The Crown and the Staff

Hundreds of years before the events of Gap in the Road, young King Esmander travels to a remote village to find the girl he has been destined to marry. Yet when he arrives, he finds himself daunted by the fearless independence of the peasant family he is staying with. Royalty though he is, he is simple, timid, and uninteresting compared to these fierce fisherfolk. But simplicity is not always bad, and a heart willing to serve is of incomparable value.