History Literature / SongAtDawn

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Alienor is beloved in her home county of Aquitaine but despised in the capital, Paris. There she is called "the southern whore". The queenly mask is her only weapon against such gossip.

* UnsettlingGenderReveal: It happened to Estela and Dragonetz individually concerning the same person

** Discovering the same thing was part of Estela's initiation, so to speak, into Dragonetz's inner circle.

* HandsOnApproach: This happens during Estela's music lessons with Dragonetz, F"to help her breathe correctly by placing his hand flat across the front panel of her robe and lifting the pressure to remind her when to breathe in."

* HolierThanThou: The SinisterMinister is arrogant but the true attitude can be found in Marcabu who uses his ballads to scold everyone about how they're failing to live up to God's expectations with their CourtlyLove and excess and inability to reclaim the Holy Land.
* KnightInShiningArmor: Dragonetz left for the Second Crusade as one of these; full of confidence in Christendom and Chivalry
* KnightInSourArmor: Dragonetz came back from the Second Crusade as one of these; disillusioned of the Church and haunted by his deeds. If you ask him what he thinks about the knight's oath to protect the weak he'll tell you it's a "suicide oath". However, he still possesses faith in God and the idealism that he can make the world a better place.

* LadyAndKnight: In this setting it should be expected: there are formal oaths of fealty from White Knights to Bright Ladies, play-acting oaths that are nonetheless emotionally binding, and a contrast between the business end of the relationship and the more intimate aspect. Dragonetz, in particular, is a very popular white knight. By the end of the story he's vyed for by three ladies.

* IronLady: For Emerganda and Alienor a 'take charge' mindset is required for them to have any influence at all.

** [[spoiler:Sanchez is Dragonetz' eyes and ears among Alienor's ladies]]
** [[spoiler:Alis is the same for the Archbishop and Raymond de Toulouse]]

* TheProtagonist: The story begins with Estela and follows her most of the time but since Dragonetz is more important to the overall plot she is also a SupportingProtagonist.

** DiscussedTrope and one of the many conundrums resolved by the Court of Love: if both are equal in all aspects except wealth then the fulcrum is the lady's own wealth. If she is wealthy she should chose the poor suitor because she could provide for him and "love's greatest joy is providing for a lover's needs". On the other hand, if she is poor then she should choose the rich suitor so he can take care of her.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: [[spoiler:Dragonetz and Estela]] are blissfully in love and they have ''transcendentally'' good sex. A contrasting example with a villain and even a neutral stable boy are portrayed as traumatic experiences.

* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny: The narration says this of Raymond de Tolouse, "When you have a priest's mentality about sex and a fifteen year old's restless penis, sex with blood and a sackcloth is what you got."

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:Poor Alis. She's lured into Raymond de Toulouse's clutches with a marriage proposal he never intended to keep, chained in his bedroom, raped, and then put on display before his vassals. After that she's a nervous wreck with failing health and her jealousy of Estela goes UpToEleven because she believes herself to be DefiledForever.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Dragonetz' paper mill is burned down and because he bought the land with a loan he losses the land and is bankrupt. The only way he can avoid poverty is to undertake a dangerous quest for his debtor, Ravaad, that separates him from Estela. On the other hand, he's no longer in the Archbishop's crosshairs, all the paper he's produced had been shipped off before the burning and his reward for the dangerous quest will be the value of the land with the mill on it. If his shipments come back he'll be a wealthy man.]] As for Estela, [[spoiler:she is on her way to the court of her adoring student as a guest of honor and will continue her sterling career as a troubadour but she will be apart from her true love and her first original song is about the death of a dear friend.]]

* TheChessmaster: A required skill for anyone in this setting: nobles, merchants, bishops, bodyguards, etc. The greatest of them is [[spoiler:al-Hisba who plays everyone to accomplish his own objective while placating his enemies and helping a friend]].

** [[spoiler:Estela doesn't believe this of herself after a traumatic first time with a stable hand because Dragonetz is still romantically interested in her and shows sympathy for her.]]

** [[spoiler:Alis' ]] pranks are driven by eny of Estela.

* HandsOnApproach: "to help her breathe correctly by placing his hand flat across the front panel of her robe and lifting the pressure to remind her when to breathe in."

