Rebirth of a Kingdom

Prologue

          “King Agate is cursed.” The captain of the guard told his men, one night in the barracks. For days, the man had listened to his once powerful ruler lament that he could not get certain thoughts out of his head. Being close with the captain of the guard, the king confided in him, and the guard betrayed him by telling the others. “He fears that he will be the cause of our kingdom falling to its knees. If he can think it---who’s to say that he cannot do it?” A few of the other guards looked at each other in disbelief. The king ruled with a firm hand, but he was far from a man that would destroy his own land.

          The captain’s, second-in-command, Caspian stood up and raised the glass of ale that he was drinking. “I second that! I’ve heard him discussing these things with Queen Epidote. What if she’s cursed too? What if the baby princess grows up to be a monster?” A few other men tapped their glasses on the wooden tables where they sat. It was a sign of solidarity. “We cannot allow the king, queen or princess to destroy the land, we worked so hard to establish. We have families, wives, children! They’re innocent.” The captain of the guard nodded in agreement---everything was going as he thought. “And besides, has our captain once lied to us? Jonah has led us and supported us through all of our battles.”

          More glasses of ale hit the tables---this time, in unison. The usually quiet barracks were now loud with the yells of men who did not understand anything at all. They were afraid and they did not wish to learn that they had nothing to fear.

          Jonah, the captain, stood on one of the tables. His uniform glistened in the evening light. He was well decorated and respected by the king that was going to fall to his blade. “…Let’s take what is ours. The king will not be the death of us. We can establish a new government, a new ruler!”

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A few days later....

          Queen Epidote stood in a locked room with her maids surrounding her as a war raged inside the castle. Men yelled. Some screamed. In her arms, she held her baby girl, Opal. The maids tried to reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but the queen already knew what was happening. It was a rebellion---for some reason, someone in the castle had not agreed with however the king was ruling. No one could be trusted. “King Agate is dead.” She spoke softly, trying to rock her baby back into a sleep. Her silver hair spilled down her shoulders. “Jonah. The captain killed him. Know that you are putting yourself into danger by being here with me.”

          All of the maids looked at each other with a bit of unease, but none of them left the room. They all stayed huddled together, praying and comforting one another, but the war outside would not stop raging. The Queen paced the room with her daughter in her arms. She did not want to part with her, but apart of her knew that the hour of reckoning was coming. If a decision was not made, it was possible that the child would perish as well.

          Her sapphire eyes shined with tears as she faced her maids. They all stood at attention, listening intently. “The king would have never harmed any of you. I want you to know that. What ailed him was not a curse. I knew him better than anyone in this room. What ailed him is something that can be fixed. It was a sickness. Nothing more.” The maids nodded to each other. “And I want you to know that you are loyal. You do not have to stay. I will not forget this, even in death.” A few of the young women around the room started to cry.

          One of the maids, a young woman of only twenty-two approached the queen. “What of your baby, your grace?” She played with her hands nervously. “Shouldn’t we get her out of here?” The queen regarded the maid carefully.

          “What is your name?”

          “Esme, your grace.”

          The queen smiled, albeit, shakily, but she smiled and nodded. “Yes. The princess should not be here. I fear that ….” Epidote didn’t finish her sentence. Looking to the doors of the room, they were in, she shivered. “She needs to leave. Esme. I’m going to entrust her to you.” Esme seemed a bit taken aback, but she did not dare refuse her mistress. She held out her arms and carefully took the baby. “Her name is Opal. Please take her somewhere safe. Raise her if you can, or if you can’t---give her to someone that can. Just make sure that she’s safe.”

          Esme’s brown eyes stared up at the queen. “What of you? Shouldn’t you accompany me?”

          The queen turned toward the door with a flourish. “I am staying here. Any of you that wish to leave, may do so now. You know all of the passageways. I will hold them off for as long as I can.” Esme was in awe of the queen. All of the maids seemed to be. When none of them moved though, she turned to them one last time. “Last chance. Go now before they get here…”

          A few of the younger maids left, along with Esme. Some stayed, but the maid did not wait around to see their fates unfold. As the door to one of the passages closed behind her, she heard the storming of boots.

          What was going to happen to the queen?