The Rose and the Sword — J. Scot Witty

Locked in the long frozen winter of Hibernia, Fayette, the dress maiden of the duchess of Eamhain, awaits for the return of her beloved, Dar LaCross. Still unfamiliar with the magical powers that surge through her, she struggles to wield the magic within her. Clebis DeGalis, an aging soldier charged with the protection of the kingdom, sent Dar to the land of the elves on the far side of the island to forge an alliance against the northern barbarians who had invaded the countryside. They seem very alone in their struggle until one of Clebis's rangers returns to the kingdom with good news.

News that the Caledonian regent is still alive and is in the independent city-state of Providence to the south with his army has come to light. Clebis takes this as a good omen, while the duchess he serves finds a moment of dread within it and secretly makes a deal with the enemy chieftain, who may become her undoing. Clebis sends his trusted officers, Toran and Dar LaCross, to meet with the regent to convince him to move his legions to Eamhain. Meanwhile, the relationship between Fayette and Dar is tested by the appearance of a strange elf woman who follows Dar everywhere. A catastrophe occurs at the duchess's castle as Dar returns to try to find his beloved and save her from the designs of the enemy chieftain.