats; all they made, in fact, which saddened the villagers. Why were they sad? Because, although they had become rich from selling their goods, they had no treats left over for themselves. The messenger was again sent to Malevola to ask her to make Benevola stop eating their treats before they could. "Let us have our fill, first, then she can have hers!" said the people of Ficklevale.

Malevola did as they asked, but Benevola stopped buying their treats altogether. People began to wonder if Benevola had lost her Sweet Tooth. They were happy, however, to enjoy their treats again.

After a few days, though, villagers began disappearing, and after six weeks, eight people had vanished. This worried the villagers, so they sent the messenger to ask Malevola about the missing people. But she only told him to go to Benevola's house to get his answer. The messenger was immediately sent to see the witch, but upon his return, the villagers were horrified by his news. Why were they horrified? Because, although the missing people were, indeed, at her house, Benevola had not lost her Sweet Tooth, at all. She was now satisfying her cravings with the flesh of the sugar-filled villagers.

Again, the messenger was sent to Malevola for help. She gave him a sleeping potion and told him the Sweet Tooth must be pulled from Benevola's mouth to end her crimes. Once the messenger returned to Benevola's house, he drugged her tea and removed the Sweet Tooth while she slept. Now, the sleeping potion that Malevola provided was very strong, so Benevola slept for a long time. So long, in fact, that she bled to death from the wound in her mouth. And with her passing, all of her magic died, too. At once, every person who lived in Ficklevale died. Why did they die? Because, long ago, Malevola had poisoned their wellwater, and it was only Benevola's preservation spell that had protected them.

So, Benevola was dead, the people of Ficklevale were dead, and - after the bodies had rotted for awhile - Malevola moved down from the old cemetery to reside in the corpse-ridden village. Why would she do such a thing? Because she had a Sour Tooth.





The End. :dine


CALICATTY SAID IT

"If I could make everyone here seem like complete asses, I would do so happily and be on my merry way"

"I especially love that you took a photo, cropped it, hosted it and linked to it! You know you could've just copied and pasted"