***One month into the war.***

Dear Lucina,

I hope this letter finds you well. I've never written to someone at war and the amount of drafts I've thrown away only seems to increase as I fail to find the right words to use. Mary's told me to just start writing and not overthink it, though I'm pretty sure she's just tired of throwing away the failed drafts.

To start this off, I'll tell you what I've been up to since you and my father left. With most of the kingdom's knights and a large number of conscripted soldiers off to war, it seems that quite a few criminals have gotten the idea in their heads to start causing issues. Roadside bandit attacks have increased across Holst, Sevette, and Relsh, and Margaret tells me they're even starting to use boats to attack merchant ships traveling along the Helker. Where did bandits get boats!? Just outfitting the Trent merchant fleet was costly enough but now I have to worry about all that investment being stolen for piracy? Not to mention the lives of the crew lost during these attacks! There are also reports of increased demon incursions that the local militias are struggling to repel. To counter the increased bandit and demon activity, and to increase my reputation among the nobles who are still neutral toward me I've decided to personally intervene.

While there are a lot of people here in the capital who don't seem to care what happens outside Gorinville's walls, I've managed to find a few among the royal knights who agree with me that something needs to be done. James tried talking me out of it saying I should just send the knights out alone and worry about my own safety, but how am I supposed to look myself in the mirror knowing I didn't do all I could? I'm an Ordrin and an Aurister! Plus, if I'm to be the next queen then I want to be a queen that the people can rely on! As I send this letter, I've received permission from His Majesty to take the knights I recruited and begin traveling across the kingdom to secure Urldrusk's safety. We plan on traveling along the Helker into Relsh to secure the supply routes east for the war effort first before moving down into Sevette and finally swinging up into Holst. I don't know how long it will take so I might not receive your reply to this letter in a timely manner, but I've hired plenty of logistics runners for this trip and I've told Mary to send any letters addressed to me with them when they make their rounds. There are also a few Wizards in our group under James' suggestion. While I don't mind the extra firepower, I hope no incidents occur because of their presence in Holst since our duchy isn't friendly with the Wizard's Tower.

I plan on sending you plenty of letters while on my journey. Even if you don't or can't reply to each one I'll still send them so that you know I'm praying for your safety, but I hope you can let me know how you're doing, too. I never knew how quiet the palace was without you around. That's not to say James doesn't keep me company, but I feel uncomfortable with him. His smiles always look forced and his sincerity toward me no longer seems real ever since you left. Looking back, he was probably just doing it to 'steal' me from you, and now that you're not here he doesn't need to try as hard. Once again hindsight shows me my terrible luck with guys and my own blind foolishness only after it causes an incident. They say one who chases two rabbits catches neither, so I'm also going to use my travels to distance myself from James for a while and focus solely on my reputation among the people and nobility.

I underestimated how much our casual talks meant to me so I hope to hear from you soon.

Please return safely,

Olivia

***

Dear Olivia,

Your letter made my night and I'm glad to hear you're doing well. I've also never written to someone waiting back home for me from the front so this will be a first for both of us. I also wish you the best in your upcoming campaign around Urldrusk! Clearing out the lands will definitely strengthen your position among the nobles already on your side, the neutral nobles will be in your debt, and this might even convince some of the ones hostile to you to have a change of mind. The wizards shouldn't cause you much trouble, but I'd recommend keeping an eye on them just to be safe. As you've probably already figured out, they are there to watch you while lending a hand. I wish I could give you nothing but good news from my end, but that isn't the case.

I experienced my first battle a few days ago. Your father made sure I was deployed in the back with the catapults as a siege wizard but that…

Sorry about the ink splotches, I figured it would be hard to write about what happened but even now when I'm back at camp my hand still shakes. I killed people. The boulder I pulled turned… Their bodies were…

Sorry…

I'm not sure if you were told, but under new orders from the king, I was permanently transferred to the Hellhound knights. At the time of writing back to you, I've gone through another battle but this time with the Hellhounds and as a vanguard wizard. I…

I'm sorry. They're good people. When I first heard about them I thought the Hellhounds would be criminals that were hard to get along with but I managed to find a group among them that are really nice. There's even a Daughter of Alm here, Elise! I won't go into her personal life or reasons why she's in the Hellhounds, but she feels like a big sister. There's an Aurister in our group, Peter, who acts like an uncle and he tried to give me alcohol before Elise stopped him. Jeremy's a bit stiff but he used to be the aide of a city mayor so I can get why he's like that. Then, there's Carl who's dealing with family issues; he won't say who and I don't want to pry.

