"No!" the Arcane Queen screamed, as the guards held her back. "This is madness! I've done nothing wrong!"

"Oh, but you have…" said the Queen of Denonia, sat on her throne alongside the King. She hoped all of the stress wouldn't harm the baby who currently resided in her belly.

"The entire kingdom- no, the entire realm knows what you've been up to. Did you really think you could get away with it?"

"I've. Done. Nothing. Wrong." the Arcane Queen stated matter of factly, trying her best to fight against the guards. her long, inky hair was caught in the chains they'd forced onto her wrists. This really was the end of her reign. Her powers have turned inert, and the entire realm has supposedly turned on her.

She falls to her knees in defeat. It's no use. They can chain her up, throw her in a dungeon, but at least she'll have her dignity.

"We appreciate your cooperation," the King of Denonia says, a grin slowly forming on his lips.

"Guards, take her to the dungeon."

The Arcane Queen's head hung low as the guards guided her out of the throne room. As they approached the door, she whipped her head back, leaving her final words the the King and Queen.

"You will pay for this. You, your child, and the entire realm."

The guards shoved her out of the room, the door slamming shut behind them. The silence left in the throne room was deafening.

"I can't believe she threatened our unborn child!" the Queen exclaimed, holding her stomach in defense.

"No need to worry, my dear. We've successfully removed her powers, and she'll soon be locked up in the most secure cell in all of Denonia." the King stated softly. He leans over to his wife, laying his hand on hers.

"What if the means of our deals have altered our fate? Soon, we'll have to proceed with the ceremony. It's the only way to keep her magic at bay. Was there truly no other way?" the Queen gives her husband a strained look.

"We did what needed to be done, my dear. You know there's nothing else that could've been done. Imagine all of the lives that would've been lost hadn't we stopped the Arcane Queen. Is that not worth but one sacrifice?"

"One sacrifice every 100 years, you mean. That's barely any time at all. That's at least 8 people in our lifetimes! I just can't bear it." the Queen put her head in her hands, on the brink of tears.

"You have to be stronger than this. We all have to. For the sake of not only our kingdom, but the entire realm. Now, come, you mustn't stress yourself like this. It's bad for the child." the King grabbed the hand of his wife, and guided her to their bedchambers.

As the walked down the halls of the castle, shame consumed the Queen. Although her husband was right, she shouldn't worry. Even so, she couldn't help it. The thought of purposely taking an innocent life is a thought she just couldn't handle.

All of this stress seemed to be making her feel sick. The feeling was more than that, she realized, when she fell to the ground.

"My dear! Are you alright?" the King shrieked, attempting to hold her up.

"The baby is coming."

-

The Queen lay in her bedchambers, caressing her newborn baby, a boy. The Prince of Denonia.

"What shall we name him?" the King smiled.

"Hm… we will name him Jacques."

The royals admired their new son, hopeful for the future of their kingdom. If only they knew what was to come…