CHAPTER 2

Night swallowed the kingdom in layers of cold mist, thick enough to hide secrets. Nurse Linda moved through the shadows with hurried, desperate steps, clutching a small bundle to her chest. The newborn inside barely made a sound—only a soft, weak whimper escaped him, as if he already sensed the danger surrounding his tiny life.

“He should never have been born…” Linda muttered under her breath, panic tightening her voice. “I did what they asked—one child, they said. Only one.” Her hands trembled. “The Lucien family promised safety… gold… protection…”

But now, everything was collapsing.

She approached the Lucien estate—dark towers looming over iron gates, guarded by stone lions carved with snarling faces. Her heart pounded as she banged on the gate with the flat of her palm.

“Open! Open the gate!”

A light flickered. A shutter slid open. A pair of frightened eyes peered out.

“Is that—” the man choked. “No. No, no, we didn’t agree to this. The deal was dismissed. Our lord said we want nothing to do with the royal family’s blood.”

“You must take him!” Linda hissed, stepping closer, her cloak falling back to reveal the tiny face of the newborn. “If the queen discovers he existed—”

“We don’t care!” the guard snapped. “Leave! Now!”

The shutter slammed shut.

Linda stood frozen in the darkness, breath shaking. The rejection hit her like a blow. Panic spiraled through her chest.

“What do I do…? What do I do now?” she whispered.

The baby whimpered softly.

“Quiet,” she said, though her voice trembled. “Please… quiet…”

She tried another door. Another window. Another back gate.

All refused her.

All trembled at the thought of holding the king’s stolen child.

Finally, desperation broke through her thoughts like lightning. She looked down at the helpless newborn, only minutes old—flushed, tiny, barely able to keep his eyes open.

“I can’t keep you,” she whispered, torn between guilt and fear. “If they find out… I’ll be killed. I’ll lose everything.”

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

The orphanage sat on a lonely hill on the far side of the village. A small wooden sign swayed in the wind. The building was dark, silent, sleeping.

Linda hesitated only a moment.

Then she knelt and placed the newborn gently at the gate.

He whimpered once.

Once…

And then the cold air swallowed the sound.

“I’m sorry…” Linda breathed. “You must survive on your own now.”

She stepped back. Her breath shook. Her legs trembled.

Then she turned—

And ran.

The baby remained alone, wrapped in thin cloth, tiny chest rising and falling as the wind rustled around him. He did not know who he was. He did not know he was a prince. He did not know he had been taken from warmth and left in darkness.

He only knew hunger. Cold. And the fading memory of a heartbeat that had once been beside his.

Minutes old.

Unwanted.

Unclaimed.

This was the night his's life began.

Alone at the gate of an orphanage, waiting for a fate that would shape the world.

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