Chapter 1 The Curse

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The villagers of Orrander stood in awe as they watched the sky turn red at night with blue comets flashing down the sky in full speed.

"It's happening..."

"It's the curse. Our village has been cursed."

"Oh no!"

Scared about the uncanny and peculiar colours and movement in the sky, the villagers wailed in awe.

The king's royal announcer dashed his way into the King's chamber and bowed his head immediately his eyes and the King's eyes came into contact.

"Yes Cornelius and to what do I owe this rude visit, in the middle of the night?" The King stated adjusting his golden robe.

"Forgive me your majesty, but the villagers are in great dismay for the sudden misfortune that has fallen upon us."

"A misfortune?" the king repeated standing up.

"Yes your majesty, for the sky is red and strange lines keeps passing by, your majesty this is exactly as the sibyl prophecied two full moons ago" The royal announcer Cornelius stated, his hands shaking in fear.

The king breathed out and tightened his robe on his body, he flounced out of his room and head to the royal planetarium.

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"This is outrageous... This is blasphemy! We're doomed!" the king breathed out shaking his head as he watched the sky.

Suddenly the door opened and the queen walked in with her dress sweeping the floor, her brows furrowed in worry.

"My lord." she called running towards the king.

"Please be careful, my queen" The king sighed.

"What is the meaning of this!" The queen asked.

The king sighed and shook his head in melancholy.

"Answer me my lord!." The queen yelled.

When she saw that the king wasn't ready to tend to her question, she turned to the royal announcer.

"Cornelius what is going on? The sky is strange and I keep hearing about a curse... Is this something I don't know of?"

Cornelius bowed. "Your highness, two full moons ago when you fell iill, a sybil visited Orrander and prophecied about a curse falling upon everyone that liveth in the village."

"And what is this curse?" The queen's eyebrow arched.

"The sybil stated that after the red turning of the sky and the strange passing lines, Orrander will forsee a great misfortune where once in every passing year, millions of children will be born but a child will bare a red marking on any part of his body, and that will serve as great misfortune because the sibyl announced that any child born with the red marking belongs to the beast of Orrander and should be annihilated immediately!"

The queen gasped.

"And I thought she was just being an imposter, I believed the sky can never turn red, but I spoke too soon!" The King sighed.

"Killing children because of a silly marking? I laugh not. This is outrageous" The queen scoffed.

The king turned to the queen. "My lady, I know you must feel vexed by this, but you've heard the stories about the beasts of Orrander, we should not make this a project of our smiles and put this into action." The king explained and the queen shut her eyes in sadness.

"Cornelius" The king turned to the royal announcer.

"Yes, your majesty" Cornelius bowed.

"Make this known to everyone in Orrander, that every pregnant maiden must be watched from now and henceforth, to prevent malodorous and foul things from happening in Orrander, every new born child must be inspected and the one with any red marking, be brought to the castle and be put to exile, and to those who will not be able to coat with this law, may leave Orrander and never return and to those who will fail to offer their child, will be killed by force along with their child, if the child happens to posses the red marking".

Cornelius bowed even lower. "For the people will hear this".

Cornelius left the room in full speed and the Queen almost fell to her feet but luckily the king caught her.

"My lord" she cried. "This is too much to take in, killing innocent children, you'll be staining your hands with blood"

"My queen, killing a single child and saving my people, or letting a child live and letting my people die..."

The queen wept even more and the king hugged her.

"We will get through this Adalind, just trust me" The king said and placed a small kiss on the queen's forehead.

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The Royal announcer passed the King's New law to the people of Orrander and most of them were shocked by it, pregnant women wouldn't sleep at night, for they would stay up all night praying to the gods of Orrander to keep their child away from the red marking.

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Two years passed with the curse over Orrander but surprisingly, no child with a red marking was ever found, every new born child was inspected and so was pregnant maiden, but all gave birth to children without any marking on any parts of the body and the people starts to believe that the curse over Orrander was just a prevarication.

The Queen got pregnant with the years passed and with her royal physician visiting her every single day, told the queen she will be giving birth In a few days. the King couldn't wait either.

But surprisingly the queen fell into labour two days before her due date and her royal physician was called into the castle along with some midwives to help deliver the child.

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The delivery bell could be heard all over the small village of Orrander, as the people rejoiced with happiness of the Queen safe delivery of a male child.

"Finally an heir to the throne."

"Wow, this is amazing, a crown prince is born"

"An heir"

"The king must be so happy."

The village was filled with happy laughter and joy in air, all happy for the queen and her safe delivery of a male child.

Despite the village being joyful and happy for the queen, the castle was different.

It was quiet and gloomy, every maids, and eunuchs servants stood in front of the ball room, all heads bowed in sadness.

The midwives stood in shock in front of the queen who was lying on the floor looking very feeble and weak.

The Royal announcer Cornelius who delivered the news about the Queen giving birth to the villagers walked back into the castle to Recieve the sudden news.

