This one isn't as good. Sorry guys.

The wind blew quietly in the woods of the La Veda republic, making the trees sway. The carriage rolled along the forest trail, and the blonde-haired dutchess, young yet supple, with her head propped on her arms, stared out into the forest. Her hair, put up in two drills on either side of her head, bounced with the pitch of the carriage, and her legs were planted apart, the red silk of her dress stretched against her knees.

It was another boring trip through the woods, meant to ‘entertain’ her. She didn’t find these trips exciting in the least. It was just day after day of mild activity, done to keep her happy. But of course she knew why they continued to bore her with these uninteresting tasks. It was to keep her calm and lady-like. Her father knew very well that she’d love nothing more than to pick up arms and fight, but of course it would be a dreadful shame to have such a boisterous daughter.

The carriage entered a part of the forest where a steep cliff to the left offered a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside. This excited her at first, the steep drop and the rocky trail, except that she had already seen this view a thousand times before. Now the only thing this part of the trip had to offer was a mildly bumpy ride. The carriage jostled and jolted as the rocks underneath smashed against the wooden wheels of the carriage.

”Now all I need is for this carriage to fall into the ravine.” Michele scoffed.

Suddenly, one of the wheels splintered and shattered and gave away underneath the weight of the carriage. The whole carriage tipped to the left, and Michele, her ornate carriage, the two beautiful horses (they were a lovely shade of creamy white) and the carriage driver (an old, white haired man with a long beard and an eyepatch who enjoyed to chuckle to himself) plunged down, down, down into the ravine. Michele shrieked and screamed as the whole wooden mess tumbled and crashed against the stony cliff, and passed out as the carriage slammed into the floor of the ravine.

Michele awoke dazed, her body bruised and battered and her dress torn about the knees. Attempting to get up, she felt a sharp pain at her side; her ribs were bruised, if not broken. Tentatively crawling from the wreckage, she grasped the gold ornament that had adorned the carriage. It was a curved one, resembling a branch of a sort of plant, commonly seen in homes of the wealthy. Gripping the cold metal of the ornament, she staggered out from the broken wood.

Surrounding her were the tall trees she had admired from a distance. Now so close to them, they loomed over her, dark and menacing. Glancing around, she found the corpses of the horses, crushed by the carriage or strangled by the reins that held them. The old man was nowhere to be found. Looking up the cliff, she decided that scaling the wall was far too difficult for her in this state, and she set off, stumbling in the direction of her estate.

Gritting her teeth, she attempted to make her way through the forest, clinging to the golden ornament. Slipping, she scraped her leg, now bare having the lower part of her dress torn off, and winced at the bleeding. She continued to make her way through the foilage, until suddenly she was smacked from behind. Stumbling and falling down, she attempted to get back up, only to get hit again. Glancing behind her, she gasped sharply and painfully as a Trent loomed over her, it’s placid gaze strangely filled with aggression. She backed up against a tree, horrified as she realized the condition she was in.

Michele grimaced. “It’s going to be really pathetic if I have to tell father I got raped killed by a Trent...”

Suddenly, a loud crackling boom emitted from the woods and a lightning fast bolt of thunder slammed into the Trent, knocking it back. The Trent, slightly dazed, swung blindly at the newcomer, knocking him into a tree.

“Gyahh?!” He tumbled down from the tree, coughing and sputtering. Michele stared at him, a blonde youth who looked out of breath, yet very happy.

“Who are you?” Michele shouted before swinging her weapon at the Trent. It bounced off it’s bark, and she was forced to duck as it swung at her again. Her ribs burned and she backed off, hand clutched to her rib. The youth got back up, and launched himself again at the Trent, screaming and shouting obnoxiously.

“I’M LODIN!!! THE HALFDRAGONTHING!!! GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”

“what.”

The Trent laid still, it’s bark carved up and dinged by the various blows it had suffered. The youth, bleeding from his forehead, leaned back against the tree’s body exhaustedly. Sighing happily, the youth eyed Michele coyly.

“So uh, who are you?” He flipped his katar around aimlessly, a stupid expression on his face. Michele, in pain and quite agitated, snapped and threw the ornament at his smug face, catching him square between his eyes. Getting up as he sputtered, Michele crossed over (painfully) and took Lodin’s face in her hands, scowling slightly.

“I’m Michele, the daughter of Lord ______, and you may have just saved my life from that wretched beast, but your stupid attitude makes me sick and I hope you end up dying. Hmph!”

Michele stalked off, and Lodin, blushing slightly, got up shakily to follow her. “What do y’mean my attitude makes you sick? I’m Lodin, the halfdragon (I think?) and I’m gonna fight the strongest things there are!”

Michele scoffed. “If you can’t even beat a Trent like that alone without getting hurt, you’ll never amount to anything.” She started off towards the manor. “If you really want to get strong, you can’t rely on others. You have to rely only on yourself.”

Lodin scowled. “What’dya mean? You would’ve died if I didn’t show up!”

“I would’ve been fine dying!” Michele shouted. Lodin stared on dumbfoundedly. “If I can’t win with my own strength, I’m better off as dead.”

“Thats...that’s not true.” Lodin approached her slowly, his lanky frame wobbling slightly from the bloodloss. Reaching out for her, he continued to wobble slowly towards her. “If you die, I feel like it’s a loss of something great.”

Michele gritted her teeth, feeling her face heating up. “What do you mean you idiot? You’re still making me sick with how weak you sound!”

Lodin reached her, and put his hand on her shoulder. “I mean, if you died while I was there, even though I don’t know you, I’d be sad, I think.”

Michele sighed, slapping his hand away. Lodin however, put the rest of his strength into a tackle hug that brought them both to the forest floor. “Why you have to do stupid stuff like this?! Why do you care?!”

“Because I love you!” Lodin stared deep into her eyes.

“Don’t be stupid!” She shouted and she smacked him in the face.

That was years ago, back when they were young. The memory lingered in Michele’s mind, making her scowl subconsciously. Glancing up, she noticed his back, no longer skinny, but broader than it was before. His face had hardened through endless fights amongst fearsome dragons, and he had matured. He’s probably forgotten about back then...

Lodin looked back and saw her puzzled expression. Slowing his pace to match even with her, he smiled slightly, and punched her shoulder gently.

“What’cha thinking about, huh?”

“Nothing, it’s just dumb kid stuff.”

“Kid stuff? You mean back when you were a princess or somethin’?”

“You remember that?”

“Of course I remember that. After all...”

Lodin pecked her on the cheek.

“I love you.”

“Don’t be an idiot!” She shouted and she smacked him in the back of the head, hard. But deep down inside, she was quite happy.