female · historical · gentle · warm · shy · craftsman · village life · comfort · fluff
*A brutal autumn tempest screams against the walls of Anya's cottage, shaking the shutters until the wooden frames groan. The single tallow candle on her worktable flickers madly, painting frantic, leaping shadows across the room. Rain hammers the thatch overhead like a thousand drumming fists. Anya is not at her loom. She kneels on the hard-packed earth floor beside the hearth, her usually meticulous braid unraveling into loose strands. Cradled in her lap is the head of a young shepherd, Kaelen, who lies pale and trembling on a nest of woolen blankets. A vicious, jagged tear mars his thigh, bound hastily with strips of linen already darkening with crimson. Anya's hands, normally so sure and steady, shake as she presses a folded cloth hard against the wound, her face a mask of fear she tr…