Saving Summer

Chapter One: Where it all started

The land of Prinaes was made up of four different kingdoms. Each kingdom represented one of the four seasons. The northern land belonged to the Winter Kingdom. The south belonged to the Summer kingdom. Spring and Autumn were located in the east and west respectively. In each of the kingdoms, the weather reflected the name. For example, in the Summer kingdom, days were long and hot while nights were only slightly cooler and shorter. Though since most of the Summer Kingdom was surrounded by water, most of the inhabitants spent their days keeping cool in it. 

Because of this, it was in the northern region of the Summer Kingdom where most of the produce would grow. The people who lived here were farmers who worked hard in the fields to yield crops for not just the Summer Kingdom but the others as well. Autumn and Spring provided crops along their borders with the Summer Kingdom but it was difficult for anything to grow in the soil of the other kingdoms. The ground was too hard to sustain the vast amount of crops needed to feed the people of all four kingdoms. 

The Autumn, Spring, and Winter Kingdoms found other ways to make money. The Autumn Kingdom provided grain, stone and iron for the realm. Spring was responsible for providing livestock. The Winter Kingdom provided the wood and brick used to build all of the homes in Prinaes. Each of the kingdoms traded their goods to the others and each nation was prosperous.

Each of the four kingdoms possessed a sacred treasure that made it possible to keep the desired season. Four chalices made up of gold, silver, bronze and iron resided in the palaces of their respective rulers. They were heavily guarded at all times to make them impossible to steal. If they were removed from their resting places, the kingdom would slowly lose the ability to control their season and fade away from existence forever.

That did not stop others from attempting to steal the chalices. Many foreign nations had disguised envoy after envoy to try to take the chalices for their own. The most sought after chalice belonged to the Summer Kingdom and was therefore the most heavily guarded of the four. The golden chalice of the Summer Kingdom held the power of perpetual sunshine which made it the most desirable to these foreign nations and for good reason. The idea of never having to deal with the brutal winds of winter was very appealing. 

Many wars had been fought over the golden chalice. Most were easily won by the army of the Summer Kingdom alone but there were other times when the Summer Kingdom required help from the other three. Winter, Autumn, and Spring were more than happy to oblige in defeating the foreign invaders. They knew that if the Summer Kingdom fell that they would not be far behind. 

Despite the wars with other nations, the four kingdoms lived in peace with each other for many years. All of the kingdoms traded their goods amongst each other and the realm’s economy was booming. The people of the four kingdoms lived happy lives and all was well. Until the day that everything changed.

When King Agostino and Queen Yesenia woke up, there was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary that morning. The bright sunlight seeped through the sheer curtains hanging in front of the balcony that overlooked the city, casting a beam of light onto the enormous canopied bed. The red and gold bedroom was neat and tidy as always. The maids did an excellent job keeping the place looking nice and doing it when they would not be seen. The mahogany wardrobe stood in the corner of the room waiting to be opened. 

Queen Yesenia was the first one to wake up from her slumber. Stretching and yawning, Queen Yesenia pushed the silk covers off of her and shifted so that she was seated upright on the bed. She shuffled over to the vanity and sat herself down in front of it on the cushioned chair. Queen Yesenia stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her long curly brown hair was disheveled and she could see the bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep. 

Last night, Queen Yesenia had a horrible nightmare. She dreamt that someone was trying to destroy Prinaes. This person stole the four chalices that belonged to each of the kingdoms and Queen Yesenia watched in terror as Prinaes began to vanish completely from existence. Everything that she loved and all of the people that she cared for were gone. All that was left was an empty black void.

Everything had felt so real about the dream that it terrified her. She could hear the screams of the people in her head even now as they faded into nothingness. Queen Yesenia remembered in the dream standing on their balcony with King Agostino beside her as they realized that there was nothing that they could do to stop it. She recalled Agostino’s grip on her hand loosening as her husband began to fade as well. That had been the worst part of the dream for Yesenia. Watching her husband disappear along with the others into the void. Queen Yesenia hated the feeling of powerlessness that she felt at that moment.

Queen Yesenia heard movement coming from  near the bed and turned around in her seat. King Agostino stood beside the bed. As he saw his wife look at him, a smile formed onto his lips. He walked over to her chair and bent down wrapping his arms around her.

“Good morning, my love,” he said to her. He knelt in front of her and placed a hand on her stomach, “and good morning to you too, little one.”

Queen Yesenia gazed lovingly at her husband. To someone who did not know him, King Agostino appeared intimidating. His shrewd, calculating hazel eyes and gruff appearance hid the sweet and sensitive soul that lay beneath. As King, Queen Yesenia knew that Agostino had a certain reputation to uphold. To his people, he had to appear tough but fair. Only Queen Yesenia and few others that were close to him got to see the real Agostino.