Courage

The novel is set in a time when knights fought in chain mail and kings were men of honor. Chivalry was a way of life. Aerin, however, is a female child; therefore, her role is that of a lady, someone who decorates a room with her beauty and her silence. Aerin is not happy with this role. Aerin wants to learn to wield a sword, to fight alongside the men. Aerin wants to be more than the child of the king's second wife, a woman rumored to have been a witch.

Aerin proves her courage every day when she faces up to her cousin's teasing and does not back down. Aerin even eats a plant that is thought to be fatal just to prove to this same cousin that she is not afraid. This plant makes Aerin very sick, giving her time she might not have taken before...