145 Lydia Lionheart

****(POV)

Lydia Lionheart had always found her name unfitting. It meant both 'beautiful one' and 'brave'. She tried to be both of these things but had only managed to put a facade at best. 

In her guild, she was now renowned as a hardworking but difficult to approach girl. She had always been the shy kind, with her mother encouraging her to come out of her shell. 

She would playfully say cheesy stuff like: "The world is bright and beautiful—and a little bit more every time you smile. So, why don't you go out and have fun? This life is too amazing to be frowning all the time." 

Lydia wasn't brave, far from it. Her mother was way braver. She never complained and always smiled even as she lost her hair, as her organs slowly decayed, and as she saw her life coming to an end.