1 Chapter 1: The Princess Was Born

In the kingdom Jumbalaya at the heart of the forest, there lived King Garnet and Queen Jade. They have been married for seven years and longing for a child. They began trying to conceive as soon as they got married as they wanted a large family. They have fervently prayed to Bathala for years, danced, and sang, "Bathala, Bathala, kami ay bigyan na, isang anak na maganda. Salamat sa Iyong biyaya. (God, God, give us now, a lovely child. Thank you for Your blessing.")

Then, one day, the queen experienced dizziness and vomiting in the morning. She took a pregnancy test to confirm her suspicions. Lo and behold, there were two lines! Alas, she's pregnant! She planned a great way to tell the king who was in a hunting expedition with his men.

When the king arrived at the kingdom, he was immediately greeted with a tight embrace and a long kiss from the queen. The king became puzzled and asked, "Sweetheart, what's the matter?"

The queen smiled triumphantly and distanced herself from the king. She then simply showed the pregnancy test and the king exclaimed, "I'm gonna be a dad now!". The queen kissed the king sweetly on the lips again and simply said, "Yes, and I'm gonna be a mom. Finally!" The king asked if she craves anything to which she replied "I want green mangoes, guavas, kamias, and starapples too. I want them to be green and yummy!"

Finally, it was time for the baby to come out and so they called for the best midwife in the world. The queen pushed and pushed. She got exhausted, but the baby did not come out yet. The midwife chanted a few orations, "Aba aba bata baba" and told the queen to push again, and this time, a baby girl came out.

A few minutes after, something else came out of the queen's vagina and it was a fish which they believe to be a symbol of good luck. The midwife put the fish into the aquarium at the living room and she kept it a secret that it was the queen's child, too, and the princess's twin. After these births, the queen passed out. The king was returning to the kingdom since he was on a business trip and the birth was premature and therefore, unexpected.

A few hours after, the queen was awakened and she immediately looked for her baby. In spite of exhaustion, she had such a radiant glow and the baby was amazingly healthy.The midwife showed her the baby girl and they both were awed at the cuteness and uniqueness of her emerald green eyes and strawberry blonde hair. The king was already beside the queen at that time and he gently asked, "What do you want to name her?"

"Emerald. She will be Princess Emerald," she replied happily.