The Missing Piece

Separated

Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a kingdom that was ruled by the beloved King Cyril and Queen Katherina. They were loved by all and were never once rude or bitter to anyone, poor or rich. They lived happily in their kingdom, but something was missing.

A child of their own.

Each person in the kingdom was considered family even their kingdom's children. Even though, they considered their kingdom's children theirs, King Cyril and Queen Katherina wished for their own child. One day, the news came that the queen was expecting and the kingdom was overjoyed at this. Then came the day, the baby was going to be born. Everyone was waiting to hear the news of the prince or princess's arrival, especially the king. He couldn't wait to hear if he had a son or a daughter, it didn't matter to him like most kings who wanted sons. If he had a daughter, he would be happy. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be a happy family.

The queen fell ill after the baby was born and she was dying, quickly. The king sat by her side as the queen said her final words, "Their names are Kallista and Katerina."

Queen Katherina died shortly after saying their names. Unknowingly, to the king, he had twin daughters, lying in a cradle for him to meet. Saddened by the lost of his queen, he went to see his daughters for the first time. He thought of them as his world and to him the twins were so beautiful like their mother. One looked like him with rich, brown hair and green eyes while the other looked like Queen Katherina with golden, blonde hair and blue eyes. Katerina was the one that reminded him of his wife, but he loved them both the same. He caressed their cheeks and told them how much he loved. He vowed to protect them at any cost for his queen. Even though he was sadden by the lost of his queen, he had gained the missing piece of his family.

A few weeks went by, everything was happy for the king and his infant princesses but it was not to last. A witch had heard of the twins and planned to kidnap both of them. That night, she made her way, quietly, to the castle grounds. As the candlelight in the king's room went out, she slowly made her way to the nursery chamber, where the young princesses were fast asleep in their cradles. The witch finally reached their chamber, the first princess she saw was Katerina. She picked her up which startled baby Katerina. She began to cry in fear. Therefore, alarming the king and his guards. Before, they could stop her, she escaped from the castle grounds with Princess Katerina. Once again, a piece of king's life was missing as the witch disappeared into the night with Princess Katerina.