** Averted by the templars themselves; they disaprove of Dragonetz' mill but do not try to kill him over it.
** A straight example is Raymond de Toulose who dresses like a monk, believes his goals are the same as {{God}}'s goals and thus fully good and righteous. Others think of him as 'the devil' or 'the demon' because of his cruelty.

* {{Protectorate}}: From the first page, Nici has considered Estela's safety to be his responsibility. He guards her room by laying down in front of the doorway.

* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny: "When you have a priest's mentality about sex and a fifteen year old's restless penis, sex with blood and a sackcloth is what you got."

* TechnicianVsPerformer: Maracuba is the Technician and Dragonetz is the Performer. The former has a rigid singing style and his ballads are sermons in lyrical form. Furthermore, Estela reluctantly admits he has greater skill than Dragonetz. On the other hand, Dragonetz' goal is entertaining and has a much wider range of pitches and actions. For instance, he'll sing a women's part in a duet using a falsetto tone and act out the role.
* TheirFirstTime: Estela is nervous about her wedding night for this reason. [[spoiler:When her husband shows no sexual interest in her she goes to a stable hand in frustration and has a traumatic experience.]]
* TokenEnemyMinority: Al-hisba is a Muslim in France during the time of the Crusades. There is much culture clash.

** Discovering the same thing was part of Estela's initiation, so to speak, into Dragonetz' inner circle.

* VirginityFlag: It is customary for a bride to wear her hair up after consummating her marriage (i.e. losing her virginity). [[spoiler:Estela doesn't do it after her marriage because John isn't interested in doing it with her. Instead, she does it after a traumatic experience with a stable hand that she doesn't want to admit to herself was a mistake.]]

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Arnaud is in love with Estela who is in love with Dragonetz who is in a relationship with Emerganda [[spoiler:who is in love with him after he falls for Estela]].

* CatchPhrase: Emerganda is fond of the phrase 'Tort-n’avetz', i.e. "You are wrong." This is acknowledged in-universe.

* ChickMagnet: Dragonetz is popular with both genders; Alienor, Emerganda, all of Alienor's ladies (including Estela) and last but not least [[spoiler:the cross dressing "[[EvenTheGuysWantHim Lady Sanchez]]".]]

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Arnaud is in love with Estela who is in love with Dragonetz who is in a relationship with Emerganda [[spoiler: who is in love with him after he falls for Estela]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Dragonetz' paper mill is burned down and because he bought the land with a loan he losses the land and is bankrupt. The only way he can avoid poverty is to undertake a dangerous quest for his debtor, Ravaad, that separates him from Estela. On the other hand, he's no longer in the Archbishop's crosshairs, all the paper he's produced had been shipped off before the burning and his reward for the dangerous quest will be the value of the land with the mill on it. If his shipments come back he'll be a wealthy man.]] As for Estela, [[spoiler: she is on her way to the court of her adoring student as a guest of honor and will continue her sterling career as a troubadour but she will be apart from her true love and her first original song is about the death of a dear friend.]]

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler: Poor Alis. She's lured into Raymond de Toulouse's clutches with a marriage proposal he never intended to keep, chained in his bedroom, raped, and then put on display before his vassals. After that she's a nervous wreck with failing health and her jealousy of Estela goes UpToEleven because she believes herself to be DefiledForever.]]

* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Two]]
** [[spoiler: Alis is killed by an assassin for failing her boss, the Archbishop.]]
** [[spoiler: Arnaud is killed by assassins who were also sent by the Archbishop but this time by mistake. His true target was Dragonetz.]]
* TheChessmaster: A required skill for anyone in this setting: nobles, merchants, bishops, bodyguards, etc. The greatest of them is [[spoiler: al-Hisba who plays everyone to accomplish his own objective while placating his enemies and helping a friend]].
* ChickMagnet: Dragonetz is popular with both genders; Alienor, Emerganda, all of Alienor's ladies (including Estela) and last but not least [[spoiler: the cross dressing "[[EvenTheGuysWantHim Lady Sanchez]]".]]

