The daughter of a wealthy baron, Kanna Rava has enjoyed privilege far beyond that of most of her impoverished countrymen. Torn abruptly from that life by a twist of fate--and politics--she finds herself sold into slavery by the central government and thrust into the hands of Goda Brahm, the cold and mysterious woman who is tasked with escorting her to her new master. Barely over the culture shock of being dragged to the other side of the continent, into a world where women marry other women and a class of priestesses are worshiped like gods, Kanna slowly discovers both the hidden conspiracy that led to her enslavement and the terrible secret that lies behind Goda's icy demeanor. An allegory about free will, resisting fate, and being an outsider. (This description is for the Wattpad version of the story. If you're reading this note anywhere else...it's not me, the original author.)

AMAZON EBOOK AND PAPERBACK AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 1ST 2024 **UNPUBLISHING WATTPAD VERSION AUGUST 2024**

"I love you." I whisper to her for the last time. In the end it seems I may have been able to accept myself yet God and his people had not. 𝙚·𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙢·𝙚𝙧·𝙖𝙡 /əˈ𝙛𝙚𝙢(ə)𝙧ə𝙡/𝙎𝙪𝙗𝙢𝙞𝙩

"What are you hiding from me...?" Avalon asked anxiously. "Not a thing, my princess. This is who I am. I suppose I just have a wall up, is all." "And yet you're the bravest man I know, hiding under a heap of metal." In the split second that she yanked off Alexander's helmet, his sword tossed on the floor, time froze. First, she noticed how long his hair was, the sign of bravery in the Old Times. She analyzed the curve of the jaw, seeing how the green vein in the neck seemed to pulse twice as fast as hers even though she was sure that her heart was beating a mile a minute. Then it was the lively, unusual blush pink of his lips that she thought she knew so well, the red of cheeks mottled with embarrassment and contempt. Long, lush eyelashes over dark brown eyes, a tear in the left duct. As they locked eyes, our Princess saw what she was meant to see in the Valiant Knight two months ago. "You're not Alexander. You're a girl." "No," the knight replied, "I suppose I'm not." "I need to know who you are right now," Avalon said quietly and sternly. "I have never been good at explaining things. But Alexandra could have never been a knight. Alexander needed to save you, but Alexandra is the one when the helmet comes off." The two women sat in the strangling quiet. "So, Princess... Will you please take my hand?"