1 Destinies Can Be Chosen
Centuries ago, before all of this ever happened, there was a beautiful kingdom led by the perfect king and queen, named Zenovia.
It was ruled by a wise king and his wife, a princess from a neighbouring kingdom. She possessed extraordinary powers, being able to see glimpses or fragments of the future.
Both the king and queen of Zenovia were both handsome and gorgeous respectively, so it'd be no exception their daughter would be beautiful, even from a child.
But when she was born, that was when tragedy struck.
Screams were heard from inside the palace's main bedroom as Queen Anabella was delivering the soon-to-be princess.
King Arthur nervously paced outside the palace's main bedroom to and fro - his cloak which was made of the finest silk was dragged on the stone palace floors, while he was holding his porcelain crown in one hand - wishing for the best and excitedly wishing to see his newborn baby girl as soon as possible.
As soon as the screams had stopped, the queen had fainted, and the cry of a baby was heard.
The princess was here. She was finally here.
The midwife had rushed outside to meet the nervous father and inform him of the joyous news.
"Your majesty, the queen is alright, but her majesty needs her rest. She is exhausted from delivering the princess," she explained to the father, her face filled with sweat from assisting the now unconscious woman in delivering her baby.
His eyes widened, as he announced, practically running towards the bedroom as quickly as his legs could bring him, "I must see my wife and daughter immediately!"
There, his newly born daughter was lying in a golden cradle, embedded with rubies, emeralds and diamonds.
He stared at his daughter, whose eyes were closed shut and laid innocently in the cradle.
But while he was focused entirely on his daughter, Queen Anabella's eyes opened. Seemingly entranced, she screamed for help, beginning to insist she had to protect her one and only daughter before any harm befell on her. The man had thought she had calmed down before her eyes began to glow a bright white colour as she began to speak of a prophecy.
"Sacrifices shall be made, and the spared will be spared, but you choose your own path, do you choose to be spared?"
King Arthur rushed to his wife, who had returned to her unconscious state immediately after she finished speaking.
His eyes worriedly darted over to his daughter, worrying about her unchangeable fate. She was still fast asleep and unaware of her surroundings.
During that moment, he vowed to protect her no matter what the cost and decided to keep the prophecy a secret from his wife. He knew she had the ability to see small fragments of the future, fully knowing that what she had said must have been somewhat related to his daughter's destiny, and that was what made him extremely protective of his daughter.
The midwife had entered the room after, asking the terrified king, "Your majesty, a name has yet to be picked out for the child, what do you wish to name her?"
He gave it some thought, deciding to name her Madison, which meant 'strength in battle'. With a faint smile on his face, he decided, "I wish to name her Madison, Princess Madison."
The midwife nodded before she curtsied and left the room.
King Arthur took one last look at his infant daughter and ordered his footmen to decree the birth of Princess Madison, the true heir of Zenovia.
Over the years, she was loved dearly by both her parents. Her mother didn't remember what she had said, leaving her father the only person who remembered that very day. It never left his mind, what his wife had prophesied, it wasn't something one simply forgot.
Everyone was aware of how protective the king was of his daughter, forbidding her to go anywhere without an onslaught of royal guards following her.
Unfortunately, that did nothing to prevent her preordained fate from ensuing. Everywhere she went, she was properly guarded, to the point she spent the majority of her life stuck in a palace when all she wanted to do was explore the world.
Isolated from the world due to her father's fear, she had her own governess who taught her everything she needed to know. The princess had also made her governess tell her about the world beyond the palace walls, which - in her eyes - was a paradise where people roamed free without having guards watch and guard them.
However, when the princess was merely eighteen years old, disaster struck. A plague had spread throughout the whole of Zenovia. Most of the livestock died, the food stock depleted, and more and more of Zenovia's people died, day by day.
They were suffering, and only one person knew what was going on. The king knew that this was a part of the prophecy and that he was given two choices.
The first was to sacrifice his precious daughter; the second was to watch his subjects die.
Whilst he knew exactly what the right choice was, he couldn't beat to see his own flesh and blood die because of it. It was a win-lose situation regardless.
The first choice felt impossible to do, but he couldn't possibly choose the latter.
He was torn.
King Arthur felt selfish for being so hesitant about his decision. His subjects blamed him for the plague, saying he could have done something and calling him selfish and cruel for doing nothing.
Yet, unlike King Arthur, his daughter was known throughout the kingdom for her compassion and kindness, as well as her smarts, wits and her dazzling beauty. Even if she never stepped foot without any guards surrounding her, her selfless acts of kindness were well known.
She had gone to the public orphanages to read to the children and gave them all food, and that was only one of the many things she had done in the past. Not only that, but her beauty drew attention from many men, who'd ask for her hand in marriage and try to court her, much to her parents' annoyance.
If she had known of the prophecy, she wouldn't have spared it a second thought. She would have sacrificed already so this plague wouldn't have occurred in the first place. Madison would be a true princess to the end, placing her people before herself.
She was too good for the world and much too pure.
And when it was time for her to discover her true fate, she didn't complain, she didn't cry, she didn't act out. She nodded, accepted her fate and didn't hesitate to sacrifice herself for the sake of her kingdom willingly.
Her mother was a train wreck, having recently found out about the prophecy herself. Desperate, she begged her daughter not to do anything, insisting they'd find another way that didn't involve her having to sacrifice herself.
There had to be another way.
But, not even her mother's words could stop Madison. Shooting her parents a reassuring smile, she told them, "Father, mother, I love you both, but this plague will kill everyone if I don't do anything about it. I get to do something about this, I owe it to all our people. Without them, this kingdom wouldn't be what it is."
Her parents were devastated, but they both knew this was for the best for Zenovia. They cursed their luck, wishing it had been them that had to sacrifice themselves. Their daughter was still so young, she had a whole life ahead of her. Madison had spent her entire life locked up in a tower and lived a suffocating life and never once did she complain or whine.
The very next day, an order was put out where she was to be executed immediately.
Ready to face her fate, Madison closed her eyes, drawing on one last breath before she was executed. Her mother was absent, refusing to see her daughter right in front of her.
Meanwhile, her father watched as his one and only daughter was killed right in front of his eyes.
Her eyes stared without seeing, and she was quickly buried in a burial place dedicated to her.
The next few weeks flew by very quickly. News of her death had spread, and the whole kingdom mourned the loss of their beloved princess, not to mention their king and queen who had died as a way to be with their precious daughter up in the silver city.
The people of Zenovia were deeply devastated at the loss of the princess as well as the royal family. But, they couldn't do anything but accept it, and a coronation was held for the new king and queen of Zenovia.
However, Madison's death wasn't in vain.
Little did she know that because of her selfless dead, fate had something else planned for her. Her honourable deeds had gotten her reborn two hundred years later, but the only catch was...
She was the royal maid's daughter.