** [[spoiler: Alis believes of herself after Raymond de Toulouse rapes her and puts her naked body on display for his vassals.]]
** [[spoiler: Estela doesn't believe this of herself after a traumatic first time with a stable hand because Dragonetz is still romantically interested in her and shows sympathy for her.]]

* DidYouJustHaveSex: Everyone can tell that [[spoiler: Dragonetz and Estela]] have had sex because their love ballads are suddenly much better.

* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler: Al-Hisba betrays Dragonetz by burning down the paper mill they created together. However, he only did it because the Archbishop twisted his arm and had attempted Dragonetz's murder three times thus far.]]
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: [[spoiler: Estela and Dragonetz's relationship does not stay secret long because they're so happy together.]]

** [[spoiler: Alis' ]] pranks are driven by eny of Estela.

** The arcbishop can play this role to perfection as the most benevolent, paternal and understanding man in the world, [[spoiler: but he's actually a SinisterMinister.]]
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: [[spoiler: Dragonetz and Estela]] are blissfully in love and they have ''transcendentally'' good sex. A contrasting example with a villain and even a neutral stable boy are portrayed as traumatic experiences.

* HappilyMarried: Averted. No one in this story is in love with their spouse. The only exception would be John who claims to have loved his late wife [[spoiler: which is why his marriage to Estela is in name only. He married her as a favor to their mutual patron, Emerganda. He didn't even consummate the union]]. The Court of Love goes further and decrees that marriage is nothing more than "bodily duties" and one should never confuse a "spouse" with a "lover".

* HeroicBSOD: After [[spoiler: her traumatic first time]] Estela's love ballads fall flat because she's disillusioned. [[spoiler: Dragonetz 'reboots' her, so to speak, after having sex with her himself.]]

** [[spoiler: Sanchez is Dragonetz' eyes and ears among Alienor's ladies]]
** [[spoiler: Alis is the same for the Archbishop and Raymond de Toulouse]]
** [[spoiler: Everyone working for Emerganda, Alienor or some other authority figure is likely the same for someone else.]]
** [[spoiler: Dragonetz initially thinks Estela is one of these but determines otherwise.]]
* NumberTwo: Dragonetz has three of them: Arnaud for the battlefield, Al-Hisba for the paper mill and [[spoiler: Sanchez in spying]].

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Estela" is not the first musician to hide behind a songstress's name. [[spoiler: Even after she's publically married as "Roxanne de Montburn" she still goes by "Estela".]]

* RelationshipUpgrade: [[spoiler: Estella and Dragonetz have TheBigDamnKiss while practicing a love duet.]]

** [[spoiler: After Arnaud proposes to her, Estela turns him down and tells him to wait for "the heiress of his dreams".]]

* SinisterMinister: [[spoiler: the Archbishop]] is behind all the attempts on Dragonetz' life and schemes to undermine Emerganda's authority so he can fill his coffers and make himself a more elaborate church to berate people from. Also, he hates jews.

* TakeThat: Al-Hisba sends one to [[spoiler: the Archbishop]]. When asked why he [[spoiler: saved Dragonetz from belladonna poison]] he replies: "I am a physician. It is not permitted to me to kill nor to let someone die." [[spoiler: A bishop for a ThouShallNotKill religion would be keenly aware of this and indeed he winces.]]

* TheirFirstTime: Estela is nervous about her wedding night for this reason. [[spoiler: When her husband shows no sexual interest in her she goes to a stable hand in frustration and has a traumatic experience.]]

** Dragonetz was crusading and saw some thugs about to rape a woman after killing her husband. They ripped open her dress and the surprise they found was great enough for Dragonetz to kill them with ease. [[spoiler: That "woman" was Sanchez.]]

* VirginityFlag: It is customary for a bride to wear her hair up after consummating her marriage (i.e. losing her virginity). [[spoiler: Estela doesn't do it after her marriage because John isn't interested in doing it with her. Instead, she does it after a traumatic experience with a stable hand that she doesn't want to admit to herself was a mistake.]]
* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler: "Lady" Sanchez is a man pretending to be a lady.]]
* WickedStepmother: [[spoiler: The reason Estela is hiding in a ditch and calling herself "Estela" is because her stepmother turned her father against her and planned to have her killed.]]

* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler: Alis]] is killed for failing her part in the EvilPlan.

