Fiona Rainsong

The daughter of a handmaid, Grainne, and a minor nobleman, Ardal, Fiona was born in the palace in Linwood City, during the one-hundred seventy-fourth year of the reign of King Ithel and Queen Rhiannon. While her father spent his time overseeing the royal treasury, her mother served the queen within Rhiannon’s private chambers. It was Rhiannon who introduced the pair, and shy affections blossomed into true love. The two were wed, and Fiona was born a year later.

Fiona was a happy child, and it was expected that she would one day follow in her mother’s footsteps. She followed Grainne around everywhere. The result was that she also knew of the jealousy with which Grainne and the other handmaids regarded the queen’s favorite, a sweet and gentle woman by the name of Cliona, who seemed to keep closest confidence with Rhosyn, though Rhosyn left when Fiona was five, having made a good match of her own.

When Fiona was eight years of age, Cliona gave birth to a daughter she named Tesni, though she refused to reveal the identity of Tesni’s father. Queen Rhiannon doted upon young Tesni, more so than she had upon Fiona, and Fiona noticed her mother and the other handmaids grow even more jealous. Fiona did not understand it, however, and helped to care for the new baby, simply assuming that she was now grown enough to begin learning her mother’s duties and no longer needed to be coddled.

Fiona saw very little of Queen Rhiannon. She saw more of King Ithel’s sister, Princess Agrona, who would deliver treats to both of them, though she, too, doted more heavily upon baby Tesni. Fiona was smart enough, at this point, to understand that the way Agrona treated her was more with suspicion, though the girl did not understand why.

When Fiona was twelve, darkness fell upon the kingdom of Linwood. The king and queen were murdered in cold blood. Fiona followed Agrona as the princess fled, feeling some sense of loyalty to her. It wasn’t until after Agrona had established her stronghold to the north that Fiona began to recognize the darkness in her heart.

Years passed. Fiona forgot about the toddler who she had helped raise for four years as she served Agrona, who seemed to want to break her. Fiona’s spirit was strong, though, and she would not be broken.

When she was sixteen, Fiona encountered Tesni again, though did not recognize her. Tesni convinced her to escape with her when Arya and Ryder came to find them, and upon arriving in the camp, Fiona decided to become a Ranger. Built for blades, Fiona became the protégé of Branwen, the camp’s blade mistress. She trained hard, and when she was twenty-four, she earned her blade by defeating a fuath, a water demon.

A year later, Fiona was involved in the Battle of Linwood. Disguised as Tesni thanks to illusory magic from Aeron, and riding Tesni’s horse, Fiona led Rangers and royal guardsmen alike into battle. After the battle, when Tesni was crowned queen, Fiona stepped into her old role, dressing Tesni’s hair and helping to prepare her for the coronation.

Ten years later, when Tesni and Rowan’s daughter, Nia, disappeared, Fiona was one of the Rangers who helped with the search for her, though many soon gave up hope. Another eleven years passed before the girl was brought home, and the signs of a coming war were suddenly everywhere. Unable to hide her feelings for him any longer, Fiona finally accepted Cian’s courtship of her, having fallen in love with him long ago.

After the Battle of Hearts, both of them having survived, Fiona and Cian decided to start a family, and a year later, she gave birth to a little girl that the two named Teagan.