Lullaby

The sun had long set in the kingdom of Fraise, darkness now covered the castle grounds. Silence enveloped the vast dark chamber of Queen Beatrix and only the breathing of the mother and her child can be heard. One would think that the nothing would happen at the dead of the night but those who serve the palace knew otherwise.

A series of loud knocks echoed across the room. Curious to the sound that interrupted its slumber, the newborn baby opened its eyes. Under the bright moon her deep amethyst eyes shone for a split second before being completely enveloped with darkness. Her mother watched as her daughter looked at her with curious eyes. Most babies would have cried from the noise, but her little angel just opened her eyes and stared at her as if questioning what had broken the silence.

"Your Highness, open the door" the knocks continued despite the lack of response from inside of the room

The Queen gently picked up her daughter, wrapping her in a bundle before singing a lullaby.

"Ili-ili tulog anay

Wala diri imong nanay

Kadto tienda bakal papay

Ili-ili tulog anay"

She slowly walked towards the balcony as her melodious voice started to fill the chamber. She can't help but touch her daughter's small face. Under the moonlight, she looked at Amara, as if memorizing every nook and cranny of her delicate face. She's trying to memorize how her daughter's soft skin felt against her own, how small her lips are and how perfect her features were. Her daughter would surely have suitors lining up at her feet when she comes of age. She prays that her husband would not sell his daughter of to a loveless marriage because she would rather take Amara with her than let her daughter experience the same fate she had.

"Mata kana tabangan mo

Ikarga ang nakompra ko

Kay bug-at man sing putos ko

Tabangan mo ako anay"

Alas, the most vivid thing she would remember is her daughter's lifeless eyes looking straight at her equally purple eyes. Those purple eyes that resembles hers are now void like her father's. She continued to sway while singing the lullaby her late mother always sung to her when her mother and father would leave her to attend business from another kingdom. The once melodious voice that effortlessly sang the song now shook as tears started filling the Queen's eyes. It pains her to see her child's stoic face. Her desire to protect Amara also had consequences. Amara would grow up not knowing the feeling of pain, hurt and anger but just as well she would not know what it feels like to be happy, nor would she hear what the sound of her laughter is.

"This is my last day with you, and I couldn't even see your smile…perhaps this is my punishment, but this is what must be done. This is the right thing to do…" The queen tries to justify what she did while also consoling her child by hugging her and singing to her, hoping that Amara would at least remember the voice of her mother.

"Ili-ili tulog anay

Wala diri imong nanay

Kadto tienda bakal papay

Ili-ili tulog anay"

That night the queen sang with her heart, but slowly the singing was replaced with silent sobs. No matter how silent the queen's cry was, the whole palace understood her agony. The man behind the door stopped knocking and just let the queen pour all her emotions out, after all this was the last day that she would see her child. He may be the King's right-hand man, but he wasn't that cruel as to forcefully separate the mother to her child, specially when the mother was also his childhood friend.

Despite the dead of the night, the palace was wide awake while the people agonized with their gentle queen as if they too understood her pain.

Silence once again marred the hall; the agonizing sound of crying was replaced once again with loud knocks.

"Your majesty! Open the door or I'll break it down" No response can be heard inside, and the people outside specifically the knights and the butler started to panic. The King will have their heads if something happens to the heir.

Left with no choice, Bernard proceeded to break down the door.

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As chaos break outside the Queen's chamber, the King can be seen leaning on the balcony with a wine glass in his hand.

Zachary swirled the wine glass in his right hand while he casually leaned his elbows on the balcony's railings, his silk robe swaying with the breeze of the night sky.

"Amara" He uttered his child's name as if testing how it would sound. With only the moon as the source of light, he fixated his eyes on the forest that lies beyond the caste gates. Lush green trees scattered across the forest, as if the animals were also sympathizing with their queen, only the sound of crickets can be heard. If not for the loud banging of the door across him, he would say that the silence is deafening.

The King suffered in insomnia; he would sometimes experience days without sleep. But this night was different, he seemed troubled. His dull eyes turned darker and gloomier as he immersed himself in deep thought. What he was thinking at the moment, no one knew.

The King's eyes turned sharper as he saw a movement of shadows on the gate that separates the palace from the forest.

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After much brute force, the door to the Queen's chamber finally opened.

Bernard entered the room while the butler named Armand along with the princess's servants hurriedly followed, ready to take the princess to her new chamber.

All of them were stunned to find the chamber empty. The group immediately turned to chaos as they turned the chamber upside down to find their mistress.

Bernard stayed calm as he walked towards the door leading to the balcony. Curtains hanged at the door frame swayed with the wind indicating that someone opened the door leading to the balcony. Sure enough, there in the railings of the balcony, with an eagle perched beside her, lies the princess bundled in a pink cloth with an embroidery that spells – Amara.

Carefully he lifts the child into his arms before giving her to the butler.

While the King was a tyrant that led with an iron fist, The Queen was a gentle force that balanced the palace. The servants and those in the household adores and respects Queen Beatrix. The Butler has been serving the royal family ever since the King himself was a toddler. He witnessed how the chubby young boy, who was once jolly and full of laughter turned cold and distant. He knows how corrupted and how dirty politics is, and he very well knows how it can affect the innocent young princess cuddled in his arms. Now that the young princess is to be left with her emotionless father, he has placed it upon himself to protect the little one. Not only him, but the servants that served the young queen has also pledged their loyalty to the young princess. He sighed as he looked at the now sleeping baby in his arms.

"She is too young for this… her mother is leaving for something she nor any of us cannot control, while her father..." the butler kept this thought to himself as he pitied the young princess.

The chamber was quiet as the young princess is now in deep slumber. The eagle that was previously perched at the balcony has now placed itself on top of the dresser, observing the young mistress placed in the butler's arms, as if daunting him to do something that may prompt the eagle to peck his brains out. Realization slowly hit the butler and the other people in the room. They were too occupied with the little princess that they failed to notice on crucial detail.

The princess was here, but where is the Queen?

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The King smirked as he watched the figure stealthy lead its way outside the gates. It was clad in a black cloth and covered itself from head to toes, hiding its face as well. If it was someone else, the figure wouldn't have been spotted, but alas, the war has sharpened the King's senses that even the tress and the dark night wouldn't hinder his eyesight.

As if knowing that it is being watched, the figure looked at the balcony. The figure met the sharp gaze of the King, from which it returned with a glare.

The King chuckled in amusement before he lightly raising his glass as if commending the latter for his courage. The figure dressed in black looked away and hurriedly walked towards the woods.

The King finished his drink in one gulp when he heard hurried footsteps approach his bedchamber. Knowing his right-hand man is behind the door, he ushered him in.

With his back facing Bernard, the King watched as the forest slowly swallowed the person that dared sneak out of the palace, that too under the gaze of the King himself.

"Your Majesty, the Queen…"

His amused grin was replaced with something sinister, his eyes glinted with mischief before walking back inside his chamber.