"I will not agree!" Anna braced herself. She knew what was coming and wasn't at all surprised when her father slapped her face.

Her home was a large English manor not far from the border with Scotland. It was a forbidding place with no gardens, little color in the courtyard and even less inside the many rooms. A stone wall enclosed the entire estate, the gates were always closed and Anna was rarely allowed to go out. Her father was a wealthy man who found favor in the eyes of the King and more often than not, there were guards everywhere.

The day Anna feared most was finally here. Her father meant to send her away and she would be of no use to anyone after he did.

He was a big man with fowl smelling breath who nearly always yelled. He was yelling now. "You will agree! You are to go to his keep, agree to marry him and wait? Do you understand?"

It was wasted breath, she knew, but she stood her ground anyway. "I will not agree."

The baron's punishment was not what she expected. Two of his men grabbed her arms and held her still while her father closed his fist and started to strike. Then he thought better of it. Slowly, he pulled out his dagger and began to cut her hair shorter even than a man's.

She was appalled and watched as her lovely long locks fell to the floor. But she didn't cry. Years of experience taught her that crying would make him think he'd won. No, she would never let him see her cry.