CHAPTER ONE - LAURA TANNER

Hezbethem kingdom was one of the eight states that made up the Belthes empire. Emperor Datson Borris in his third year of reign took away this sweet kingdom from the hungry Degazi through a bloody battle. There after he gave it to his cousin brother Regan Tanner, who took it into a lot of reforms for the past two centuries. Regan Tanner, the current king of Hezbethem, is married to a ruthless queen, Beth Tanner, elegant personnel in the kingdom. For the past two centuries, the kingdom is totally unaware of the queen's inability to keep a baby for nine months, as the royal family managed to cover it up quite well.

Hezbethem kingdom is located in the central region of the Belthus empire which is the commercial region of the empire. This too gives it a strategic location which ensures its safety amongst other kingdoms and chiefdoms in the empire.

On a Sunday morning, King Regan woke up to the cries of his beloved queen, this followed a period of worries and preparations. Late in the night as it was, the royal nurses and midwives were all awake and very sober, she had at last managed to keep the baby for nine months which gave the king more pride than ever.

Drops of rain were splattering outside on the roof sending in a damp smell into the labor, the royal midwives were all overjoyed by the fact that they were going to witness a royal birth, all, wanted to be counted as ones who contributed to the birth of this royal baby. Amidst all the cries that the queen went through, the king was never at her side though he so much wanted to. He was in the council room with the elders he had summoned and were holding onto their last breath by the time the newly hired youngest midwife came in and told them that it was finally done.

It had not been just done like that because it taken the queen four full hours of labor pain to have this beautiful creature finally delivered. 

As per the norms of the kingdom, the king was not supposed to see the baby until the ninth day, he would meet the queen on the third day but not the baby. This was done to ensure that the baby is cleansed. The king would be the first male to hold the royal baby and then the council elders.

It was not long for the nine days to elapse though it seemed like a month for the king who spent almost all the nights in the temple offering sacrifices for the newly born. This helped cleanse the baby and also earn it blessings from the gods. When the queen brought the baby for the king, he was gathered with the council of elders in the council room, it was as quite as though it was more of a funeral than showers of blessings. The King was so much yearning to know the gender of the baby. He had fractuating emotions of who it would be! He so much wanted the baby but was worried it would be a girl. 

According to the norms, if it came out that the first born was a girl, at the age of twenty-five she would be given away to the rival kingdom to make peace with it! It was in great misery that the kings often let go of their daughters. In some past years a story was told that once a king refused to let go of her daughter and hid her in the temple instead, after one year, a great storm hit the temple and the daughter turned into a cyclone! She was never seen again since then. None of the maids attending to her sustained injuries.

When at last the queen presented the baby to the king, he did not need anyone to tell him that it was a baby girl! "Oh Laura," he cried. That automatically gave her the name Laura Tanner, It was taken that the name that first comes in the king's mind on lifting the baby is the name that goes with her plus the King's last name. So Laura Tanner also received he name just like that. 

The council of elders each held the baby but were no so thrilled at the fact that she was a baby girl. Pretty as she was, she was of no great use to the kingdom. As the high priest was passing her on to the next elder of the council, he murmured some words that the king did not want to hear at the moment, though they were supposed to be said, the queen had not heard,

 "What is the matter?" she asked as everyone had a sad face!

 "--the high pri-est!" stammered the maid

 "Can anyone tell me what is going on?" roared the queen.

This was followed by a moment of silence until the priest himself repeated the words, "She will be our doom!" he said.