The would-be king entered the large throne room with an armored knight next to him. In front of him, on the golden throne, sat the current king, Johannes.
The man who had just entered spoke “My name is Karl. You have terrorized this country for too long. I will bring justice to the people and avenge my mother.”
The tyrant replied “Ah yes, Karl, heir to the duchy of Borg. Didn’t I kill both of your parents?”
“Well yes,” Karl answered. “But I never really got along with my father. So I mainly want to avenge my mother.”
“Anyway,” Johannes said. “If you kill me, you will only perpetuate the cycle of vengeance. Surely my son will strike you down just like you are about to strike me down.”
“Your son, Johan?” Karl asked. “He is too busy drinking and gambling away the kingdom’s money to care.”
“You may be right,” Johannes conceded. “But surely my daughter will avenge me.”
At that point, the knight next to Karl removed her helmet and revealed her face. It was Jennifer, daughter of the king.
“My daughter!” Johannes exclaimed in disbelief. “You betray me?”
“You killed my mother!” Jennifer shouted. “Your own wife!”
“Well yes,” Johannes admitted. “But she was plotting against me.”
“No, she wasn’t,” Jennifer said angrily. “That was just one of your paranoid delusions. The same paranoid delusions that are driving this kingdom to ruin.”
“Well, when did a little paranoia ever hurt anyone?” the old king asked.
“You killed my mother!” his daughter repeated.
“Oh right. But other than that, I mean.”
“Enough of this talk!” Karl shouted. “It is time for your tyranny to end!”
Karl drew his sword. Johannes was about to draw his, but then he suddenly remembered he had just given it to the blacksmith to repair it. Darn that blacksmith. Couldn’t she work faster? She had had all of 30 minutes to work on the sword by now!
Karl thrust his sword towards Johannes and... he missed. Karl suddenly thought that perhaps he should have taken some sword-fighting lessons before he tried to usurp the throne. His sword was now stuck in the same throne he had been trying to take.
“My daughter!” Johannes screamed. “He is defenseless. Strike him down now!”
“Are you serious?” Jennifer replied. “Didn’t you hear a word of our conversation just now?”
“Surely you’re not really turning against me?” Johannes asked. “Surely it’s just another of my paranoid delusions?”
“Not this time I’m afraid,” Jennifer said and swiftly drew her sword, swung it and decapitated her father.
Three ghosts appeared. It was Karl’s parents and Jennifer’s mother.
“We have been avenged!” the two ghost-women said happily and disappeared in a bright light, moving on to the after-life.
“What the heck?” the remaining ghost asked. “Why didn’t you avenge me?”
“The man who killed you is dead,” Karl replied. “Isn’t that enough?”
“No!” Karl’s father shouted. “You specifically said you weren’t avenging me! Now I’m stuck here!”
“What does it matter?” Karl asked. “It wasn’t even me who killed him.”
“You do have a point,” the ghost replied. “Jennifer, would you say that when you killed your father, you avenged me as well?”
“Uh, sure, why not?” Jennifer said.
“Fantastic!” the ghost exclaimed. “I have been avenged!”
With those words, he too disappeared in a bright light.
After this event, Karl and Jennifer married and they have been ruling Skodvi together since then.