The character telling the story is actually about half of the story, if not more. She just seems to always thinks its about someone else.

Neverthless, I do feel it's an excellent choice for the narrator to qualify why she's telling the story. Where it falls down for me is the execution of it. It's a bit apologetic ("not normally a storyteller") and a bit of lecture. Consider skipping why some things are in the annals of history and others aren't. The motivation, it seems to me, is that the narrator wants the truth about Emily to be known, and probably for the narrator's benefit...? Plain and simple. Oh, you can touch on bards and storytellers, but do it quickly -- don't dwell, in other words. Avoid expository lecturing on how the world works -- at least right at the start.

Also consider telling us as quickly as possible who the narrator is (name, position in life, etc.) and what her relationship to this Emily girl is. What is her affinity to Emily? Why must the narrator get the truth out? What's so darn important? Why should we care?

The quicker this is developed, the more likely we'll accept the narrator's tale, and the more likely we'll be hooked. Or at least that's my opinion. Others may disagree about the name thing. No big.

On an ultra nitpicky note, which might be safely disregarded, avoid saying "I guess" when you really mean "I suppose." For some reason, the narrator seems too informal, too colloquial, and this feels out of place given that there are "bards" in the story. That doesn't mean the narrator should use archaic expressions or language. Simply, consider making her reasonably confident in her word choices.

Good luck with this.

There is an irony in having your narrator say she's not a bard and then show that by immediately doing something an experienced storyteller would never do. It's interesting, it's real, but it destroys any confidence I might have had that I'd rather hear her version of the story than a bard's. Which is probably exactly the opposite of the effect you want.

Whether or not it's the effect you want, if you keep proving that your narrator isn't a good storyteller very few readers will stay with you.

So, start with the story she's telling us. "I'm telling the story of Emily." Give us a reference for who this Emily is, perhaps a bit of milieu to go with it. "Emily of Whistletree, she that tamed the fell dragon" or "Captain Whitestock as we all called her" or "Maxwell Thorneden's widow, and heir to his entire fortune." Perhaps tell us the narrator's special relationship to Emily, if any (and there probably should be).