At night in the kingdom, While King Shebaz (VII) and his wife Queen Shilah were resting in their chambers, Raina( the wife of the Royal Advisor) requested to see the King at the palace's ceremonial hall to discuss an urgent matter. The doors were closed and the guards secured the hall as instructed by Raina. She offered the King water before speaking, she bowed. "My husband has been the Royal Advisor to this great kingdom for over 20 years but he has received no rewards for his loyalty to you, his income has not increased once and the people do not even recognise him for his wisdom. With due respect my king, without him you are nothing." Shebaz looked at her in astonishment as he sat on the throne, still thinking of what to say till he started feeling choked up, he felt uncomfortable, it was the strangest feeling.
Raina noticing his discomfort smiled, " I know that feeling my King. Because you failed to acknowledge the worth of my husband in the kingdom, I was forced to do this. I cannot be blamed for my actions because I'm only fulfilling my responsibilities as a loving and caring wife to my husband." Shebaz was confused by her words, he tried to stand up but soon fell to the floor. She knelt beside him stroking his hair gently, she whispered into his ears, " Your limbs will become paralyzed, your tongue will go numb, your breath will seize slowly and the blood running through your veins will clot within seconds and then..." She paused and forced him to sit upright pulling him by his robe aggressively. Shebaz already looked pale he struggled to breathe and tried to speak but only coughed out blood.
" Oh I guess you still need my husband to explain what will happen next. Well you will die King Shebaz and go on a long journey to meet your ancestors." She laughed, her laughter reverberating in the large hall. "Your husband can...not take my place on the t t t throne for he... has not received the sacred pot of kingship and.... do not ff... forget that the queen carries m...the future heir to the throne." She pulled out a knife from her boots and stabbed him multiple times in his stomach. "I would be happy to accept the consequences of my actions as far as my husband becomes the king." Raina threw the knife away from the lifeless body on the floor and walked out of the hall. The last words of the late King pierced her soul, she wanted to end his bloodline.
It was announced by Dawn that the King had died falling from the staircase leading to his chambers. Queen Shilah was greatly disturbed by the cause of his death and after the burial ritual, went for a stroll outside the palace walls. She sat on a wooden chair in a garden before the citadel and wept silently, she held her protruding belly and only wished that the King saw his child before he died, she was told by the court physician that she would be due in a week. She stayed there till dusk and decided to head back to the palace. After covering a distance, she heard noises in the shrubs few steps away from her but ignored it. After a while she saw a shadow behind her drawing closer but silent footsteps, she hastened her steps then started running.
She was wrong, it wasn't just a person but a group of people pursuing her. She wasn't fast because of her pregnancy and as she ran further she heard running horses, war screams from men and clashing of swords before her . They were the Mikites, they habited in the outskirts of Havans and swallowed by greed their leader wanted to have Havans due to the king's death. Shilah stopped running, before her were the Mikites soldiers and behind her were a group of dangerous men . She was scared and confused as she cried, she then ran towards south away from them. Turning back to look out for the enemy, she tumbled down a hill till she bumped into a rock.
She was awakened with labour pains and cried out loudly, there was no one around to help her. She pushed hard screaming with quickened breaths.When she finally heard the cry of her child, she pulled it out with her hands covered in blood and laid back panthing. She was too weak to carry her child at the moment and after a while, her breath seized as a tear dropped from the corner of her eye, she couldn't see her baby before she died.
Smith, the late King's brother searched the darkling woods for Queen Shilah. Earlier,she rejected his offer to accompany her for a stroll, the sky was already dark and she had not returned to the palace, so he went in search of the Queen. He stopped when he heard the cries of a child from South and ran towards the sound. He fell on his knees when he saw the lifeless body of the Queen on the ground and proceeded to carry the child. He lifted the baby up and noticed the clotted blood on her face, she had bled from an injury due to thorns on the ground where she was born, it left a long, deep wound from her cheek bone to her Jaw line on the right side of her face. "Oh poor thing." Smith said "And on this day I shall name you Tyra, a fighting goddess that would avenge the death of her parents and take her rightful place on the throne."
The sky rumbled and the earth shook twice like it responded to the anger of the skies then the rain drizzled and only increased within seconds, as heavy as the gush of water from a spring. After he buried the Queen's body, he wrapped the child with the shore he found earlier on the Queen's neck and went to the palace.
Raina's husband Mathias , the Royal Advisor to the late King was crowned king of Havans. Raina had scribbled a note and left it in the king's chambers shortly after his death without the knowledge of Shilah. It read:
" I fear that my time has come through the dreams I had lately and it pains me greatly that I would leave the Queen and my unborn child behind. My brother Smith is not quite knowledgeable about the kingdom and thus cannot take my place on the throne. The world knows of my Royal Advisor's wisdom and great loyalty towards me, that is why I would give him the throne temporarily till my child will come of age to rule.
King Shebaz (VII) .
Raina presented it to the court and read it herself, she managed to prevent suspicions amongst the court members and in a couple of days she was made Queen.
Smith carried Tyra in his arms and gave one of the maids in the kitchen who was recently nursing a child to care for Tyra for the meantime. He entered the palace but was stopped by the spears of the guards before the throne room. "Let him pass" Queen Raina's voice re-echoed in the room. He walked towards the dinning table looking at the Queen with disdain and knelt before her. "To what do I owe this visit?" She smiled dropping the grape she was eating." "I have come to beg for your mercy my Queen." "Took you long enough. I thought you were dead Smith, consider yourself lucky to be alive and healthy before me. What will I get in exchange for my mercy upon you?" "Smith looked up at her gritting his teeth, tried to compose himself before the Queen to suppress his anger towards her. " I promise never to utter a word about..."
She cut him off and quickly walked towards him, she held his neck pressing her nails into his skin, "Hold your tongue Smith, aren't you about to break your promise now?" She released him smiling then sat on the throne. "Good, this day I give you the title of Chief royal tax officer of Havans." After bowing, he stood up to leave but was stopped by Raina. She whispered in his ear "Do not ever get in the way of the King and my son, the Prince."