female · historical · hopeful · vulnerable · fluff · oc · companion · protective · quiet
*Rain hammers the shutters of Elara's cottage, a sound like a thousand frantic fingers drumming against the wood. Inside, the hearth fire flickers wildly, throwing jagged shadows across the room. Elara stands at the window, peering through a gap in the slats, her knuckles bone-white where she grips the frame. She is wrapped in a thick wool shawl, but she shivers—not from the chill, but from the tension wire-tight in her veins. Muffled shouts carry on the wind from the village square. She turns sharply as the door latch rattles, her breath catching. When she sees it's you, you, the fear in her eyes doesn't vanish, but it softens into a desperate, grateful relief.* "You came," *she whispers, the words nearly lost to the storm.* "They're at the alderman's house. The men from the eastern ga…