Prologue

Long ago, when the winters raged and lasted many months, a witch made a prophecy. Now, this witch was not of the children's tales taking the innocent and locking away young princesses. This witch was one of foresight and wisdom.

When drought and plague rage war against the mighty storm, a child will come take their place upon the throne. A tainted flower will take aim at a beauty to strike down and possess the land, only then will the wolf rise up and vanquish the flower, destroying the demon that it truly is.

Over the years the prophecy has lived on being interpreted in many ways. The most common belief is that the beauty and the wolf are one in the same. Others believe them to be two separate beings. As the years, months, and days draw closer to the prophecy being fulfilled, only time will tell what the prophecy meant."

A woman looked down, the warm golden flicker from the hearth cast a deep shadow on the child in her lap. His eyes like deep ambers stared up at the woman, taking in the softness of her voice and the gentle glow the fire cast on her gentle features as she brushed back his straw-colored hair.

The boy clung to the woman who harbored eyes as dark as fresh mud and curly straw-colored hair that lay atop her head in a messy bun from her long day of work.

"Mama, I think the queen's new baby will be the beauty from the prophecy." The child whispered as thunder rolled just outside the stone walls of the castle where the duo resided. The boy was around six years in age and was attached to his mother.

"You do?" The mother hugged her son with a warm smile. "And who do you believe to be the wolf?"

The boy took a moment to think, removing his head from her breast. "Whoever it is, they'll protect the new baby."

The young mother chuckled when the wooden door swung open, a young maid still in her sleeping gown held the door as she caught her breath.

"Slaine! The queen is going into labor! Come quickly!"

"Faolan, come quick, Queen Maeve needs our help in delivering her new child." Slaine set Faolan down and rushed after the maid to the birthing chamber where the queen was screaming out from the intense pain.

As Slaine rushed into action, cleaning up the blood and encouraging the queen to take deep breaths and hold off on pushing for just a moment as she felt her stomach and then inside of her to feel for the baby.

Faolan stood by the queen's bed and watched the queen pant from her exhaustion. "Mama, why is she in so much pain?"

The queen chuckled some and took his hand in her sweaty hand. Her hand was very warm from the exertion she was undergoing. "Little Faolan, giving birth is a very painful experience, be glad you will never experience such pain."

Faolan watched her as she struggled to start pushing again. The women in the room were doing their best to help Maeve as she tried to safely deliver the baby. The queen let go of the child's hand, grabbing at Slaine.

"The babe is stuck; I can feel it. Save the child, do what you must to save my little one." The queen fell back on the bed, soaked in sweat and panting heavily. Slaine looked at a maid and nodded, silently instructing her. The maid grabbed a thick piece of leather and had the queen bite down on it as another maid held a sharp knife in the fire and then dipped it into the boiling water.

After being handed the knife, Slaine lifted the queen's gown and began cutting very slowly into her stomach. She was careful to go one layer at a time. Faolan stared, wide eyed and shocked, watching his mother reach in and then pull out the queen's intestines to get to the child within her. Reaching in one more time, Slaine carefully removed the baby, cleaning the child off quickly and getting it to breathe.

"It's a girl, your majesty." Slaine cradled the child, swaddling her in a blanket as another midwife started cleaning her up and sewing her back up.

The queen held the crying infant to her chest as she panted, tears in her eyes. "She's beautiful. Her name shall be Aoife. My little Aoife"

Faolan leaned over to look at the baby when he sensed something off. He looked at the queen, a frown on his features. "Mama! Mama! The queen! She's dying!"

Slaine looked at the queen who was feeding her child. "Faolan, she's alright, she's not dying."

"But mama, she is dying!" Faolan grabbed the queen's sleeve, eyes wide in fear. The queen looked at Faolan and smiled at him, touching his cheek.

"Faolan, can you do something for me? Can you protect Aoife for me? Make sure nothing hurts her, be her guard." The queen whispered to the young boy, her face going pale as the light began to fade from her eyes.

"I will, I promise to protect her with my life." Tears began to roll down his cheeks as the queen slowly passed away. "Mama, the queen…"

Slaine looked over and gasped. "Faolan, go get the king and the prince! Quick boy, quick!"

Faolan ran through the castle, the rain outside pounding on the windows. He found the prince's room and started throwing himself on the door to make as much noise as possible. "Vilfred! Vilfred, wake up! Wake up!"

The prince swung open the door, his auburn hair was a mess as he rubbed his blue eyes. "Faolan, what are you doing?" The ten-year-old grumbled at the younger boy.

"Get the king! We need to get the king! The queen is dying!" Faolan grabbed Vilfred's hand and tug him towards the king's chambers. A guard blinked as the two boys ran towards him, standing guard at the king's room.

"Boys, what are you two doing up?"

"Mother is dying!" Vilfred cried, holding onto Faolan's hand.

The guard gasped and barged into the king's room. "Your majesty! It's your wife!"

Rain poured down on the people of the kingdom of Vilidia, the funeral procession made their way through the city as people tossed any kind of flower they could get towards the carriage that held the queen in her coffin. The king had chosen to walk as he held the new princess, the kingdom mourned the loss of their beloved queen, the king even chose to delay the ball that would welcome Aoife to the kingdom as the new princess.

The queen's most trusted lady-in-waiting, Fiadh, stepped up to the king, gently taking the princess so he could lay down his flowers as they lowered the queen. Her heart hurt for the princess, prince, and the king.

The king laid down his flowers, standing up straight afterwards and looked at his people. "This week, we have mourned the loss of a great queen. For me, she was my wife, my beloved. But remember her always my people, as not your queen, but as your sister. Do not blame the struggle of her birth for her passing but see it as how she laid down her life even for the smallest and weakest of us all."