Innes

I've never understood what she sees in him, beneath his haughty arrogance. Ephraim, King of Renais. His title ought not to grate on my nerves so, but it does. He is undeserving of it. His father was a far worthier and wiser man than he. Yet why does Tana care for him? It's true that his martial prowess is impressive; he is a master of the lance as I am of the bow, but I did not think Tana the sort to be won over by martial feats. Perhaps that has changed. Sometimes I seem hardly to know her.

Tana is still soaring high above the castle on her beloved Achaeus. Ephraim, standing on the battlements, switches between watching her fly and observing his sister's match with Sir Seth. Eirika's mastery of the sword is impressive– though even she seems little more than a child with a wooden sword next to her opponent. General Seth's ability is superb and his reputation, well-earned. He's allowed many opportunities to end the match pass him by. Instead, he has offered her suggestions– to watch her stance or guard her side properly.

There's something almost unseemly about this display: a sheen of sweat glistens on her skin and her hair is plastered to her brow; she's breathing hard, panting almost, and I suddenly have an image of her in a far more intense, more intimate moment.

It unsettles me. What must the common soldiers, so little refined and unwilling to banish such thoughts as soon as they arise, be imagining?

Even General Seth has broken a sweat. He grunts as he thrusts his sword and she barely holds him off. All at once I see them in a different light.

She's tiring. General Seth's sword crashes down onto hers and her knees buckle. Sir Seth stumbles momentarily, but rights himself and, chest heaving, sheathes his sword. The assembled knights and soldiers cheer as the match comes to an end. He holds out his hand and, taking it, Eirika allows him to pull her up. She flushes– as if it were an illicit touch rather than the familiar courtesy of a trusted retainer. Eirika has never seemed one to flush needlessly– unlike my sister who was forever besotted with that infernal Ephraim. I glance over my shoulder only to find her on the walkway approaching Ephraim. I refuse to watch them and turn back again to observe the Princess of Renais and the Silver Knight.

"I'm sorry, Lady Eirika. I didn't mean to push you so hard. Forgive me."

She shakes her head. "No, Seth, it's fine. After all, how can I improve if everyone coddles me?"

"Excellent match, Lady Eirika, Sir Seth," Sir Kyle says. His brother in arms with the un-knightly ponytail (whom I once glimpsed napping on the battlefield) approaches them as well.

"Good show, general. You really put the moves on Princess Eirika. Had her right where you wanted her, eh?"

There's roguish grin on Sir Forde's lips. The general's jaw clenches, but he otherwise gives no sign of the confusion and embarrassment that flash over Eirika's face before her features settle into the calm reserve her station demands. But I think Sir Forde has guessed correctly; his words are as double-edged as the match itself was.

"Forde," Sir Kyle hisses like an angry lynx.

"What?" Sir Forde returns with a shrug, his face a mask of guilelessness.

Eirika seizes upon the opportunity to retreat. "Thank you for you time, Seth. I won't take up any more of it."

Seth offers a bow. "Good day, my lady."

I wonder why I did not spot this before, this intense attraction of theirs. A good tactician should be able to read human behaviour, not just charts and maps. She hides it better than my sister, certainly, but it seems peculiar that I could have fought alongside them and not realized. Perhaps it is simply that Sir Seth's reputation precedes him, shields him in fact. He is, after all, the Silver Knight, a perfect knight by all accounts– save in this, I suppose. It's not that it's unheard of for a knight to fall in love with a member of the nobility or vice versa, but I find them an odd pair– like mating a pegasus with a war steed. Much like...

I glance over my shoulder toward the battlements. Now where have my sister and that rogue of a king gotten off to?