• Prologue

    Two very inhumanly beautiful people sat in a very dimly lit room on chairs of a very expensive make. One, a mocha colored woman with very fine silvery hair, was wearing a dress of pure white linen, fine enough to wear to a ball, yet sturdy enough to work in. Her pixie face was drawn into lines of wearyness and hardship. Her glinting blue eyes were fierce and determined as she stared at the other occupant of the room, a regal man. His face was drawn in the same lines as hers, yet they were more fitting of his station. His hair was a fine white with a hint of gold. His dark eyes were hagard and defeated. He slumped lethargically into the expensive armchair he sat in.

    "Lady Remoi, you cannot ask anything more difficult to procure of me." His voice was little more than a whisper.

    "I would not ask this of you if it were not a matter of great importance my lord." She glanced at her hands folded gently over her slightly bulging stomach.

    "Lady Remoi. I do not understand why you ask to give up our child."

    "I ask it of you my lord, because the child cannot be raised in times of war in this castle. Please my lord, think of the child and not of the kingdom for once." A tear rolled down her cheek as worry wormed its way into her voice and posture. She slumped over her stomach.

    "I...I...oh my child." The king's face crumpled as flashes of the child being raised in a dire crisis filled his mind. "I give you leave to give our child away on one condition." Lady Remoi looked up with tear stained cheeks. "You must come back and remain in the castle." Her face was horror stuck but she nodded all the same.

    "I accept your terms my king. She is only a month till birth." They both sighed and Lady Remoi stood on wobbly legs, keeping one hand on her stomach as she exited the room.

    A Month Later

    Lady Remoi's face was covered in a sheen of sweat and tears. A nursemaid whispered encouragement to her as a physician labored over the child she was giving birth to. A scream of agony ripped through her mouth as the baby at last breathed on her own. The physician and other ladies gathered crooned at the beautiful infant swathed in peasant linens.

    "Take her away now Ameria. I cannot be allowed to hold her lest I never let go." This time, tears of sorrow swelled in Lady Remoi's eyes. The nursemaid by her head nodded her understanding and she gently took the child away from the physician, taking care not to let the Lady see.

    Together, wrapped in a dark cloak, Ameria and the infant princess stole out of the castle under the wrappings of night. Ameria was heading towards a small cottage just on the outskirts of the local village. The man and woman there were unable to conceive a child and would be overjoyed at the companianship. She laid the sleeping princess on the doorstep and knocked rapidly before darting to the side of the cottage. The door opened and the man of the house looked out, puzzled. His gaze was drawn groundward at a small sniffle. He yelped and gently picked up the bundle with a grin. He and his wife celebrated as Ameria returned to the castle with a heavy heart.