There is a Cambodian tale my father used to tell me about a hunter, a tiger, and a heartless queen.
A long time ago there was a hunter like no others - he was so strong and so fast that even the most dangerous beasts of the forest feared his shadow. One day, he decides to prove his strength again and claims that he is going to kill the King Tiger, an ancient creature the size of an elephant. He goes with his spear deep into the forest to reach the tiger's lair, and sees that it is sleeping. However before he can even strike the King Tiger wakes up and breaks his spear with one paw, leaving the hunter at his mercy. Instead of killing him, King Tiger decides to curse him with immortality : the hunter is condemned to live forever without love nor glory. The only way to break the curse is to gain the heart of the heartless queen , who is yet to be born. After serving as a soldier for fifty seasons, the hunter finally meets the heartless queen- he becomes the queen's hunter and personal servant , falling desperately in love with her. The queen does not love him back and the hunter realizes that he has been tricked by the King Tiger, for a heartless queen cannot possibly give her heart to a loveless hunter. The story is quite long, but after many adventures the hunter finds out that the queen has been cursed herself at birth by a snake : her heart has been changed into a pearl that the snake has swallowed to become a dragon. After a long fight he manages to take the pearl from the dragon, which -now a snake- bites him with poisoned fangs. Being immortal , he returns to the castle unharmed and gives the pearl to the queen. She cries and professes her love to him, freeing him from the curse. But as the poison of the snake is still in him, the hunter dies six days after. Heartbroken, the queen dies with him. They are reborn as a tiger and a snake.
I thought this could be a good Moran/Moriarty prompt, with Moran as the hunter and Moriarty as the heartless queen : Moran was born at the same time as ACD!Moran and meets a tiger in India which curses him the same way as King Tiger. Then he meets Jim. Whether they die or not is up to you. I just would like to see a fic based of this tale.
The hunter, the tiger, and the snake, Moran/Moriarty
A long time ago there was a hunter like no others - he was so strong and so fast that even the most dangerous beasts of the forest feared his shadow. One day, he decides to prove his strength again and claims that he is going to kill the King Tiger, an ancient creature the size of an elephant. He goes with his spear deep into the forest to reach the tiger's lair, and sees that it is sleeping. However before he can even strike the King Tiger wakes up and breaks his spear with one paw, leaving the hunter at his mercy. Instead of killing him, King Tiger decides to curse him with immortality : the hunter is condemned to live forever without love nor glory. The only way to break the curse is to gain the heart of the heartless queen , who is yet to be born.
After serving as a soldier for fifty seasons, the hunter finally meets the heartless queen- he becomes the queen's hunter and personal servant , falling desperately in love with her. The queen does not love him back and the hunter realizes that he has been tricked by the King Tiger, for a heartless queen cannot possibly give her heart to a loveless hunter.
The story is quite long, but after many adventures the hunter finds out that the queen has been cursed herself at birth by a snake : her heart has been changed into a pearl that the snake has swallowed to become a dragon. After a long fight he manages to take the pearl from the dragon, which -now a snake- bites him with poisoned fangs. Being immortal , he returns to the castle unharmed and gives the pearl to the queen. She cries and professes her love to him, freeing him from the curse. But as the poison of the snake is still in him, the hunter dies six days after. Heartbroken, the queen dies with him. They are reborn as a tiger and a snake.
I thought this could be a good Moran/Moriarty prompt, with Moran as the hunter and Moriarty as the heartless queen : Moran was born at the same time as ACD!Moran and meets a tiger in India which curses him the same way as King Tiger. Then he meets Jim.
Whether they die or not is up to you. I just would like to see a fic based of this tale.