She had traveled the length of the kingdom dressed as a man. She had hitched rides on carts. She had slept in common taverns, on hard wooden benches, and even once under a hedge. She had haggled over the price of a loaf, been cuffed round the ear by an irate stallholder, and that very morning she had been in her first fight in defense of the innocent. In short, she had earned her spurs.
