Chapter I: The Queen is with Child

A few miles away from the kingdom, there appeared to be a lady sitting well rested on a camel hugging what seems to be a baby so tightly and closely to her chest. Accompanying her were three soldiers and two elderly women making sure she was safe and comfortable. "Do you all see that crowd coming this way?" One of the women said as she pointed towards the direction of a fast approaching crowd. Before anyone could serve her a reply, the crowd was abruptly in front of them and immediately took out the soldiers and the two women. Queen Zara, holding her son even tighter, felt something bitter run through her tongue as she yells the name of the man who appears to be the leader of the attackers. "I am so sorry Your royal highness, as of this moment, the king is no more. I had no option but to do this, I was ordered by Zamar to kill you and your baby, there was nothing I could do because he threatened to kill my parents and my wife, so I had to give into his demands," the man said with his eyes full of tears. "I get why someone in your position would agree to do such a thing, I don't blame you as I myself would do anything to protect my family, but I plead your mercy, you should let me go and I promise never to set foot back into the kingdom of Zanzar again," Zara said shaking. "But my queen, where would you go? You obviously can't go back home to Hilyal because if you do, Zamar would know and I would still suffer the consequence." The man said, nervously. "No, I won't go back home, I will leave and try to survive on my own, all I ask of you is to take this baby with you and keep him in your care, I know you are going to be a great parent seeing as you've always wanted to have a child of your own, take him, let him grow where his father grew because he can't survive in the wilderness," Zara said as she tries to hold back the pool of tears in her eyes. The man looked back to the crowd he came with and immediately killed all of them. "Why would you do that?", Queen Zara asked. "My lady, it is obvious, they would rat on me when we get back, now give me the baby and run, never you look back to this nation come what may, I promise to take care of your child as mine," Said the man as he stretches his hand to get a hold of the baby. Zara gives the baby a kiss on the head and brought out two pendant that looked exactly the same and tied one on the baby's neck keeping one on to herself. She kissed the baby one last time and rushed far into the deep wilderness.

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Hundreds of thousands of years ago , there existed a kingdom located in the Arab world which went by the name Zanzar. The kingdom of Zanzar was one to envy, it had it all, plentiful of wealth, a vast landmass and a strong army of warriors protecting the great nation. To top it all, the kingdom was ruled by Hashim, a kind and loving king who had no ounce of fear. Hashim ruled the nation with his lovely wife Zara, whom he loved more than any other thing in the world. Zara was an only daughter to a king from Hilyal, a neighboring kingdom ruled by the great, powerful and sage-like wise king Jamal.

King Hashim had it all, there isn't a single place or category in which he lacks. He only had one wish left, to one day have a child. He has been married to Queen Zara for more than a decade but they are still yet to get the one thing they yearned for, an heir. You can imagine how great it must have felt for the King when Queen Zara broke the news of her being pregnant to him, he felt beyond happy, nothing could explain the joy he felt and to show his appreciation , he gave out twenty camels and a sack full of golds to one of his servants.

When the news of Queen Zara being with child got to her father, King Jamal, he felt ecstatic for his daughter and her husband but mainly because he will not have to die without seeing a grandkid. He immediately sent a letter to the kingdom of Zanzar requesting that his daughter returned home and have the baby. This news made King Hashim so anxious because he despises anything that would come between him and his gorgeous wife, but he couldn't say no to his inlaw so he had to agree to The Queen's father's request.

"I will be back before you know it my love", said queen Zara as she rubs king Hashim's hair which was voluminous and so dark it pulls you in a trance-like state. She was sitting on the huge and extravagantly decorated bed which was positioned mid air in the center of the room which glowed of beautiful colors. She wore a light black dress which was made mainly of mesh with her long hair tied in a ponytail style, she smelled so great that the whole room was picking up on her scent. The king's head laid comfortably on her thighs as he looked her in the eyes, you could tell by the way he looked at her that he really was at his absolute best place and there was no where he would rather be on this earth. "I just can't fathom coming to terms with having you stay far away from me for so long," the king said not taking his sight away from her. "You do realize you could always visit, right? You can come see me anytime you want," Zara said as she moved closer to kiss his forehead. He slowly closed his eyes as she kissed him and he gently pulls her closer brushing the side of her neck with his fingers. She responded by moaning softly and hugging him tightly melting herself in his warm hairy body. He yanked her passionately into the bed and buried his face on her chest, she slowly took of her dress and hugged him tightly as they both moan softly and fell asleep.

