"Dido?" King George V's voice resonates from the door to my room.
"I-I'm coming..." I slide out of bed and start walking over to the door.
As soon as the door is open, George barrels into the room to embrace me.
"Are you okay?" She asks, genuinely concerned.
"Y-yes, I'm fine." I'm a bit shaken by this sudden event.
She releases me.
"I cooked something for us to have." She holds up her bag. "Hungry?"
"Now that you mention it..." I look at the floor.
"That's what I wanted to hear!" She treks further into my room and I close the door behind her.
"W-what have you made?" I follow her back into my room.
"Well, I was studying the Sakura Empire's cuisine and came across something that I believe you'll like." She places her bag down on the desk and begins pulling something out of it. "Yakisoba!"
"What is that?" I can't deny that it looks good.
"Put simply, it's fried noodles mixed with pork and vegetables and smothered in a barbecue-style Yakisoba sauce." George starts dividing the batch into portions.
It smells incredible!
"Here!" She holds out a plastic box full of the stuff.
"T-thank you..." I apprehensively take it.
Are those...chopsticks?
I've never used them before...how am I going to let George know?
It's far too embarrassing to say to her 'oh, I haven't ever used these before'...No way, I can't do that!
Just have to give it a try, I guess...
I pluck up the courage to lift the chopsticks and I scan my box...I can do this...
"Oh, Dido, I'm sorry..." George comes over to me.
"For what?" I instantly reply.
"I neglected to ask you if you know how to use chopsticks." She takes them out of my hand.
No, I was going to try...Wait!
I don't have the will to repeat that out loud...
"Here you go!" She hands me a fork. "I would teach you how to use them, but it's not my place to right now."
"T-thank you..." I say again, slightly dejectedly.
We both commence our respective meals.
"By the way, Dido..." She sets her utensils down. "I don't think the Queen will punish you, but if she does try to, I will defend you."
"Really?" I manage to somehow not choke on my food. "How can you be so sure?"
"I believe I talked her out of it." She states proudly.
How do I respond to that?.. "Thanks..."
"No problem." She resumes eating.
Guess I should join her...
[Later...]
I'm almost ready to go to sleep...but I feel that I need another stroll, to wear myself out a bit more...it might help since I've been feeling more and more exhausted lately...
A full night of sleep would be nice, but I'm not tired enough right now...where should I go, though?
Maybe I could see my Master before bed?
Maybe I could see one of my sisters?
Maybe one last look at the sea?
"Mmmm..." I let my frustration broadcast to the empty room.
Well, empty except for Hina who sits on my bed, looking at me with her glistening, black eyes.
"What do you think?" I approach and sit next to her. "Where should we go?"
I put her on my lap, expecting an answer...a silence is draped over my room, giving it somewhat of an eery feel.
"L-let's visit my Master..." I don't give Hina a chance to reply as I clip her to my-
Oh...I'm not wearing my uniform...no matter, I'll just carry her.
I leave my room and begin my way to the office, where my Master should be.
My Master...so understanding...patient...handsome...he's too good for me...
...the night is cold, but I continue pressing on...I'm sure my Master will enjoy seeing me again today...I hope...
His light is on, so he should be in there...I hope he's alone...
I reach for the handle when I notice a female voice coming from inside...whoever it is, she sounds agitated.
Curious, I press my ear to the door to listen in...
"Commander!" The woman says. "You're not making any sense!"
"How?" My Master's innocent voice replies.
"We can't attack them head on, we'll be decimated!" They must be discussing a plan, of some sort.
"Exeter, you've trusted me with everything so far..." My Master is still calm. "So why do you choose the one time your homeland is in danger to oppose me?"
"Because..." She speaks in a slightly quieter, but firm tone. "If we get destroyed trying to help, then it won't matter in the end anyway."
"I never knew you were this pessimistic..." My Master sounds exasperated.
Why is this 'Exeter' draining him?
"It's hard to be optimistic in an impossible situation!" Her voice is loud again...
"We can win, if we do it right." My Master changes his tone to a defiant one.
"Oh yeah, and how many people will it take?" Exeter sounds smug...annoyingly.
"About..." I hear some sheets of paper being shifted. "Half the port."
"Exactly!" Exeter triumphantly exclaims. "How do you expect to keep control of that many people?"
"I have gathered much respect in my time here..." I don't know how my Master has managed to keep his composure. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Exeter stutters a bit.
"How does that help?!" She finally gets out.
"The girls here...they wouldn't want to cause problems for me now would they?" I certainly wouldn't...
Silence...Exeter must be defeated...
"I-I just hope you know what you are doing..." She laments dejectedly.
Suddenly, the door opens forcefully and slams into me.
"Eh?" Exeter opens the door fully. "Oh goodness me! Are you alright?"
Her question causes the full pain to hit me...I start crying...
"I'm sorry." She comes over to me and kneels down. "I really didn't mean to do that..."
"What happened?" My Master's voice resonates and he himself comes into view. "Dido!"
My vision is disrupted by tears, but I can still tell that my Master has came over to me.
"Dido, I'm here." He speaks comfortingly.
I instinctively take a hold of him and he responds by gently stroking my hair while trying to shush me.
"M-Master..." I weakly mutter. "I-it hurts..."
