“We’ve finally made it.”

“See it wasn’t so hard. You’re a better commander than you give yourself credit for.”

Anna lightly bumps me giving me a sense of reassurance.

“Alright, we’ll do a sweep of the town before I go rendezvous with Seliph at Lake Renvall. While I’m doing that I want you to establish a perimeter around the area and get our supply lines in order.”

“You sure you’re going to be okay meeting him?”

“Of course, because I’m going to be the one waiting for him.”

“Best of luck, we’ll hold the fort here.”

“Won’t need it.”

I charge forward into the town as Laslow’s men follow behind me and Felicia. Searching the town I can see the signs of a hurried escape and some caked blood stained to the walls and road. But, for the most part, the city seems to be intact.

It would take some time to rebuild but I’d seen worse cases. I felt sorry for Alice, but seeing her dedication I doubted she’d have much trouble taking her grandfather’s place as ruler here.

We rush on through after our initial scan and proceed towards the lake. At this point, I believe we have driven back the monsters and I doubt we’ll see them again for quite some time.

With the end of the war against the human coalition Seliph was able to better organize the men to meet the threat. But the timing of it all felt, wrong. It was like they knew we had going to be stretching the demon’s forces leaving this area relatively undefended.

It definitely made me uncomfortable and almost like this whole invasion was my fault, but I couldn’t change the past and my responsibilities have only grown. Hopefully, Seliph keeps his word and doesn’t break this peace with the human and we can all rebuild together. I had my doubts though and until we have finalized it I’ll make sure to keep my wits sharp.

It took a couple hours but we finally made it to the lack. The good news was we had made it. The bad news however was I had been second.

As we approached I could make out Seliph sitting at a table ahead of us with an empty seat beside him. He was even dressed in casual attire meaning he must have been here since yesterday.

I can only sigh and hope his wish isn’t too crazy since he has clearly won our bet.

“Laslow, tell the men they’ll be resting here. I’ll go meet Seliph and tell him of our success.”

“We’ll patiently wait for our Queen’s lovely rendezvous with her dear betrothed. Just make sure you don’t have too much fun.”

“Don’t make me regret bringing you with me Laslow.”

“I’m only jesting, take all the time you need.”

“If you would only follow her orders without that smart mouth you’d stay out of trouble.”

“But where is the charm to be had then my dear Felicia?”

I ride ahead ignoring their banter and soon arrive at Seliph’s table. I jump down from my mount as he pours me a cup of tea.

“I see you’ve arrived sooner than I predicted. I hope you don’t mind the hot tea. I was planning on having it cool down a bit by the time you arrived.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Because it feels like you already knew the results before our little game started.”

“In a manner of sense I did, but I still had to play catch up to beat you so I must applaud your leadership skills.”

He hands me a cup of the tea and I accept it as I sit down across from him.

“My sister said you liked this tea when you shared it together and gave me some to share with you. I hope you don’t have any complaints.”

“None at all, she was very thoughtful to share. I had enjoyed her tea quite a great deal. But, what I wanted to know is how did you know I would arrive here when I did.”

“It was quite easy to be honest. We were enemies not even a month ago, and I learned everything I could about your tactics. I needed to know my enemy after all. But I will admit. I did have to delegate a lot more of the battles to my commanders than I normally do.”

“So you left the recapture of those areas to Dorcas and Markus?”

“It’s important to know how to delegate when you rule such a large kingdom. Something you clearly need to learn.”

“Wasn’t really possible when I was the only one who could even fight your generals.”

“True, but it doesn’t mean you have to remain dogmatic, or has Laslow been causing you to much trouble.”

“He has been causing me trouble but nothing I haven’t been able to handle. Though he did learn quite a few lessons from me.”

“Haha, he never learns does he.”

He then took another sip of his tea with a smile on his face.

“Now, what shall I ask you to do? I wonder, ...”

He rubbed his chin and smirked as I tried to just casually drink my tea. Please don’t be too bad.

“How about you join me on a vacation.”

“A vacation?”

“Yes, it would give us some time to ourselves. Instead of always being busy with our work. Also, I know just the place for us to visit.”

I wasn’t sure what to think. I had expected something much worse, but this is actually quite tame.

“You wanted to ask me out, on a vacation?”

