PLOT. SYNOPSIS. Leonidas, the King of Sparta was in desperate need of an heir to his throne. One that would rule the land and conquer the surrounding city-states. But to his utter dismay his queen, Aspasia gives birth to a female child, Petra . Left with no option Leonidas hides his daughter's real identity and forced her to accept the identity of a male child. Even going as far as crowing her the king of Sparta. With enemy kingdoms keeping an eye on her, how long would it take before her real identity is exposed to the whole world. INCITING INCIDENT. The city-state of Sparta is under attack from rival states. Growing old and weak, the King, Leonidas,was under pressure of producing an heir to his throne. Unfortunately, his wish did not come true as his wife and queen, Aspasia gives birth to a female child. RISING ACTION. Left with no other option, the King of Sparta, Leonidas, hides the real identity of the child born to him by his queen, Aspasia. Getting rid of every single soul who witnessed the birth of his daughter, King Leonidas announces to the world that he now has an heir to his throne. Forcing his daughter, Petra,to accept the identity of a male child and teaching her the lifestyle of boys. Isolating her from the outside world, King Leonidas trains Petra ,on how to be a great warrior and leader. Crowning her as the King of Sparta, King Leonidas attracts the attention of enemy city-states. CLIMAX With a new heir to the throne , enemy city-states knew it was just a matter of time before Sparta comes to wage war and conquer them. Determined to know more about the prince and find out about Sparta's weaknesses, a spy was sent by the ruler of Athens, Zander. The first spy came but was killed the second his cover was blown. The second spy was sent , succeeded in his mission but ends up falling in love with the hidden princess. With no response from his spy, Zander sends another who also succeeded and returns to his master to share the good news. Zander wasted no time in revealing this to the world. The people of Sparta rebelled against the royal family, leading to war and chaos. DENOUEMENT With her kingdom in chaos and her father sent into exile, Petra takes the bull by it's horns and waged a war against Athens. Coming out victorious , Petra assumes her rightful position as the queen of Sparta. With her lover by her side, they lived happily ever after. EXPOSITION The rulers of Sparta and Athens never saw eye to eye. Waging wars against each other, both states tried to conquer the other . Growing old wolf, King Leonidas knew he had to produce an heir, one powerful enough to rule the kingdom and defeat Athens on the battlefield. Spending the night with his queen Aspasia, they got lucky for she became pregnant with a child. Leonidas was over the moon as he announced that he now had an heir to his throne. Nine months later, his wife ,the queen gives birth to a female child. Choosing to hide the child's real identity, he names her Petra, a name given to both male and female children. Training Petra to follow his footsteps and be a great warrior, The King of Sparta ensured that no stoke was left unturned in making Petra the king of Sparta. Being crowned as the king opened Petra's eyes to the reality of her life. Working tirelessly, she waged war against enemy kingdoms, built a wall round Sparta, and offering wise words to help in the growth and development of Sparta. A spy was sent to find out more about the land and its new crown prince. Succeeding in his mission, the spy happily embarked on a journey to his home to report to his master, but was killed by King Petra. Outraged by the death of his spy, King of Athens, King Zander sends his son disguised as a spy, to complete the job. Prince Andreas works hard and gains the trust of Petra, accepting her into his life, Petra has no idea she was letting an enemy in on her secrets. Suspicious of his son, King Zander sends another spy who also succeeds in the mission. As soon as he got the news he wanted,he exposes the king of Sparta and the lies he told. As a result of this big revelation, the people of Sparta rebelled against the royal family, her father was sent into exile and she was dethroned. Unable to stand idly and watch her kingdoms fall apart, King Petra wages war against Athens, determined to settle the scores. With her father and her lover, Prince Andreas, she won the war and restored peace to Sparta. SETTING: The city-state of Sparta,one of the most power in Ancient Greece. It was known for its militaristic culture and training soldiers. Time: 5TH venture BC CHARACTERS. MAIN LEONIDAS DAMON. He is the king of Sparta and the father of Petra,a man with a weathered and rugged appearance with a lined face and gray hair. He has a commanding presence with a regal bearing and a strong voice.
