Valeria

When the King was killed and the throne usurped, those who did not vow allegiance to the new King were executed. Unfortunately, this sorry but honorable bunch included the Blackthorn house, a small and rustic family, keeping to old traditions. If you did not swear fealty to the new King, your entire bloodline was to be wiped out. To save Fauna's life and preserve their family bloodline, her elder brother and sister went behind their parents back and sought the aid of the Wilds Witch. The Witch agreed to help, but warned them the price was high, and would cost an innocent their life. To save their young sister, the duo agreed. And so a random young child was abducted from their home and brought to the Witch, who put them under a spell which changed their appearance to that of Fauna's. Fauna was discreetly sent away and raised by a family of hunters, in a secluded village near the Wilds, so the witch could keep a watchful eye on her. The confused Fauna impostor was executed alongside the Blackthorn family, too young to talk or understand the severity of the situation. As far as anyone in the Kingdom knows, every Blackthorn is long dead. 

Fauna was raised under the name Valeria Forrester, and made her living hunting game and selling furs. Her family is particularly well-off and despite being a hard worker, Valeria lives a rather comfortable lifestyle. She knows about the existence of the Witch in the woods beside her village, but has no idea the creepy woman once saved her life. Marcello, the witches son, is often seen frolicking around the market, strumming his harp and seducing the local girls with his sad songs. Despite his best efforts, he cannot seem to get Valeria to take any interest in him (which the Witch is thankful for). Even growing up together, Valeria only saw him as a lazy useless slacker with no reliable qualities. She would be loading her cart with pricey furs and salted meats, items she spent countless hours gathering in the woods on her own, whilst Marcello skipped around her reciting poetry. It infuriated her to be sure, but Valeria was careful not to be harsh with him; the Witch did not take kindly to those who hurt her son. 

After the shocking and untimely death of Marcello, Valeria found herself aching to hear his sappy music once again. She even avoided the nearby river where witnesses said he drowned. Her work became monotonous, and even though she was happy for a short while after the birth of her baby sister Mara, things returned to their dreary routine soon enough. 

One day as Valeria was unloading her wares on a trip to a distant city, she swore she heard a strange song from a familiar voice. Heading into the market, she overheard excited citizens claiming that the banished Prince and his guard had settled in the tavern. As she continued towards the tavern, the singing voice grew loader. Surely enough, inside was the Prince himself and his men. Leaning on a support beam, surrounded by starry eyed women, was the deceased Marcello. Only except, y'know, he wasn't deceased at all and was standing there seeming perfectly fine. More upset than relieved, Valeria marched into the tavern and punched him in the arm, hard. Several of the prince's party stood, alert and ready, but Marcello waved them off. Before Valeria could open her big mouth, Marcello hushed her and led her to a closed off room at the back of the Inn He quickly explained that he did in fact die, but his mother used forbidden magic to bring him back, and that no one can know he was dead. Valeria agrees to keep it secret and admits she's just happy he's back, even if it was because of a dangerous ritual. 

After the Prince and his gang depart from the city, they are attacked by an enraged bear in the neighboring woods. They were taken by surprise and might not have prevailed if Valeria had not stepped in and helped them. The Prince sees potential in her and asks Valeria if she would come with them and help fight to regain his crown. She agrees and lets her family know by letter that she will be aiding Prince Fraybel and will have their family name elevated to a higher status when victory is achieved. The Forresters are worried but confident in their daughter's decision. Despite not even knowing her true bloodline's identity, Valeria holds true to the Blackthorn name by serving the rightful Prince. Hopefully she will not meet the same fate the rest of her blood relatives did all those years ago.