The Huntsman’s Hand-mirror

Bad Egg.
Bad Egg.
Jul 24, 2017 · 3 min read

As is the way that many stories begin, we start with the almost magic words,

Once upon a time, in a woods filled with gnarly and crooked trees, there was an aging huntsman who had gray in his mane.

He was slowing down in his old age. On his most recent hunt, his prey had escaped, making him to return to his hovel in the knobbly woods

The huntsman ached and pined for the days of his youth, when he could catch any prey before him. and he held his stomach dreaming of taking down the bigger prey he used to. he feared the wolves and bears now, his enfeebled body no match for their steely claws.

there was a knock on the door, and a pale man dressed all in black, with a top hat and gold buttons down his front entered, without the huntsman’s permission.

“Lovely place you have here” the man said checking his watch.
“I saw you miss your kill, and also heard your pretty little head wishing for something to sink your teeth into.

the huntsman looked at the man,

“you heard me wishing?”

“could have been praying, but you didn’t wish to a god, so I cut out the middle man” the Pale figure laid a parcel wrapped in paper and string on the table. it had spots of grease where the oil had soaked through.

the huntsman opened the package with a knife and dug in, like the animal he almost was. drippings staining his shirt and running down his unkempt beard.

“this is Delicious!” the huntsman said looking up at the figure, “what kind of meat is it?”

“Well… that’s the thing, it’s courtesy of my Lord, Belial”

“You gave me Belial’s meat? I thought you said you heard me praying!” the huntsman stuck his fingers down his throat and tried as he might to make himself gag, he couldn’t.

“Wishing dear boy. and all your wishes, Of food, and youth? and killing all you hunt? It’s been granted.” the Demon passed the huntsman a hand mirror, and he saw how the meat, how human meat had made him grow young.

“So long as you catch and eat the body of mankind, all your prey will never escape. Long life to you, Huntsman.” The demon said before becoming like a shadow.

That, Was two hundred years ago. and for two hundred years the huntsman took on human prey, in this knobbly woods, any who entered would be hunted, and just as the demon had promised, none of his prey could escape.

That was until the enchantress came, with her fair skin, and raven hair, dressed in red and on her way through the twisted trees.

The Huntsman, instead of a hunger in his stomach, had a hunger in his blackened, murderous soul. and so as he always had, he knocked the enchantress off her horse, but before he was to slit her throat and devour her flesh, he felt passion for this woman.

She knew what this meant, and she became like his prisoner, to satiate the hunger in his soul, and although she entered this bondage willingly, the alternative was being the huntsman’s meal.

one of the long winter nights, as they lay together he told the story of how he had become what he was. she listened intently and wondered to herself if, she wasn’t prey, if she could escape him, or perhaps overpower him.

The mirror that the demon had given the huntsman, had seen a pair of lifetimes, leaving the old brass handle tarnished. The enchantress picked up the antique mirror and with a spark of magic, the mirror became a dagger. this would do, for her plan to kill the huntsman.

and so, as they went to bed for the night, she made sure the mirror was close by. and as they lay, fatigued from the day’s activities, she picked up the mirror, and the hunter became prey.

this story prompted by: https://thestoryshack.com/tools/writing-prompt-generator/

Skipping the word count, the prompt was:

Genre: Fairy Tale

  • Character: A ruthless murderer
  • Material: A story
  • Sentence: “This is delicious!”
  • Bonus: The story takes place two-hundred years from now.
Bad Egg.

Written by

Bad Egg.

Please don't treat me like a twitter egg. I resent that. I live to egg people on to the edge of absurdity. please dance for/with me. Яичница-болтунья

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