The Fall of the Wicked Queen and Her Return to Greatness

Once there was a wicked queen who found herself robbed of all her powers. The prince, who had rendered her powerless, defenseless and old, did not notice that while he vanquished her power he did not vanquish her life. Thus, she was left to wander the world as an aged hag.

    Embittered and full of vengeful thoughts, the hag struggled through village after village, town after town, city after city, seeking a solution to her magicless state, spitting on all she felt were beneath her. Until one day she came upon a sorcerer gardening in his fortress. The hag, recognizing power for what it was, strove to strike a deal: what aid she could offer in his garden for a small portion of his power.

    The sorcerer, for reasons kept only to himself, had no desire to barter.

    Upon realizing this, the hag sneaked inside his fortress and stole a series of books with titles promising enchantments. From these, she hoped to derive a plan to steal or sacrifice whatever necessary to return herself to her powers.

    The books, however, were not filled with the kind of enchantment she was seeking. 

    Rather, they were filled with stories of small people, about their little victories and happy lives. 

    The hag, so enthralled by this sudden idea of joy, decided to offer herself a deal. She would set about living in an abandoned cottage and administering healing tonics to those who came her way, and if after five years' time such living offered any balm, she would continue. If not, she would do all she could to regain her powers. 

    Five years turned to ten, and ten to twenty. In all those years, her ways had not changed. And as she lay her head down for the very last time, her breathing ragged, her lungs aching, she knew with a certainty set in her bones that she had regained her powers tenfold.

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