"What is it with you always responding late to my calls? I believe I told you to be with me at all times and you are not to move whatsoever!" Zamar said as he throws the mug towards the raunchy looking old man standing by the door shaking in fear so close to urinating on his person. "I'm so sorry Prince Zamar, I had a bit of an emergency at home, my mother is terribly sick and she requested my presence," said the scared young man as he tries so hard not to make eye contact with Zamar. "I get so baffled by the fact that a person so old and useless keeps trying to live in this world being a burden on people, the selfishness is beyond reasoning," said Prince Zamar. The young man seized to respond and stood there waiting for the Prince's command. "Go get me my finest silk shirt, make sure you handle it with care because your life might as well depend on it," said Zamar as he looks at the young man disgustingly. "Yes Sir," the young man said as he retreats out of the room. Zamar is a twin brother to the reigning king of the Kingdom of Zanzar, he was a few minutes late behind King Hashim during birth and as per the kingdom's tradition, the elder child is to succeed the king. Growing up, he has always shown exemplary skills of a king and he is the arrogant and most prideful one of the duo. He still hope and yearn for the day that his brother Hisham would die so he can finally be king, he secretly loves the fact that the king hasn't been able to bear any children. Zamar is a two faced charming handsome hunk of a man who has the heads of the ladies in the kingdom turning at his sight.

"What are you eating this fine morning my Lady?," Zamar said jokingly as he walks toward Queen Zara who was seated comfortably in a garden which seemed really nothing like a garden due to the presence of several unusual scarce species in it. It was an amazing place with the air thick with the scent of lavender and the lovely noises from the birds which keeps you at serenity. "It's a plum, would you like some?," the Queen said as she picked a plum out of the basket. "Since when do you eat plums, for all the years I have known you, you've always hated plums, what gives?," Zamar said in a curious look. "Incase you haven't heard, you tend to have all these cravings for things you find absurd when you are pregnant, it kind of comes with the territory," the Queen said as she bites into the plum. "Hold on now, did you just say pregnant?," Zamar said trying to mask his anger and furiousness with a fake smile. "O no, don't tell me your brother didn't tell you yet, he asked me not to tell you as he wanted to surprise you and I thought he had already told you," Zara said as she looked a little panicked. "Hey, that won't be a problem, I can pretend to be surprised when he tells me. Wow, it's about time you gave me a niece or a nephew, I am so happy and I can't wait to meet this lovely kid," Zamar said as he stares directly at her abdomen. "Alright, I need to be somewhere now, I'll see you later," Zamar said as he moved out of the garden. "Hey, hold on, can we finish the conversation we started yesterday?," the Queen said as she tried to grab Zamar's shirt. He cringed his face so hard and turned with a smile saying "my answer would always be the same my lady, I will pick a wife when it is the right time to do so". "Alright, if you say so. Don't let me keep you from attending to whatever it is you want to," the Queen said tirelessly.

You could feel the absolute joy in the atmosphere, the town felt so different, different in a good way. The different sounds came together to give a cacophony of something great, something so good the ear would want to listen to forever. You could see a huge crowd approaching from wherever you stand and it was absolutely a sight to behold. "What is going on today? Whatever it is, I'm sure it is something great'" the old lady said as she chugged down some sort of liquid from a calabash. " Haven't you heard?", the other lady which I assumed was her daughter asked surprisingly. "Heard what?", the older lady said inquisitively. "The Queen is finally with child and is on her way home to Hilyal to have the baby, it was the greatest thing that happened recently," the younger lady said eagerly. "I'm really shocked I hadn't heard, we are really going to miss her and all she does for us, it is really hard to forget someone whose life itself is greatness," the older woman said with a pride that can't be hidden.

