The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

Elisabeth sat in her carriage, gazing outside the window. The depressing downpour of the northern rain came as usual at this time of the year. Sticky mud slowed down the advancing army and left it vulnerable to ambushes. If only anyone would be crazy enough actually to ambush them. In her luxurious carriage, however, she hardly felt the discomfort of muddy roads and the strength-draining cold of late spring rain. The rolling thunder in the distance reminded her that nature had much worse to offer. She sighed heavily, relieved she was spared marching during such bad weather. She cursed angrily in the general direction of the Bernan capital. It was all their fault. Somehow, they had figured out that destroying one of the most important dams in the region could threaten her forces. She cursed once more and then exhaled slowly as she leaned back on the couch.

When the water reached their camp, it was just inconvenient. The ankle-deep, cold water could have been a problem during early spring when the patches of snow still dominated the landscape. However, late spring slowly changed into early summer, and the days started becoming hot, and the nights were warm. Except for the time it was raining. Still, she had to move the camp. The Guardsmen wagons slowly moved around her while the Legionnaires marched in the rain, unbothered by the cold and moisture. A small cavalry patrol headed into the distance as they gathered the intel from the scout units. The news about the destruction in the lands she was venturing into was as depressing as the rain outside. Entire villages were washed away alongside their inhabitants. The people had no chance. Death came for them in their sleep, without mercy or warning. The howling wind and the rattle of rain muffled an incoming wave of water.

"How can he be so cruel?" She asked her dim reflection in the window.

"It's the fear mixed with the desperation," Twirll's voice sounded from his potted tree.

"Good morning, Lord Twirll." She looked at the tree sitting on the small desk on the other side of the carriage, but the bird could not be seen.

"Ha! Where in the world is such weather a sign of good morning?" he grumbled. "Fucking Mondays..."

"Mondays? Ah..." She smiled.

Twirll hopped onto the branch and yawned. He looked blankly at the landscape behind the window and sighed.

"We won't be getting reinforcements anytime soon," he mused without even looking at her. "Our only hope to break the impasse is the two new frigates that will be ready in a few days. They are not Victory, but they should hold until the brand new line of ships is ready. But we're speaking about months of work..."

"I don't think we have that much time." Elisabeth massaged her neck. "Nor we should give that much time to the Patriarch..."

"Not necessarily... They are in a panic right now." Twirll flew closer and landed on her hand she had automatically raised. She enjoyed holding him like that more than she wanted to admit.

"In a panic? How so?" She gave him a surprised look.

"Girl... You have defeated four of Berna’s Paladin armies. The death rate was extremely high due to their initial zeal, so they lost nearly forty thousand of their best soldiers. Most of their experienced warriors, along with the noble's youth of Berna, are currently dead. They barely have the resources to replace lost equipment. You have won, Princess Elisabeth. They just don't want to admit it yet."

"But that's impossible!" She looked at Twirll with her eyes wide open. "They still have tens of thousands of soldiers!"

"Yes..." Twirll agreed and proceeded to pluck out a feather that was irritating him. "But they are busy. You may not have noticed this, but the Holy Kingdom of Bernan runs on Slaves. There are actually many more slaves than actual citizens in this country. Who do you think is overseeing the slave camps, mines, plantations, and farms run by the slaves? Soldiers, of course. Once they are gone, the slaves will break free, and they all will die."

"Then why won't they surrender?"

"No chance. I think they will try to start peace negotiations with you."

"What? Why me?"

"Okay, fine. With me. But you are my Chosen One. Have you forgotten already?"

"Oh, Eriar..." Elisabeth moaned almost painfully. When she was about to sink into her couch, she straightened, causing Twirll to jump on the palm of her hand. He managed to preserve his stoic expression, mostly because he had gotten used to her silly behaviour. "Wait! But we won't allow them, right?"

"That's... complicated." He lowered his head and let out a sigh. "Our King is currently raising two more legions and building the Navy, and he expects to be attacked by the Devilkin at any moment. While I can't imagine letting go of the possibility of seizing control of Berna, I could imagine that a sudden change of plans would force the King to recall one or two Legions."

"I don't particularly like that vision..." she sighed heavily.

"I'm not a great fan of that idea as well..."

"Have big politics always looked like this?"

"It's much worse if you are not King Theon." He shrugged again in his bird-cute fashion. "The king simply ignores what he doesn't like at this point. So I think he wants to destroy Berna... Oh, damn."

"What happened?" She asked, slightly worried, but Twirll turned his head towards the window and let out a happy chirp.

