Once upon a time there lived an emperor who had three sons.  

The emperor was getting old, and began grooming a replacement. He soon concluded that one of the sons, a simpleton called Clever Jorg, could never succeed him.  

Jorg spent his days at the local tavern amusing the barmaids. He was a happy-go-lucky sort, less industrious than his brothers. But since fairy tale protocol requires that the happy-go-lucky simpleton get the throne/princess in the end, Clever Jorg wound up wearing ermine. 

Some of the peasants laughed when they heard Jorg was going to run the show. "At least this might be entertaining," they said. Others did not laugh. "At best this might be catastrophic," they thought. 

In a loud travesty of efficiency called National Elections, Jorg claimed the throne with the help of Veep, his huntsman.  

Fairy tale protocol requires that huntsmen either be conniving consorts of Darkness, or good-hearted fellows at bottom who spare the princess instead of shooting her as ordered.  

Veep was of the former. When he wasn’t on a date with the Dark Side, he was off on canned hunts, gunning for small birds and occasionally old friends.  

A Grim Fairy Tale