Bryn sprinted through the woods, weaving around tree trunks, leaping over roots, swinging under branches. Sunlight winked at her through the leaves above. A bird startled from its perch as she sped by. She pumped her arms as she ran, her legs free of skirts for the first time in weeks.
It had been too long since she’d been allowed to do this.
She glanced around the area, but there was no sign of trouble so far. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much longer; she was beginning to get bored.
She looked up, searching for her prize. Occasionally, it was hidden on the ground, but usually he liked to place it high up—
There!
A golden ball was wedged in a branch ahead of her, obvious enough for her to spot it quickly, and only about twenty feet above her.
“Oh please,” she murmured. That wasn’t nearly high enough.
She prepared herself, feeling a familiar warmth pulse through her limbs, compounding her strength—
And she jumped.
The forest floor dipped away as she launched herself, clearing the twenty feet easily. Her aim was a little off, so she grabbed a nearby branch on the neighboring tree and swung towards it, reaching for the ball.
A beat too late, she spotted a wire just below it.
She tried to lift her legs up, but the sudden movement threw off her jump. Her ankle caught on the wire and sent her falling forward. She reached for the golden ball, but her fingers only brushed the branch before she started tumbling towards the ground face first.
She tucked into a flip to land on her feet, but more wires snapped around her from below, coiling around her as they broke from their ties on the nearby trees.
She slammed onto the ground on her back.
“Ow,” she muttered, though more out of annoyance than any actual pain. She tried to jump to her feet, but the wires had tangled themselves around her like a fishing net. She tried to pull and snap the wires around her arm, but they threatened to cut through her skin if she pulled too hard.
“Oh, come on,” she grumbled. She wrestled an arm free and tried untangling the wiring off her legs. She needed to get on her feet before—
A sudden snapping of trees filled the clearing as something stomped through the woods.
“Oh, now he appears.”
A massive stone golem barreled its way through the thick foliage, shoving trees out of its way as if they were stubborn dinner guests. It stood roughly eight feet tall, humanoid in shape, though entirely made of solid stones cut and pieced together like armor. Its head, fully covered in a helm with only a small slit where the eyes would be, turned towards her.
“Hi there,” she said.
The creature lunged at her.
It moved faster than should be possible for its size. Despite the rough terrain, it launched itself straight forward, skating over the ground rather than running like normal legs, cutting through rocks and roots.
Bryn’s arm was still pinned to her side, but she launched herself in a one-handed back handspring, managing barely to cartwheel out of the way. Her legs were still tied, so she ended up landing on her backside again.
The creature crashed into more trees, barely missing her.
“This feels like cheating!” she yelled.
The creature shoved itself from the trees and turned at her, raising an arm over her. The end of the arm was a large stone that sharpened to a definite point.
“Oh, that’s fun,” she commented.
The creature struck.
Bryn used her free arm to launch her body upwards just as the stone landed, the attack kicking up dust from where she had just been. She rolled and again tried to get to her feet, but her ankles were still tangled. She caught a nearby branch to keep herself upright.
The creature swung at her, clearly putting its weight into the attack. She swung around a tree just as the golem sliced through its trunk, sending another tree toppling with a loud crack.
She needed a moment to free herself from these wires, but her attacker clearly wasn’t planning on giving her that. She backflipped out of range of another swipe and fell backwards into a tree.
She looked up and spotted a branch about ten feet above her on another tree. She jumped for it (awkwardly), dodging another blow, and swung on the branch, trying to kick off the last of the wires.
“Come on,” she grumbled. Some of it came off, giving her a bit more mobility, but the rest of was caught on her boots and her belt, still constricting her legs.
More creaking trees as the golem approached her from behind. She glanced over her shoulder just as it lunged.
“Whoa!” She pulled her legs up, but not enough. The bladed arm went just between her legs, slicing the rest of the wire.
“Hey, thanks!”
She immediately swung to a hire branch, out of reach, but the golem struck the trunk hard, toppling the tree before she could jump away.
She rode the tree down and tumbled away, trying to stay out of range. Now that she was free—
The golden ball!
