Felicia scuttled into the main room and stood at the seat of the table, still shivering in fright. Jakob and Benny filed in afterwards, finding themselves in a cold war room decorated with the treasures of the Ice Tribe. As the two men finally sat down, Jakob noticed that there was another girl standing near the fire. She was dressed in the same maid outfit as Felicia, and looked almost identical to the nervous girl-except for the icy hair. She promptly walked over and gave Jakob a warm smile.

"Hello, Sir Jakob, Sir Benny. We've been expecting you. Tea?"

Jakob nodded and the girl poured him a cup. He took it graciously. "And I assume you would be Chief Klima's other daughter?"

She nodded before bowing to him. "Yes, that would be I. My name is Flora. I am pleased to have the honor to serve the crown."

Jakob wandered into his old friend's room and looked around. Everything in these halls was covered with a thick layer of dust, but this one carried a colder weight to it. His eyes scanned the dark stone walls and rotting wooden furniture until they came upon an open drawer. There was something shining from within it.

Jakob watched from above as Flora and Lady Kamui sparred in the courtyard. The girl had shown that she was much more adept at both fighting and serving than her younger sister. While Felicia was clumsy and could hardly throw a knife right, Flora moved through the air with a sense of grace, dancing through her opponent's moves. Her skill with daggers and ice magic made her formidable even against Lord Leo, which was something that Jakob appreciated. The young mage was often quite pompous about his magical skills, so it was nice to have someone to whip him into shape.

As Lady Kamui made a misstep, Flora seized the chance to make her move. Swerving around the princess, she cooled the butt of her knife and thrust it into Kamui's side. The Lady stumbled for a second and then fell to the ground, exhausted. Flora quickly assumed her maid position, reaching down to gently help Kamui up. As Jakob strolled down from the balcony to meet with them, the two girls laughed about the fight.

"Flora, you're so good at this. I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to beat you."

"Oh no, my Lady, I think you're simply having an off day. If we keep training together, I'm sure you'll get better."

Jakob collected the weapons from the ground and bowed to both girls. "Lady Kamui, Flora, that was an excellent sparring session. You've both earned some well-deserved rest."

Flora shook her head. "I've no time for that, Jakob. I promised Felica that I'd help her with making the beds. But the Lady should rest all she wants." She walked off towards the dormitory, and Jakob could hear Lady Kamui mutter something.

"Well, My Lady, our Flora certainly is something."

"I guess," Kamui kicked some sand away. "It's just...There's something about Felicia that's better. I know Flora's a better maid, and a better fighter, and a better, well, everything, but Felicia's more of a friend. She tries so hard to help me, and she always makes time to talk to me. I really like that, y'know? Flora's always so distant."

Jakob couldn't help but agree. Kamui got along much better with Felicia despite all of her shortcomings. Flora hadn't quite warmed up to life in the castle yet. "Well, my Lady, I'm sure it will come with time."

The shine was coming from Flora's old knife, which still glistened with an icy shine. Through the rough patches Jakob could make out the symbol of the Ice Tribe, carved into the hilt. "So this...these are the things that she left behind. Poor thing never made its way home." Ruffling through the drawer, he hoped to find something else, but it was mostly balled-up tissues that greeted him.

Jakob had retired for the night, leaving the twins to manage the other servants at the party below. With Lady Kamui away at the capital, there was no place for a simple butler like him among the rich and powerful. But he had sat there for hours now, thinking. It had been over a year since the sisters had come to work at the castle, but while Felicia had improved quite a bit, Flora was the same as always. The conversation with Lady Kamui was playing again and again in his head. Why was the girl so distant? Why had the princess, who was normally so outgoing with everyone, strayed away from one of her servants?

He heard some light steps outside, followed by the rapid flutter of Felicia's feet. They stopped across the hall from him, at Flora's room. Through the door, he could hear muffled voices.

"Flora, I don't know why you were so cold to those guests. You were always the one who told me that we had to be cheery when we were serving."

There was some grumbling as Flora struggled with the door. "What do you mean, sister? I was plenty cheery the whole time. Didn't you see my smile?"

"Of course I did. I saw how forced it was and so did everyone else. Plus you had daggers in your eyes the whole time. What was up with that?"

The door swung open, crashing against the wall. "Flora! You're gonna wake everybody up!"

"Please, it's two in the morning, everyone's gonna be in deep sleep," She sighed, and Jakob heard her step into her room. "And as for those people...Maybe I just don't want to be around them, alright? I don't like rich folk like that, always flaunting their wealth around like they can own anything."

"But Flora...We-we work for the king. We serve the princess. Does that mean you hate them too?"

