The Princess and the Writer

CHAPTER ONE

Once upon a time that exists only in the dreams of slumbering children, there was a land called Redeem. It was a healthy, vast land that was covered in peaceful plains, friendly forests, heavenly hills and bubbling brooks. Rainfall was plenty and food was in abundance. The flowers added colour to the already colourful land to a degree that made it almost unimaginable that anyone would be depressed there.

In that land lived a people called the Zuri. They we kind people who were led by their beloved Princess Nena. The list of adjectives to describe her was and still is endless for she was good in every way. Her wisdom matched that of her elders and often made them lean back in silent wonder.

The princess was fearless as she was strong, unapologetic in her bravery. Compassion and justice was her creed and nothing could keep her from protecting her people from all dangers and foes. It was impossible not to love and respect her, for she was daughter, sister and friend to all.

What guided her in her leadership were the writings of the Great Book. This was a powerful book that everyone had heard of yet nobody had seen except those that ruled the land. It was one of the reasons she maintained her position as ruler. Passed down from generation to generation in her family, it gave them knowledge and strength untold. Now that it was in Nena's hands, she made sure that even though she kept the Great Book hidden, she shared its contents with the people, for its words were beneficial to all. Nobody paid much attention to the book, though, for they saw no value in its contents. Nevertheless, Nena shared the contents anyway. Her two friends, Chelle the advisor, and Lupa the commander of the guard, aided her in her rule and together they kept the peace.

Unknown to them was that Nadira, one of the most influential people in Zuri, was jealous of Nena and had put it in her mind that she should be the ruler instead. Driven by envy, she carefully cooked up a plan to grab the throne for herself. With the small battalion of people she had managed to convince to join her, she waged a surprise attack on the unsuspecting clan. Nena was captured and brought before Nadira to grovel at her feet, something she adamantly declined to do.

All seemed lost for the Zuri,and they wondered what would become of their leader, but Nena was not shaken at all by the situation. Her calmness baffled them all. Nobody could explain where the Great Book came from, but it was suddenly in her hands as if it had been there the whole time. She carefully turned the pages and moved her lips silently as she read. Then she held the book to her heart, closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sky, mumbling things no one could hear.

By the time she opened her eyes, Nena was glowing with a new fire and power that was reassuring to the innocent and intimidating to the traitors. The book was gone from her hands. She stood with a confidence that forced Nadira to shudder in the realization that she was no longer in control. In a bid to reclaim their victory, the rebels attacked her to no avail. An unseen force protected her. They blows landed but she was never taken out. Her endurance was amazing.

When finally the rebels stopped to look for another way to succeed, Nena wholeheartedly offered Nadira the chance to talk, but the villain was not willing to lose any more pride than she already had. She rejected the hand of friendship and tried to attack again. What followed astonished everyone. Nadira and her allies were thrown back by an unseen force, as if invisible giants had kicked them. In a state of panic, they scrambled to their feet and fled into the forest, never to be one of the Zuri again. The people named them Baya and soon forgot about them, for how could they dwell on their enemies when their princess had the best weapon of all?

As a result of their wondrous victory, stories spread about the Zuri princess. The tales painted her as a sorceress who got her powers from a strange book of spells. This not only made her most feared, but it also made a once unnoticed, nondescript book a treasure to be coveted and sought after by all. Thus the Book remained hidden, its whereabouts known only to the princess.