PROLOGUE

      Once upon a time . . .

      There lived a good king, and the land grew in peace and prosperity.

      But the king grew older. Anxious to secure the succession, he remarried, because after the loss of his beloved wife and son, only the infant female babe of his daughter was left to inherit the crown. His new bride was young and beautiful, and his task—to procreate and give his country strong sons to rule after his death—should have been a pleasant and easy one. Indeed, in his eagerness to rejoin his lady after a council meeting one dark and stormy night, he rode the high cliffs and tors of his native land with abandon, despite the warnings of his advisors.

      Along his way on that deep and tempestuous night, the king’s horse lost its footing, or the king himself lost his horse. He plummeted down the ragged hillside, and perished before his time—and before his task could be complete. The land mourned.

      The king’s young granddaughter inherited the throne. Hope remained. The land would still thrive, all thought, for the Guardians of the country would protect their young queen well.

      She was Margaret, known as the Maid of Norway. But alas, the child queen of Scotland died before ever reaching the shores of the land she should rule.

      The land lay in loss and confusion, for after her death, the claimants to the crown were many. The strong, powerful, and rightful king of a neighboring country was called upon for aid and advice. He would listen to the claims of all, and help the Guardians decide who should rule. Of the many claimants, three were predominant: John Balliol, John Hastings, and Robert Bruce, the Competitor. All three were descendants of the daughters of David, Earl of Huntington, grandson of David I, another good king who had given the land strength and prosperity.

      The wise men of the country were sadly unwary and indeed, unwise.

      Their neighboring king had eyes upon the country himself.

      Before the death of the young heiress, he had planned that she should marry his son, and thus unite the two countries.

      Now, he helped to choose a puppet king, a man to rule the country, yet bow to him as an overlord. With his eyes in truth,