The Royal Fowl-Up
Apprentice wizard Thaddeus only wanted to impress the king with a simple levitation spell. Instead, he mispronounced one word and turned His Majesty into a very angry chicken. The guards are not amused. The court jester is having the time of his life. And somewhere in the back of Thaddeus's mind, he's realizing that "I can fix this" is what every wizard says right before making things much, much worse.
Thaddeus grabbed his spellbook and tried the first reversal spell he could find. Unfortunately, in his panic, he grabbed the wrong chapter. Now the king is still a chicken — but a GIANT chicken the size of a horse. The guards are fleeing in terror. The jester has literally collapsed from laughter. And Thaddeus is starting to think maybe he should have paid more attention during "Basic Spell Safety" class.
Thaddeus's third attempt at reversal was going so well — until he sneezed mid-incantation. There are now three giant chicken kings. All of them are equally furious. All of them are equally enormous. The jester has already started charging admission. The Royal Treasury is not going to cover this.
Thaddeus's fourth attempt involved calling the Royal Academy Emergency Hotline — a service that, according to its banner, currently had 47 other wizards on hold. The crystal ball flickered to life. A very annoyed senior wizard appeared, arms crossed. He said only two words before the line went to hold music. The jester had already opened a tour booth. The three giant chicken kings were starting to settle in. This was going to be a long afternoon.
The senior wizard's two words, it turned out, had been 'good luck.' The hold music had been playing for three hours and forty-seven minutes. Meanwhile, the Royal Fowl-Up — as the jester had taken to calling it — had achieved a kind of terrible equilibrium. The first chicken king had claimed the throne and was accepting formal bows from the court chamberlain. The second had begun holding audiences at the royal podium. The third had developed a taste for crown jewels and showed no signs of stopping. The tour booth was doing excellent business. Thaddeus stared at the crystal ball and wondered if wizards could be tried for treason.
Thaddeus finally had a breakthrough — or so he thought. The spellbook's 'Emergency Chicken Reversal' page had been bookmarked by some previous wizard with a note that read 'DO NOT USE ON GIANTS.' But desperate times called for desperate measures. As Thaddeus began the incantation, the three chicken kings turned in unison, their beady eyes narrowing. The jester paused mid-transaction. The chamberlain dropped his bow. And somewhere in the castle, a very small, very confused cat wandered in, drawn by the magical energy. No one noticed the cat. Everyone should have noticed the cat.
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