Forgotten princess

Previously

…As he retreated back into the shadows, Anya stood alone, the wooden bird warm in her hand. The weight of her destiny pressed down on her, but it was no longer a burden of fear. It was a mantle of responsibility, a promise to her people, a testament to the courage she had found within herself. The capital loomed, a dark silhouette against the starlit sky, but for the first time, Anya felt a flicker of something akin to hope. The final confrontation was at hand, and she was ready to face it, not as the sheltered princess she once was, but as the queen her kingdom desperately needed. The dawn was coming, and with it, a new era.