Saints, I understand now why this woman has a title as outrageous as the rose blooming in frost or some such. She’s even cuter bathed in candlelight. Someone could get lost in those eyes of hers, happily. They’re far less intense than those of the man who sired her. Even less than my future saint, who is a chip off the old block.

Everything about her just seems soft and comfortable. Like…a small animal. A puppy. No, softer. A bunny?

I don’t have much time to admire her. Discovered, Yulianna doesn’t bother whispering anymore and Alana stirs more vigorously. Her eyes slowly open, squinting in confusion at the light. She sits up, rubbing at an eye. “Lou?” she mumbles sleepily. “Why are you up? Something wrong?”

“We have a visitor.”

“Hey, Allie.”

Alana’s head snaps up, her cooler blue eyes pinning her sister in place. Yulianna smiles sheepishly and shuffles in place. Her charm has no effect on my future saint, who frowns deeply. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were back and was really excited to see you. Thought I could surprise you like old times.” Her grin turns sly. “But I got caught.”

Alana sighs. “If I didn’t like it back then, why would I appreciate you sneaking into my room in the middle of the night now?”

The elder sister’s smile weakens. “I—"

“I would have thought you’d grown out of this, being married and a mother. Not everyone is so enamored by you that they’ll forgive your stupid antics. You can talk to me in the morning, when I’m not trying to sleep.”

Alana, stop. What are you doing? You’re making the bunny sad. Look at those eyes. “Sorry, Allie. We can…we can talk later.” Saints, this is as bad as kicking a puppy.

“Yeah.” Alana drops her head. “Goodbye, Yulianna. Lou, blow out those candles and come back to bed.”

Once again, I lock eyes with the sneaky sister. Her soft and slightly pained smile says everything she can’t. It can’t be helped. I would have liked to stay longer but I don’t want to make things more awkward. See you again.

The bunny turns tail and dejectedly hops from the room, closing the door softly behind her. Shaking my head, I blow out the recently lit candles and climb back into bed, resuming my previous cuddle with my tense lover. Under the hands that massage her shoulders, she slowly relaxes. “So, that was your sister.”

The body that had started to relax tenses again. What is the problem between the two of them that it affects her this much? Honestly, I’m having a hard time imagining that sweet woman doing anything nefarious.

“Yes, she’s something, isn’t she?”

“It certainly takes a personality to sneak into anyone’s room in the middle of the night, even a sister’s.”

“Yulianna was never one to let something like boundaries stand in her way.”

Her voice is becoming increasingly more strained. This conversation isn’t going to lead anywhere good so I decide to terminate it. Wrapping her in my arms, I kiss her forehead. “Goodnight, sweetie.”

She relaxes again and snuggles into me. “Mm.”

-

Breakfast is just as strange as dinner. And just as impersonal. I expected another strategic meeting. Instead, I get a table of food with no one to serve it and no one seated at it. Alana explains that with the differences in training schedules, there was no point in the family attempting to sit down for a morning meal. The food was prepared and left for people to take at their leisure.

While we are fixing our plates, Yulianna enters the room. She brightens when she sees us but Alana darkens.

“Allie!”

“Yulianna.”

“Can we—"

“I have work to do,” Alana says quickly and decisively. “Lou?”

“Gonna check in with Cloud. After I find that elf. Maybe you can give me a tour of the fort. Show me the sights.”

She chuckles. “There isn’t much to see beyond snow and ice.” Purposely avoiding looking at her sister, Alana stomps from the dining room.

Once her footsteps become soft, Yulianna sighs. I hand her a plate and that brightens her expression a little. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” Really, I just handed you a plate. There’s no need to look at me like I’m your hero. No wonder people adore her if she looks at everyone like that. “Alana really hates you.”

She winces. “Mm. We don’t get along as much as I’d like.”

“Why?”

She shakes her head sadly. “I wish someone could tell me…is what I want to say but I’m not blind. Do you mind a little walk? I don’t like eating in this room.”