“Yes, but I thought you might’ve wanted to do something other than being berated by Flora’s constant tutelage. I also thought it would give us a better chance to get to know each other. Since business seems to be constantly keeping us both busy.”

I stared at him not sure what to think. It made perfect sense, but I hadn't expected it nonetheless.

“What’s wrong? Not what you expected?”

“No, it wasn’t, I guess I was more worried than I should’ve been.”

“Did you have a wish you wanted to be granted? You seemed really eager to beat me here.”

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any crazy ideas.”

“Like I told you before. I had no such plans at the start. You were clearly worried about nothing.”

“Maybe I just didn’t expect your wish to be a simple vacation getaway.”

“It isn’t just a simple getaway. It’s our getaway and I’ve made sure to clear our schedules for a whole week. So we can have some quality alone time.”

“A whole week?”

“Of course, having it be any shorter would only make it harder to get to know each other better.”

“To ourselves?”

“You excited? Everything is ready for our departure. All we have to do is finish our tea and we can be on our way.”

I sat there dumbfounded as he continued to casually drink his tea. He had this all planned out didn’t he. I really was underestimating him too much. He was taking this quite seriously, but I felt like I was playing too much into his hand. Maybe I’m just overthinking things though.

“I need to send a message to my sister before we leave. I don’t want to have her worry. Then we can leave on this vacation you have planned.”

“Your sister is lucky to have such a reliable sibling such as yourself. How is she doing by the way?”

“She’s doing quite well, but I believe it will take some time for her to come around to my new circumstances.”

“That’s, unfortunate, you okay?”

“Yeah, like I said, we just need some time. She did come to save her brother after all. Finding out that she came to rescue her ‘sister’ would be a bit weird I’d have to admit.”

“It’s good to hear that at least things look to be improving. I do hope to get along with my sister-in-law after all.”

“That might take longer due to the fact that you’re the reason for my change. So I wouldn’t push your luck.”

“She should come around with time. Especially if she can see that you’re happy with your current situation.”

“Well, it’s a little too early to tell.”

“Which I hope to help correct with this vacation of ours.”

“I guess we’ll have to see if your plan works then.”

Taking a carriage we were driven along for the rest of the day. Looking out the window I see the countryside pass by with the soldiers saluting as we passed. I was amazed at the high moral and determination of the demon people. Which reminded me.

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“Did this whole campaign feel, off to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“This whole thing felt like it was supposed to coincide with our attack.”

“You mean when you sieged the capital?”

“Yeah, I mean this whole attack is only what, two weeks after my assault. If I had stuck to the original plan this whole place would be overrun from a two-front assault.”

“It does, but I can’t explain the coincidence. We have had periodic assaults from monsters, but the timing does seem to be unnatural.”

Who would benefit from staging a two front war? Humans most definitely but I couldn’t imagine one of the major powers having the abilities to plan something like this.

“I know this might sound strange, but is there someone pulling strings behind the human coalition’s back?”

“Why do you say that? These are two different races and I’ve never heard of human armies cooperating with monsters.”

“Then an outside group? This whole thing can’t be a coincidence. Someone had to have planned for this to happen.”

“Any ideas who?”

“That’s the thing, I can’t see anybody I know of being able to pull something like this off.”

“Then let it go.”

I feel a soft squeeze and see him give me a reassuring smile.

“We drove them back and with the peace talks with the human countries, we’ll be able to divert our troops to prevent this from happening again. Now, how about we stop worrying about outside affairs and try to enjoy our vacation.”

“You’re right, I’m probably just looking to much into it. I just hope my skills won’t be needed as much.”

“Well sorry to disappoint but I’m going to need your skills as my wife. So you won’t find any rest next to me.”

“But my only skills are in battle I thought you said we would be negotiating for peace!”

He chuckled as he moved over to sit beside me.

“Is that all you think you’re good for?”

“Well that’s the reason I was summoned here, wasn’t it?”

“No, you were summoned to be a puppet of Mara and because of that, your talents have been squandered. You’re a brilliant person Diana. You care deeply about the people you serve and go about helping them with a fierce determination. You’re also one of the most intelligent people I’ve met. I mean you’re surviving Flora’s constant training regime which even I had trouble with when she taught me.”

“But I always screwed up and people died because of me!”

He surprises me by pulling me into a gentle hug.

