It had been three days since Maude had brought the letter for Jaspar’s help. He’d pointed out to her that she had initially looked at the most common ciphers for Aulbert, not the empire. He’d pulled out a hidden book from his desk, a strategy manual from the empire, and the ciphers in that book had also failed to produce Maude’s name from “Xlfop.”

Over the course of the next two days, they’d poured over other common ciphers from other kingdoms on the continent. It had still been to no avail.

In front of her, Jaspar looked extremely annoyed. “P.s.,” he said, staring down at the letters scrawled on the parchment. “The youngest sword saint ever.” He’d also thought about trying to use her name to decipher the code. But they’d also tried her birthdate, the day her powers had come to her, and even the day the empire had officially deemed her a sword saint. None of them had been correct.

“I knew Silas was brilliant,” Maude said, laying on the couch in Jaspar’s office. “But I could have never imagined he’d create such an unbreakable code.”

“There has to be something that we’re missing,” Jaspar replied, clearly exasperated. “And it’s probably the simplest thing. Sometimes the most simple thing is the one thing that gets missed.”

“What else could he possibly mean by the youngest sword saint ever?” Maude asked, looking up at the swirly patterns of the ceiling. “That has to be what undoes the cipher.”

“Hmm,” Jaspar said. “What about…what age were you when you became a sword saint?” he asked. “I wonder if the emphasis is on the youngest sword saint ever, and that we’ve just been overthinking it with going into dates and all that.”

“I was twelve,” Maude replied. “Is that really possible?” she added. “His code just seems really hard to crack for it to be that simple.”

“Twelve, huh?” Jaspar said. “What a rough age.” He paused for a moment. “We’ve tried pretty much everything else so it’s worth trying at least.”

“Alright,” Maude agreed. She got up and walked over to his desk.

Jaspar began writing down the alphabet. He counted up to the twelfth letter and wrote an “A” underneath it. He followed the alphabet, getting to the letter “Z” and writing a “K” underneath it. Under the “A” he wrote “L.”

Maude gasped. Without a doubt, they had cracked the code. Jaspar made it to the letter “M” which corresponded with the letter “X.” Underneath the code, he wrote Maude’s name. It was “Xlfop.”

“You got it,” she breathed.

“It was your age all along. Something simple that we had missed afterall,” Jaspar murmured.

“You were right,” Maude said, feeling a smile blossom across her face. “You’re so brilliant, Jaspar,” she said.

Maude saw his cheeks warm. She bent over his desk and gently kissed him on the lips. Right as she was going to pull away, he grabbed the neckline of her dress and pulled her in closer, kissing her fiercely. She heard him moan softly against her lips, and she felt her body start to tingle with desire.

His tongue explored her mouth, and it was beginning to feel like all of the oxygen in the room had been consumed.

Finally, he let her go. “You’re far more incredible than I am,” he murmured. Maude wanted nothing more than to find herself back in his arms. Instead, she grabbed the letter and the key to it off his desk.

“If you keep that up, you won’t get your work done,” she said, feeling a blush flame across her cheeks at her own words.

Jaspar sighed. “What would I give for this never ending pile of work to be gone right now,” he said.

She smiled haughtily at him, and took the letter over to the couch. Grabbing the quill she left on the table, she began deciphering Silas’s letter.

Dearest Maude,

When I heard the news of your demise, I was devastated. We had promised to make it through the war and reunite. When I heard you’d been unable to hold up your end of the bargain, I felt as though my very soul had been ripped from my body. If the sword saint had been unable to hold her own against our enemy, then what chance would the rest of us have to survive and win?

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

One day, I was sitting in the tavern and heard something odd. They said that your father had struck a deal with the emperor for your life. Upon return from the war, your father had promised you to be the emperor’s concubine. For some time, I had thought it odd that your father had never really fully committed to you marrying me, and now I understand why. Rather than being his precious daughter, all you were to your father was a tool with which he could gain more power.

Once I realized this, I wondered if you, too, before your death, had realized this. Then a thought occurred to me. What if you weren’t dead? What if you had found out what your father’s plan was and chose to escape that fate instead of letting your father have his way?

