1) FICTION + NONFICTION

[CAIRO]

ONCE UPON A TIME in the kingdom Far Far Away lived a great King. This King was quite popular amongst his subjects, considered to be a true and fair ruler of all the beings in his Kingdom. Daily his realm expanded, and many men and women bearing various legends and stories flocked to take residence in his land. However, with them they brought many of their enemies; the great witch Maleficent being one of the most notorious of them all. She was indeed to be feared for her reputation.

She was a cruel witch who wanted to control the Kingdom for herself, but the King was sure that he could sway her to the side of good. He was a foolish King, believing that all could be given the chance to redeem themselves and see the light; that evil could always be purified. He was wrong. The great witch lured him to her home on the outskirts of the Kingdom alone with a promise of changing her ways, confessing her adoration of the King whom had seemingly fallen for her charm. Once he was within her home he was bewitched by a powerful spell, falling puppet to the great witches hand. Under her spell he abdicated his throne, though not necessarily to her at this time.

She wanted to become the hero before the people of Far Far Away - she wanted to make them need her help, and love her as they had beloved him. As the King had no wife or children, the Kingdom fell into chaos and the throne was seized by none other than Grimhilde, becoming the Queen of Far Far Away. No one knows what happened to the King after his abdication, but rumor has it that he was beheaded by Queen Grimhilde herself to ensure he never returned to the throne. Many people rejected Queen Grimhilde's claim however, but none dared oppose her. Assisted by many villains, she secured her claim through fear and intimidation.

Those given titles of royalty by the King before her had them stripped; mainly a certain group of Princesses whom were highly favored by the King due to their beauty and noble status, yet they were by no means his daughters. There were also many Princes whom were given their titles by the King, yet the Queen was certain to remove them from her sight. Progress in the Kingdom became stagnant, and many evil monsters began to ravage the outskirts of the Kingdom, making it impossible to travel alone. Darkness clouded the sky daily, the sun having gone missing for days. The people of Far Far Away prayed for a hero as the months passed, but no one dared challenge the Queen and her followers as three years passed. But finally, people began to question her once more...