A/N: Hey, I'm sorry if you guys got double-emailed for this chapter. FFN was giving me some difficulties so I tried re-uploading it to fix the issue.

In other news, I wanted to let you guys know that I have a Youjo Senki blog on Tumblr! I mostly answer asks (headcanons, fanfic ideas, etc) and sometimes post other Youjo Senki related things as well. When I finish this fanfic, I'll probably start taking one-shot requests there! FFN won't let me insert a link, but the username is degurechaff-tanya (and again, it's on Tumblr).

Anyway, onto the story. I hope you enjoy the chapter!


I woke up to a dull ache behind my temples and a terrible thirst for water. I opened my left eye a crack, but the light shining through the curtains sent a sharp jab through my skull.

"You're awake," came Tanya's groggy voice. I heard her drop off the bed, then pull the curtains shut. Once the room was much darker, I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

"Ugh... Tanya, I don't feel well."

She was holding her head in one hand. "Me neither, but we just need water. Then we can walk it off." I watched her saunter toward the dresser and find her canteen. After taking a few swigs, she held it out to me.

I grabbed it and downed the rest of the water.

"Better?" Tanya asked, taking the canteen back and setting it down on the bed.

"Well, I'm not thirsty anymore, but the headache is still there."

"It's not going to disappear immediately, but you'll be fine. And the light sensitivity will fade soon." She took my hands in hers. "Did you enjoy the pinning ceremony yesterday?"

I nodded slowly, my groggy head beginning to recall the order of events. As the conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Rerugen passed my mind, my throat tightened up. But then I remembered the conversation with Tanya from the previous night - and that she had finally told me she loved me. Suddenly, there was a smile spreading across my face. "Yeah, I did. Last night was pretty nice. You looked beautiful."

Tanya rolled her eyes. "I looked ridiculous. You, on the other hand..." She leaned in and kissed my lips gently. "You looked lovely."

I could feel my cheeks beginning to heat up. "Well, thank you. I, um, love you."

There was a moment of hesitation on her face. Then she replied, "Love you too."

I stood up from the bed and pulled her in for an embrace. I hadn't felt this happy in a long, long time.

"Almost feels too good to be true, doesn't it?" she asked as we pulled away.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What does?"

She looked over my shoulder at the closed curtains, eyes narrowing slightly. "The truce, us, everything. I just wonder how long it'll last."

I shook my head. "Tanya... I think you're just too used to everything going wrong. It's not like the universe is out to get you."

When I said that, one corner of her mouth tugged upward. She looked up at me with a smirk. "You'd be surprised. But I understand what you're saying-if something isn't broken, why try to fix it? We should be in high spirits."

She grabbed my clothes off the dresser and passed them to me, then began to unbutton her nightgown to change into her own uniform. "I don't have much work today, fortunately."

"What do you have to do today?" I asked. "Anything I can help with?"

"Just some paperwork for the battalion. If everything goes well, I might be filing to disband it soon."

"That'll be kinda sad, don't you think?"

She chuckled. "Not at all. It would be a miracle to never have to gear up for another mission."

-XXX-

I stood behind Tanya as she unlocked her office door. Just as we began to walk inside, I heard a voice from the hallway behind us.

"Oh! Major!" We turned to see Viktoriya, holding a large stack of papers. "Do you mind if I come in? I have some things to file."

Tanya nodded and continued inside.

I sat down in the chair across from Tanya's desk while she got settled with some papers to read.

Viktoriya walked over to the filing cabinets and began to pen through the manila folders. "So, how are you doing, Major? And you too, Lillia."

"Things are going well, but the simplicity has felt odd," Tanya admitted.

"I feel the same way," Viktoriya replied. "It's eerie how little there's been to do, don't you think?"

Tanya nodded. "Why aren't you out celebrating with the battalion? They should be at the beach today."

"Oh, I'm not really interested in drinking with them," Viktoriya laughed. "They get...rowdy."

Tanya scoffed. "You know how men are. Wolves, the lot of them."

Viktoriya gave another laugh. "Oh, on another note, when I got these papers from the Strategic HQ, I heard some interesting conversations. The higher ups have been talking about the end of the war. Apparently they've requested that the Republic completely withdraw its navy."

Tanya picked up a fountain pen, paused for a moment, then dropped it. "What exactly was the wording of that conversation?"

"Hm?" Viktoriya looked up. "Which part?"

"Did they say 'end of war,' or did they say 'armistice?'"

"Well, now that you mention it, I think it was 'armistice.'"

Tanya looked down at her desk, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Tanya, is something wrong?" I asked. "We wanted an armistice, right?"

"Yes, but... I've been considering something." Tanya stood up from the desk and folded her hands behind her back.

"I think you're worrying a little too much-" I started. But Tanya put up a hand to quiet me.

"I've been thinking... Isn't it a little odd how quickly the Republicans abandoned their own capital?"

"I heard they did it to preserve the aesthetics of the city," Viktoriya offered.

"Hmm..." Tanya walked over to a table near the back and grabbed a rolled-up map, then spread it out over her desk. "Visha, did you hear where the Republic's navy is right now?"

She nodded. "I believe it was Brest Military Port."

Tanya scanned the map for a moment, then her eyes widened. I ran over to see what she was looking at, and so did Viktoriya. Her index finger was resting on the location of the port, on the southern border of the continent. Her finger moved to the landmass directly south of Brest. "Malgeria," she hissed. "Occupied by the Francois Republic."

I looked at her face. One eye was beginning to twitch. "Tanya, what does this-"

"Damn it!" Her fist slammed down on the table, causing me to jump. "They're abandoning the mainland to let their counter-striking forces escape."

"But what about the armistice?" Viktoriya asked.

Tanya shook her head. "Trickery. They've made fools of us." She sprinted for the door and grabbed her rifle, then her peaked cap. "I'm going to the Strategic HQ."

"Tanya, wait, Shouldn't you think about this for a second?" I suggested.

"If we wait any longer, it might be too late."

With that, she dashed from the room.

-XXX-

Viktoriya and I didn't have much to say to each other after that. We hoped Tanya was wrong, but when had she ever been wrong when it came to military strategy?

I slunk back to my dorm room with my throat tight and my headache worsening. My chest felt heavy and my feet dragged as I walked. When I got to the room, I shut the door and leaned my back against it for a moment. I looked up to the ceiling, letting the top of my head hit the wood with a small thunk.

I took a few deep breaths, then walked over to the bed - and froze in my tracks.

"DEUS LO VULT."

The note was sitting on my bed.

I leaned down and slowly picked it up. The paper was high-quality parchment, the cursive handwriting in thick, black ink. Had someone been here?

Was someone in here right now?

I slowly walked over to the closet and peaked inside. Nothing. Then I got down on my hands and knees to look under the bed. Again, nothing. Whoever it was, they seemed to be gone.

I stood back up and took some more deep breaths, trying to calm my heart, but it was no use. I could feel my heart pounding through every inch of my body, could hear it like a drum in my ears. I turned toward the window, and that's when I saw it.

Sitting on the windowsill, curtains parted on either side, was a red nutcracker.

And just like that, the room seemed to change. The loud tick of my alarm clock ceased. The light from the window increased in intensity, rainbows casting across the floor. But why was the light refracting like that? Why did the edges of all my furniture seem just a little bit fuzzy? I looked down at my hands, but my own body seemed normal.

I must be having some kind of a...panic attack, I thought.

"No, not exactly," came a low voice. I looked up toward the source of the sound.

As I did, the nutcracker continued to speak.