* BlondesAreEvil: [[spoiler: Inverted. Instead of highlighting her evilness Alis' blond hair is used to highlight how far she has fallen.]] However, she is still a bitch.

* ChickMagnet / EvenTheGuysWantHim: Dragonetz is popular with both genders; Alienor, Emerganda, all of Alienor's ladies (including Estela) and last but not least [[spoiler: the cross dressing 'Lady' Sanchez.]]
* CorruptChurch / SaintlyChurch: The church in Naborne is antagonistic mainly because the Archbishop has a personal grudge against the Duchess but the Pope (Innocent III) is referred to as a "genuine innocent" and blesses Alienor's marriage to the King of France without a hidden agenda. TheChurch itself is genuine about recovering the Holy Land and some truly believe Islamic ways will corrupt them but it also functions much like a corporation protecting its bottom line.

* KnightInSourArmor: Dragonetz came back from the Second Crusade as one of these; disillusioned of the Church and haunted by his deeds. If you ask him what he thinks about the knight's oath to 'protect the weak' he'll tell you it's a 'suicide oath'. However, he still possesses faith in God and the idealism that he can make the world a better place.

* InsultOfEndearment: Estela's opinion of Nici is initially dismal because he's useless as a shepherd dog and so she calls him 'big idiot'. She still uses it when she's fond of him.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: 'Estela' is not the first musician to hide behind a 'songstress's name'. [[spoiler: Even after she's publically married as 'Roxanne de Montburn' she still goes by 'Estela'.]]

** DiscussedTrope and one of the many conundrums resolved by the Court of Love: if both are equal in all aspects except wealth then the fulcrum is the lady's own wealth. If she is wealthy she should chose the poor suitor because she could provide for him and 'love's greatest joy is providing for a lover's needs'. On the other hand, if she is poor then she should choose the rich suitor so he can take care of her.
** [[spoiler: After Arnaud proposes to her, Estela turns him down and tells him to wait for 'the heiress of his dreams'.]]

* SilkHidingSteel: Sanchez is a pro at balancing the ProperLady and ManipulativeBastard. [[spoiler:She has everyone fooled into thinking she's a twit when she's really Dragonetz's spy. She later becomes Estela's instructor in 'subtlty'.]]

* TrueBlueFemininity: When a lady wears blue it is consistently referred to as '(Virgin) Mary's color'. When the Archbishop sees Emerganda or Alienor wearing it he scoffs at the hypocrisy because (in his mind) they are anything but 'fair and gentle'.
* {{Tsundere}}: Oddly enough, Estela is not this to either Arnauld or Dragonetz but to Nici, her pet .She calls him 'useless' and the name she gave him means "-big idiot" and yet she is the only one to pet him and she feeds him under the table. In the end he's described as "a dog that think he belongs with her". In other words, Type A.

** Dragonetz was crusading and saw some thugs about to rape a woman after killing her husband. They ripped open her dress and the surprise they found was great enough for Dragonetz to kill them with ease. [[spoiler: That 'woman' was Sanchez.]]
** Discovering the same thing was part of Estela's 'initiation', so to speak, into Dragonetz' inner circle.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler: 'Lady' Sanchez' is a man pretending to be a lady.]]
* WickedStepmother: [[spoiler: The reason Estela is hiding in a ditch and calling herself 'Estela' is because her stepmother turned her father against her and planned to have her killed.]]

''Harmony between humans.''

Book 1 in the Troubadours Series

1150 in Provence, where love and marriage are as divided as Christian and Muslim.
A historical thriller set in Narbonne just after the Second Crusade. On the run from abuse, Estela wakes in a ditch with only her lute, her amazing voice, and a dagger hidden in her petticoats. Her talent finds a patron in Alienor of Aquitaine and more than a music tutor in the Queen's finest troubadour and Commander of the Guard, Dragonetz los Pros. Weary of war, Dragonetz uses Jewish money and Moorish expertise to build that most modern of inventions, a papermill, arousing the wrath of the Church. Their enemies gather, ready to light the political and religious powder-keg of medieval Narbonne.