Unfortunately, not everyone here is someone I can get along with, like the leader of the Hellhound knights Timothy Braxton; the son of the old baron who…raped my mother and is my supposed 'father' according to the capital's rumors. He's been going around making sure that everyone hears I'm his step-sister and he's making me call him step-brother whenever we meet. He…

I'm sorry. Now that I found a group of companions I hope things improve, and I pray for your success in helping the people!

Best wishes,

Lucina

***Two and a half months into the war.***

Dear Lucina,

This is the first letter I'm sending after finally receiving your first reply. Who the fuck does the king think he is!?! As soon as I received your letter I sent a message to the king asking for his reasons and he told me it was to help you be at ease with a family member! No matter how many letters I sent explaining to him what happened with Arkin, he refused to change your deployment back to the Azure Hawks. I also sent a letter to James, but he says he hasn't had any success trying to convince his father either; though now that my head is clearer I doubt he tried very hard. I don't understand why the king has such animosity toward you, and I wish I could do more than just speculate and send pointless letters asking for him to change his mind.

At the very least, I'm glad you were able to find people you can feel comfortable with. I asked around my accompanying knights about the Hellhounds and they filled me in on who gets sent there. Stick with them, Lucina. I know I don't need to tell you this, but now that my father can't protect you, you'll need all the allies you can get; even better if you can hit it off with them. As for Braxton, try to never be alone with him. Our fathers put his in prison where he eventually died so Timothy most likely holds a grudge against you and will take any opportunity he can to hurt you. Stay safe!

Some good news on my end, we're almost done with our march through Relsh. Even though my group is small compared to a proper subjugation force, that makes us more mobile and we've been able to make good time on our campaign. Most of the nobles here don't like me and were more than happy to make it known, but after a few days of cleaning up for them, they've fallen mostly silent. However, they're mostly silent because the commoners have welcomed me and the knights with such open arms. Bandit activity is noticeably down, and we closed two infernal gates so I've got most streets in the cities and villages of Relsh singing our praises! We're moving south toward the border with Sevette and will probably get there by the middle of next month.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Also, you have nothing to apologize for, Lucina. You're a ten-year-old child, you shouldn't be off on the frontlines of a war! I still remember the first time I took a bandit's life so I know the weight of what you mean. If you don't feel comfortable writing something then don't write it, but I remember learning that a good way to cope with trauma is to write it down. Even if you don't end up sending me those letters, just writing it down so that it's out on a page can help. If anything, I'm sorry I'm not able to do more to help you. The declaration of war and your deployment stunned me into silence during the announcement so I wasn't able to speak up and refute the king, and even after when we were behind closed doors I wasn't able to convince him to take back his decree to send you.

Praying for your safety,

Olivia

P.S. Why do you and my father not capitalize Wizard and Wizard's Tower? I noticed in both your and my father's letters that you use lowercase while official palace documents capitalize it.

***

Dear Olivia,

To answer your P.S. first, I don't capitalize wizard and wizard's tower because that's how Magister Lucus taught me. According to him, the faithful don't capitalize those words as a show of protest against the tower. While petty in hindsight, it's how I was taught so it's stuck with me like that. I also have no reason to be kind to the tower since they branded me a wizard so I could be sent off to war.

I'm glad you're understanding of my messy letters, and hope you're able to leave Relsh quickly and make it to Sevette. Duke Mordrist is friends with your father, so you shouldn't face as much hostility while there from the local lords.

Your advice on writing out my thoughts into letters is a nice distraction, but not something I can do consistently. Timothy keeps sending me out on missions or making me busy with 'special' one-on-one training which barely leaves me time to even sleep. The training is just an excuse for him to beat me with a wooden sword, but thanks to Elise I don't have any permanent scars…

I'm really tired and it's hard to write. I'll try to send you a better letter later.

