That day was also the day of the hunt in a neighboring kingdom: the Kingdom of Krishama, just close by the border of the isolated city. King Hastina, the ruler of Krishama, went to the forest close by. Hastina cherished hunting with all his magnanimous heart. His subjects called him a kind, caring, and generous soul, most likely because he never killed or intentionally hurt an animal. Hunting had a different meaning to him. Unlike typical hunters, Hastina would go out and capture an animal in a perfectly comfortable container and take it to his kingdom without harm. He always made sure to group a small family of animals, so as not to separate anyone. He brought them to his kingdom and took great care of them, and almost all of the animals seemed to live a happy life. Hastina just couldn't leave them in the forest. The forest was endangering the animals because of the waves they found close by from behind the walls. The waves usually had bad side effects, such as hallucinations or amnesia, Hastina noticed.

This time, Hastina could feel the waves even inside the forest, something unusual! Today, he decided he would not stay for long and planned on taking only one large animal. Several, if the animal was small enough. He walked cautiously through the deep tangle of trees and wildlife, so as to not frighten the creatures living close by. All the creatures seemed to have gone into their dens, as there were none in sight.

Stolen novel; please report.

Just when he was about to give up on his search, he saw a little light-brown figure moving in the distance which seemed to be on the stump temple he had passed many times before. He never noticed anyone on it before, and someone....or something....was laying on it, which seemed strange to him. Nevertheless, he marched towards the little creature. It was his duty to keep the creatures of the forest safe.

As he approached the creature, he saw that it was a...human baby.

What is a child doing here? He thought to himself.

The baby had honey-brown skin, brownish-black eyes that sparkled, a sweet smile, and what seemed to be tufts of black hair...although he wasn't sure.

Hastina looked at the baby with compassion in his eyes. "Well, aren't you a cutie!" he said. "I wonder what is to be done with you. I certainly can't leave you here! I suppose I could bring you to the palace...my wife has no children...and can't have them...but that is a different story. I will treat you like my own..." And that's what the king did, he took her to the palace, beaming with joy at the prospect of an actual child--one he'd been longing for for years.