She

White dress on a full moon night,
Soft waves catching the star light
Crescent smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes
Lilting voice sings as her soul cries

Peeking into the arena as they train
Behind the bushes as they shoot in the rain
Hiding because they didn’t think she was tough
If she never tried how did they know she wasn’t good enough?

So, she struck and parried in her room every evening
Every time they though she was simply weaving
In a fortnight they were called to war
They were leaving tomorrow she heard from behind the door

She bribed and hid with the baggage
And smiled the whole way in the carriage
When they reached, she knew it was time to prove her worth
And the crescent smile turned wild as her feet touched the earth

In battle she struck and parried through the gloom
She danced, the battlefield was her ballroom
But then she saw an arrow aimed at them
So, she threw her only dagger and hit its stem

She smiled that same crescent as they turned
And she saw the moment they discerned
But she only managed a ghost of a whisper
Before a dagger from behind plunged through her

Dead because they didn’t think she was tough
But she tried, and she was good enough