“Even I have made mistakes Diana and some of them still haunt me to this day. But, I wasn’t alone. I had my family and friends behind me to help encourage me forward. You keep trying to shoulder these burdens alone. ”

“What do you mean, I was the one leading the army. I had to shoulder those burdens, who else would!

“Diana, you have people that care about you. Standing by waiting for you to reach out. You don’t have to lead alone. I’m not asking you to. What I’m asking for you to do is lead with me. I cherish your advice and foreign point of view. It’s something no other person has been able to grant me before.

You’re selling yourself short Diana. I know you didn’t want to marry me. In fact, you wanted to kill me. But, you are a brilliant and talented individual and I’m blessed to have you by my side.”

“And yet I caused everyone so much trouble with those talents.”

“That was in the past and right now, together, we can weave a new future where that cycle will never need to be renewed. You aren’t just a tool anymore. You’re my partner and I can’t be at my best without you. I love you Diana and I want you to understand you aren’t alone anymore.”

I could feel myself blush at his words. I wasn’t expecting him to be so direct like that.

“I think that’s the first time you’ve said that. I’m flattered, I’m just not sure what to think.”

“That’s the problem with the both of us, isn’t it. We’re always thinking, never letting our emotions show.”

“That’s a bit easier said than done.”

“That’s because it’s safer to do, am I wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“For me, I always tried to bury my emotions after my father died. I felt betrayed at how he’d lied to me and so I created a mask to hide my fears. Whenever I tried to date women before I could never break that mask. I had so many enemies back then I bet at least half of them were spies of some kind.

But I’ve done a lot to you without your consent, and to make this work, for both of us. We need to lower these barriers we’ve had to place on ourselves. We both need to be able to rely on each other and honestly, I find this easier to do with you due to our shared experiences as leaders.

Though on opposite sides we know the struggles of leadership and of being alone facing these struggles. Together though, I want to be able to share our pains, our sorrows, our anguish. We are a pair now and I feel like this can only work if we are true to each other on our emotions.

This isn’t a game to be won or conquered for me, and I don’t want this to be that for you. I want to be your rock and I want you to be mine. I know that this might not be this easy for you, but I want this to be the way that I approach us and I want you to know that I love you wholeheartedly.”

I felt a beating in my chest at his words as they rolled into my ears. I didn’t know if it was okay to feel this way. But I could feel the devotion in his words and I was torn on how to reciprocate his feelings.

I still wasn’t used to being a woman. I had always grown up believing it would be me saying these words. Not being the recipient of such an honest confession of devotion. To think I had wanted to kill this person less than a month ago now completely confused me.

But I could still feel conflicted by these feelings. Was it really okay for me to grow to love this man? I still felt conflicted by my change and this relationship. But, because of it, there might finally be a chance for peace and it helped lead to a truce.

But, I was still conflicted on how to feel about his confession. I felt needed by his side, but not as a tool from when I was leading the human coalition. As a partner, an equal ally.

Something I had never felt from any of the leaders I had met before who saw me just for my strength and potential. Trying to lure me with power or prestige. Seliph, on the other hand, had the same power as me, but he didn’t want me for my physical prowess. His words spoke of me as a person not as a tool.

His words made me feel truly cherished and desired. At the same time though I felt like I was losing a part of myself. With that loss though, it was being replaced something new I could not fully grasp.

I was scared of this change, but he might be right. How much could I gain if I just let myself be true and let my emotions take over? I was his betrothed whether I liked it or not. If anything, I was going to be stuck with this man for the rest of the time I spent here.

It might still take me some time, but I felt like maybe, maybe I should open up and allow these emotions that I always suppressed to surface. To be true to these feeling and allow myself to enjoy this thing we had together.

For now though, some teasing would be a good way to lower this tension. I wanted some more time to grasp these feeling. But, at the end of this week, I hoped to be able to reciprocate his words with my own. But first I wanted to get to know him better and that’s what we have set out to do.

“You sure have a sweet tongue, but our week has just begun. I hope you still have some honeyed words for the rest of our week.”

“Oh? That was just the surface of my heart. I can’t lay out my whole hand all at once now can I. I need to let you savor every bite now don’t I.”

“Aren’t we full of ourselves today.”

I snuggle into his chest as he hugs me tighter. The sun outside acted like a blanket as his beating heart lulled me to sleep. My tired and stressed body ease away as I feel his warmth and strength being shared with me in our embrace.

