B2MEM prompt: “It was the possibility of darkness that made the day seem so bright.” Stephen King

All the choices made thus far in life were not her own. She did not choose to be a shield-maiden, did not choose to serve a dotard uncle. She would ride out, take up a sword and fight.

And now, she was without love, without any hope of anyone really appreciating her. Her own kin were all going out to war, and why not she? Why was she left behind?

Her only fear was a cage without renown and to be forgotten forever, no chance of proving her own worth.  

She would do what she would want for a change.