'Commiserations on losing the position of Dragon Lord to Narcian, despite being the superior candidate on all measures. But that is not what you came to discuss, is it?' Lurja shuts a tattered volume on the history of wyvern-back combat. Bookshelves filled with leather spines wall her study, 'you intend to marry my daughter, and have already asked my husband and father for permission.'

'They have given their blessings,' Gale's dark hair falls over one shoulder as he kneels before the former strategist, 'I am here to ask for yours also.'

'It's customary to only ask for the father's permission,' Lurja's sleeve drapes over the back of her chair as she leans over it. The fabric hangs like a curtain, covering part of the chair's ornate tapestry, 'in Bern– and Etruria.'

Gale becomes self-conscious with each inhalation, as though the air's vibrations will communicate his trepidation to the elderly woman. Lurja stands. She barely reaches his shoulder yet the dignified posture reiterates to Gale that she alone can change the course of his history. Gale's voice deepens, 'it's just that Miledy holds you in such high regard, as do I. Yet I could never help feeling that you… Disliked me.'

'I harbour no ill feelings towards you personally, young man.' Frown lines cut along either side of Lurja's mouth, 'but suspicion and scepticism are the guardian angels of any military strategist. An unshakable habit, you could say.'

'Then I'm here to answer any doubts you have about my character,' Gale's fingertips blot sweat on either side of his trousers, 'I have devoted myself to a career in Bern's army. I have always led my squad to victory. Both Miledy and Zeiss can attest to that.'

Lurja fingers tap the back of her chair. Gale seethes, 'you despise me because I'm a foreigner. That's the truth, isn't it?'

She stares off at the bookshelf, as though looking through it into Miledy's room, 'naturally, I was suspicious. General Murdock praised your skill on wyvern-back, despite the fact you grew up in the Etrurian countryside. His judgement is usually correct. Yet I still couldn't relax. As you know from the history books, the one mistake he made could have resulted in the assassination of King Zephiel and himself.'

'Furthermore,' Lurja glances at a robin landing on her windowsill. It jumps back and forth, alternating between showing her its brown wing feathers and red breast, 'I fear that Miledy's national loyalties are being put to the test.'

Gale stares straight at Lurja's crimson irises. She must have been beautiful in her youth, just like Miledy. Lurja's papery hands slide the book back onto the shelf as Gale answers, 'but Miledy's dedication to her country is beyond comparison. Princess Guinevere herself appointed her as a personal guard.'

'Almost organically,' Lurja grumbles to herself with a hand resting on the shelf, 'my daughter associates with people who have no sense of Bern's past and wish to destroy its achievements.'

'You mean – Miledy is entangled with traitors?' Gale raises his voice, 'who are they? I must warn her, or at least protect her.'

Lurja rubs her forearms, glancing at the window. The robin flits away, 'forget what I said,' her eyes close, revealing blue veins patterning the membranous eyelids, 'do not mention it to anyone, especially Miledy.'

''But—,' Gale's sweat turns sticky on his forehead, 'yes, Lady Lurja.'

'Both you and Miledy are too young to appreciate what Bern was like before it asserted itself against Etruria's imperial pressure,' Lurja glances up at the Bern flag hung above the window, 'now, we live in a nation state where someone like General Murdock is born a commoner yet can work hard to become King Zephiel's most trusted advisor.'

Lurja adjusts the flag to flatten out a crease, 'such social mobility would be unthinkable under an Etrurian leadership. Their landlords have no respect for the common man's labour and wring their agricultural class dry. For what? So their wives can indulge in beauty creams!'

Her voice rises, echoing through the stone walls, 'certainly in Bern, farmers die in the course of their work, too many of them as well. Merchants risk their lives carrying goods across the continent. But the Bern state only demanded essentials like food or weaponry. Our country never sacrificed lives for frivolous luxuries.'

The sunrise shining through the window bleeds into Lurja's crimson hair, 'Bern is powerful and just because our statesmen had enough of labourers shrieking under the watch of Etrurian aristocrats.'

Gale shudders when he meets Lurja's glare. He practises breathing through his chest, like General Murdock instructed during training, 'General Lurja, I understand your concerns – and have only the greatest admiration for your role in upholding Bern's sovereignty.'

He lowers his gaze to the dragon embroidery on the rug beneath their feet, 'so let me reassure you. It is because of my status as a former Etrurian that I can be a good patriot in Bern. I know of the corrupted Etrurian nobles who felt the world was theirs to ravage. My mother raised me alone after one such noble promised marriage only to continue his exploits in Ilia. As soon as I could ride my wyvern, I travelled to Ilia in search of my father until I realised. Home was not with him. It was in a country that affords dignity to productive citizens, regardless of their birth.'

