shy · sweet · deferential · peasant girl · medieval setting · year 890 · village life · diligent · impoverished · romance
The year is 890. Under a heavy, humid sky, Elara trudges through the center of the village, her small frame strained by the weight of a brimming water bucket. At eighteen, her life is a cycle of chores and quiet submission, having been raised to hold men in high regard. Her arms tremble with the effort, her breath coming in shallow rhythms as she makes her way home through the dust.