Swords, Sorcery, & Self-Rescuing Damsels by Sarah Craft & Lee French

Author:Sarah Craft & Lee French [Craft, Sarah & French, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781944334352
Publisher: Clockwork Dragon
Published: 2019-04-15T21:00:00+00:00

PRINCESS LAST PICKED

DAWN VOGEL

Princess Alastriona watched as the numbers dwindled. She tried to keep her chin up, but even that became more and more difficult. Finally, there were only two left—herself and Eithne, among the smallest near-grown girls in the settlement.

Darieann was almost always one of the captains for the mock battle the near-grown children organized from time to time, and she had developed a cruel streak in her leadership. She looked over her options and smirked. “Eithne.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Nessa, the other captain, said, “Fine. I guess we get Princess Alastriona.” Nessa glared at Alastriona. “You’d better be able to keep up.”

Alastriona nodded before she limped over to Nessa’s group. Every time the children chose teams for their mock battle, Alastriona was the last one picked. Between her slight build and withered right leg, she was not good at fighting. Most of her peers didn’t use her actual name. They called her Princess Last Picked, a nickname that chafed her.

Princess Alastriona was heir to the rulership of the settlement, and her parents assured her that her disability would not matter if she could command the respect of her subjects. But try though she might, she was never chosen to lead either of the teams for the mock battles. And she dared not ask her parents to intervene on her behalf. No one respected a team captain who had been handed the position, rather than earning it through battle prowess.

If she had her way, she wouldn’t even be out with the other children. She preferred to spend her days in the library, amongst the books. But her mother insisted that the best way for her to learn to be a leader was to join the other children her age in their mock battles, fought with wooden weapons.

With the teams decided, the captains distributed the scraps of fabric that they used to designate their team members. The bit of blue fabric that Nessa handed Alastriona was barely enough to knot around her walking stick. When Darieann and Nessa had first come up with this game, when they and Alastriona were but seven, there had been enough fabric for everyone to wear a sash. But over the past six years, the supply of scraps had frayed and dwindled, much like Darieann and Nessa’s friendliness toward Alastriona.

Alastriona looked over the other members of Nessa’s team, hoping to find at least someone she trusted to not leave her behind if the battle became one that ranged across the hills outside the settlement. Bradach could easily carry her on his back, but he’d likely abandon her in pursuit of greater glory.

Her best option was to stick near Seumas, as he wouldn’t give chase after the battle. He preferred to watch from the sidelines. Though the other children knew he wouldn’t participate in the fighting, they always wanted him on their team, because after the battle, he sang the praises of every member of their team. Even Alastriona, when they were on the same team, received his lauding, typically about how she avoided capture by the enemy.

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