La mandragore

The court is thrown into chaos when the queen unexpectedly delivers a grotesque, amphibian offspring. Whispers turn to silence as courtiers clutch their mouths, and the king, a battle‑hardened ruler, confronts the unsettling miracle with a blend of fury and superstition. The queen, proud yet shaken, must navigate the king’s cruel verdict while the newborn—eyes wide, limbs webbed—lies swaddled in silken white as the palace’s ancient midwives watch in stunned awe.

Amid the looming threat of execution, the queen awakens in the dead of night to a mournful wail and a lullaby drifting from a dimly lit chamber. She slips past sleeping servants, drawn to a cradle where the amphibian infant rests, its strange, conscious stare hinting at a fate far beyond ordinary royal intrigue. The story balances dark humor with a haunting glimpse into a world where power, vanity, and the uncanny clash in the heart of a medieval palace.