Alexander III of Scotland was just seven years old when he inherited the throne. South of the border, England's King Henry III saw this as his chance to assert his paramouncy over the kingdom. At the age of ten, the boy was married to Henry's daughter.
But through the hazards of power politics and dynastic marriage - one man stood by the young monarch.
Whether it was shooting wild geese, helping him escape from the prison-like confines of Edinburgh Castle or teaching him to stand up both to his ever-threatening English father-in-law and the unending feuds of his own countrymen, David de Lindsay of Luffness in East Lothian was Alexander's one true and constant friend
Even though David's only wish was to be a crusader, a wish he was finally to fufil when the boy became a man.
'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday