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daughter was born unto the Earl of Surrey. The child was given the name Briala, and she was the first of two children. The second child was a male, and was then to be the heir to the earldom. Briala spent her early years as most children of a noble house, cooking, embroidering, and doing the daily chores. However, Briala was much different from most girls. She often accompanied her father on his travels to the court of Richard II, and took great interest in matters of state. She also accompanied her father on hunting outings, a sport mostly reserved for men. Briala spent time learning the arts of war, and spent her teenage years sneaking out of the manor and playing with weapons of war in the pellyards. She also took a great liking to riding, but never preferred the "ladylike" style of sitting astride the horse. She also preferred martial games of sport upon horse to the more acceptable customs. This made her a little unmanageable by her parents, and few suitors came to call on the Earl and his daughter.
This changed when a friend of King Henry asked permission to take her as a bride. The king's friend was more interested in swordplay than propriety, and this suited her just fine. She was then wed to the Scottish Lord of Dunfrey, Kieran MacLeod in 1399 at the abbey at Melrose. Since Kierans mother looks after his estate of Dunfrey in the north, Kieran brought his wife along on his tournaments in France, and now she travels with his company of soldiers in Wales. She even has a tendency to fight alongside the soldiers, which has seemed to bring good luck in their Welsh campaign so far. |
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