THE LIFE OF A KING: FINDING A HEIR TO THE THRONE.
KING LEONADIS'S POV.
One of my advisors, a shrewd old man named Nicholas, spoke up. "My king, we must be strong, for our enemies are like the stars in the sky, uncountable. From the east to the west to the north we have tons of enemies, willing to strike at any point. Our warriors are the best in all the land, but we need a strong leader to guide them. My king you have served us well in your days, but now you are growing frail and old, going out for wars will only make you health worse. The people are in need of a new king, an heir to the great throne of Sparta. Who among us has the strength and wisdom to lead our people to victory?"
A tense silence fell over the room as all the advisors looked at each other, their faces drawn and grave
I was lost in thoughts. My warriors just came back from war, the King of Athens waged war against us, we suffered some casualties but emerged victorious.
It's been few weeks after the war and I am healing from the severe injuries I suffered during the war.
My subjects demand that I crown someone young , bold,brave, wise and courageous to lead them, both in wars and as their king.
I had no heir at the moment, my wife, the Queen of Sparta, Aspasia was pregnant and her due date was in two days.
A young man spoke up. "My king, I know that I am young and I know little or nothing about running a city-state as great as Sparta. But I have been trained in the art of war and I have studied the great heroes of our last, and I believe I have what it takes to lead our people to glory. I come from a well known family, and I am a man of my words. I believe under my reign I will be able to serve this great city-state and conquer all our enemies. I ask for your consideration my king".
I sat back on my throne, my eyes fixed on the young man. I saw right through his fake act and nice words. He does not care about the kingdom , it's well being or the people. He is one of the many people who want to be king so they can loot all the money. He does not care about war, I am very sure he will flee in the face of war, leaving his people alone when they need him the most. Man of his words? He has been brought before me twice each time for raping a young lady. He managed to escape. I can not make such a man my heir, that would be irresponsible.
"I will consider your words young one" I said, rising I my feet I left the throne room, heading to my private chambers to meet my queen.
As I walked into My queen's chambers, she saw and bowed. "Greetings my King, welcome" she said, wearing a warm smile.
"Aspasia, how are you feeling my queen?" I asked, gently placing my hands on her shoulders.
"I am fine my king, but what about you? You seem so worried" she said, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"It's nothing my queen" I said, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"My love, I know that you are concerned about our future and the future of this great kingdom. But I must ask, have you considered the future of our child? He will be born soon and he will one day inherit the throne. What will be his fate? And how will you prepare him for the great task ahead? How will you prepare him for the role of king?" Aspasia said, worry in her eyes.
I paused for a moment, my expression thoughtful. "I am thinking of our child my dear. I will teach him to be strong and just, as any good king should be. More than that, I will teach him to be compassionate and wise. He should not only learn to be a good warrior but also a good man. For without a good heart, he can not truly head our people."
The queen nodded in agreement. "It is true my king. But what of our enemies? What of those would seek to destroy us? How will you protect our kingdoms from those who would harm us?" She asked, she was scared.
"I will protect our people and our child. I will not allow our enemies hurt a single hair on our child. I swear upon my honor as a king and as a man." I said, my jaw tightly clenched as I thought of my son and how far I would go to protect him.
"Thank you my king. I was worried but now you have put my mind at ease. I am sure our son will grow up to become a great king under your training and supervision. I pray the gods bless with him with knowledge, wisdom and understanding to help him in ruling this great kingdom, and take it to greater heights. May his reign be peaceful and his days on earth be long." The queen blessed our unborn child.
"Thank you my queen, may the gods accept our prayers and grant us a son, one worthy of being the heir to my throne. The messiah of his people, who would wage war against enemies and always emerge victorious. " I said and pulled the queen into a warm embrace.
But I could not help but feel something was about to go wrong. What if we do end up having a enable child? I can not crown a female child as king. It is against the laws of this great kingdom and doing so will be deadly, for sooner or later the secret might be out and I can only imagine the chaos it would cause.
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