Beatryce
The title character is a ten-year-old girl who comes to learn that she is probably mentioned in a prophecy in a book revered by monks at the local monastery. The prophecy predicts the arrival of a little girl who will bring down a king. And, of course, history has proven time and again that it is never a good thing to be the child mentioned in a prophecy that terrifies powerful rulers.
Answelica
Answelica is a goat with sharp teeth who loves to terrorize the local monks. She is not exactly given to being friendly to anyone as a natural state of existence, but she takes an instant liking to Beatryce. This translates into a highly protective mode further instills fears in the monks who fear that Beatryce is the little girl mentioned in the prophecy.
Brother Edik
Brother Edik bears the mark of Answelica’s hatred of the monks in the form of part of an outline of the goat’s from where she had purposely pressed down with all her might upon his chest. As it turns out, Edik is not marked for special torture by the Answelica, but is rather recognized by her as an essential part of Team Beatryce. He will join the goat in protecting the little girl from the minions of the king she might be there to unseat.
Jack Dory
Jack is yet another member of the team assembled to protect the chosen one who pretty much seems to definitely be the little girl mentioned in the prophecy. Jack has a very dark backstory: he seems to be a boy a who just suddenly appeared out the woods one day. In fact, he was escaping from the woods where his parents were murdered by a man with a black beard and a knife he held between his teeth when not using it.
The King
The king is quite naturally terrified to think that Beatryce actually is the little girl mentioned in the prophecy that predicts a little girl will unseat a king. After all, what sitting king would not? But in this particular case, things go much deeper and this king is deeply unsettled by the possibility that Beatryce is the girl predicted to topple his reign because, as his counselor reminds him, were it not for the book of wisdom in which the prophecy is written, “you would not now be upon the throne.”