It reminded me of when I snuggled with my dad as a kid. The strength, comfort, and reassurance of him against me calmed me as I fall asleep. With the last words I heard being.

“I love you Diana, and thank you.”

I don’t understand why he is thanking me but his words still comfort me nonetheless as sleep overtakes me.

“Diana, wake up, we’ve arrived.”

I sit up as I stretch my stiff arms as I open my eyes to see the moon overhead lighting a castle nestled against the side of a forested mountain.

“What do you think?”

“What is this place?”

“It’s a castle from an old mining town. The vein dried up a long time ago so nature has taken back most of the area. But I must say the place is beautiful, isn’t it.

A perfectly safe and hidden resort for us to enjoy to ourselves. But we’ve both had a long day so let’s get some sleep first.”

“What do you mean? You’ve just been drinking tea and sitting all day. How are you tired?”

“Then I guess I’ll have to do something about that then.”

I then feel him lift me up and he carries me up to the castle. I don’t struggle as I nestle myself into his arms. Maybe I’m being too submissive but I can’t deny that I enjoy this feeling of being in his arms.

The brisk mountain air carries with it the smells of the forest trees as the stars twinkle overhead. How late was it? I didn’t care as his arms enveloped me like a warm blanket.

Next thing I remember is being set down on a soft bed and I stir as he shakes me awake.

“You sure you were getting enough sleep? You’ve been asleep most of the trip. I thought you’d be bouncing off the walls when we got here.”

I lazily opened an eye in protest.

“Doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my rest. You did say we were on vacation.”

“I did, but I guess I didn’t expect you to spend it sleeping the whole way here. You won’t mind sharing a bed together then I hope.”

Wait, something is off about this. Leaning up I see there is only one bed and realize what he meant.

“Is there not a guest quarters?”

“No, since this place was so far out they couldn’t afford to build a big castle. So space is a bit limited here it appears.”

“How did you even know of this place?”

For some reason, I doubt he came up with the idea to come here by himself. Something feels a little off about this.

“Pent actually recommended this place. He visited this place to explore the mine for something. Said the place was still in good shape and the view was great. So I had some people come by to renovate this place. Should’ve probably asked what the place looked like a little bit more.”

“So this is the only bed here?”

“It would appear so.”

“Is there anywhere else I could sleep?”

“Well there is the nearby village where our escort is staying, but it is kinda late.”

I sighed as I lay back in bed.

“I guess we don’t have a choice then.”

He looked puzzled as he sat in a chair next to the window.

“Really? I thought you would have protested this more.”

“It’s too much trouble to find another bed and I doubt it’d be as comfortable.”

“Well in that case. I’ll let you get changed first. Don’t take to long.”

He then heads for the door and I sit back up not sure what he means.

“But I didn’t bring any clothes?”

“I had them bring some clothes beforehand. I bet they are in one of the closets.”

He then closes the door and I get up walking over to one of the two wardrobes against the wall. Luckily I find my clothes on the first try and see two sets of nightclothes.

Though there was really only one set as the other was a bad joke. I bet Oboro had something to do with it. I quickly change into the more modest option before opening the door and gesturing for him to come inside.

“Your turn.”

“That was faster than I expected.”

“What do you mean? I’m always this quick.”

“Never mind, I won’t take long.”

I don’t have to wait long before he opens the door and lets me in. He then picks me up and tries to carry me to the bed. I stop him though and push him away.

“Something wrong?”

“No, it’s just-”

“I shouldn’t have assumed like that, I’m sorry.”

He goes to turn away and I grab onto him. Turning around he looks me in the eye.

“I, I’m sorry it’s just-”

“It’s fine Diana. I know you’re still not completely comfortable with this. I shouldn’t have tried to do that.”

“No, I want to enjoy this I just-”

“You’re trying too hard again Diana. It’s just like at the party. You’re trying too hard at this. If you’re not completely comfortable with that then I won’t press it. Now how about we get some sleep. We have a long day to ourselves after all.”

I nod in agreement and take my spot on the other side of the bed.

“Got any plans?”

“I have some ideas, but for now let’s make sure we have the energy for them.”

I agree as I sink into the soft bed. If I think about it this is my first official vacation since coming to this world. I think I’m going to enjoy this chance for some good R&R.

A smile grows on me as sleep overtakes me. With the gentle sound of Seliph’s breathing matching mine as we fall asleep.