I really, really liked the bit toward the end where you mirror (reflect??) the donning of her armor with the donning of her "august persona", and contrast that with "Alessandra, the doubtful" versus "Lady Alessandra". That was very well done.
I'd caution you to pick a verb tense, though (present or past) and stick with it. You switch between past tense and present tense frequently (e.g. "Alessandra saw a scarred, tired woman. But that is not what her troops saw.")
But you do a great job of portraying the desperation of the moment, and hope for the future. Nicely done!