The hut was located far deep into the forest. It's exterior looked old and worn out which will convince the on looker there is actually nothing great in it but a pile of rats and other rodents painting it with their poop all day long. It had no lanes connecting to it, it looked abandoned. Approaching it was an inebriate man, it was natural to assume he was drunk because he was. He walked or rather stumbled until he reached the house and pushed the door which opened giving him access into the hut. He tripped and went to fall as he entered the house which was actually not what a person would think it was judging from the exterior. It was a huge room filled with all kinds of objects to make life easier if it wasn't easy already. Arranged in the center of the room were two comfy couches and pillows, all sorts of foods and an amazing carpet covering the floor of the room. The ceiling was filled with lights not so bright but good enough to allow you find a pin in a bunch of haystack. The hut was the exact epitome of 'do not judge a book by its cover.' "Here we go, not again!" The beautiful lady in the room said as she grabbed the man to prevent him from falling. "You claim to be the most powerful of all the sorcerers this Kingdom has ever seen, yet, you fail to deliver a common task," the man said drunkenly as he pushed the lady so hard against the wall. He was about to say another word when she interrupted him with a kiss on the lips which made him let go of her and fell onto the comfy carpet spread across the room. She quickly grabbed a cup full of some sort of juice and made him drink it, which he did slowly. In about five minutes or so, he seemed to have come back to reality and sat across the room from her. " You know, my grandfather the great sorcerer used to say: ' only fools drown their sorrows with alcohol when there are other ways to solve the problem ' ". Now, you don't have to go into details about what is happening, I have an inkling on all that is going on. "But you know what this means, right?!" Zamar shouted at her which seemed to have no effect on her "All our plans are gone, when this baby is born, all my dreams of ruling this kingdom is destroyed. " "You meant all our dreams of ruling this kingdom together is destroyed, you know I will never let that happen". "Now tell me, Hilda, what do you have planned next". Zamar said eagerly. "Well, I think it is time to bring the master plan I had all along into play," the lady said while twirling her long hair. "Come on Hilda, you know where I stand about killing my brother, I don't want to have that conscience weighing down on me, I just wanted it to happen naturally" Zamar said. "O, you fool little naive one, there is no time left to waste, keep shut and listen to all that I have planned. With all we wish to acquire, conscience should never even cross you mind" Hilda said. "Alright, I'm listening," he said changing his lying position into a sitting one. "Mhmh-mhmh-mh'" she cleared her throat and began. "First order of business, we are going to have your brother, the reigning king killed, and that should be easy to handle. My clairvoyance revealed to me that on the same day the King dies, the queen gives birth to her son and would be on her way back to the kingdom, so, you would have to find a way to get rid of the queen and the newborn from the face of earth before they make their way back into the nation, because once the baby steps into this nation, there would be severe inevitable consequences," She exhales deeply waiting for Zamar's response. They both sat there in silence for a while until Zamar broke the silence. "Well, your plan may seem to work, but it is not exactly foolproof, take for instance, who would you have kill the queen and her baby because I can't look the queen in the face and kill her." "There you go with that cowardice, that seems to be the reason we are here to begin with, if you had had the courage to take the lead on the day you two were born, we wouldn't be having this conversation, but then again, it is always hard to tamper with fate, especially for the coward" Hilda said furiously "Now, to kill the queen and her child, that wouldn't be a problem, leave that to me, I seem to be the one doing all the work anyway" Hilda said expecting some kind of reaction from Zamar. "And you know that is why I love and we are going to be the greatest royalty couple the world has ever seen" Zamar said as he come closer to kissing her on the lips, she responded by stretching her hand into his shirt making soft circular motions on his hairy broad chest. He grabs her by the hair with one hand and took of her dress with the other hand. She pushes him down on the carpet violently taking off his trousers, they both kept going at it making soft passionate moans. It took them quite a while to come back to reality and as he gets up to leave, she handed him a little vial filled with white powder. "What am I to do with this?" He asked curiously. "You are to take advantage of your closeness to you brother and make sure he consumes this," she said pointing on the little vial. She came closer to give him a final kiss as he heads out of the room.

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"Finally, I would like to entrust the care of my wife, Zara and my son in your hands, I don't think I am going to be able to meet the one thing I have yearned and prayed for, this is the end for me" King Hashim said as he struggles to breath. "Don't say that, brother, you are going to be fine, everything is going to be fine, you are the strongest person I have ever known, I can't imagine living in this world without you, you are going to get to meet your wife and your son." Zamar said as he rubs Hashim's head. "It's time to face the harsh reality, I am not coming back from this, I mean, I did beat a lot of illnesses, even the unbeatable ones, I just have a feeling this is it. You make me a promise, you are going to take care of my family and guide my son onto the right path towards ruling this great kingdom," Hashim said as he coughs weakly. The king's body went limp and he was unresponsive, he was pronounced dead by the grey headed physician. The whole nation busted into a cry as they were not ready to let go of their King so soon.

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The man took the baby and carefully rushed back to town to his wife who was so curious to know where he got a baby. He managed to convince her that he found the baby abandoned in the bushes and she is not to tell anyone about it whatsoever, and when asked, she should say she just had a baby. She was so happy to have the baby she didn't even ask anymore questions.

Back at the palace, Zamar had summoned all the elders of the nation and it's masses. He came out standing on the balcony wearing the crown, everyone was surprised but no one dared to question this new normal. He began by greeting them and then he continued: "As you all know, my brother, couldn't fight the illness and he had to let go this morning, he is no longer with us, all we can do for him now is to pray he is in a better place. Also, we just received information that the queen was attacked on her way back home, it is with great heart and sorrow I let you all know that the queen and her newborn baby are no more. This day is indeed the worst day of my life," Zamar said as he holds Hilda's hand so tight dropping a few fake tears. The whole crowd wailed and mourned the loss of the king and his family. Zamar ascended to the throne and assumed all the duties of a king, he tied the knot with Hilda and they moved into the palace.

The next chapter will drop soon. I hope you did enjoy this one being it my first time and all. Follow me to know what happens next as this is just the tip of the iceberg of what is about to unfold in this Kingdom. Let me know what your thoughts are. Malik1414 loves you all.