Prologue

The night was warm and quiet and the moon was waxing on the starry sky above. Suddenly a woman's scream echoes from a chamber of the castle. She was gasping for air, her grips were strong at each contraction as she was giving birth. Sweating so much, her hair is drenched in sweat. The ringlets of her soft brown hair sticks to her face, neck and arms. The labor took more than 8 hours. As she let out a sharp cry, it was replaced by a baby's. The woman was now panting, half smiling.

On the hallway, the king was pacing to and fro, anxiously. He was wiping sweat from his forehead and now paler than he is. A moment passed, the midwife arrived. As the King heard the news, his face lit up, happy beyond reason.

He ran towards the room and saw his wife cradling a baby. Queen Ava smiled to King Donovan . The baby was holding a ringlet from the queen's hair. Donovan, teary eyed from his joy, neared the bed. He held Ava's hand and said, "My love, you have given me the greatest happiness in the world."

"Yes, my love, he gives me joy as he does to you."

She gently caressed the baby's rosy cheeks, and held the baby towards the king whose arms were ready to receive.

At first, his arms were shaking. He was afraid that the baby might fall. He also worried about how sensitive and delicate they were.

That same night, from the towers of Andalus, a woman was in excruciating pain. No one was there to help her so it is hard for her to give birth alone. But somehow succeeded. It was a boy and is weak. This made her worry, a lot. She cried and cried. "Please, Please. Don't die," she hugged the baby. "Be strong my child."

Then, there was a loud noise nearby. From the monastery near the towers, Ananya could hear shouts of men and saw fire rising from it. Her eyes widened as she saw that the priest was forced to kneel outside the monastery and she didn't expect the next thing that happened.