Chapter 2

Odyssia was sitting on a large, white couch in the middle of her parents' living room. Her eyes were fixated with the television screen. She was watching a cartoon directed at small children. She was seven years old.
Suddenly, the screen went white, and a black strip appeared at the bottom of the screen. Words ran across it. Odyssia was a fair reader for her age, and could make out the words: EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT; KING RICLAH AND QUEEN DELMA HAVE BEEN SHOT.
The screen then directed itself to the news channel. The bottom right corner of the screen said 'SN', for 'Sumbala National'. In the middle of the screen there was a woman sitting behind a large news desk, explaining the incident.
"The gunman was seen fleeing from the royal palace shortly after the shooting. He has not yet been apprehended, but the Sumbalan police along with the royal guards are in high pursuit of the criminal."
Odyssia turned up the volume with the remote she held in her hand. The woman (that Odyssia now recognized as an anchorwoman) paused, as she was handed a sheet of pink paper.
"I have just received information that the Duke and Duchess Sumba have both suffered fatal heart attacks. They were just pronounced dead." The anchorwoman tried to keep a calm face whilst she read the information, but she continued to look surprised and crack her voice. "The Duke suffered his while he was driving home from work. His car swerved off the road and landed in a trench." The anchorwoman was talking so rapidly that she had to pause for air. "The Duchess suffered her heart attack one hour after she gave birth to baby girl; Hope Sumba. The baby is being taken care of by three of the hospitals nurses."
Odyssia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Four royals killed in less than an hour? It was unbelievable.
"The Board of National Management has called for an emergency meeting. They wish to discuss this loss of leadership." The anchorwoman put down her paper, and Oddysia's cartoon resumed.

The Board of National Management (BNM) consisted of twelve men and three women. They sat in a large, oval-shaped room, mostly occupied by a large table, surrounded by fifteen identical chairs. Each member looked similar to the rest; gray hair, serious, wrinkled faces, and forest-green pants suits.
"Let's get strait to business then." A tall man at the end of the table spoke. His voice was deep and strong, and he seemed to be the youngest there. "The King and Queen are dead. Normally we'd choose the Duke and Duchess to take their place as our nation's leaders, but seeing as how they're no longer available for the position; it falls upon us to decide who will be our country's King and Queen."
A woman with long, dark-gray hair and common thin Sumbalan eyes and pale skin spoke, "I propose we give Count Dinciline the thrown. He is wise and fit for leadership."
"Are you mad?" Another woman two seats down from the first spoke. "Dinciline may be wise but he's certainly not in his best health. We need a long-term leader and he'll be dead in a decade."
A short Plump man with a Skukish accent spoke. "I believe the obvious choice for Queen is the duchess Hope Sumba." The rest of the board looked confused. "She is the late Duchess's own daughter. She is technically next in line for the thrown.
The tall man at the end of the table spoke again. "You have a point. She is next in line." The Skukish man looked proud to have come up with the idea. "Though you must admit, a baby cannot rule a country. She wouldn't officially take the thrown until her eighteenth birthday."
A third woman with a raspy voice and dark Rianan skin spoke. "I agree. She should be queen, but not until she comes of age." She sighed, "Until then, we, the BNM, shall act as Sumala's leader."
"Agreed?" The tall man asked the group.
"Agreed." They replied in unison.

Odyssia was eight now, and most of the media had stopped paying attention to the death of the four royals. It had been announced that Hope Sumba would take over the thrown when she came of age. She remembered it vividly. They had caught the shooter two weeks after the shooting. The news had been all over it.
"The shooter of the King and Queen was caught today after searching for fifteen days. He was quickly brought to Shuga (Sumbala's capital) prison, where he is to serve two consecutive life sentences. His name was just released moments ago." Odyssia remembered watching the anchorman look at his information sheet. "His name is David Ninceral, and he worked as a lawyer for twenty years. He had no criminal record before this major homicide, and had worked to apprehend over twelve murderers. When questioned, Ninceral refused to give any information as to why he decided to kill our nation's leaders."
Something about the man had seemed strange to Odyssia. Before the shooting he was a normal person. He had a keen sense of justice, and he fought for it. What had caused him to act this way?
To Be Continued…