"The queen's baby just died, it died immediately it came out".

Cornelius stood in shock as he watched the king took off his crown and rubbed his brows in sorrow.

"You already gave the villagers the happy news, how are we ever going to feed this to them" The King sighed.

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Inside the delivery room the queen tears crawled down her eyes as she heard of the sudden news. But she suddenly start to groan in pain

"Midwives, back to your position" Her physician announced.

"There's another baby coming out" the physician announced.

//

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"Your majesty... Twins!! The queen just gave birth to another baby boy!" one of the servants who rushed into the King's chamber stated and both the king and Cornelius dashed out of the room and to the delivery room.

Seeing the bloody baby in the queen's arm and the queen drowning in her own tears, and the first dead baby lying beside the queen, the king fell to his knees and a single tear dropped from his eyes.

"The first one is gone... But I am okay with this one" The queen cried with joy.

The midwives wiped the bloody baby and it lets out its first cry, a cry that made the king and queen smile with teary eyes.

As the baby was being wrapped in a cotton fabric, one of the midwives noticed something on his back.

A big and bright red mark laying on his baby skin.

"The red marking!" the woman gasped..

The King's head and everyone else's head turned to the baby and the midwife holding the baby, turned the baby's back to the king and queen revealing the bright red marking on his back.

"No..." The queen yelled "No..." she cried.

A heavy tear dropped from the King's eyes as he turned to Cornelius.

"Cornelius" The King's voice shook.

"Yes your majesty".

"Tell the people of Orrander, that the queen had two babies and lost both of them".

"I understand your majesty" Cornelius bowed and walked out of the room.

"No... Your majesty... No... Please" The queen cried taking her baby from the midwife and clutching it to her body.

The king stood up. "Leave us alone, I'll end this baby myself."

Immediately the king said that, the midwives, the royal physician and every other person in the delivery room left the Queen and King with their soon to be dead child.

As the king moved closer to the queen, she shook her head.

"Please don't come any closer"

"My lady, if I enforce a law and do not go by it, what kind of king will the people call me. My first child who happened to be alive is cursed, to prevent any bad luck in Orrander, we need to destroy this baby" The king stated as a single tear left his eye.

"Then... Why don't you destroy me too, kill me before killing our child, I don't care about a silly red marking, children are born with marks on their bodies every once in a while" The queen cried.

"Marks that aren't red! My queen I know your pain, but for the people of Orrander-

"I don't care! If this baby dies, I die too, I lost the first one, you won't do this to me.." the queen shook her head.

"But my queen..." The king was confused as ever, of course he wanted a child, but not the one with a curse.

The queen stood up, despite the pains she felt in her stomach, she moved closer to the wall where an emergency sword was hunged and she grabbed the sword immediately.

"My queen what are you doing?" The king asked.

"I'm ending my life, I can't watch myself live and watch you kill my son" The queen replied breathing heavily.

The king rushed up to her but she pointed the sword at the king.

"Do not come any closer" The queen yelled. "Is there any reason to live if my child dies, tell me Archibald, is there any reason?".

Seeing tears drop from the queen's tired face, the king became weak in the knees.

He had no choice. Of course he loves the queen like he love his life.

"Then drop the sword my queen... For your child will live... Our child." The king stated.

The queen clutched the baby into her hand and shut her eyes.

"You promise?" she sniffed.

"I swear on my parent's grave, our child will live" The king sighed and the sword dropped from the queen's hand, making some clashing sound as it collided with the floor.

The king quickly rushed up to the queen and held her hand, taking the baby from her.

"You're weak... Please sit" The king stated making the queen sit.

"Our child will live, but he won't be staying here, the people of Orrander believes our child Is dead, so he can't live here, for he will live in the other castle outside Orrander, to prevent calamities, He will have enough food and enough servants to tend to him, you need not to worry anymore my queen, I will stand by my words" The king sighed.

"I don't care where he goes, for he lives and breathe is all I care" The queen stated and her eyes went shut immediately.

The king quickly called for the royal physician who attended to the Queen immediately.

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Standing in the ball room with half of the servants in the castle, the king clutched the baby in his hand very tight. His royal guard standing beside him.

"To every servants here, you have been picked to serve the crown prince!" The King's voice spread out through the whole place and little wave of mumur filled the whole ball room.

"Silence!" The king ordered.

"Yes! My first son died and the second one was born with the curse mark of the beast of Orrander. For he still carries the royal blood, my blood, he cannot be dead. But he will live in a faraway place, a castle outside Orrander and the servants present here will serve him till we see the outcome of his growth, by dawn tomorrow the crown prince will leave for the castle and so will the servants here, and let this been known as a secret for if anyone happens to be a tattle tale, will have their head cut off at all cost!" The king stated and left the ball room, leaving the servants to murmur all they want.

'^'

And just At the cry of the morning rooster, hundreds of Servants, hundreds of guards, two royal physician, and four midwives, set out on the journey to the other castle with the crown prince in the Royal carriage.

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