Far far far away sat the town of Nothing, a little under 500 people, where the princess was queen of all the land from near too far and the emperor was king of nothing but his golden closets. The town though small was lined with the country’s finest shops; people came from all around, far and wide to buy the finest materials and the finest threads to make the finest clothing. Cloth from Rwanda, cloth from India, cloth from Spain, golden thread, lavender spun thread, myriads of choices and people always came back for more.

The emperor was known infamously for his lust for clothes, his undying love affair for the one thing in his life that never let him down. Surprisingly enough he felt his poor innocent dead wife had left him to rot alone with no one at all to be there to help him survive through the tough times. His daughter, his poor dead daughter, whom he believed to still be alive sometimes was once the ruler for he was not unfit to rule under his condition, his father was a brutal man an attacked him whenever he got the chance. Leaving him scarred and bruised for life.

Clothes were his passion, and quite frankly many people found it to be superfluous, including his own daughter. When he didn’t get a new outfit to wear everyday he wouldn’t leave his palace, then he would lock himself inside his room and cry like a baby. He would refuse to see any of his ministers. Sometimes his outbreak’s were so terrible he wouldn’t eat, sleep, or talk to a single person in the entire palace for an entire week staying in his room without showering or breathing a scent of the fresh gardens that surrounded his room windows. The emperor had just finished getting over one of those incidents when he heard one his ministers out in the hallway angrily having a whispering debate with himself.

“I can’t tell him! He just can’t buy anymore, I can’t tell him! I won’t tell him! But then I’ll lose my job! No I am always right I will always be right and that’s what counts! I will tell him!” came the frantic whispers through the cracked door. “What are you are so sure about? What do you have to tell me? Is the new spring line in downtown? Do I finally get to go shopping?!” the emperor’s voice escalated into gay bursts of excitement and he began to clap. “No sir, not exactly well, there are these people here to see you and they would like to sell you magic clothes, clothes that is made from the finest material in the world especially for you…” the minister drew the words out slowly dramatically, leaving the last one on the tip of his tongue as he watched the ministers reaction turn from excitement to utter elation, “..Sir.” “Well of course! I want the best! let them into the palace and set them up in a private room where they will be able to work comfortably, I will be down to greet them tomorrow once they are settled in I must look good to greet these fit gentlemen!” and with a smile the size of Texas, the wave of his hand and quick laugh he dismissed his minister and headed towards the bathroom to wash off the stress and grim of his latest episode.

The minister’s head was exploding with thoughts of nothing but ways of making this plan go wrong, finding a flaw in their plan and making the “greatest sewers in the world” mess up, little did he know what he was to find out the next morning.

Lightning fast steps pattered down the marble steps of the castle and hit the floor running towards the out houses of the main house of the palace, the emperors eyes bottled from side to side and watched out for anyone coming his way he wanted no one to see him, no one to talk to him but those that he had selected. Faster and faster went his gold and magenta beaded slippers matching the robes that his newest stylist had picked out for him recently in India, finally reaching the cottage where the weavers were staying he wiped the imaginary sweat off his upper brow, blew out his breath and pushed in the door, “ Welcome to the Kingdom of Nothing! I