Fall of the Heir

She was at the castle gates when he fell. She didn't know what she thought she could do; the man who slew him was a trained knight and she was only a maiden, skilled in prophetic arts but not much else. Deaf to the sounds of battle around her, she screamed his name. Jusak! Jusak! The soldiers parted at the sight of a woman—a girl, more like—and even the helmed soldier who had struck the killing blow paused. The thought struck her just as her brother took his final breath: I am now the Queen.