Dear Gale,

I hope this letter finds you well. The weeks have been slow: mostly helping grandfather hunt animals and look after the wyverns. Training consists of travelling with my father to various villages to fend off bandits and the occasional arena visit. Your tips for fighting axe warriors and magic users has helped me win during matches when I've been faced with such opponents. However, training alongside my comrades – and with you – is still something I miss very much. Perhaps it is only in retrospect that I can replay our last practice duel with some humour. I hope Zeiss is causing you less trouble than I did.

I look forward to your promotion to Wyvern General in the near future. Your commitment to the army and role as a knight of Bern is equal to none.

Best regards, your comrade

Miledy

Days and days of rewriting this letter and still it is so brief? If only I had a way with words like Mother. Or worse to admit, Narcian, that serpent who instigated this suspension period that I'm suffering now. I hand the letter to a messenger at the local church, along with Father Renault who is also sending potions and notes to the capital.

'How long will you be in suspension?' Father Renault gives the messenger a bread bun for the journey. The messenger salutes us before speeding down the steps.

'Until General Murdock permits my return.' I sit down on the front pew beside him, 'I suspect he is waiting for the panic about my "scandal" to die down. But that slick-tonged Narcian is always there to rekindle their fears.'

'Please don't be pessimistic, Lady Miledy,' Father Renault closes his eyes, then looks up at the statue of St Elimine stretching her arms towards us, 'it is by Her design. Besides, there are others who vouch for your good character: Sister Ellen, Princess Guinevere — and, of course, Sir Gale.'

Gale. A hollow space fills my chest. Lack of sleep is weighing down my eyelids. In the first few days of my suspension, I had awoken early in my room, reaching for my riding gloves only to remember that I would not be training with Gale as we had for so many sunrises. Unable to sleep, I tiptoed to the wyvern stables and led Trifinne out to a stream. She kept shaking her wings and neck muscles, irritated and restless.

Dear Miledy,

I am happy to receive your letter. Currently, I am preparing for the remaining examinations to become a Wyvern General: I have one more critical mission to complete in order to fulfil the quota, several interview rounds and written exams in military strategy, national history and politics. Your mother's name appears a few times in the later books: I was not aware that she had played a pivotal role in preventing King Zephiel's assassination. You clearly take after her common sense and justice.

Apologies for the brevity: I would like to write more but must try to get some rest after nights of studying. It is difficult to train while also completing the necessary readings: Bern's history is rather complex. However, it is my privilege to learn more about this formidable country, your birthplace.

Please do not despair, Miledy: your suspension will end soon.

From your friend (if I may)

Gale

For the first time, I spend hours in Mother's private library, pulling tattered volumes from the shelves. To think that I had professed myself a patriot yet scoffed at the trove of cultural riches that made this nation, literature that was in my house all this time. I read about my mother, the great tactician General Lurja, who uncovered and prevented the plot to assassinate King Zephiel. My eyes dart across the pages, following her every observation and conclusion that led to her hypothesis. I had always known about my mother's intellect but humoured her preoccupation with the past and philosophical definitions. Deep down, that was a way of devaluing her cognitive superiority compared to the military prowess so prized in Bern.

'Gale is preparing for the examinations to become a Wyvern General.' My fingers trace the textured cover of the volume, imagining that Gale is reading the same book by candlelight.

'So that's what has brought on this sudden interest in the written word,' Mother dusts the spines.

After sliding the book back in place, I make my way to the open window. A breeze freshens my face, 'Mother, when do you think my suspension period will end? I'd like to return to the army.'

'When General Murdock deems it appropriate,' Mother grumbles while rubbing the oak desk with a cleansing oil. The eucalyptus scent saturates the room.

'Mother, don't you think it's unfair though?' I comb through knots in my hair. Even at such a short length, neglect has caused it to tangle, 'I was the one who alerted authorities about the illegal activity, yet Narcian has framed me as a traitor?'

'Miledy, if you are a member of the Bern army, you must accept General Murdock's decision,' Mother's voice hardens, 'in the army, the subordinate's duty is to trust and obey her commander's orders.'

