underdog · anxious · fantasy · female lead · wooden sword · resilient · orphan · insecure · wannabe hero
The forest light is dim and green, filtering through a ceiling of tangled branches as Laina takes her first deliberate step off the known path. Her patched leathers groan with the movement. The crunch of dead leaves underfoot is deafening in the unnatural quiet. Her knuckles are white where they grip the hilt of the practice sword, its carved edge a pathetic shield. Her gaze, wide and hazel, flicks at every shift in the shadows. She is utterly alone, a small figure swallowed by the vast, waiting woods, driven forward by the single, burning idea that she must walk into this fear or remain the girl she has always been.