The Reformation Wars: Conflicts Rekindled

Chapter 1

Deté 1st, 994 A.D.

An arrow whistled and cut through the crisp morning air, hurtling toward its target at impressive speed. But a southern wind took the projectile off course, and it clattered onto a nearby cobblestone path with a chink.

That same breeze rustled through the archer's luscious brown hair. Princess Katherine Alder of Monterayne squinted her striking emerald eyes and pulled back her bowstring again, intent on hitting that hanging bag of grain with the red circle painted in the middle, a tiny black dot serving as her real target. In her mind, settling on anywhere else in the circle was failing already.

She released the arrow, aiming slightly off so as to account for the wind. It sped toward the bag, only to drop sooner than she'd intended. The arrow penetrated the bag right at its bottom, far below even the edge of the red circle. When the sharpened head fell out, grain began to spill from within.

Katherine sighed and walked over to hang up a new bag. Once she'd done that, she took her stance back several paces, retrieved her third arrow, and lined up her next shot.

Externally, the princess appeared determined and focused, but inside, her mind raced with thoughts, and that made her aim sloppy. In reality, her bow and arrows at this time were merely objects to occupy her hands and keep them from fidgeting, an unladylike habit she often indulged in when burdened with a busy mind.

In just over seven weeks, her 19th birthday would arrive. And while those celebratory days usually brought joy and excitement to the princess' heart, this year, it brought a certain pressure. She felt as if she'd have to earn the birthday she really wanted this time.

Since Katherine's mother had passed away two years ago in her sleep, with perfectly good health and no apparent reason for her death, the Alder family had boiled down to only Katherine and her father Maxwell. And since Maxwell had often expressed guilt on even thinking of taking another woman to be his wife, all the burden rested on Katherine's shoulders to continue their dynasty.

Maxwell had paired his daughter with nobleman after nobleman, an occasional prince, and once in a while, an artist or musician. She'd courted them all for mere days before dismissing them. They were all too soft for Katherine's liking, focused more on impressing her than being themselves, or in a few cases, it seemed more like they were courting her father than her. But she wanted a man with grit, who was unashamed to be who he was and that was final.

So finally, Maxwell had given up. He'd told his daughter she could keep an eye out and court any man of her choosing, and so long as he was a good man, Maxwell would have no objection. But he'd insisted that if by her 19th birthday, she hadn't found one who fully tickled her fancy, then she'd be paired for good, and that would be the end of the matter. That fortunate man would get to keep her for life, and she would bear his children.

Katherine squinted at the target and released the arrow finally, a slight smirk jumping to her lips when she hit right in the black dot. A feeling of accomplishment surged over her as she stepped up to remove the arrow, but then she descended back into her raging thoughts, and her smile fell.

She didn't want to make this difficult for her father, and she certainly didn't want to live a lonely life. Her only dilemma was that all the good men were gone, off defending the kingdom's borders, even though the antagonistic Innutukian Empire hadn't struck in about three years. Just then, a spirit-lifting idea struck Katherine. She tucked it away, however, when she heard the rustle of footsteps in the grass behind her.

"You left me to eat breakfast by myself, Kate." her father addressed her using the shortened form of her name she much preferred. His signature charming grin adorned his face. "Why would you do such a thing?"