"Felicia, do you think we're here because we want to be? Because we aren't, alright? Dad needed to give something to appease Garon, so he offered up his daughters. We're just like slaves to the old coot."

"But Flora...Lady Kamui's the best. She's so nice, and she doesn't mind when I screw up, and she-she's my friend. My only one besides you."

"Well, that's good for you, that's great for you, but I think she's a spoiled kid who needs to see the real world."

Felicia gasped. "Flora, do you really mean that? Do you hate her?"

"Leave, Felicia. It's late."

"But, Flora-"

"I said LEAVE! GO TO SLEEP!" She slammed the door and the hallway vibrated. Felicia's sobs echoed throughout it as she ran down to her room.

From Flora's room, Jakob could make out a soft noise. He moved closer to his door to listen better, and heard the tears of the maid across the hall.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Felicia. I just don't want you to end up here forever...I-I-I want you to be happy…"

So these were from those nights. Jakob clenched the drawer's knob and gently closed it. He had heard plenty of cries from across the hall. Flora always had more...intuition than her sister, and she was never happy about it. A sense of regret still loomed in this room years later. He wanted to leave, had to leave and get back to the party, but there was something keeping him. Something that was here, begging to be seen. He scoured the whole place, every closet and drawer, but there was nothing to be found. Taking a break on the bed, Jakob wracked his brain to think of what could be here. What other memories of the girl did he have? What did they make together…

It had been a few days since Flora's breakdown. She still put on a smile for the guests and performed her duty as Lady Kamui's maid stupendously, but things weren't quite right. Every night, Jakob could still hear soft cries from Felicia's room and taps on the floor from Flora's. Each one, small as it was, echoed in his head, a constant stream of pecking noises for hours on end.

The girl needed someone to talk to.

Jakob had waited until everyone else had gone to sleep, then slipped out of his room. The tapping continued. He stood at the door for a minute, building himself up to give a small knock. When he finally did, the tapping went on for a few seconds, then stopped.

"Come in," Her voice was low and melancholy.

Jakob slowly opened the door and saw her sitting at the base of the bed, still dressed in her work outfit. Her heels had resumed clicking against the ground. "Oh, Jakob." Her face was just as vacant as her voice, but it still carried a little charm. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, yes, Flora. I was hoping that we could talk about you."

He sat down next to her. She fidgeted nervously and held her arms together, as if there was a chill. "Is that so? Did something happen? Am I in trouble?" She looked down at the ground with a face sagging with depression.

"Nothing of the sort, my friend. It's just that lately I've noticed some things around here lately, and as the head servant, I need to make sure that everyone is fit to-"

"You heard me and Felicia's argument the other night, didn't you?"

Silence.

"It's alright. I was guessing that you might have. Being the head servant and all means you probably sleep as little as me. So maybe...there's a chance you were up when I fought with her. Am I wrong?"

"No, but-"

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. Siblings fight sometimes, it's just what happens. Pretty soon it'll blow over, an-"

"Flora, you're dodging the issue. You don't think I heard what you said? I can see it on your face that it wasn't just a sibling's quarrel."

"Listen, Jakob, I think you're overthinking-"

"No, Flora. YOU listen. It's been days and Felicia is still crying in her room. The two of you are hardly speaking to one another even when you're working. That insufferable tapping is keeping me from sleeping. And all the things that you said...What on earth were you talking about?"

Her face grew dark. They sat in silence for a moment before she answered. "Felicia's...still crying?" A lone tear plopped onto the stone. "I'm so sorry, sister… I didn't want things to be like this, but now I've…"

She stood up, tears coming out in waterfalls now. Jakob wasn't sure what to do but watch her cry. Then, her fist suddenly slammed down onto the table. "STUPID, STUPID FLORA! FELICIA WAS SUPPOSED TO STAY HAPPY, AND NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

She continued to punch at it until thick splinters dug deep into her fingers. Storming off towards the closet, she started using her legs instead, kicking at the door. Jakob let her go on her rampage, even as things started to break and ice chunks were hurled across the room.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU LEAVE HER BACK AT THE VILLAGE?"

"WHY WOULD YOU EVER TALK TO HER LIKE THAT?"

"GOD DAMN IT, FLORA, YOU'VE ALREADY RUINED YOURSELF, DON'T BRING HER DOWN TOO!"

"KEEPING FELICIA HAPPY WAS THE ONE THING YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DO, AND LOOK HOW WELL YOU FUCKED IT UP!"

Exhausted, she lay down on the ground and curled up in a ball. She couldn't cry anymore, just hiccup and sputter out more "sorrys" while Jakob watched over her.

