Chapter 2

My name is Jaina Proud Moore. My father, King Proud Moore, ruled over the  Kingdom of Alara. He was the strongest and most valiant warrior in the kingdom. For years he fought wars against enemies all around him, winning great victories time and time again. His victory celebrations were celebrated in celebration of all the kingdoms achievements. The people loved him and followed him with love and respect. Our people were kind  and compassionate and never hurt anyone. Except for witches  and warlocks.  Those people caused many conflicts and troubles for our kingdom. Some were burnt on a stack  of pyres while others were hanged from trees,  some were stoned to death. I had seen it happen more times than I cared to count. Witches  were evil beings. We killed without mercy. They deserved everything they got. The whole world knew it. They used black magic  and witchcraft to manipulate human emotions and use fear as their weapon of choice. Fear made people weak and they lost themselves in its depths. Fear and hatred consumed their minds. The only way we could defeat the witches was to haunt them  with the pain that their creations inflicted on innocents.  That’s why the old tales told of witches and warlocks who used black magic to make people believe that evil existed, to frighten others away from their evil ways. It was because of such fear that they were able to spread  their influence over people so that they were willing to become a part of the evil empire.  My mother said it was all true. And she didn't lie. She always seemed so sad when discussing the subject. She told me about witches and warlocks, the evils they brought to our world, the evil they did.  She said it was because they created fear, not because they were evil. In fact, she told me  that they sometimes acted very brave and that the ones who had created the demons  were responsible for killing of innocent humans every day. She would sometimes get upset and say things like "the witches were just born...like us". Her story often changed from day to day. Sometimes, it would change to show the cruelty and cruelty of warlocks. But other times it would show the courage, integrity, or generosity of witches. My mother was a wonderful teacher. She loved books, loved to read stories about good, fairies and unicorns. She loved fairy tales and she would tell me stories from them. One of the stories she had always told me as bedtime story was of a girl named Princess Nell.   Princess Nell lived in the Kingdom far far away. She was a beautiful princess who carried the purest white hair in the land. She lived with her father the King in a beautiful castle surrounded by a beautiful garden full of flowers and fruit trees. The palace was enormous and majestic looking as it glimmered with gold paint and jewels and sparkled with precious metals that were woven into strands of vines that grew on both sides of the palace gates that had a small opening leading to the garden. But none of those things mattered to Princess Nell, her only concern was the animals in her garden. The flowers, the fountains, the birds, the squirrels, the rabbits and the deer. Every single animal was her pet, and when it rained or snowed or any type of weather, the garden flourished as the animals roamed the gardens in the hopes of getting some food. She spent all day every day in the garden tending to each plant and flower. She spent all night tending to the animals, making sure all of them got enough nutrition and water during the cold days.  During these days of busyness, she didn't see anyone except her two best friends, Gwen and Lola. Lola was the daughter of the castle cook and Gwen was the eldest daughter of the castle maid. Both girls had long black wavy hair, matching eyes, and pale skin. They looked very similar in appearance, both having long black curly hair. Their smiles were identical. But Gwen was shy and quiet while Lola was outgoing and friendly. Both girls were pretty and sweet, although neither of them knew it. They were always giggling and laughing. One day, the princess had come to the garden looking very distraught. Her father had not returned from the war  nor any news of victory. Something must have happened to him, something terrible that left his life forever changed. All day she stayed in the garden crying her eyes out. Eventually , when dusk was upon the lands of Alara,  the king returned victorious but was seriou  injured in battle. The king was rushed to the royal physician and it was believed that his wound might cost him his life. The royal physician  was shocked and appalled by what he saw. He could do nothing but pray as he tended to the king's wounds and prayed that he could save him. Princess Nell was beside her father. Her tears spilled over as she sobbed inconsolably. Lola tried to console her friend, telling her not to cry, saying there was no need to cry for the king as he would be better soon. But the princess refused to listen. Her tears kept streaming down her cheeks as she cried loudly and bitterly for the life of her loving father. Lola left her friend and shortly returned with her mother. She hung a satchel on her shoulder. She walked up to the king and knelt  beside him as she gently took his hand in hers and caressed it lovingly. She dipped her hands into her satchel and brought out a small bottle  filled with a dark red liquid. She uncorked the bottle and poured the contents into the king’s mouth , tilting her own cup forward until the liquid touched his lips and ran along his tongue, forcing the rest of the liquid into his mouth. After a few moments of silence the king opened his eyes.  "Father. Thank goodness you are awake. I am here," replied Princess Nell, placing her hand on his cheek.   Her voice cracked with emotion and she continued to speak to him in hushed tones."I've missed you so much..." Everyone in the room was astonished   to see the king awaken. They hadn't expected that he would make it.  His wounds were healing fast enough. It wasn't easy to heal someone that fast that even the skilled physicians could not. No one was expecting the king to regain consciousness. Everyone in the room waited in complete anticipation for his response. The king blinked a few times before speaking, looking up at his daughter. Then he looked around the room and at the woman that had just healed him. “Thank you,” replied the King, bowing his head slightly toward the woman. “Your kindness has saved my life." “That was nothing, your highness," she responded in a soft, comforting tone. “From now henceforth,   I would consider you my greatest friend and would promote  you to the position of advisor to my royal court,” proclaimed the king with pride. The king rose from his seat.  His face broke into a large grin. The entire room erupted with joy and excitement and clapped  their hands together in joy. The whole Kingdom merried  happily together. I was mesmerized by my mothers words as she sat with me, smiling as she showed me the illustrations on her book. As long as she was there, I never wanted to see another bad fairy tale, not even one of my own imagination. I could listen to the stories  for hours on end, enjoying the tales and their adventures.  It was a happy time, a time that never failed to bring my spirits up and cheer me on. As I grew older, I began to  grow into the role of the daughter of a king.  in my time I would have been raised by my father as his successor. As it turns out that wasn't meant to be.  I had always imagined myself as a lady, dressed in fine dresses and wearing jewels as precious as diamonds that sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight, as glittering as pearls when I wore them. Perhaps I was mistaken. I don't know what I was imagining, or what I hoped would become of me, but for some reason my childhood dream was shattered, torn apart, and tossed into the ocean. When my father was king  he told me I would inherit a new title. A noble title: Lady Kaldwin.