* TheAce: Dragonetz is a famous warrior, a popular lady's man, and as a troubador he's second to none.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Arnaud is in love with Estela who is in love with Dragonetz who is in a relationship with Emerganda [[spoiler: who is in love with him after he falls for Estela.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: Dragonetz' paper mill is burned down and because he bought the land with a loan he losses the land and is bankrupt. The only way he can avoid poverty is to undertake a dangerous quest for his debtor, Ravaad, that separates him from Estela. On the other hand, he's no longer in the Arch Bishop's crosshairs, all the paper he's produced had been shipped off before the burning and his reward for the dangerous quest will be the value of the land with the mill on it. If his shippments come back he'll be a wealthy man.]] As for Estela, [[spoiler: she is on her way to the court of her adoring student as a guest of honor and will continue her sterling career as a troubador but she will be apart from her true love and her first original song is about the death of a dear friend.]]
* BrokenAce: Dragonetz, despite his ace reputation, is also bitter, disillussioned and afarid of marriage because he thinks he'll screw it up.

* CastHerd: Alienor's Ladies-In-Waiting are often referred to "the Ladies" as if they were a single indentity. A RunningGag is Estela and/or Dragonetz failing to tell them apart. For instance '(blah blah) from Mary or Candance'.

** [[spoiler: Alis is killed by an assassin for failing her boss, the Arch Bisshop.]]
** [[spoiler: Arnaud is killed by assassins that were also sent by the Arch Bishop but this time by mistake. His true target was Dragonetz.]]
* ChessMaster: A required skill for anyone in this setting: nobles, merchants, bishops, bodyguards, etc. The greatest of them is [[spoiler: al-Hisba who plays everyone to accomplish his own objective while placating his enemies and helping a friend.]]

* CorruptChurch / SaintlyChurch: The church in Naborne is antagonistic mainly because the Archbishop has a personal grudge against the Dutchess but the Pope (Innocent III) is referred to as a "genuine innocent" and blesses Alienor's marriage to the King of France without a hidden agenda. TheChurch itself is genuine about recovering the Holy Land and some truly believe Islamic ways will corrupt them but it also functions much like a corporation protecting its bottom line.

* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler: Al-Hisba betrays Dragonetz by burning down the paper mill they created together. However, he only did it because the Archbishop twisted his arm and had attempted Dragonetz's murder three times thus far.]]

* EvilStepmother:[[spoiler: The reason Estela is hiding in a ditch and calling herself 'Estela' is because her stepmother turned her father against her and planned to have her killed.]]

* GoodShepherd: While there are many Christian clergy the character that best fits the description of 'caring for the flock and fighting off the wolves' is the ''jewish rabbi'' Ravaad. Other examples include

** Marcabru is better called a 'GoodIsNotNice Shepherd' as he's a sourpuss that can't open his mouth without making clear his disdain of everyone but he preaches self-disipline, doing God's work and never steps into KnightTemplar territory.

* HappilyMarried: Averted. No one in this story is in love with their spouse. The only exception would be John who claims to have loved his late wife [[spoiler: which is why his marriage to Estela is in name only. He married her as a favor to their mutual patron, Emerganda. He didn't even consumate the union.]] The Court of Love goes further and decrees that marriage is nothing more than "bodily duties" and one should never confuse a "spouse" with a "lover".
* TheHero: Dragonetz is a good hearted and idealistic man at the center of the plot and the greatest threat to a set of villains, but he's not TheProtagonist. That role goes to Estela.
* HeroicBSOD: After [[spoiler: her traumatic first time]] Estela's love ballads fall flat because she's dissillusioned. [[spoiler: Dragonetz 'reboots' her, so to speak, after having sex with her himself.]]

* InsultOfEndearment: Estela's opinion of Nici is intially dissmal because he's useless as a shepherd dog and so she calls him 'big idiot'. She still uses it when she's fond of him.

* MemeticBadass: In-universe. Alienor is so widely known as an IronLady that there are ballads of her leading an army of amazons in battle against the muslims.

** [[spoiler: Sanchez is Dragonetz' eyes and ears amoung Alienor's ladies]]
** [[spoiler: Alis is the same for the Archbishop and Raymond de Toulose]]

** [[spoiler: Dragonetz intiially thinks Estela is one of these but determines otherwise.]]
* NumberTwo: Dragonetz has three of them: Arnaud for the battlefield, Al-Hisba for the paper mill and [[spoiler: Sanchez in spying.]]

