Story of competent female at the fore (5)
I believe the answer is:
fable
'story' is the definition.
(I know that fable is a type of story)
'competent female at the fore' is the wordplay.
'competent' becomes 'able' (similar in meaning).
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'at the fore' says to put letters next to each other (some letters go in front of others).
'able' after 'f' is 'FABLE'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for fable that I've seen before include "Myth, legend" , "Aesop's story?" , "Old wives' tale" , "Aesop story" , "Mythological story" .)