ab initio, ad infinitum

the lionheart.

T H E   L I O N H E A R T .

There is a world where her knuckles are perpetually split open, and she has broken nearly every bone, and she wears a ferocious smirk for armour. There is a world where her only reply to a fist knocking hard into her cheekbone is a bloody grin and a 'c'mon, that one barely hurt'.

There is a world where there is not a single rule she has not broken, a single day she has not let her voice be heard, a single opinion of hers she has not screamed into the sky.

But in this world, she is not that. She does not do that.

In this world, she is quiet and thoughtful, head full of unsaid ponderings. In this world she hasn't ever even twisted her ankle. She is calloused in this life, but from strumming the metal strings of her guitar rather than from wielding an iron broadsword. She does not know how to pack a punch properly or to throw off a headlock or how to laugh instead of cry when she is beat up. In this life, she never has been beat up.

In this world, she watches with wide eyes and an unsuspecting smile. In this world, her eyes glean silently, an ember that never is put out. In this world, she buzzes with a more quiet energy, pulsing calmly around her.

In this world, she is a lionheart all the same.

There is courage that is not loud or defiant or extravagant. There's courage in living every day, there's courage in learning to follow rules and push on even when you don't want to. There is courage in silently staying true to your morals, unwavering. There is courage in fighting your fight through words and wisdom, diplomacy and discussion.

There is bravery in being soft and vulnerable. There is bravery in opening yourself up to others even after being burnt. There is bravery in weeping in pain and joy and every wild emotion in between. There is bravery in feeling and emoting and sharing. There is bravery in acknowledging and owning who you are, even if you don't scream it out to the world.

There is determination in getting out of bed every day, in spite of the clouds and heavy rain telling you not to. There is determination in abiding by regulations and restrictions. There is determination in sticking to your morals. There is determination in staying calm and serene and tempered. There is determination in keeping peace and restraining from war.

There is resilience in loving without abandon. There is resilience in never giving up hope. There is resilience in seeing the best in everything and everyone, even after people have failed you before. There is resilience in withstanding the pressure of breaktherules. There is resilience in smiling bright every day. There is resilience in biting your tongue when people underestimate you, in waiting for the moment to prove yourself to be greater than what anyone has thought. There is resilience in being kind, especially when people tell you you are weak for it.

And the lionheart is all that. The lionheart is courageous and brave and determined and resilient, even if people can't recognize it at first glance. In this world, she may not have the courage and bravery and determination and resilience that people instantly recognize and commend, but she has it all the same, quiet and thrumming under her skin.

In both that world and this one, she is a lionheart in every sense of the word.