Title: Tantalus
Author: Lost Experiment
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/Pairings/Spoilers: Larxene/Axel, potential Axel Backstory.
Summary: As some of you may or may not know, I teach seminars for a University course on Fantasy Fiction. Let it be said here and now that Fantasy Fiction, Fairy Tales and Mythology are NOT my area of expertise but I did want to casually (VERY casually) re-write Axel as Tantalus with a very Disney narrative prologue (as you will see by the introduction, which was heavily inspired by "Beauty and the Beast"...and the magic of alcohol.. Mostly, I've always wanted to do something with the questions that were asked at the beginning of KH. Namely, the greatest fear and such….so much more could have been done with that besides affecting the way you level. Also cookies if you can tell me what text the italicized header comes from, and who the storyteller might be...

Enter stranger, but take heed, of what awaits the sin of greed…

Once upon a time... Oh. Yes, I suppose that's true. So many of these stories do start out this way don't they? Would you prefer something else then? In a land far, far away? Perhaps that's a little easier on the eyes. Why, there are plenty of worlds out there, and 'once upon a time' does indeed sound a bit too much like a myth. This, I assure you, actually happened.

Who am I? A storyteller? No, not especially. Simply a scholar. I do say simply, but it's not such a trivial matter when you have tread so far along the path of intellectual enlightenment. One who knows nothing can understand no…oh…here I go again. Forging opinions. Perhaps now you imagine me as an apprentice. Oh, I do wink at you slyly, your knowledge of history is impeccable. No, I'm afraid I never arose to such lofty…or were they lofty? I suppose I'm not at liberty to judge those who studied the true depths of the heart.

Nonetheless, my tale does indeed follow such a path. The heart is complex and might I argue that darkness is only one small corner of what could be learned. We speak of love and emotion with impunity, we choose to defend these things. In our search for love and emotion, in our quest for the light perhaps we are forgetting what we decide to give up along the way.

I ask you, dear reader…what is your greatest fear?

Prince Andrew Etmos Laurentian the Third as one might argue, was about the best ruler his Kingdom had ever seen. At least, those were the thoughts of his people. Not long after his rise to office, he had in effect diffused the hunger scare, ended the feuding with a rival county and restored a sense of hopefulness to his people. Not long after the county, who had initially tried to separate, came back under his rule.

"It's a matter of Guns and Butter." The Prince waved a hand at his secretary. "I want to see money sunk into the production of food. We are no longer at war."

Indeed, they were not. The farms flourished and the economy boomed. The people were happy and their homes and families prospered. It seemed the prince could do no wrong, not even when his weekly feasting and drinking began to take the expected toll on his appearance. He was still handsome, perhaps even more so. He would look in the mirror every morning, smiling at himself, but inwardly groaning. He was aging, and the ultimate end of aging was death. The Prince did not want to face this grim, human weakness and strived with every inch of his ability to prove, more to himself than anyone that he would never grow old.

The parties grew wilder, his eating and drinking grew still heavier, the girls he brought back were loved tenderly but their age dwindled. It was at the peak of this revelry that his chancellor finally approached him.

"My Lord."' He bowed. Prince Andrew was by no means cruel, but he was also a figure who demanded the utmost respect. "Do you think it wise to carry on like this? After all, the young lady in your bedchambers last night was barely out of her maidenhood. Perhaps you should look for a wife."

"To have a wife is to admit I age." Snapped the Prince uncharacteristically. Then, seeing his error, he softened his voice. "I apologize. I will go for a walk in the gardens and be back in time for a pleasant evening dinner."

The chancellor sighed. "My Lord, you have already eaten…" he trailed off. Tonight, he deduced was not the appropriate time to approach the Prince on his physical health. "…I understand. Perhaps you would care for some accompanime—"

"No."

"Very well."

The Royal Gardens were immense, and easy to lose oneself in. The Prince chose to get lost in the rose gardens, wandering at will among the flower beds. He was even more astonished to find a young woman standing there, fingering a pink rose with interest.

"Pardon me." He said. "Are you lost?" It would never have occurred to him to ask why she was in the private Royal Gardens. Prince Andrew did not chastise his subjects and the gardens were indeed beautiful. He did not wish to upset her.