"I promise you Dido, it will stop in a few minutes." His mere voice causes the pain to subside a little.
I slowly lean into him, unable to speak anymore...my eyes get heavy.
Heh, guess this really took it out of me huh?
But...how embarrassing...to fall asleep in...my Master's arms...
[Commander]
She's out...just like that...
How she managed to fall asleep while in pain I'll never know...still, she can't stay here...
"Exeter, go on back to your room." She looks distrustful. "Please, I'll deal with Dido. You can apologize properly later down the line."
"Are you sure?" She continues to look at me in a slightly worried way.
"Yes, Dido's a very forgiving person as far as I can tell." I usher her to leave.
"F-fine..." She stands and walks away without saying anything else.
Now time to get Dido somewhere warm...I guess my office will do as I have some spare blankets.
"Hnnng..." Dido's heavier than I expected...
So, carrying her to her room is out of the question anyway...
"MMMMM!" Yes, I have a good grip now.
I slowly get her into my office and lay her on the sofa...time for a breather...
What was she even doing outside the office?
Listening to my row with Exeter?.. I doubt it...
She'll probably tell me when she wakes up...
I should keep her warm...where are those blankets?
The small room at the back of the office is probably my best bet...I barely have to go in here...
The door creaks as it swings open revealing two storage shelves lined with miscellaneous items...they have to be here.
"Come on, come on..."
Yes! There they are...should be good enough for tonight despite the temperature...
She's moved slightly...I'm concerned she may fall off the sofa in the night...what can I do to fix that?
The chairs are too low, so I can't use them to expand her sleeping space...
Why does this have to be so difficult?!
I don't dare move her again for fear of waking her...
I've got it!
"Friedrich..." I gently call into my radio. "You there?"
"...My child..." She replies almost instantaneously. "What is it you need from me?"
"Can you come to my office?" I ask. "It will be convenient to talk there in person."
"Of course, my child." The line goes dead before I can reply.
Friedrich der Große...she's one versatile woman...caring and loving most of the time, yet borderline terrifying in battle...
Honestly, I'm almost in awe at her performance in every battle she partakes in.
There is a knock at the door.
"Come in." I reply softly.
Friedrich enters, taking care to mind her horns. "I am here, my child. What did you need of me?"
"It's not exactly for me, but..." I gesture towards Dido.
She examines the sleeping Royal for a minute.
"A slumbering Maid..." She approaches Dido carefully. "She doesn't have a lot of space here."
Friedrich's concerned eyes trace Dido's body thoroughly.
"That's actually why I called you here..." She turns her attention to me. "Could you please move the other sofa up against the one she is sleeping on?"
She looks between the other sofa and Dido several times.
"...I know it isn't for my sake, but she deserves a good rest." I continue.
"My child, why is she here and not in her room?" Friedrich interrupts me.
I scratch my neck nervously. "That...I actually can't answer since I don't know myself."
"Could you not take her back to her room?" Friedrich keeps her expectant eyes on me.
"I don't want to wake her, so I only lifted her onto the sofa." That's a half lie...
"Very well..." She walks over to the other sofa, but pauses. "Though, I do not see why you needed my help for this..."
"If I tried it myself, I would have to drag it across the floor making too much noise." I watch her. "Did you want my assistance with that?"
"It would be appreciated, but it is not necessary if it troubles you." She lifts the sofa by herself, seemingly with relative ease.
I'm thrown into awe of Friedrich der Große's abilities yet again as she methodically transports the sofa into position quietly.
She straightens herself again and turns to me, not even out of breath. "Did you need anything else, my child?"
"I don't think so..." I reply, well aware of my awestruck expression that has not yet faded.
"Then, I'll be leaving now." She turns to the door. "Look after yourself and her, my child. She is a troubled one."
With that, she's gone...I don't know that she means, but I will take care of Dido.
I am a bit worried about her reaction to waking up here, though...I just have hope she takes it better than I'm expecting.
Might as well finalize that attack plan...despite Exeter's thoughts.
I take my seat at the desk and review the map...this whole procedure hinges on the Priorities doing their job properly.
Still, we need a sufficient distraction to allow them to get the jump on the aliens and demolish them...I guess the higher durability vanguard ships would be a good choice.
I do have a backup plan, but that will only be used if things go really wrong.
Now, I haven't seen Dido in combat yet and my curiosity is growing...
Ah, I'll put her in the last wave of vanguards...along with Black Prince as I have seen very little of her in general.
They should synergize as sisters, but I won't place too much confidence in them as they are inexperienced when fighting in the modern age.
There, it's settled...the only thing to do now is let the relevant people now...but that can wait for tomorrow.
I stand and stretch...must be tired...time for sleep!
Dido seems peaceful there so I silently enter my conjoined room, breathing a sigh of relief as I do so.
My nightly routine always feels good, and so helps with my sleep...everyone should have it.
I clamber into bed and grab my tablet to look over Juustagram and maybe watch something...
[Later...]
...Huh...
How did this happen?...It's now 1 in the morning!
I only got into bed 5 minutes ago, right?...
Looks like I'm going to be more exhausted than Dido must've been...
I turn my tablet off and lay down fully.
I don't know how long before I can actually fall asleep...
...I'm bored...