Be well,

Lucina.

***Four months into the war.***

Dear Lucina,

While I don't know what the weather is like in Peltaira, here in Sevette, Autumn is in full swing with chilly air and trees that are just starting to lose their brightly colored leaves. The nobles here are mostly neutral toward me with a few trying to win my favor. I met one who was sincere in their generosity while the others I met I could tell only wanted to get in good with me since I'm the Crown Princess. While not a bad thing, I wouldn't exactly call them 'loyal' to me, either. But, with every bandit camp destroyed and every demon slain Sevette is one step closer to finding relative peace. I also managed to solo a hellhound and finally redeemed myself for being so cowardly when we were younger! Even though we're almost done here, I plan on dragging my feet as much as possible so that when we hit Holst I can use the winter weather as an excuse to stay in Wortrest and spend time with my mother. You're also sending letters home, I hope?

I've sent you a package along with this letter with some new gloves, thick pants, and a coat that I hope will keep you warm as the temperature keeps dropping. I wish this war would end so you could come home before winter instead of me having to send you these things. My father mentioned in his recent letter that the push into Peltaira has ground to a halt now that their proper forces are deployed and there's very little headway being made. I'm worried about you, Lucina.

Hope to hear from you,

Olivia

***

Dear Olivia,

I do send letters home when I have time. The weather is similar here, probably just as cold, though the leaves aren't changing colors or falling off their branches since they remain a bright red all year round in the region we're currently in. Thank you for the clothes, they're really nice. You don't need to worry about me that much, I've been getting stronger every day and have almost gotten used to four hours of sleep each night. The others are doing what they can to help, so you don't need to be concerned. I'll be fine so long as I can keep reading your letters. Sometimes, it's like I can hear your voice reading them to me and they help me through this.

I wish you well,

Lucina

***Six months into the war.***

Happy birthday, Lucina!

I don't know exactly when this letter will reach you, but it should land at least in the right month so it's good enough for a birthday letter! Any food I send worthy of a birthday meal would spoil before getting to you, so instead you can consider this letter as a voucher for a free meal when the war ends and you come home. No matter where we go and no matter how much you order, the meal bill is on me. But, I can't leave you empty-handed for your birthday so I sent more winter clothes for you. No matter where you are on the continent, January is a cold month so make sure to stay warm!

I managed to coincide my arrival to Wortrest with a snowstorm so now my party and I are 'stuck' here until the weather clears up. Your mother is also here and I'm sending the scarf she knit for you along with my presents so make sure to send her a thank you letter!

I miss you, Lucina.

Praying this ends soon,

Olivia

***

"…Hmm." Lucina smiled to herself as she finished reading Olivia's letter and lightly traced her fingers over the words. Even though it was short, the letter was obviously filled with care for her and she was glad to receive a birthday wish even though the letter arrived three days before her actual birthday. Her calloused hands had trouble feeling the paper due to the cold, though there wasn't much she could do about it since all she had to keep warm were some old worn-out gloves. Just like all the other times, Olivia's gifts never reached Lucina. She asked Hopper about it and he told her that he never got any packages for her when he would go on his runs for the mail. James was probably intercepting them before they left. Lucina tried reaching out to Olivia about it, but she never made any mention of Lucina's pleas in her letters so it was obvious that James was going through the letters she and Olivia exchanged to make sure Olivia never learned the truth. Olivia was sending so many letters that James probably got curious about what she was saying and started doing this when the first gift would have been sent. While Lucina thought about sending a letter to Richard about it, she never had the energy or drive to do it as every passing day made her more and more tired. She barely got four hours of sleep a night, and the constant battles were taking their toll on her body and mind. Luckily, Timothy had gotten bored of beating her which freed up enough time for Lucina to ask Peter for sword lessons. It was a good workout to continue building her physique and the repetitive nature of sword practice helped distract her mind from… Her eyes wandered over to the shortsword that was lying on the straw mat next to her in the share tent. The sharp metal blade glinted in the setting sunlight that peaked in through the tent's flap. Cold air hung around her face and entered her lungs with every shallow breath she took. She was so tired. Her hand reached for the sword to-

"I miss you, Lucina~." The ethereal voice that always stopped her caressed Lucina's ears and made her pause. She turned her head and, once again, found herself alone in the tent. Over the months, the voice had gotten more and more clear until it was unmistakable. Lucina knew better than to listen to the voice, this was obviously what Magister Lucus talked about during their magic lessons about the side effects of magic exhaustion. She was constantly draining her magic reserves to survive the battles and to save her new companions, so this was to be expected. The voice obviously wasn't real. Olivia couldn't be here. "Lucina~?"

