While Yr Castell yn y Cae sat sedately upon the green field, troublous times brewed both inside the mighty stone wall and outside the surrounding forest. The new Queen held on to her throne by a thread while the Prince continued to proclaim his right to the kingdom of Walhaz.

Battle after battle raged with one side claiming victory then the other. Queen Aerona mourned the loss of many a fine knight as they fell beneath the forces of Bedo the Magnificent. A fair and tenderhearted ruler, there was great anguish in her heart when her advisers informed her of those who had given their lives in her cause.

"A tender heart never won a fair battle, My Queen," Oswallt, her chief adviser, proclaimed when he found Aerona sitting upon her throne with tears coursing her cheeks. "Bedo is a cruel and fierce warrior; he is determined to wrest the crown from your head and rule in your place."

"He is my cousin," the queen softly declared. "He is family to me. I cannot bear to believe he would wish harm upon me as I could never wish to bring harm unto him." There were many fond memories of childhood adventures within the castle grounds between her and her cousin. Games of hide and seek, lessons in the nursery schoolroom when they were both children and free of worry or care. Aerona had always thought of Bedo as her friend. How greatly things had changed as they had grown from childhood to adulthood. There were times when she had wished herself back to those days when they could laugh and tease and play together.

Even so, in those days of childhood glee, there had been things about Bedo that disturbed Aerona. The way he tortured small animals for the fun of it and how he turned to her as his object of torment. The memory of his hands on her forearm unmercifully twisting and twisting her skin until she shrieked in pain. The running footsteps of Maud, her nurse, and the angelic look on her cousin's face when he professed to being sorry he had hurt her. Still, he was her cousin, her family, and she accepted him as he was.

"There are times, My Queen, when we must set aside such feelings for those we are familiar with," wise Oswallt proclaimed. "You must know, in your heart, that Bedo would not be a suitable ruler of the Walhaz. He would place his own selfish wants, his needs, ahead of the welfare of the people. Fight him you must; win you must."

"The people are with you, Queen Aerona," her chief physician, Abu al Khayr, stated as he joined his voice with that of Oswallt. "They depend upon you to make a wise decision."

Turning baleful eyes upon Abu al Khayr, young Aerona felt she had made a good decision by selecting the physician as one of her trusted advisers. She well remembered the day the Mid-Easterner had appeared in the courtyard of Yr Castell yn y Cae seeking a position in the court. Her father, King Newlyn, had, at first, dismissed him as a stranger and a sorcerer but had changed his mind when his mother, Queen Bethel, had been struck ill then healed beneath the expert hands of the stranger. His position as court physician was secured for all the days of his life.

"I will do what must be done," Aerona consented as she drew strength from those surrounding her. Pushing aside her family love for her cousin, she ordered her army back into the fray. But, alas and alack, Bedo's forces were too strong for those of the Queen. They fought gallantly but were pushed back through the forest and had to take up their stand before the Castle in the Field.

"We are under siege," Oswallt exclaimed as he rushed upon the Queen in her chamber. Hurriedly Aerona leapt from her bed, for it was the middle of the night, and made her way to the counsel chamber. Sending out more troops upon the battlements in the hope of quelling the blockade, she remained tense in expectation of news that Prince Bedo's armies had been repelled.

For three months, the besieged castle remained impenetrable. Bedo held his ground in his encampment outside the thick fortress walls while Aerona remained firmly entrenched inside. The water supply in the castle was good—it being drawn from a deep well—but it was nearly impossible to keep the people inside fed even with heavy rationing. Soon starvation would come to claim the lives of those who lived under the siege. The dear little Queen gave comfort where she could but what more could she do?

The Queen sat upon her throne and pondered her options.