[Millennial Contest 01] • Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming

People feared, back in the Middle Ages, that the world would end with the millennium. Nor were they incorrect. It does this every millennium, only nobody notices except for the Forces of Good and Evil who vie for control of the universe every thousand years. Sometimes, coming down to the wire, everything can hinge on a single contrived event—and such is the story of *Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming*. Set in the year 1000, our story concerns the efforts of one Azzie Elbub, demon, to win the great award given at the turn of each millennium to the being whose acts do the most toward reshaping the world.

Azzie’s proposal is simple. He will create a Prince Charming and a Sleeping Beauty. In time-honored fairy-tale fashion, the prince will fight his way through numerous perils to reach the side of the spellbound princess. Then, in accordance with the rules of free will, the two lovers will take up their lives together—at which point Azzie’s e4vil twist will ensure that the Powers of Dark will win the grand prize.

At least it seems that simple. But even with an unlimited satanic credit card to order up any evil he needs, and with the help of the luscious witch Ylith, Azzie’s plan is in trouble from the beginning. After all, the Powers of Sin and Corruption *are* the authors of bureaucracy who can drown any simple request in a sea of red tape. If supercilious supply clerks aren’t problem enough, there’s that insufferable angel Babriel, who’s been assigned to Azzie as the official observer for the Powers of Light. How is a demon supposed to get any good evil going with one of the opposition looking right over his shoulder?