ABANDONED. (Fantasy) Young man is exiled from kingdom, goes to another city, becomes fighter

[Fruo]

I remember reading this book when I was younger (before 2004) and when I was living in Italy (I really hope this doesn't mean that the book was by an Italian author, because finding it will then become quite difficult).

What I remember is that it was 505 pages in the format I read it in, as well as being a red hardcover.

What I can recall about the story is that there was a young man who lives in a kingdom, and gets along with the king's daughter. He is out hunting with her once (with a bow, I think) and when he gets back he gets exiled for some reason.

He crosses some mountains to another city (I think there were mountains involved)... where he becomes part of a fighting group and becomes a really good fighter.

I presume he returns to his home at the end to fix things up.

What really frustrates me is that I cannot for the life of me remember any more details. I have the word "barbarian" floating around my mind, so maybe the fighters were barbarians, but I am not sure.

Any help?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Fruo, are you still looking for this book?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

No response. Nothing from Fruo since 2013. Moving to Abandoned.