In this fantasy prequel to A STRANGER TO COMMAND, the kids on the good side are united in one thing: regarding Senrid as a villain.

So what do you do when you're fifteen, supposedly king of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world, but all you have on your side are wit, will, and maybe a few skills?

And what if the people you like best are your enemies, and your relatives want to see you dead?

This is actually three novelettes and a novella, forming an arc with Senrid at the center, first written when Sherwood Smith was exactly Senrid's age, fifteen.