Nala was born in a large, cold cavern. Her mother had made sure of it. It was a sacred tradition to give birth to royal children in cold places. It had always been and would always be that way for the people of Blanche Kerr.

The eve of Nala's birth, the queen of Blanche Kerr settled into the cavern. Nurses and maids carried in blankets and pillows, trying to make it cozy. They attempted to light candles, but the queen refused. Her husband, the king, reassured them, "She wants to do this the way that our old ancestors had to."

The king squeezed his wife's hand reassuringly. "What do you think we'll name them?" he asked.

"I don't know yet. The ancients will tell me. We must first find out whether it's a boy or a girl, though," she replied with a weary smile. They stopped speaking to each other after awhile as the queen began to focus on breathing and pushing.

The audience in the cavern were quiet with anxiety. Each person seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for the baby to pop out.

The birth of a royal child was always a very magical time in a Kerr kingdom. Aside from the first snow of the year, it was said that the day a royal child was born was when the ancients' powers were at their strongest and the Kerr were closest with their ancestors.

Nala's birth was particularly more magical than any other royal birthing.

One of the maids, who was a bit squeamish, was sitting at the front of the cavern, staring at the beautiful view from the cavern entrance. She could hear the groans and the gasps and the screams coming from inside, so she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to close off the world. The only sound she could hear after a while was the wail of a baby. And the moment someone announced the child's birth, the maid felt something tiny and wet hit the tip of her nose.

"Snow!" she cried, racing back into the cavern. "Snow-! It's- it's snowing!"

People gasped and whispered to each other excitedly. Some even went to see for themselves. They came back with clarifications.
The queen looked down at her baby, then up at her husband. "What do you think this means?" she asked him. He shook his head, but there was a smile on his face. Never before had two of the most magical events for the Kerr happened at once.

"I don't know, but whatever it means, it has to be the start of something good," he replied. The queen nodded and looked down once again at the baby girl. "Have you decided on a name yet?"

She shook her head. "No. Why don't you choose her name?"

The king looked thoughtful for a moment. "We shall call her Nala, the word that means magic in the language of the ancestors."

The queen nodded and smiled warmly. "Nala," she whispered softly, stroking her child's cheek. "I think I quite like that name."

The king kissed his wife on the forehead. "I think I quite like it too."

All around them people celebrated and wondered what such a magical event meant for their kingdom. A few of the younger maids stood outside and giggled as snowflakes melted on their faces.

And the kingdom had hope.