'How bright can General Murdock be if he could be swayed by a petty serpent like Narcian?!' My muscles tense with rage, 'that I, the personal guard of Princess Guinevere, born to a family devoted to the Bern military— I, who awoke at dawn and spent every day honing my combat skills to protect this country— how could he believe that I actually wish for Bern and its ideals to disintegrate? Only the most gullible fool would buy that lie!'

'You will not disrespect General Murdock!' Mother shouts. Sunlight illuminates fiery wisps of hair floating from her bun.

'Y-Yes, Mother...' I shrink, turning my back to her. The book spines facing me are faded.

With his eyes closed in prayer, Gale inhales the smells of wax and lavender candles as he kneels at the pew, 'St. Elimine, please hear my prayer. Please let Miledy return to the barracks soon. I would like to train with her again.'

Meanwhile, Ellen trembles while watching him from behind a curtain. Her fingers grip onto the letter Princess Guinevere asked to be passed on to Sir Gale. She chants under her breath, 'this is for Miledy... My good friend Miledy...' She whimpers at the sight of his broad body rising to almost twice her size, 'I am in our saint's sacred home itself! She will protect me!' Ellen sidles out from behind the curtain. Her knees tremble vigorously under her white skirt when Gale looks at her.

'Good afternoon, Sister Ellen.' His voice is softer than she expected from his hulking frame.

'G-G-G-G-G...' Her neck cranes up as he approaches. Ellen's foot slides back, ready to spring into a sprint. The letter-holding hand trembles as it draws closer to Gale.

'Is that a message for me?' Gale rectangular jaw and eagle-like eyes loom over her. His muscular hand appears to be the size of her head, capable of wrenching her up from the ground like a rag doll.

'AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!' Ellen drops the letter to sprint behind the curtain. Its velvet shifts in her wake, as though only a light breeze disrupted it.

Gale retrieves the letter from the carpet. The envelope is made of an expensive textured paper with Bern's royal wax seal. The front bears its addressee's name.

'Miledy...' Gale reads the name written in Princess Guinevere's cursive. At once, he takes his wyvern Skarlen out to deliver the message. This letter must be related to his conversation with the princess immediately after the King's Court debate.

'Sir Gale!' Princess Guinevere calls to Gale while he was making his way to meet Miledy's mother in the courtyard.

'Can I do something for you, Princess?' Gale's dark hair drapes over his shoulder when he kneels. He stands again, towering over the fearless noble in her velvet dress. In another life, her skill in light magic and saintly posture would have made her a good priestess, perhaps even St. Elimine herself.

'I want to ask you as Miledy's comrade and fellow reporting knight during this incident.' The jewel on Princess Guinevere's tiara glimmers when she steps into the sunlight, 'was there really a good justification to remove her from my staff? I just cannot believe it happened so swiftly.'

'General Murdock made his decision,' Gale stares down at the princess' polished leather shoes, 'my duty is to the Bern army, which means respecting our commander's plans.'

'But I personally selected her! Does he disregard my judgement of people's characters that much?' Princess Guinevere tries to control her tone, but Gale senses hints of the petulant child General Murdock occasionally referenced when speaking to about her and King Zephiel's childhood.

'Sir Gale, how can you be so limp?' The princess steps forward, 'now, you may be one of General Murdock's most trusted soldiers. But remember when you first arrived a few months ago? Miledy was the only peer who respected you for your skill, despite herself being from a highly respectable family. The others were suspicious of your Etrurian origins. Some like Sir Narcian are still. I am sure Miledy has heard ludicrous conspiracies about you being a spy, perhaps even from those very close to her. Yet she continued to respect and train with you because it is her nature to evaluate people according to their actions, not birth circumstances.'

'I share your sadness and frustration about her removal.' Admittedly, Gale had initially attributed Miledy's laxness about people's background to an ignorance about politics. Only during the debate did he understand her character in the same way Princess Guinevere described, 'but if a foreigner like me were to speak up, it could further fuel Narcian's assertion that she is unpatriotic.'

'If I were to arrange some way for Miledy to remain among my staff,' Princess Guinevere whispers to avoid curious onlookers' ears, 'would you support my case? I may be the princess of Bern but General Murdock is more inclined to listen to one of his trusted soldiers.'

'Princess Guinevere,' Gale bows, keeping his gaze to the ground, 'I will help Miledy in whatever way I can.'