Never in her life did Mallory ever expect to be hiding in a wagon half-full of grain, being smuggled out of the only city she had ever known, in the middle of the night, by mercenaries.
Things like this only happened in the adventure books she read and stocked on the shelves of the Royal Library. They never happened in real life.
How did she find herself in this situation? With bloodstains on her blouse, and a special treasure map of sorts in her possession? The King's blood literally on her hands, but not by her own hands. Being hunted by assassins?
It's a different tale for sure, so let's go back to the beginning.