"…" But that voice always stopped her whenever her hand would move toward her sword or other weapons when her thoughts were dark. Her fingers clenched into a shaky fist and she returned her arm to her side. As barely a whisper, Lucina dejectedly muttered, "I'm tired."

"Do you want me to carry you?" Carl appeared at the entrance to the tent and looked down at her reading the letter. He was fully dressed in his mismatched plate armor that was missing the right arm and both thigh guards; though he still had the shin guards that also protected his knees from the leg pieces he lost. The Hellhounds were never the priority when it came to gear, so if a piece of armor was broken beyond repair then they would throw it away and make do without.

"What's the mission?" Lucina asked as she stuffed Olivia's latest letter into the sack she had that contained all of Olivia's previous letters.

"The Azure Hawks will be pushing the fort on the southern hill tomorrow morning," Carl explained as he turned around and knelt down. "Braxton wants us to poke the fort from the north throughout the night so they lose sleep which will give the Azure Hawks an easier win."

"…Alright," Lucina replied as she fastened her shortsword to her belt. Lucina hadn't seen Richard since she joined the Hellhounds and wanted to go talk to him at least once, but she knew Braxton would punish her for it if she did so she dropped the thought entirely. She paused as she adjusted the sleeves of her robe to take a look at herself. A chainmail shirt that didn't fit her went down to below her waist because of the number of close calls Lucina found herself in as a vanguard wizard. Her robe, once a beautiful clean white, was now a dull light grey that was covered in spots and patches of a sickly dark reddish-brown from old blood splatter that would never wash out, and the end of the robe was torn and tattered from being dragged across the ground for so long. The robe was in no condition to keep being worn yet Lucina still wore it since it helped surprisingly well against the cold. Walking over to Carl, Lucina wrapped her arms around his neck and let herself get hoisted up as she piggybacked him.

"It'll be about an hour's walk, so get some shut-eye," Carl said as his feet crunched through the freshly fallen snow. As the months passed, Lucina had deepened her bonds with everyone in the share tent to the point they considered each other as a second family. With the amount of pyrrhic victories they obtained and the amount of blood they spilled together, this feeling was only natural to bloom in their hearts. Carl was actually the first to fully embrace this feeling and would let Lucina get some much-needed sleep while he carried her to whatever battlefield they were sent to.

"Thanks," Lucina said and happily accepted Carl's kindness. Her eyes closed and her consciousness faded while Carl walked over and joined the others to begin their march. Elise pulled Lucina's hood up over her head while tucking her hair inside to keep Lucina a little warmer.

"Hm?" As the group of Hellhounds left camp, Richard Ordrin was standing outside his order's camp to help clear his thoughts when he noticed the Hellhounds leaving. "Lucina?" Focusing his attention, Richard saw the battered state Lucina's clothes were in; he knew Olivia had sent Lucina winter gear as gifts multiple times but none of what Lucina was wearing looked remotely new. With a new bitter thought plaguing his mind, Richard searched through the Hellhound's camp until he found their messenger, Hopper. After a brief chat, Richard returned to his tent to write a letter to his daughter that he would entrust to one of his knights, not a normal messenger, to find and hand deliver to Olivia personally. There was an unnatural coldness in the air as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon and Sailest's light broke through the clouds to bathe the snow-covered land in its soft light. The snow glistened to create a surreal landscape with the scarlet red leaves of the forest gently swaying in the cold breeze. Tonight would be the longest night of the war with Sailest silently watching from on high as the massacre in The Crimson Forest began to unfold.