Caidoz

Prologue- A special child is born

 

The king rushes down the granite-carved hallway decorated with majestic colors. Why this? He had thought furiously. How is this possible after so many years?
   Courtiers bowed to him as his feet dragged him to the end of the passage. There were comments of "Good evening your majesty," and "Your regalness, you look splendid tonight." But the king did not stop to talk as he usually may have, nor did he particularly care about looking splendid. He instead ran faster down the marble floors. 
   He stopped at the top of a spiral balcony covered with small twinkling lights which overlooked a large crowd of people. Though many conversations were occurring and there were many various ranks and ethnic groups, all fell silent at the sight of the king, and they bowed in unison. Looking down at his people, he hesitated, worried.
   His silence caused the people to look up, arising from their bow, stunned about their ruler's actions.
   The king cleared his throat. He knew he could not show any weakness to his people. "A while ago, as we all must still recall, my father, King Cancer, passed away due to his present age."
   The crowd lowered their heads to the deceased monarch, indeed remembering the courageous king, bringing to their mind his kindness and trustworthiness.
   "When this occurred, and I become your ruler, my wife discovered she was carrying our child. We all knew whom that child would be."
   The crowd knew as well. Everyone in the kingdom knew that when one Caidozian died, the same kind of Caidozian would soon be born. 
   "On this night, on this evening which we have waited what seemed, to me, a century's worth of waiting, this child is finally born!" The king shouted to be heard over the cheers of the kingdom.
   The words engraved on their hearts and mouths, as one, the crowd cheered, "Long live, Prince Cancer!"
   The king felt his stomach turn as though someone had thrown a heavy weight into it. He waved his right hand over the crowd, using his powers to control and they fell silent. "My people, I fear you assume too many times in your lifetime... " The king raised his voice, so it echoed throughout the courtyard. "I have a daughter!"
   The present silence broke, and the people turned and spoke to one another. A girl?! Impossible! The powers of Cancer had never been born to a female. Never.
   Wiping his hand across the room slowly for silence, the king again spoke. "We are quite certain that my daughter contains the powers of Cancer. As tradition demands from us, we named her after the first person to contain her powers, the first king Cancer from the beginning of Caidoz." The king then closed his eyes, waiting for outbursts and negative feedback. But there was nothing, except shocked silence.
   A dog barked nearby.
   Then, the king looked up at his people, their colors of ranks suddenly bright and slightly blinding. Shaking his head, he spun on his heel as he quietly exited from their line of sight upon the balcony.