Yr Castell yn y Cae sat upon the rise in the midst of the green field. Beyond the high battlements and turrets, the old King lay in his bedchamber; he was dying. Princess Aerona rushed headlong up the spiral staircase, the sound of her footsteps resounding upon the stone steps in an eerie echo. The moment she heard her father had been carried in from the battle that raged beyond the surrounding forest, she hurried to be by his side during what could be his last breath.

At any moment, a flock of courtiers could hasten upon her to declare her Queen of all the Walhaz. Barely above the age of eighteen, Princess Aerona had no thought of becoming a ruler at such a tender age. Although she had been raised beneath the auspices of becoming the future queen, she had grown up believing it would be many, many years before her father passed the crown onto her. With the time suddenly upon her, she barely felt prepared for her new role as monarch.

Grasping the iron ring that hung upon the vast oaken door of her father's bedchamber, Princess Aerona tugged it outward. As she began to step forward, the King's guard moved to prevent her. "You must not enter, m'lady," the tall, armored knight rebuffed her. "The King's physicians are upon him; he must not be disturbed."

"I will see my father," the princess insisted, taking on her new regality. Stepping forward to cross the threshold, she was again rebuffed.

"Nay, m'lady," the knight rebuked her. "Return to the waiting chamber and remain there until news is brought to you. It is the way it is done; the way it has been done for as long as the Castle has stood upon the field."

"I said I will see my father," Princess Aerona declared as she sidestepped the King's Knight and entered the chamber.

"M'lady," Cedric the Medic exclaimed as he turned from the King's side. Quickly approaching the young princess, he continued: "You must not be here. Return at once to the waiting chamber and stay there. King Newlyn is beyond your help and comfort. You cannot remain."

"I must see my father," the princess stated as she brushed past. Who was the lowly medic to tell her what to do and where to go? The wizened little man was no more than the chief physician's assistant; he had no business telling her what she should and should not do.

Falling upon her knees by the side of the bed, Aerona grasped the King's dangling hand. It felt cold to the touch as though his soul had already passed to the beyond. "My daughter," the monarch found voice to whisper. When his head lulled in her direction, the young princess rose up to give him comfort. Gasping in terror, she collapsed against the bed as bile rose into her throat. Half his dearly beloved face was gone—the cruelty of war falling upon the tenderhearted maiden as she struggled with the sight.

"You must leave now Princess." The soothing voice was that of Abu al Khayr, the King's trusted chief physician. "There is no more than can be done here."

"But my father..." Princess Aerona fumbled as the physician assisted her to her feet.

"It is over, m'lady." Abu al Khayr's hands were gentle upon her shoulders as he led her toward the mighty oaken door. "It is now your duty to your people that you must think about."

Stunned the young princess allowed herself to be returned to the waiting chamber. Approaching the slit of a window in the turreted wall, she pressed her eye against it to peer down upon the multitude that crowded beyond the castle moat. They were her people now; in moments, she must face them as their Queen. "Oh, father," Aerona moaned as she considered her new position. "Why did you leave me too soon?"

The war that raged beyond the forest border surrounding the great castle in the field had finally taken her father's life along with many gallant warriors who had stood for and against their great cause. The Walhaz people had lived in peace for all the years of their existence until the death of Aerona's uncle, Prince Trahaearn. Believing he had a greater claim to the crown, his eldest son, styled Bedo the Magnificent, divided the people and brought war upon the kingdom.

"How am I to bring peace back to the Kingdom of Walhaz?" Princess Aerona questioned the empty waiting chamber. "What do I know of war?"

Before she could grapple with the question uppermost in her mind, the chamber doors burst inward allowing the rush of courtiers to swarm the room. "Long live Queen Aerona!" a lone voice shouted. "Long live the Queen!" the mighty throng echoed.

Carried along with the group, the new Queen found herself standing upon the parapet gazing down at her cheering subjects. "My good people," Aerona's voice chimed clear and melodiously across the courtyard. "I find myself unexpectedly your Queen. It is my hope you will stand with me in this time of war and until we find ourselves once again dwelling in a land of peace." Any further word she attempted to proclaim was drowned in the shouts of the masses below.

The coronation took place immediately under the direction of the Archbishop of Gadeiriol. The crown tenderly placed upon the fair-headed Queen and the scepter grasped firmly in her fist, Aerona led the company to the banquet hall where courtier and commoner alike crowded together in celebration of the new reign.

The sudden thunder of horses hooves echoing through the outer courtyard of the castle brought the Queen and company to their feet. Mightily the heavy oaken doors flung open bringing Bedo the Magnificent upon his gallant steed into their midst. Thrusting his hefty lance into the flagstone floor, he bellowed: "How dare you crown this girl! The throne is mine!"

"Nay, Cousin Bedo," Queen Aerona denounced as she wove her way through the gawking crowd to stand before the Knight and his horse. "Remove this beast from the banquet hall and be on your way. I am my father's daughter and heir to his crown."

"You are unfit to rule, sweet little cousin." Bedo's voice rang clear and strong throughout the hall. "You are not prepared for the war that is knocking upon the doors of this very castle. Stand aside and allow a King to rule in place of a mere Queen."

"The Decrees of the Walhaz do not recognize Salic Law," the new Queen declared. "The next in line succeeds the previous monarch, male or female."

"The next in line is me: Prince Bedo of Walhaz. My father was..."

"Yes...yes, I know the story, Bedo," Aerona wearily remarked, chagrined about going into family history amongst the crowd in the great hall. "My father and your father were twins. All witnesses present in the birthing chamber attested to the fact that Prince Newlyn was the first to appear. While the celebration commenced upon the birth of the heir, the physician was recalled to Queen Bethel's side. It was a full eight minutes before the birth of Prince Trahaearn."

"Newlyn and Trahaearn were switched at birth..." Bedo started again.

"So says Trahaearn," the little queen cut in. "There was never proof of the claim. Be gone, Bedo the Magnificent. You and your late father have sewn discord amongst the people of Walhaz for far too long. It is time to end it and bring peace back to the kingdom."

"And who will bring this peaceful kingdom about? You?" Prince Bedo's laughter rang loud and raucous throughout the great hall. "That'll be the day!" Drawing his horse up by the reigns, he turned and fled the chamber through the mighty oaken doors.

Mustering all her strength to control the emotions raging through her blood, Queen Aerona returned to her place at the head of the banquet table as though nothing out of place had occurred. Her guests settled back in their places to resume the coronation celebration.