"Now, are you quite finished with this? We still have to wake up tomorrow. We still need to do our duty."

A burning resentment in her eyes shot back at him, but soon it faded and her eyes glazed over once again. "I guess we do, don't we? Need to keep working hard to serve the crown."

"That's why all of us were brought here, Flora. It's not something we can ignore, and we have to be at our best for it."

She stood up and walked over to peer out the small window. "Oh, it's hardly me you have to worry about. I'd never let something like this really interfere with my job. It's just...Felicia, she's the one who's a lot more hurt by it. And that'll show, hell, it probably already does."

Jakob, unable to think of anything else to say, simply let her continue.

"She's always needed a lot more support than me, a lot more to keep her going. So a while ago, I decided that I didn't need to be happy. I just needed to prop her up, keep my little sister going and train to be the next chief of the village. But it looks like I'm still not very good at that."

"So what now, Jakob? You're the senior butler, you must have some advice. What can I do to just make her happy?"

Jakob was stunned. He knew his way around housework perfectly, but helping someone like this wasn't in his repertoire. "Well, I don't know if I'm exactly qualified to sa-"

"You're the only one who's seen me at my worst, Jakob. People can ask about the noises all they want, and I can lie, say that it was an assassin or something, but you were there. You saw me do...that, and that means you're the most qualified person I know."

He sighed. If she really only wanted help from him, then there was at least one thing he could say. "Well, the best thing I can tell you is to...forget yourself."

She looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You're still focusing too much on yourself, even if it's not to be happy. I'm asking you to push away any interpersonal feelings. You want to help Felicia? Focus on her. You want to do your job? Put your soul into it. If you're having self-doubts, find something else to invest your time in. Forget yourself."

She looked back to the window in silence, deep in thought.

"I know it's hardly the best advice someone can give, and it's not easy to do, but it's worked for me. For the longest time, I've been dedicated to my work as a butler and done everything to make sure Lady Kamui is happy. I want you to be the best that you can for the Lady, and this is really-"

"I think I can do it, Jakob." She turned and he saw a smile forming on her face. "In fact, I think that I'd really like to forget myself."

Hadn't it been some sort of picture? Had she taken to drawing once he had talked to her? In the corner of his mind, he saw pencil scratches on a canvas, something that she wanted to hang for people to see. But if it was that big, where could she have put it? It wasn't hanging on the walls or in the closet, so maybe...under the bed? It clearly wasn't below the frame, but the heavy mattress would have made a good hiding spot. He heaved the thing up and saw it looking back at him: Their portrait.

Over the next few years, Jakob saw that Flora became much more accustomed to life in the castle. "Forgetting" herself seemed to actually make the girl much brighter. She did her job almost as well as he did, helped her struggling sister improve, and even became friends with the Lady and Sir Gunter. To anyone who didn't know what she was like in the beginning, it would almost seem that she was happy.

Could she really be happy now that she hardly ever thought of herself? With Lady Kamui away and no other nobles around, the servants were free to simply hang around the castle grounds. Jakob was spending his time wandering, these thoughts of his friend weighing on his mind. On that night she said trying to find her happiness was a fruitless effort, yet now, this. It was a paradox, but one that he kept desperately trying to solve.

"Hmmmm, she smiles without being happy, or she's happy without thinking about it, or perhaps it's simply an act again, but her friendships with everyone feel genuine…" As he muttered to himself. Jakob didn't even that Flora was running up to him. He heard a shout, but it was too late. She crashed into him and fell backwards.

"Ahhhh… There you are, Jakob. Is your hearing alright? You didn't notice me coming or anything."

"I'm fine, Flora. You're the one we should be concerned about. I was so lost in thought that I didn't even see you coming." He reached down to help her up. "Any bruises? Did your outfit get ripped at all? Dirt?"

She laughed. "Jakob, It's all good. I just took a little spill. Forget about that, though. C'mon, I've got something to show you."

Before he could object, Flora grabbed his arm and ran off towards the center of the courtyard, where an old man with dozens of art supplies was waiting. When he saw the two running towards him, he nodded and gestured to the stools sitting in front of the fountain.

"Jakob, this is Albrecht Augustus, one of the most famed artists in Nohr. I was always a big fan of his earlier works back home, so I sought him out to see if he would to a sketching."

Albrecht came over and started whispering something to her. Jakob remained confused as ever. Was he going to draw them? Why did Flora want to bring him here? But the artist seemed very insistent that they get in position so they could start, so he took a seat while Flora finished up her discussion.

"Oh, good, you're already getting prepped. Just a fair warning, we could be here for a while, so steel yourself. Maybe make it a nice little meditation exercise."

