ONCE UPON A TIME in The Land of Plenty, the leader of the land ruled like a king. Not a nice king. Not a kind king. But rather a mean-spirited one.
The leader had never been appointed king. It was a title he claimed for himself with oppressive authority. In truth, he’d been voted into his powerful position, not overwhelmingly as he declared, but rather in a close election. That should have been enough to tamp his crowing, rein in his overuse of superfluous adjectives and adverbs, deflate his super-inflated ego and encourage good behavior. But it was not to be.
ONE JANUARY DAY
Rather the self-proclaimed king, who’d been ousted from The Land of Plenty after his first tenure, determined to make up for lost time. Five years earlier, on an early January day, he attempted to retain power when his supporters stormed the castle. He claimed ignorance. Some believed him; many didn’t. Evidence doesn’t lie.
The king’s anger simmered, then boiled over when he returned to the castle feeling vindicated and empowered. A man of vengeance, he sought to punish any who opposed him. On the flip side, he freed those he considered wrongfully shackled. No one would do harm to him or his legion. No one. He was in charge. His decisions held absolute power. Only his voice mattered.
Threats. Intimidation. Cruel and demeaning words. Imprisonment. Deflection. Manipulation. Gaslighting. Conspiracy theories. All fit his mode of ruling. He would make The Land of Plenty great again, whatever that meant.
BROKEN PROMISES
He promised to end wars and claimed he had. He promised to lower prices. He promised to rid the land of strangers and foreigners. That sounded promising to all who supported him. No conflict, only peace. Fewer coins spent on food purchased in the town square marketplace. A strong land unlike any other, without foreigners roaming the streets, taking away jobs, committing crimes and creating chaos (his words).
Except it was the king creating chaos. Doing whatever he pleased. Causing discord. Divisions arose within the kingdom. World conflict increased. Prices spiked as the king imposed new taxes. The ruler of The Land of Plenty was viewed by millions as uncaring, ruthless, self-centered and far worse. Many felt his wrath.
SNATCHED, BANISHED
The king targeted strangers and foreigners who contributed greatly to the economy and success of the kingdom. They toiled in fields, wagon wheel factories, blacksmith shops, bakeries… Some even emptied his golden commode. But to the king, none of that mattered. “Go back to your homeland!” the king screamed. “We don’t want you here!” He decreed that the unwanted should be snatched, grabbed off the streets by his masked henchmen and banished. And so many were.
As the days, weeks, months and then a year passed since the self-proclaimed king resumed his rule, the situation in The Land of Plenty was far from fine. It was, in fact, rather awful, dire, especially for the lowly peasants who labored long hours for every coin. Many realized they’d been duped, led to believe in fairy tale endings. In happily ever after.
And so the story goes with three chapters unwritten, the ending unknown.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
We shall see how those last few chapters unfurl. Perfect piece of timely writing.
The first chapter in the second book has been a difficult read for me. I don’t usually read the horror genre. I needed to write and publish this post today. The timing was deliberate.
Thank you Audrey. Living in this story has been anything but fun and I pray, daily, for a happy ending. You are a good woman. Wishing you and your family all good things.
Thank you, Kathy. I appreciate your generous, supportive and loving comment. You clearly understand the state of the country. Thank you for praying. May all good things come your way, too.
This is a difficult story…I wonder how it will ever end. Clever, Audrey.
Yes, I wonder how this story will end also.
Very clever! Fables have always been a way to make a point without arousing the palace guard!
“And then the King turned his back on his bewildered subjects in the Land of Plenty and used the coins he’d fleeced from them to capture the ruler of the little Duchy of Venzlandia. He promised those people happy times too. But, of course, that too was a lie. All he wanted from them was their mutton fat. And now our King gazes toward the horizon where the frozen earldom of Greenborg sits ready for the taking. No happy times ahead for them either – just more ice for the King’s drinks.”
I’m stopping here because I’m not keen on fables (or movies) that don’t have happy endings and this one could very well be headed in that direction.
Thank you for embracing my story by adding to it with your own well-written chapter about Venzlandia and Greenborg. Incredibly well done! You definitely got in the spirit. It was “fun” to write, wasn’t it? If only the ending didn’t seem like a bad one at this point.
It would have been even more fun to write if I knew for sure it was fiction. 🙁
I totally understand.
and the king who grew too big for his throne of gold was doomed to fall, be pinned beneath it, and he roared for one final time, and then he was silent, never to rise again.
the people had never given up hope and their collective power was stronger than all of the power that the false king thought that he had which was nothing more than a shiny surface on a dull and cruel man.
Now that’s an ending I can live with. Power to the people. Onward with hope and courage.
Thanks for adding your creativity to this post, Beth.