Author's note: I felt that the last chapter was very...confusing. So I decided to make everything a little clearer.
Disclaimer: The author doesn't own any of the character (except that ones she made up). But she does own the Dark Riders.
No Longer a Princess
Chapter 4: Details about the storyline
The Dark Riders: A Spanish undercover group. They are the largest but most well hidden group of their type in Europe. There are 4 "headquarters" one in Ireland (Gwen was there), one in France, and two in Spain (one near the Atlantic coast, the other by the Mediterranean Sea). The largest grouping of Dark Riders are in the caves of a waterfall by the Mediterranean, with about 500 men. The other headquarters have about 300 men each. Very few Riders live outside of these headquaters.
The main focus of the group is to undermine the government and live in their own world. They only involve "outsiders" when absolutely necessary (as in Gwen's case). Not one of them have been captured. They live off of their own cunning and skills. Various rumors make these people sound worse then they are. True they steal, but only jewels and gold. They hunt their own food and farm their crops.
Women are trained to fight and defend the area when the men are out hunting. But they are still treated under men. Children are considered adults when they can live on their own. All the boys are trained to be fighters of the cause; all girls are trained to be wives and mothers (except the queen). To be a noble, one has to earn the privilege, instead of by birth. Nobles are treated nearly the same as commoners. The King of the Dark Riders is currently King Howard. He leads the men, while the queen leads the women. He is about 29 years old (middle-aged for that time). And he had two wives before (one after the other died). But of the 5 children (1 with one wife, 4 with the other), three died of illness, one died at birth, and the last one was killed when hunting. So they are left without a heir.
Gwen was brought into the kingdom because of the lack of queen. Her main skill is archery, while the other queens were skilled in swords.
Most locals know of where these people live, but they turn the other cheek because no one wants to try to capture these people.
Capital of the Riders: Is in the caves a of waterfall, and the surrounding area. Inside the caves are the storage, and where the royal family and the nobles live. The surrounding area is like any village, with huts. Some area is kept clear in the caves, so when under-attack, the people can hide. Everything is kept very intricate, the area is made so that under any type of attack, there is a defense.
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Hopefully, that cleared up anything. I'm going to update again this week and add something that's actually a chapter. I normally updated on breaks (right now is mid-winter). The last chapter (the one with Gwen thinking) was what goes on in her mind. She wasn't writing or anything like that. I didn't know how else to tackle it.
Now for the reviews:
Kitera-Matar: I love how you keep posting every chapter. It helps me keep going, knowing that someone likes it so much they keep reading.
Tigress-of-Shang: I'm not sure I want Philip to save the day, but I don't like Philip that much. He's too much of an unoriginal character. Actually, except of the ending, the whole movie was predicable. Anyways, I want to make it that Gwen realizes...WAIT!...I can't tell you what's going to happen. ^_^
Keeli: I'm glad you like it. I'm not sure about romance. I've read lots of romance fanfics, but actually writing it...I'm not sure *yet*. Also, about that about that website, I found some with pictures, but they were mainly reviews. But nothing that you would be looking for. SORRY!
Elizabeth Martin: I was afraid that Gwen's character was changing too much from the original in the movie. (I don't own the movie, it's my friend's, I just watched it once about 2 months ago.) But it's good to know that it's not happening.