Gale's eyes are glass shards as they meet Lurja's, 'I chose Bern for the very virtues you described!'

'Hm… I see why Miledy became so fond of you,' Lurja chuckles, knotting up her sleeves, 'I must be tending to the wyverns. Such fussy old things, just like the men in this house who own them.'

'Then I will not take up any more of your time,' Gale glimpses a letter on Lurja's table as he bows. The pages are in Miledy's handwriting. She writes so much to her mother. But what do they talk about if Lady Lurja keeps so many secrets? 'Thank you.'

'Do promise to be silent with Miledy about all this,' Lurja slides on a pair of leather gloves, 'or she'll pounce like a shark when it senses a drop of blood, although I'm afraid her teeth aren't as sharp as she thinks.'

'I...' Gale hesitates: should he be keeping such a secret, the possibility of a traitor among Miledy's friends? Who could it be? Sister Ellen is pious and timid. Zeiss is earnest to a fault. Princess Guinevere is – well, the princess of Bern. In any case, Lady Lurja must have some reason for concealing this from Miledy, 'I understand.'

'Thank you, my son,' a smile warms Lurja's face, 'please look after my daughter. She is my greatest treasure.'

'M-Miledy!' Just as I'm about to head out for the patrol, Zeiss runs up to me in his full armour, 'where are you going?'

'I'm scheduled to patrol the border in the evening, just like every other week,' I throw Trifinne a potato which she crunches enthusiastically, 'aren't you meant to be on break?'

'I just thought, um— to celebrate your reinstatement as Princess Guinevere's bodyguard, you should take a break,' Zeiss exchanges glances with Trifinne who complies, resting her head on the ground, 's-see?! Trifinne is tired too. You both need to rest. I can take her back to the stables while I go to get Rubley. We can take your shift today. Really.'

'Well… If you insist,' I try to discern Zeiss' intention from Trifinne but she simply shakes herself to follow my brother.

After changing back into my civilian clothes, I observe the streetlamps turn on along the paths in the capital. How strange the city looks in the evening: normally, I'm training or on patrol duty. I hadn't realised how clearly the mountains showed in the sky.

I notice the window of a beauty salon glowing. Shops are open much later than expected. Perhaps I'll buy some more of the oil that Ellen gave me for the Ilian mission, and buy a gift to thank her for that help.

A chime rings when I push open the salon door. I bump into another customer on the way in, 'pardon me – Gale?'

'Miledy?' Gale stands against a backdrop of shelves packed with daintily packaged ointments and women's accessories, 'I thought you would be at the barracks, or with Sister Ellen at the church.'

'Actually, I'm meant to be on patrol, but Zeiss offered to take my shift,' I eye the package he tries to conceal behind him, 'would you happen to know what's the matter with him? He was behaving suspiciously.'

'I… Might have some idea,' Gale farewells the shopkeeper who blows a kiss in our direction. He shuts the door behind him, still trying to keep the package out of my sight.

Our soles patter softly against the cobblestone path, on and on through town. The bustle of late-night tradespeople and merchants whittles away until it's just townspeople's homes and then wild greenery. The tops of our hands scrape against each other when we walk closer to avoid a horse-drawn carriage.

'I'm not sure where we're going, but doesn't this remind you of that time we wandered around the Ilian village, after all that fighting?' I hold my hands behind me and gaze at the stars while walking, 'a merchant on a yak greeted us.'

'There won't be any yaks here,' Gale and I watch the tails of the two cart horses swish back and forth like calligraphy brushes, 'although this is probably the road that merchants coming from Ilia use. I remember entering Bern through these parts.'

Gale and I stop by a tree. Far away, an old man stoops in front of his equally elderly wyvern. Above us, a bird fluffs itself up in a nest and roosts, tucking its beak into its wings for the night.

'So, what were you doing at the store?' I stretch my arms up, filling my lungs with the chilly air. To think that I once despised the cold! Now, it reminds me of the glowing windows in the Illian village cottages, 'I thought you were determined to avoid being seen as an Etrurian dandy.'

'Ah, yes, Miledy,' Gale hands me the pouch and a note folded in quarters, 'if you could, perhaps, read this letter…'

Dear Miledy,

I spent many nights and moments between training trying to draft this message to you. After many attempts to reference Hartmut the hero of Bern and other grand historical events, I decided it best to simply convey my request like all our conversations: frankly and honestly.

And so, Miledy, this letter is my request for your hand in marriage.

