Emma Leslie

The Magic Runes: a Tale of the Times of Charlemagne Emma Leslie

Late one day, in the summer of 782 A. D., young Adalinda is startled to come upon a Saxon family in the forest where she lives with her father. Their tribe had been captured by Charlemagne's soldiers and brought to France after they refused to convert to Christianity, but when Godrith's wife and children grew too weak to continue marching, the family had been abandoned. Godrith is suspicious of Adalinda's kindness, remembering how the "Christian" soldiers had burned his village and killed or captured so many of his people, but as she and her father offer shelter to these Saxon strangers, Godrith begins to see a new picture of Christianity, and her small acts of service have a greater impact that Adalinda could have ever imagined.