So I crossed the Aulbertian border. And I heard you were being held as a prisoner of war at Duke Rosenberg’s manor. Even the common folk of Aulbert talk about you. They knew enough to tell me that you had recently been escorted to a ball by the duke himself. You were very much alive, and seemingly enjoying your life in Aulbert, so much more than if you would be in the emperor’s hands.

Maude–I’m so glad you’re alive. I was not sure how I’d be able to live in this world without you. Please meet with me.

I will be waiting at the northern edge of Jalantar forest for ten days in a row. This seems to be the forest that is nearest to the duke’s manor. Surely if he is willing to take you to the ball, he will be willing and trust you enough to allow you to meet with me. If you are unable to make it within ten days, I will assume you are a true prisoner of war, and I will attempt to come to the duke’s manor myself. I need to talk to you, to see you, to ensure you are truly alive and well.

Looking forward to seeing my partner in crime once more,

Silas

P.S. The youngest sword saint ever.

Maude felt her cheeks warming several times throughout the letter. There was no doubt in her mind, now, that her friend Sara Savoy had been correct about Silas’s feelings prior to going to war. The letter was, if nothing else, a heartfelt message to a person who was beloved by its sender. She had been so blind to his feelings before, why was it only just now so obvious?

“What does it say?” Jaspar asked from across the room.

Maude held the letter delicately to her chest. If she let Jaspar see this, he’d probably tear it to shreds himself. Though she had realized that she’d never really had true feelings for Silas in the first place, he was still her longest standing friend. She couldn’t imagine how she’d feel towards Jaspar if he’d destroyed Silas’s words in a fit of jealousy.

“He’s asking to meet with me at the northernmost edge of,” she paused, trying to find the location in the letter. “Jalantar forest,” she said. She turned to look at Jaspar. The look on his face was grave.

“That’s fairly close to here,” he replied. “How was he able to figure out you were alive and where you were?”

“He said he heard it from townspeople in Aulbert,” Maude replied. “It seems like he was able to cross the border and enter Aulbert peacefully somehow.”

“That’s deeply concerning,” Jaspar said. “You can go, but with a guard. Most importantly, I‘d like you to ask how he was able to get across the border so we can close that vulnerability.”

“I can do that,” Maude said. “But I don’t really think I’ll need someone to guard me.”

“What if he tries to kill you?” Jaspar asked, his eyes flaming at Maude.

“I can just bring a sword with me,” she said. “I can defend myself.”

“You purposely chose to not fight in this war,” Jaspar stated. “And now you’re going to be able to defend yourself from some random fellow that the emperor may have sent to assassinate you?”

I wonder what he would think if I told him I’ve killed someone before, Maude thought.

“He won’t assassinate me,” she said, firmly. “We were supposed to get engaged if we both successfully came back from the war,” she said.

“So he was basically your fiance?” Jaspar asked with raised eyebrows. “How is that supposed to make me feel better? You’re asking me if you can go and meet up with someone who might as well be an ex-fiance with no guards, while you are a prisoner, technically, in an enemy country. Doesn’t that sound a bit fishy to you?”

Maude sighed, “You have a point,” she said. She stood up and started walking back over to his desk. “I used to think I was in love with him, too,” she paused, meeting Jaspar’s eyes. “And then I started getting to know you.”

Jaspar gave her a simmering glare. “Words can be empty, you know, Maude Holloway,” he said.

“I know that better than most. You know that about me.” She was nearing his desk now.

He sighed and looked up at her. “I can’t win against you.”

Maude chuckled softly. “You didn’t try all that hard.”

He smirked. “That’s because you haven’t heard my condition yet.”

“What’s your condition?” she asked, leaning down on his desk.

“If you don’t come back, I will search this whole continent for you myself. If I find out you betrayed Aulbert I’ll find you and kill you myself. And if you leave me for him, I’ll…” he started choking on his words.

“You’ll what?” Maude asked.

“I won’t know what to do with myself,” he murmured softly, flitting his eyes away from her.

Maude reached across the desk, pulling him into another kiss. “You don’t have to worry about any of those things,” she said. “I’m yours. There’s no one else in this life I’d rather be with.”

He kissed her gently along her jawline, which caused a soft groan to escape her lips. “I’ll hold you to those words,” he said.

“Please do,” she replied, as he moved in to kiss her again. “Knight’s oath.”

“Knight’s oath,” he murmured, locking their lips together once more.