Bryn looked up and spotted it still wedged in a branch above, just past the golem. She bent down in a squat and leaped over the creature.
Too late, she noticed that the golem’s arm that had ended in a blade shape was now a hand-shaped, with stubby fingers made of stones.
Faster than should be possible, the creature snatched her by the torso and slammed her to the ground.
“Oof!” The blow knocked the breath out her lungs and cracked her ribs. For a moment, there was only a sharp pain in her chest, distracting her from the fight. But a beat later, that same, bright warmth flooded her chest, healing her ribs from the inside.
“Felt that a bit,” she grunted.
She wrenched one arm free and punched the rocky hand, only managing to crack it. The golem lifted her up to slam her against the ground again, clearly trying to stun her. She couldn’t get the leverage to pry its grip off her midsection, but her legs were free. She twisted slightly as he slammed her down on the ground.
Except this time she landed on her feet.
Her feet hit the ground with a heavy thud, the ground cracking slightly underneath her with the extra force. She definitely felt the strength of this creature, but with enough effort and focus on her part, she could match it.
In a burst of inspiration, she leaned forward and hugged the golem’s wrist.
She grinned up at it. “My turn.”
She grabbed its wrist and lifted.
For a brief moment, she thought it wouldn’t work. She was strong, but she wasn’t heavy, and so she might not have the torque needed to pull this off.
But the creature’s weight was already leaning towards her, and so it was caught by surprise as she pulled its arm and turned, slinging the arm over her shoulder.
She flipped the golem over her head.
The creature slammed on its back with the crashing sound of an avalanche, clearly more stunned than hurt, but it was enough to loosen its grip on her. She pried herself free quickly before it could catch her.
In a quick few strides, she once again jumped for the golden ball, this time aiming just a bit higher. She snatched it from the branch and flipped back to the ground, holding the ball high.
“I win!” she announced.
The golem pushed itself to its feet and turned to her. A calm, gravelly voice spoke from the creature. “That was reckless, Bryn.”
Bryn dropped from the tree and grin. “I prefer to call it bold.”
The golem slumped as more of its body broke off, rocks and boulders tumbled from its form. Bryn caught one rolling stone with her foot.
Amid the heap of debris stepped a man: older, his dark complexion wrinkled, with a mane and beard of salt-and-pepper hair. His tunic and trousers were standard uniform for off-duty military: black boots, a black coat with silver trim, and a circular crest on his chest to denote his rank as a highknight.
His expression was dry as he looked at her.
“You knew it was a trap,” he said.
“It was?” Bryn said, pulling some wire that was still caught on her belt. “I thought traps were supposed to, you know, trap you.”
Gallad sighed. “I’m beginning to suspect that our training sessions are becoming unproductive.”
“Oh, come now,” Bryn complained. “I did well!”
“Exactly my point,” he said. “I’m not sharpening your skills. I’m simply feeding your ego.”
“A knight should have confidence in his—or her—skills, wouldn’t you agree, sir?”
Bryn looked up to measure his reaction, but he was suddenly walking away from her, heading back towards the palace.
She leaped over the mound of rocks to sidle up to him. “So,” she said as casually as she dared. “Did I pass?”
Gallad gave her a shrewd look. He hadn’t explicitly mentioned that this was a test, but it had been months since he had set up an obstacle course this elaborate, which had to mean—
“I will be recommending the king to assign you to an escort mission—”
“Yes!” Bryn jumped ten feet in the air.
“As the secondprincess’s handmaiden.”
Bryn landed. “What?”
“Have your things ready and packed by noon.”
He continued walking back towards the palace.
Bryn watched him leave, not quite believing he was serious until he kept walking, past the mess of netting and through the trees.
“What—but—I thought—Gallad!”
“Sir Gallad,” he corrected over his shoulder.
“Sir Gallad.” She caught up to him in a few quick strides. “Why can’t I go as a squire?”
“Bryn, please don’t make me explain myself again. You are not a squire.”
“Oh certainly,” she said, gesturing behind them. “You make obstacle courses for all the handmaidens.”
“You have been training these five years for the express purpose of protecting the princess, should you be required.”
