A widowed king of a country surrounded by enemies worries that his only child, a daughter whose upcoming birthday marks her of marriageable age, will find it difficult to safeguard the kingdom once he is gone. The men seeking the princess's hand are either noble layabouts or crude brawlers, while those from neighboring countries see marriage as a casualty-free way of seizing the rich kingdom. The spunky princess, who rides superbly and is handy with a bow, firmly rejects these suitors and is certain she needs no man beside her to preserve the kingdom.
Still, the king persists in worrying, and just before the birthday celebration he rides to the remote mountain home of a faithful retainer of ancient age, seeking counsel and a visit to the Pool, a place of calm and comfort that has always fostered wisdom and clarity in times of stress. While there, the solution to the king's problem arrives most unexpectedly. It is a gift for the princess, but is it also much more than that?