“Sure.”

“Aren’t you going to…”

“Not hungry.” I am spoiled by my succubus and would rather wait for her to fix a meal than choke down this, if I’m being honest, garbage. Because of their weird habits, none of the food is hot and is easily eaten on the move, like bread, strips of dried meat, and a tiny amount of fruit. Travel rations. I didn’t eat that even when I was traveling. “Lead the way.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

I follow her through the house, back to the hallway that leads to the training building. At the base of one of the windows a small table and chair have been set up. A single white flower in a thin glass vase sits in the center of the white cloth covering it.

A much better place to eat breakfast. If all of this was set up without instruction, then the servants must know Yulianna well. And adore her. I can’t imagine the servants at my home doing something so thoughtful for me.

Ah. Maybe Earl would. Anna would probably help. Gajin would select a whole bouquet, let alone a single bloom. Nomad…well, he wouldn’t do much more than slump in a corner of the room while they worked unless given a specific task but he’d be there.

Thinking of my servants makes me smile and the tiniest twinge of longing pinches my heart. To think they all used to be hopeless bandits. Those fools better be taking care of the house.

“Oh! I’ll call someone to bring another chair.”

“No need. I’m fine standing.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Eat before your food gets cold. Colder.”

Yulianna takes the single chair as I lean against one of the windows. She flashes me one more worried look before turning her attention to the bloom decorating her table. A dainty finger touches one of the plump petals, stroking it softly. I turn my eyes away from the oddly suggestive sight. I really have turned into a degenerate, haven’t I?

“Very few plants grow in the north and all that do are special. The Snow Aikeledi is parasitic. Its seeds are carried by the wind, skipping over the snow until the sharp barbs latch onto a creature. Those barbs grow into roots that sink into the skin, drawing strength from the blood of its host.”

Saints.

“Yet, the flower is not solely a burden. It numbs its host to pain, so they do not notice the roots growing into them. It makes manabeasts infected terrors to fight, as they ignore anything but fatal wounds. It also releases a sweet smell that draws creatures. For prey, it is a death sentence, but for predators, it provides a steady stream of food.”

Her smile is sad but sweet. “The alchemists of the fort grow them, harvesting the seeds and planting them on manabeasts they raise and capture. They’re used to make creature lures that are invaluable for the campaigns. The Waning Stars, the female order attached to the Bleak Moons, uses this as their crest. A life-sucking killer is beloved because it is useful. Distasteful, but a fitting symbol for my home.”

She drops her hand and takes a few small bites of her food. Her features remain placid. Heh. Even someone used to the sorry meal isn’t happy about it. “Has Alana talked to you about her mother?”

“No.”

“Ah, well. Best I leave that for her to explain. I will simply say that, when she came to our house, it was a big surprise. I think she wanted a family. Instead, she got a commander and fellow soldiers. It didn’t help that she was behind in her martial studies, having only picked up a stick to swing for fun until then. She was nothing until she proved herself. She wasn’t even allowed to stay in the house.”

She holds her chin in one hand as she chews of a strip of dried meat. “Looking back, I can see where I went wrong but you have to understand, Lady Tome—"

“You’ve seen me without pants. No point calling me Lady Tome.”

She grins. “Then, may I call you Lou?” Her smile widens after I nod. “You must call me Yulia.”

“Alright.”

“Good, good. You’re wonderfully easy to talk to Lou. If only…” She shakes her head. “As I was saying, I went about approaching Allie all wrong. I grew up in the James household. I didn’t see the endless training as proving myself, it was just what we had to do, like the children of the servants had chores around the house. Besides that, my father always was a little more lenient on me. Oh, he never said anything or carried me on his shoulders, but he didn’t mind that I never fought as hard. Mother says it’s because I resemble Aunt Faith.”

“His sister that died.”

Yulianna’s eyes widen. “How do…did Allie show you the Remembrance Room?”