She turned towards him. She was clearly the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. Prettier than any girl in his kingdom. "Why have I never met you before?"

She didn't answer him straight away. "What, sir, is your greatest fear?"

He smiled a touch indulgently. "Never getting to know you." He pulled her close, holding his hand neatly on the small of her back, moving it lower with greed and desire. He looked into her eyes and for a half second thought that a trick of the light caused her features to look old and ravaged. Then, the illusion was gone and he was holding something timelessly beautiful again.

She laughed. "Be honest now…what would it have been if you'd never met me?" She slipped a hand beneath his shirt, running her fingers over his body. "It must have been something very unusual."

The Prince's eyes widened. "Who are you?" he asked. No woman in his kingdom would ever be this forward. "You're not human, are you?"

The Nymph smiled. "You're cleverer than I anticipated." She said.

Prince Andrew considered. He knew that nymphs existed though he'd never met one himself. He knew they were tricky creatures who twisted words and yet….

"You are a good man…" the nymph smiled. "You fear what might happen to your Kingdom when you are gone. Will your replacement do as good a job?"

The Prince nodded. "Of course. I don't wish for the kingdom to fall into ruin!"

"Then, you must long to be number one!"

"This is true! I do! For the good of my people, of course." He added hastily.

"But you are handsome…and you do enjoy life's…finer pleasures. Are you sure you are not worried you may one day grow old?"

"I suppose…if I grow old I can not live much longer."

"That's RIGHT!"

At this point, the nymph had overplayed it. "I'll take my chances." The Prince said, turning his back on her. Nymphs were tricky, everyone knew that. There had to be a catch.

"I'm sorry." The Nymph seemed cowed. "But please, Answer me this then…indulge me."

The prince turned. "What is it?"

"What do you want most out of life?"

The Prince thought long and hard about the last answer. What would it take to resist her, he wondered. "To…To be strong!"

"A wise choice." She said sagely. "A good leader is strong for his kingdom. If this is what you wish, you shall have it."

The prince's eyes lit up. Had he outsmarted her? Yes, he must have. "If it means my Kingdom will…"

"You fear growing old. You long to be number one. You wish to be strong." The Nymph smiled. "Are these your choices?"

The Prince leaned forward. "You mean…you'll grant me all three? He really MUST be cleverer than he thought.

"This sounds good to you then?"

"Of course, of course!" the Prince nodded. "My Kingdom for eternity!"

"That's the general idea. There's just one thing I ask in return."

"What's that?"

"Your heart."

The Nymph stood aside to reveal the creature behind her and the prince did only as all good princes do in the face of a monster. He drew his sword.

"You won't need that."

The Prince's sword fell to his side at her command, and he could only watch the stars come out through the gaping heart-shaped hole in the thing's chest. The creature stole his heart, and with it took his love but not his ability for consumption, his wisdom but not his age and his compassion and responsibility….setting him free to see any world he so desired.

All that was left of the kind but greedy prince was a grasping creature, sub-human and pitiful on the ground. In the days to follow, none of the Royal Palace could understand what had become of their ruler and while a few of the citizens equated the appearance this strange, thin beggar with the date of their beloved monarch's absence, they never would have imagined the true fate of the slavering creature who came to their doors at night, pitiable in essence but whose needy desires were never slaked, his consumption of their resources never fulfilling.

The creature discovered fire, watching with fascination as the flames like his own body reduced things to cinders, mere carbon not copies. Consumed but minimalized. A lesson learned: Don't underestimate, don't give away your true purpose unless you know the other is on your side.

So, dear reader, in the wake of this story, I wonder that when the timeless Prince escaped the world, leaving his heart and the thing that stole it to burn to nothing, could he have realized he might meet and exact revenge on the nymph that tricked him?

Some might say he achieved that long ago. Others might say he was left without a purpose forever and he could only hope to fade away. I suppose it's not for me to sa--

That's right, I never answered who I was. Are you still curious? Really? Well, that's a bit of a surprise. I never expected you to be so interested. Did you like the story? I have a dozen more. They're all written down somewhere. Now let's see here. I…wait. I might have mixed this up. I seem to be missing a page. I should never have used cue cards – it serves a bard right.