Anella, the youngest of five children born to the benevolent, and much loved, king and queen, is resigned to her position in life. At the age of six, her father betroths her to the youngest son of a distant cousin purely for political reasons. She knows that when she marries at eighteen, she will run his house, if he has his own house, or manage his apartments, if he remains under his father’s roof. Her standing as the king’s daughter will never have much meaning beyond her title.
When she was allowed to attend the midsummer tournament, she discovered a distraction from the doldrums of her life. Though she wasn’t allowed to read the stories of glorious battles kept in the palace library, after watching the jousting and the sword-fighting contests, she could imagine them. One day she decided to see what a sword felt like, so she snuck down to the arms room to do a little pretending with a real sword in her hand, and then she couldn’t stay away.
When the sword master discovered her doings, he reluctantly agreed to teach her, but only with the understanding that it would never go beyond the practice room - not by word or by deed. But when an estranged uncle appeared and killed her father and her brothers, she and the sword master were forced to take her teaching far beyond the practice room.
In order to exact revenge for the horrible way her father and brothers were murdered, Anella had to become very good with a sword, and then she had to draw on all the ties her family had around the country. But she couldn’t just go to these families with a plea for help; she was a much-hunted young lady. The only thing she could do was enter the tournament lists and follow the entire circuit around the country, competing at each district and meeting in secret those lords who were obliged to back her claim to the throne and overthrow the usurper, plus, if she was good enough, if she placed high enough, she would get a personal invitation to stand in front of the man himself.
When she was allowed to attend the midsummer tournament, she discovered a distraction from the doldrums of her life. Though she wasn’t allowed to read the stories of glorious battles kept in the palace library, after watching the jousting and the sword-fighting contests, she could imagine them. One day she decided to see what a sword felt like, so she snuck down to the arms room to do a little pretending with a real sword in her hand, and then she couldn’t stay away.
When the sword master discovered her doings, he reluctantly agreed to teach her, but only with the understanding that it would never go beyond the practice room - not by word or by deed. But when an estranged uncle appeared and killed her father and her brothers, she and the sword master were forced to take her teaching far beyond the practice room.
In order to exact revenge for the horrible way her father and brothers were murdered, Anella had to become very good with a sword, and then she had to draw on all the ties her family had around the country. But she couldn’t just go to these families with a plea for help; she was a much-hunted young lady. The only thing she could do was enter the tournament lists and follow the entire circuit around the country, competing at each district and meeting in secret those lords who were obliged to back her claim to the throne and overthrow the usurper, plus, if she was good enough, if she placed high enough, she would get a personal invitation to stand in front of the man himself.
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