"Flora...Why exactly are you doing this?"

"Because I knew we'd need something to do on our day off. I scheduled this meeting a few months ago."

"Flora, you know what I mean."

"Well," she gave him a warm smile, "I thought that this might be nice, to have a picture of the two of us. Like a little gift to share."

"Whatever happened to forgetting yourself?"

Flora scoffed. "Jakob, it's not about that. We can't forget ourselves entirely. But I didn't ask Albrecht to do this for me."

"You're saying this is supposed to be for me?"

"Yes. I know that we're both trying to forget ourselves, but I don't want us to forget each other. So can we just do this, together? For the memory?"

Albrecht yelled at them in an old language Jakob didn't know. He wanted to say something else to Flora, but she shushed him. "He wants us to sit still. Stare ahead, simile, and try not to move that much. Try not to even think that much. Forget everything, really."

"It's a nice day outside. Take it all in, and see what it does for you."

Jakob was piecing the event back together. He hadn't been able to do what she asked. While Flora sat there with a petite smile on her face, his was wrought with thought. Side-by-side with her, it really showed. His looked serious as always, but the eyes swirled with confusion, annoyance, and even a little bit of sadness. The whole time, he couldn't get what she had said out of his mind, and for some reason it had angered him.

"I even refused the sketch when it was done. Didn't want to face how I was feeling, I suppose. How selfish of me."

When he turned down the drawing, Flora tired hard to hide her disappointment, but some of it still came through. "Oh, alright, if you don't want it, that's fine… I'll hang it up in my room, though, so if you ever want to look at it, just come in.

In the day, she remained as bright as ever, but Jakob could tell something was wrong during the night. There wasn't any tapping or crying, but whispers would keep him up sometimes. He couldn't make them out clearly, but it sounded like a sort of mantra. He never bothered to check in on her.

"Oh, Flora," Jakob slumped his head against the window, "I made some poor decisions, didn't I? And you...you were the one who was hurting because of them."

"So you're going after the Lady, Jakob?"

"There's word that Hoshido has her in custody. Lord Xander and Lord Leo are hoping to sort out a compromise diplomatically, but if things don't go well, there could be a war. If needed, I have to infiltrate and take Lady Kamui back."

"But Jakob, it was you who said that she fell into the Bottomless Canyon! There's no way that she could be alive after that."

"I would think so too, but if these rumors are true, I can't just ignore them. As Lady Kamui's dedicated servant, I need to see this for myself. If there's even the smallest chance that she's alive, I have to go."

"So you'll just abandon everything here? With Gunter gone, you're the most experienced person we have on hand."

"It's by the order of Lord Xander himself. I'm sure you'll be able to manage things here. Since we've met, both of you Ghiaccio girls have grown into fine young women and excellent servants."

"Jakob-"

"I'm sorry, Flora, but I need to get going now." He grabbed one last dagger and quickly ran out, giving her a quick goodbye wave.

When she finally stopped hearing his footsteps, Flora returned to her room and lay down on the bed. Her face felt hot, but she refused to cry. Not after all this time. Not over this. Instead, she tried talking to herself.

"That's how it is, Flora. Looks like you were always gonna be someone younger in his eyes. A friendly little sister and nothing more." Her eyes shifted to the sketch hanging beside the window.

"But Jakob… Why did do you choose her over me? Is it just your duty that's driving you? Or is our fine Lady your own little crush?" Try as she might, Flora couldn't get the thought of him out of her head, especially with their faces staring over her. Still holding back tears, she walked over to take it down, and noticed something in the window.

It was Jakob, running off to save the Princess. She didn't even know if he'd be back, or if they'd ever communicate again. When it came to Lady Kamui, he had to drop everything.

She looked at the sketch again, and the tears finally came out.

"Jakob, I can't do this anymore. I can't forget myself. I can be the best maid I want and I can help Felicia, but now...I have to think about myself, and you, too. If we ever talk again, you'll probably think that I'm selfish, but I don't care. It's the only reason I'm still here…"

"Flora, you were the one who was always so happy about this drawing…" Why would she have hidden it? Hardly anyone ever came into her room, and they would have seen it already. Was it because it reminded her of their relationship? Had his going away spurred something?

Jakob thought about it long and hard. Even after she had become more accustomed to life in the castle, he had never quite been able to read her. Still kept many things to herself, things that he couldn't find out anymore.

No, there was one time. The last time that the two of them had met…

In the hellish final battles of the war, Jakob had suppressed many of the things that he had seen. It was something that came naturally to him, after years of experience. But he still had traces of that night...

The fight against the Ice Tribe.