Self-Defeating Victory

Once upon a time, a benevolent king ruled over a peaceful kingdom.

In the way of many kings, he had an uncle who had out-lived his brother, the previous king, and after his first wife had died of a mysterious illness, he had married again, to a very beautiful woman who was kind to his children and as beautiful as a sunrise.

Many called him Alfred the Lucky, for while attempts on his life were not unknown, all of those attempts failed before they got close to the king.

The woman dressed as a handmaiden delivering poisoned wine had fallen to an accidentally misfired crossbow. A scorpion slipped into the King's bedchamber fought and stung a venomous snake, and was killed itself in the snake's death throes. The injured boar that got loose during a hunt was killed by an arrow through the eye when the king dove out of the way.

Had he not dodged, the arrow should have impaled the King's heart.

King Alfred the Lucky ruled wisely and well, such that everyone assumed that he had secret defenders, as well as silent attackers. After all, who would want such a benevolvent ruler dead?

Indeed, the only conflict in the royal household was between the king's second wife and the king's uncle, neither of whom seemed to like each other much, thought they did their best not to be obvious in their disdain, and gracious in King Alfred the Lucky's presence.

So it was that after many years, the king caught a cold, and eventually sickened and died. The investigation into his death was thorough, but eventually concluded that King Alfred the lucky had, in fact, died of natural causes.

With King Alfred the Lucky's children still under the age of majority, a Regency would be necessary until the heir came of age. The only remaining adults in the royal family were the heirs Step-Mother, and King Alfred the Lucky's uncle. Who despised each other.

The royal council decided to let them sort it out themselves, and shut them in the council chamber before all retreating to a safe distance.

In the council chambers, Queen Malifica and Prince Edwin glared at each other. "Natural Causes? How humiliating."

Queen Malifica scoffed, "Perhaps if you hadn't been getting in my way all these years, one of my plans would have succeeded."

Prince Edwin, whose plans to usurp his nephew had been clashing with Queen Malifica's plots to dispose of her husband for the last several years, glared back. "Who has been getting in whose way, again? That boar was the perfect set-up!"

Queen Malifica didn't grace him with a response. "Either way he is dead, and his children will be better guarded that he was. Fortunately for me, they like me. You, not so much."

Prince Edwin scowled. "But you're a woman, and no blood relation to them."

The Queen (step-)Mother waved a hand, “Just don’t try to kill the children, and when my plan succeeds, you can be Consort.”