Cairistìona was princess of DunBroch. This came with a lot of responsibility, and she hated it.
She was forced to wear a corset and learn to sing and write speeches.
Her long beautiful red hair was braided and bundled up on her head like a crown. Her bright green eyes always found her target when she was swordfighting. And a smattering of freckles revealed her time in the sun.
Whenever she could, Cairistìona would escape her fate as a princess and lady and she would ride off and hunt with her friends Arisa and Saki.
Arisa brandished a bow, and Saki a spear.
Together they were the most feared slayers in all of DunBroch, much to Kyoko's dismay.
But that was all coming to an end soon, for soon Cairistìona was to be married, to a member of the Sohma clan. Either Yuki, Kyo, or Hatsuharu would be her groom.
Cairistìona detested them all!
Kyo seemed to think women couldn't be warriors at all. Cairistìona was sure that a marriage to him would be one as a housewife and queen but not as a warrior.
Hatsuharu would probably let her fight, but he was more trouble than he was worth; and he didn't think before he threw a punch, same as Kyo.
Yuki was the best of the three, seeming to be more understanding. But he was a mystery to her, and he was still a man.
Cairistìona hated men. Her father was acceptable. And her brothers were just nuisances, but to be shackled to one all her life! No thank you!
Cairistìona headed in from a long hunt on her way to dinner on that day. The day that changed everything.
The day the announcement was made; the announcement of Cairistìona's Fate.