I understand that I am well beneath your station: you are from a family of venerable knights, I an outsider and illegitimate son raised in a neglected village. I acted ungraciously towards you: you were the only one who disregarded the political suspicions surrounding my Etrurian origins and judged me as a peer in combat. Your lack of prejudice stunned me so much that I initially dismissed it as ignorance.

Yet the more we spoke, the more I realised that your kindness stemmed not from naivety but the courage to prioritise the reality before your eyes over vague ideals. The days I have spent beside you have been the happiest in my life and I wish they would only continue, not only as comrades or dear friends but in marriage.

Amid my shortcomings, I can only reiterate the promise I made after the incident in Ilia: from this moment, I will protect your life above my own under all circumstances. Even if by some grand misfortune, we end up on opposite sides of a war, your life and happiness are more precious treasures to me than the Fire Emblem itself. I will defend them to the death.

With the deepest love,

Gale

With trembling fingers, I open the velvet pouch. A gold circlet with a tiny ruby in the centre glimmers in my hands. Gale places it over my head before kneeling in front of me, 'I don't know if I am worthy of you, Miledy. But there would be no greater honour than the privilege of being your husband.'

Before I can answer, a familiar grumble sounds from the branches above. It's Grandpa.

'You're not much of a salesman, sonny, putting your worst foot forward like that,' Grandpa drops down from a branch with a pair of binoculars around his neck, 'and the death talk is too morbid. With a pitch like that, Milly's the only young lady who'd be left listening.'

'But Miledy is the only lady I would address this letter to anyway,' Gale remarks as Grandpa leans against the tree trunk.

'Grandpa, couldn't you have at least waited for me to say "yes"?' I notice Grandpa's wyvern hobbling up the hill to meet us. The saggy leather neck and droopy eyes remind me of a giant turtle.

'Now that's what I'm talking about!' Grandpa chuckles while throwing his arms around my and Gale's shoulders, 'time to tell your mother and throw a huge party! I can finally roast that giant goat!'

'Wait, Grandpa, I should probably tell Ellen too. She's been supporting us this entire time.' Strange: I haven't seen Ellen at all. Normally, I'd spot her in the church on the way into town. But today, only the head bishop and a priest were there, 'Gale, let's drop by the church. She'll be overjoyed to hear the news.'

Instead of being met with the steady glow of candles, cavaliers and foot soldiers file into the church. Erratic torch flames dance inside the empty building.

'General Murdock,' Gale hurries towards the general who instructs the men to search the building. Soldiers overturn the pews and pull the curtains open, 'what's going on?'

'Gale – and Miledy too. How timely,' General Murdock's eyes are graver than usual amid the chaos of flickering fires, 'we've had an emergency that requires your attention: Princess Guinevere and her lady-in-waiting, Sister Ellen, have gone missing. King Zephiel has made the princess' return our first priority. They were last seen approaching the Lycian border.'

'But… How?' A well opens in my stomach. They must have smuggled themselves out of the border with a merchant or colluded with a guard. If I hadn't taken up Zeiss' offer, perhaps I could've stopped this, 'Gale… I must—I'm sorry.'

Gale's shoulders drop, 'I understand. Your duty is to go find them and guarantee their safety. For the sake of Bern, you must leave.'

My hands tremble by my sides, yearning to hold Gale one last time before our parting. Instead, all I can do is focus my gaze on him, shutting out General Murdock and chaos in the church, 'Gale, I don't know when – or if I'll come back. But I –,' I become conscious of General Murdock's growing impatience, 'I'm sure Grandpa's goat won't go to waste!'

The ruby circlet is steady around my head as I sprint down the steps, through the streets towards the barracks. Cold air sears the membranous surface of my lungs. My legs accelerate like a horse cart quickening its pace, trying to propel me to my army duties. Yet the image of Gale's despair as he closes his eyes constricts my breath.

As I saddle up Trifinne, troops begin marching out of the barracks to fight the Lycian Alliance Army. Members of Princess Guinevere's search squad hurry towards me in a dissonant chorus of clanging metal. A war that will test my hopes has begun…

AUTHOR NOTE: Thank you for reading to the end of An Etrurian 'Spy' in Bern, a fanfiction series centring on Miledy's life, career and relationships before the events of the game Fire Emblem: Binding Blade (FE6). I hope this series inspired (or reignited) your love for this often-overlooked game and Miledy's bond with Gale. I will be continuing Miledy's adventures in a new story series titled The Defector From Bern, which covers the events of FE6's main story from Miledy's perspective. Stay tuned and thanks again. - kafkascharm