“If you’re talking about the room with all the portraits of your family members, yeah.”

“Oh.” Her face flushes the faintest pink. “Your, um, relationship with my sister is closer than I thought.”

“All because she showed me some paintings?”

“So, you don’t know.” The mischievous smile from last night returns. “The Remembrance Room is usually shown to our spouses on the eve of our weddings, to show the weight of the burden they want to carry and to ask for the blessing of our ancestors.” Her eyes twinkle with amusement. “If you were a man, it’d be as good as a proposal.”

My future saint is getting devious, not sharing that information. I’ll have to give her a good reward later. “Why do I have to be a man for it to be a proposal?” I ask, my turn to be amused as her mind visibly blanks with confusion.

“Um, because men marry women?”

“I’m married to a woman though.”

“You…are?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh.” Her confused eyes widen and a deeper flush comes to her face as she likely sees our meeting in a new light. “Oh! Oh, my.”

“You don’t seem too surprised.”

She giggles nervously. “Do you know of the tradition of female knights in Victory?”

“Do you mean how they swear off marriage and children while active members of the order?”

“Yes, that. The more traditional orders take it to an extreme, forbidding their members from having relations with men of any kind. Certain, um, practices are common amongst them, especially the trainees.”

I’m nowhere close to being dense enough to miss the subtle implication. Whole orders of women who sleep with other women? Please introduce me. “I don’t suppose you have personal experience.”

She laughs. “Haha, no, no. When I did my one campaign, I was with the Stars, under Aunt Anastasia. None of them would dare make such a proposal to a James daughter. I would say no one in Victory has the daring. You must be rather brave.”

Brave? I don’t know. Rather than brave, I think it’d be better to say I’ve grown accustomed to risks and dangerous situations being with Kierra. One can only be scared for so long before it becomes routine. “Thanks, but can you go back to why your relationship with Alana is so bad?”

“Of course.” She points at me dramatically. “Don’t think you’ve escaped. I still have questions for you, young lady. I want to know who’s courting my sister.” I nod in agreement and she settles. “Yes, where was I?”

“Discussing how you approached her the wrong way.”

“Mm. I didn’t understand how desperate she was back then. Mother isn’t…she isn’t the warmest of women. Kalise was always nice but she was still fighting in the campaigns back then. Aliza is a doll but Father hadn’t married her yet so she wasn’t in the house often. When I heard I had a little sister near my own age, after twelve years surrounded by knights and brothers who wanted to be knights, I was ecstatic.

“I wanted to do sister things. Pick flowers from corpses. Braid each other’s hair. Help her pick out clothes instead of armor.” She sighs. “I wanted her to stop training so hard and play with me. To talk to me about anything other than fighting and our father. Eventually, she told me off. I was so upset. James children are taught to be tough, to swallow the pain and keep going, but Allie…I wanted us to get along so badly…”

She hides her eyes with one hand. “I’m embarrassed about it to this day but I cried. I’m…blessed to be loved by many people. I knew I’d never be the best fighter so I turned my efforts to what I can do. Comforting those who do fight. Offering a smile and a kind word. My many friends…they saw what happened in the worst light. Her fellow trainees thought she had hurt me out of jealously. They made life…difficult.”

“One moment. Would one of those people who made her life difficult be named Ler…Ly…Lucas?”

She winces. “He was one of the most enthusiastic, stemming from his infatuation with me. It got especially bad when I rejected him. Something that did not help my attempts to reconcile with Allie.”

There is a dead man walking around Victory. His heart still beats and he still draws breath, unaware that his life won’t last much longer.

“It got to the point that Father determined it was interfering with their training. So, he sent Allie off to the Hall. I think it was also to temper her will. To see if she would give up on the north after witnessing some place warmer with less judgment. If I wanted to be sentimental, I’d say he hoped she did. He may not show it but losing so many children has to cut deep.”