Amelia, a beautiful girl native to Tortall, has followed in the footsteps of her female predecessors. The only princess to ever establish and train a company of soldiers on her own is now taking her first step outside of her peaceful world... R&R

The beautiful pony came galloping towards her master. Her gold-roan colored coat glistened in the summer sun while her black mane was blown askew by the wind. She was advancing towards the most beautiful girl anyone has ever seen. This girl, who went by the name Amelia, was waiting for her loyal pony at the other end of the expansive dust courtyard. She was wearing a simple white cotton gown that would have looked boring on anyone else. On her, it was ravishing. As the pony reached Amelia, she mounted it using a fancy stable trick she had learned from the hostlers.

She and the pony dashed through the courtyard, screaming for people to get out of the way. As she reached the entrance to the north tower she swung off the horse and handed the reins to a young stable hand.

"Where is my father?" she asked him hurriedly.

"He is in his study in the tower, what is the hurry princess Amelia?"

"Just go and get the fourth company of men ready at the east towers, hurry. My father and I shall be there in just a minute."

"Yes my lady." He said, backing away.

Amelia rushed up the stairs towards her fathers' study, her riding boots gouging her toes all the way. As she reached the top of the beautiful stone tower she saw a beaten and worn wooden door. Grabbing the handle, she flung the door open with all of her might. She was shocked. She had expected to see her father, king Jonathan the fourth (son of king Roald), slaving over paperwork at his desk. As she took in the room filled with charms, scrolls, maps, and books, she finally saw her father. There he was, in the very corner of the room, sitting legs crossed and asleep with a very large book of symbols in his lap.

"Father! Father! You must come quick!"

The king awoke with a jump. Amelia had startled him out of his sleep. "What is it Amelia?" he asked in a struggled voice as he picked himself up off the floor, the book tumbling out of his lap.

"There are trolls attacking the villages to the east, they are ripping apart the farm houses and the villagers are trying their best to fight them off until some of our men get there. I have already sent a runner to alert the other companies of the incident."

"We must hurry." Before Amelia had realized what he was doing, the king had already slipped on his riding boots and grabbed a set of knives of his desk. Together they ran down the stairs and out into the courtyard where their horses awaited them.

Dashing towards the east gate, Amelia and the king flew by the servants in a rush of color. By the time they had reached the east gate two companies were already there. The royal pair did not even stop to order the men into formation. As Amelia and her father followed by about 40 men neared the village they could see and smell smoke. Reaching a clearing that gave view to the village, Amelia gasped at what she saw. Everywhere were men, women, and children who seemed as young as 7, were stabbing and beating the trolls with all of their might. Amelia was especially impressed with a young girl of the age of ten at the edge of the cliff that over looked the village. Apparently she had found her toy slingshot and had collected some rocks. She took her time in aiming precisely, but with every shot she made she hit a troll in the "southern region" causing it to double up in pain. This made it much easier for the villagers to take on the trolls. With a flick of her finger in the air, the soldiers knew where to go. Two thirds of them went to fight of the trolls with swords and arrows being drawn, while the other third rushed to the wells to get water for putting out the fires. The king took a post on a hill over-seeing the entire ordeal. But as for Amelia, she went up to the ledge where the little girl stood. As she came up behind the girl she accidentally kicked a pebble. Before she knew it there was a rock pointed at her forehead.

"Not many have the bravery to turn around and face an enemy with out first assessing him, young lady."

"You you you're the princess!" she managed to stammer out.

"Yes, I am but at this point it does not really matter. Now I'm asking you to lower your.... rock... and allow me to help you with these trolls."

As the girl did what she was asked, Amelia took her place beside her. As the girl began to once again precisely measure the aim of her rock Amelia pulled out her arrows. With the speed of a hornet she began letting go of arrow after arrow, drawing the attention of the young girl to her speed and accuracy.

"Get back to those rocks!" Both girls continued their shooting until the last troll was on the ground. Slowly, Amelia guided the girl off of the cliff in silence. By the time they had gotten back down to the village, tents and beds had been set up for the injured and the dead villagers were being lined up in the clearing. As Amelia walked amongst the dead to see if she could put a name to face she allowed the little girl to follow her without a word. Then, for only the second time she heard the girl speak. They had just walked by a man and a boy who looked to be related. The girl dropped down to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. Bending down to try to comfort the girl she asked, "did you know these men?"

"They... they...were my father and brother, all the family I had!" she continued sobbing as she pulled out a rag and began to wipe the blood and grim off of their faces. By the time she was done, her soot-coated face was streaked with the trails of tears. This girl, she has no family and has lost everything with in the span of a few hours. This certainly reminded her of an old wild mage that her father had once introduced her to, named Diane. Amelia knew what to do straight away. The men were beginning to pack up and the villagers were starting to hobble back into their homes. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the trolls were set in a pile and burned.

She reached down and touched the girls shoulder. The girl slowly stood up, wiping her eyes, and only smearing the soot on her face worse. She looked up into Amelia's eyes with a sorrow and loneliness that she had never seen.

"What is your name my dear?" Amelia asked with sympathy. "What is your name?"

"I'm ... Akina. I live ... lived ... here in the village." She continued to look up at Amelia but suddenly her expression changed to a longing. Slowly Amelia bent over.

"Well Akina, how would you feel about coming to the palace and staying with me for a while. I've been looking for a new squire, and I think with a little training, you might just make the cut." As soon as Amelia saw the look on the girl's face she knew what the answer would be.

For the first time since she had first seen the girl, she was smiling. And Akina had that type of smile, the one that just drew you to her like a moth to a flame. There in those eyes was once again another emotion, but this time it was better this time...it was hope.