The King's Prerogative

The King of the land of Trayga arranges for his barren wife, the Queen, to be murdered by an imprisoned convict. Through something known as The King's Prerogative, he is allowed to free one criminal every year on the anniversary of his coronation. This criminal - Prag - reluctantly accepts the offer since he will never otherwise see the outside world again.

With his wife dead and - he says - Trayga in need of a queen, the King marries and impregnates Nara, one of his late wife's youngest ladies-in-waiting.

In hiding, Prag hears the news of the upcoming birth and realizes he has been played for a fool. His wife Kolch, a soothsayer, spell-caster, and mystic, is present when the King's men force their way into her and Prag's small home and kill her husband for the late Queen's murder.

Kolch appears to the King and vows her revenge.

When the baby is born, she condemns the King to always see his late wife's face instead of his newborn's and to always hear the voice of Prag in every newborn gurgle.

The King goes wild, ripping out one of his eyes and crushing it underfoot. Kolch's smiling image fades slowly away.