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: 'Estela' is not the first musician to hide behind a 'songstress's name'. [[spoiler: Even after she's publiclly married as 'Roxane de Montburn' she still goes by 'Estela'.]]

* RelationshipUpgrade: [[spoiler: Estella and Dragonetz have a BigDamnKiss while practicing a love duet.]]

** DiscussedTrope and one of the many conodrums resolved by the Court of Love: if both are equal in all aspects except wealth then the fulcrum is the lady's own wealth. If she is wealthy she should chose the poor suitor because she could provide for him and 'love's greatest joy is providing for a lover's needs'. On the other hand, if she is poor then she should choose the rich suitor so he can take care of her.

* SinisterMinister: [[spoiler: the Arch Bishop]] is behind all the attempts on Dragonetz' life and schemes to undermine Emerganda's authority so he can fill his coffers and make himself a more elaboate church to berate people from. Also, he hates jews.

* TechnicianVsPerformer: Maracuba is the Technican and Dragonetz is the Performer. The former has a rigid singing style and his ballads are sermons in lyrical form. Furthermore, Estela reluctantly admits he has greater skill than Dragonetz. On the other hand, Dragonetz' goal is entertaining and has a much wider range of pitches and actions. For instance, he'll sing a women's part in a duet using a falsetto tone and act out the role.

* TokenEnemyMinority: Al-hisba is a muslim in France during the time of the Crusades. There is much culture clash.

* TrueBlueFemininity: When a lady wears blue it is consistently referred to as '(Virgin) Mary's color'. When the Arch Bishop sees Emerganda or Alienor wearing it he scoffs at the hypocrisy because (in his mind) they are anything but 'fair and gentle'.
* {{Tsundere}}: Oddly enough, Estela is not this to either Arnauld or Dragonetz but to Nici, her pet .She calls him 'uselsess' and the name she gave him means "-big idiot" and yet she is the only one to pet him and she feeds him under the table. In the end he's described as "a dog that think he belongs with her". In other words, Type A.

* UnSettlingGenderReveal: It happened to Estela and Dragonetz individually concerning the same person

** Discovering the same thing was part of Estela's 'initation', so to speak, into Dragonetz' inner circle.

* VirginityFlag: It is customary for a bride to wear her hair up after consumating her marriage (i.e. lossing her virginity.) [[spoiler: Estela doesn't do it after her marriage because John isn't interested in doing it with her. Instead, she does it after a traumatic experience with a stable hand that she doesn't want to admit to herself was a mistake.]]

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Alienor is beloved in her home county of Aquitane but despised in the capital, Paris. There she is called "the southern whore". The queenly mask is her only weapon against such gossip.

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler: Poor Alis. She's lured into Raymond de Toulouse's cluthes with a marriage proposal he never intended to keep, chained in his bedroom, raped, and then put on display before his vassals. After that she's a nervous wreck with failing health and her jealousy of Estela goes UpToEleven because she believes herself to be DefiledForever.]]

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: [[spoiler: Dragonetz and Estela]] are blissfully in love and they have ''transcendentally'' good sex. A contrasting example with a villain and even a neutral stable boy are portrayed as traumatic expeiences.

* TechnicianVsPerformer: Maracuba is the Technican and Dragonetz is the Performer. The former has a rigid singing style and his ballads are sermons in lyrical form. Furthermore, Estela reluctantly admits he has greater skill than Dragonetz. On the other hand Dragonetz' goal is entertaining and has a much wider range of pitches and actions. For instance, he'll sing a women's part in a duet using a falsetto tone and act out the role.

* {{Tsundere}}: Oddly enough, Estela is not this to either Arnauld or Dragonetz but to Nici, her pet .She calls him 'uselsess' and the name she gave him means 'big idiot' and yet she is the only one to pet him and she feeds him under the table. In the end he's described as 'a dog that think he belongs with her'. In other words, Type A.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Alienor is beloved in her home county of Aquitane but despised in the capital, Paris. There she is called 'the southern whore'. The queenly mask is her only weapon against such gossip.

