Very good story.
Medieval
Royce de Warrene was a green squire when he left for the Crusades. He was full of hopes and dreams as he set out, never expecting the horror he would find one night. He and his knight's band came across a sight from their nightmares- a whole village burned. He has never forgotten that sight, not the young girl he rescued and turned over to a peasant couple to raise as their own. He remembers the young orphan's haunted green eyes when he gave her his own cross for comfort.
Upon returning to his homeland after a decade away, Sir Royce, now a knight of the realm, realizes he made a grievous error that fateful night in Vaux. The orphan is not a commoner, but is in fact Lady Juliana Mandeville, young noblewoman and the sole heiress to her family's fortune. Royce goes on a quest to right this wrong, at the request of Juliana's dying grandfather.
Juliana does not remember much from that night. All she can recall is a young man who rescued her, and the cross he gave her. She does not believe Royce when he comes for her. She's furious when he takes her away from the Church steps, just as she is about to be married. As they journey onward, their feelings for each other grow, and Juliana gets the sneaking suspicion she and Royce have met before though she is unsure where or when.
Royce de Warrene was a green squire when he left for the Crusades. He was full of hopes and dreams as he set out, never expecting the horror he would find one night. He and his knight's band came across a sight from their nightmares- a whole village burned. He has never forgotten that sight, not the young girl he rescued and turned over to a peasant couple to raise as their own. He remembers the young orphan's haunted green eyes when he gave her his own cross for comfort.
Upon returning to his homeland after a decade away, Sir Royce, now a knight of the realm, realizes he made a grievous error that fateful night in Vaux. The orphan is not a commoner, but is in fact Lady Juliana Mandeville, young noblewoman and the sole heiress to her family's fortune. Royce goes on a quest to right this wrong, at the request of Juliana's dying grandfather.
Juliana does not remember much from that night. All she can recall is a young man who rescued her, and the cross he gave her. She does not believe Royce when he comes for her. She's furious when he takes her away from the Church steps, just as she is about to be married. As they journey onward, their feelings for each other grow, and Juliana gets the sneaking suspicion she and Royce have met before though she is unsure where or when.
