A Queen and a Rook

Even a King should be careful what he wishes for...It is 493 BC. The tragic death of the chosen heir plunges a Kingdom into crisis. With no obvious male successor a King must choose between his daughters. His favourite may not please an all-powerful army the greatest of all Scythia opposed to a deepening of relations with an historic enemy. A solution may lie in a proposed marriage of his two young granddaughters one of whom will one day wear his crown. The spectre of a foreign prince so close to the throne may sting a resentful cabal of Generals to recklessness...