“How is that different than a squire?” she said. “Soril was just knighted, and I’ve been training longer than he has!”
“He showed great courage and valor on a recent patrol—”
“I could throw him over the south gate with one hand!”
“Knighthood is about far more than strength.”
“Then give me a chance to prove the rest of it,” she pressed. “I can be courageous and brave and, and—valorous!”
“There is no courage without fear,” Gallad said, one of his favorite things to quote to her. “Lindiran hasn’t seen a glyphmarked in generations, and they’ve rarely been enlisted in the military. Their abilities are too volatile.”
“But I’m not a normal glyphmarked!”
“Exactly,” he said. “A power we’ve never seen, that gives you incredible speed, strength, and healing—”
“With no drawbacks!” she added.
“On a girl who can’t remember most of her life.”
Bryn looked away. She had no clever remark for that one.
The first twelve years of her life were a complete blank. Maela had once tried to compare it to forgetting a dream, but it was worse than that. There were no images of smiling faces, no faint impressions of emotions, no sound of someone calling her name. There was just…nothing. It was as if she had never truly existed.
All the more reason she needed to prove herself.
Gallad was still talking. “Soril’s family has a long history of service to the crown, and recent events confirmed that he has the same sense of loyalty.”
“I’m loyal!” Bryn complained.
“I didn’t say otherwise, but—”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Gallad sighed. “Bryn, you can’t even tell us who your parents are.”
Bryn stomped on a branch as she walked over it. “I can’t help that,” she muttered.
Gallad paused and turned to her. “But you understand why we hesitate to enlist you.”
She did, and she hated it. “Then why even train me?” she said, shoving past him. “The day I’m useful is the day that the secret is out.”
Gallad put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Bryn, I know you mean well, but there are many complicated factors to your situation.”
“But if you just tell the king—”
“And constantly pestering for what you want isn’t the way to get it.” He stared down at her meaningfully until she looked away.
“Fine,” Bryn mumbled. At least she’d be with Maela, though the secondprincess tended to be distracted on diplomatic missions like this. “Will it be dangerous?”
Gallad started walking again. “We do not expect trouble.”
“But it might be?” she asked hopefully.
“Bryn—”
She gasped as it dawned on her. “That’s why you wanted to test me today! I’m actually going as a squire, right? Just in disguise.”
Gallad’s long groan was as good as confirmation. Bryn bounced on her toes, excitement thrumming in her like sunshine.
This would be perfect! Suppose there was an attempt on Maela’s life while she was there? Obviously terrible, but if Bryn distinguished herself in service—and just happened to reveal that she was incredibly capable—then surely the king would knight her. He would have to.
She didn’t notice that Gallad had stopped until he grabbed her arm and turned her around. “Listen to me very carefully,” he growled. “If the king clears you for this mission, your orders are to serve as a handmaiden.”
“And?” she prompted.
“And defend the prince and princess while keeping your abilities secret as much as possible.”
“But if there’s no choice—”
“This is not a game, Bryn!” he snapped, his fury surprising her. “Dherilis has been pushing for war for years, and war is not something you should ever wish for. If you are lucky, a handmaiden is all you’ll ever be.”
Gallad released her and turned back towards the palace. Bryn knew by the tone of his voice that his patience had been spent, but it was difficult to shrug off the hurt she felt from his words.
A handmaiden is all you’ll ever be.
Bryn followed, deciding, for once, to keep her thoughts to herself. She knew he had lost much in the years before she had been brought here, and that he truly meant well, but there was something so frustrating about being pulled from where she thought she would be the most useful.
She wasn’t as ungrateful as Gallad sometimes implied. She was fully aware what a privilege it was to be handmaiden to a princess. The problem was that she was quite terrible at it. She lacked the patience for embroidery, the wherewithal for cleaning, and the grace for cooking.
But fighting—she was very good at fighting. She could be useful there. Extraordinary, even. If only she could be given the chance to prove it.
She could only hope that this trip would go terribly.
“Wait,” she said, belatedly hearing his words, “did you say prince?”
“I did,” Gallad said. “The firstprince will also be joining us.”
Bryn groaned. “Why him?”
Jennifer San Filippo 