* BrokenAce: He's also bitter, disillussioned and afarid of marriage because he thinks he'll screw it up.

* CastHerd: Alienor's Ladies-In-Waiting are often referred to 'the Ladies' as if they were a single indentity. A RunningGag is Estela and/or Dragonetz failing to tell them apart. For instance '(blah blah) from Mary or Candance'.

** Estela knows countless love ballads so she knows how the romance genre works. She'll think things like 'how would this work in a song' or 'following the instructions of a thousand songs'.

** BrokenAce: He's also bitter, disillussioned and afarid of marriage because he thinks he'll screw it up.

* [[spoiler:BitterSweetEnding: Dragonetz' paper mill is burned down and because he bought the land with a loan he losses the land and is bankrupt. The only way he can avoid poverty is to undertake a dangerous quest for his debtor, Ravaad, that separates him from Estela. On the other hand, he's no longer in the Arch Bishop's crosshairs, all the paper he's produced had been shipped off before the burning and his reward for the dangerous quest will be the value of the land with the mill on it. If his shippments come back he'll be a wealthy man.]] As for Estela, [[spoiler: she is on her way to the court of her adoring student as a guest of honor and will continue her sterling career as a troubador but she will be apart from her true love and her first original song is about the death of a dear friend.]]

* [[spoiler: CharacterDeath: Two]]

* ChickMagnet / EvenTheGuysWantHim: Dragonetz is popular with Alienor, Emerganda, all of Alienor's ladies (including Estela) and last but not least [[spoiler: the cross dressing 'Lady' Sanchez.]]
* CorruptChurch / SaintlyChurch: The church in Naborne is antagonistic mainly because the Archbishop has a personal grudge against the Dutchess but the Pope (Innocent III) is referred to as a 'genuine innocent' and blesses Alienor's marriage to the King of France without a hidden agenda. TheChurch itself is genuine about recovering the Holy Land and some truly believe Islamic ways will corrupt them but it also functions much like a corporation protecting its bottom line.

* [[spoiler: EtTuBrute: Al-Hisba betrays Dragonetz by burning down the paper mill they created together. However, he only did it because the Archbishop twisted his arm and had attempted Dragonetz's murder three times thus far.]]

* [[spoiler: EvilStepmother: The reason Estela is hiding in a ditch and calling herself 'Estela' is because her stepmother turned her father against her and planned to have her killed.]]

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: [[spoiler: Dragonetz and Estela]] are blissfully in love and they have ''transcendentally'' good sex.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Much is made of Alis' blond hair and 'Daddy's little angel' often follows it. She also has a frail constitution.

* HappilyMarried: Averted. No one in this story is in love with their spouse. The only exception would be John who claims to have loved his late wife [[spoiler: which is why his marriage to Estela is in name only. He married her as a favor to their mutual patron, Emerganda. He didn't even consumate the union.]] The Court of Love goes further and decrees that marriage is nothing more than 'bodily duties' and one should never confuse a 'spouse' with a 'lover'.

** KnightInSourArmor: Dragonetz came back from the Second Crusade as one of these; disillusioned of the Church and haunted by his deeds. If you ask him what he thinks about the knight's oath to 'protect the weak' he'll tell you it's a 'suicide oath'. However, he still possesses faith in God and the idealism that he can make the world a better place.

* IdolSinger: Miss Grill calls Troubadours the 'rock stars of the 12th century' and ladies such as Estela and Briez dream of becoming them.

* MemeticBadass: In-universe. Alienor is so widely known as an IronLady that there are ballads of her leading an army of amazon in battle against the muslims.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: DiscussedTrope and one of the many conodrums resolved by the Court of Love: if both are equal in all aspects except wealth then the fulcrum is the lady's own wealth. If she is wealthy she should chose the poor suitor because she could provide for him and 'love's greatest joy is providing for a lover's needs'. On the other hand, if she is poor then she should choose the rich suitor so he can take care of her.

[[spoiler: KilledOffForReal: Two]]
** [[spoiler: Alis is killed by an assassin for failing her boss, the Arch Bisshop.]]
** [[spoiler: Arnaud is killed by assassins that were also sent by the Arch Bishop but this time by mistake. His true target was Dragonetz.]]