"Morrigan and Gawain were ordered to aid you. Now that the Bernan Navy is in ruins, it is time to unleash the Dragon Riders. Janet is leading them from HMS Fenrir."

"That's fantastic!" Elisabeth brightened and teased Twirll's fluffy belly with her finger. "You said before we won't be getting any reinforcements!"

"Hahahaha! Stop! Stop! I'm ticklish!" He laughed. "Because I thought so. I'm just the King's familiar, not him."

"Fine." She smiled warmly and almost jumped when the thunder hit nearby. "Iiiik!"

"That one was close..." The bird suddenly got serious.

•••

In the evening, they reached the new camp spot. The new place was situated on the top of the most prominent hill in the area, overlooking the distant mountains in the south and the river line in the north. The prominence wasn't anything special; it was a wide hill like any other in the vicinity, high enough to grant protection from the flooding river but still exposing everyone to the cold rain and wind that blew through the highlands of Berna. When she arrived, the place was actually on the good path to being finished. The dense forest on the western heel of the hill was a source of wood for the camp's palisade and fuel for many campfires that were used to dry the soaked clothes of Guardsmen who arrived earlier. The bulk of the Fifth Legion arrived with her, but five Centuriae arrived earlier and it was them who built the palisade that protected the people from the relentless wind. Elisabeth felt the cold chill on the very idea of leaving her warm and cosy carriage, but that perspective seemed unavoidable.

"Can't you do something about the weather?" she asked Twirll with a tone of complaint in her voice.

"Like what exactly?"

"I don't know... Jukk'nala was a God of Nature; I thought you had his powers." she sighed, resigned, and opened the small-looking cabinet in search of a raincoat.

"Haha. I am not him." Twirll was unamused. "Besides, he was bluffing. If he had been anywhere close to being a god of nature, Queen Lavender wouldn't have stood a chance against him. Instead, she completely controlled that battle. She might have been unable to actually kill him, though."

"So you can't do anything about the rain..." she summarised and put on the long raincoat. "Kitty, you really want to go with me?"

The black cat rubbed on her leg and meowed. However, once Elisabeth opened the carriage doors and the cold wind got inside, the Cat hissed and jumped into her basket. She dug under the fluffy blanket, and after a moment, only her tail was visible, and even it then disappeared. From under the blanket, only the two dots of her eyes could be seen, accompanied by offended hisses.

"Close the doors behind you. Thank you!" she heard Twirll say in amusement.

"Traitors!" Elisabeth replied with a slightly amused tone. "Both of you!"

"I'm shocked by that groundless accusation!" Twirll laughed back. "But seriously, close the doors."

Elisabeth laughed and mercifully closed the doors to her carriage. The weather was awful, and she was increasingly grateful for the raincoat she had received along with the more expected equipment. The navy blue and white coat with golden-like finishes was maybe nothing much, but it was one of her greatest treasures. The weather in Berna was always a little bit unpredictable, with cold rain and unpleasant wind always at the ready. In her coat, she wasn't afraid to face the weather any longer. The Guardsmen wearing similar raincoats were unloading the cargo carriages while others were setting up the large and warm tents. She smiled to herself, recalling her confusion and almost fear when she learnt that the Arcadians planned to use mostly tents and camp outside the cities during the campaign. Way too many times, she had the questionable pleasure of camping outside her usual cell in the Patriarch's castle. Berna's army tents were made of thin material, barely insulating the person inside from the elements.

King Theon cared for his Mortal soldiers, and he provided them with all sorts of equipment that would make their lives easier. It was only natural that Arcadia's Army tents were superior. The large tents, where ten people can comfortably rest on bunk beds or in special hammocks, were incomparable to what she was used to. The tent materials were enchanted with various effects, like always keeping the inside at the perfect temperature, or no matter how hard it rained or the wind blew, the tent never let the hostile elements inside. That, in addition to the fact that the Immortal Legions shouldn't station nearby civilians, fully explained why they chose to camp in remote places. Of course, after almost two months of campaigning, Elisabeth, now much wiser, finally understood the reasoning that would have been too bothersome to give her earlier when she was an inexperienced and fairly naïve Princess. The main reason for making camps outside of Bernan cities was for security. The forces of Count Nova had been securing the cities at the rear of her forces, and they suffered many attacks from Bernans, who were loyal to the Patriarch. Camps far away from any form of civilisation were so convenient... She tried to sneak between the people and the rain as quickly as possible. Once she got close enough to her tent, the Praetorians guarding the entrance opened the tent flaps for her.

"Thank you so much..." She smiled as she passed near them.

"Not a problem, Ma'am." One of them replied with a mildly amused voice as she snuck inside.

The heavy material closed right behind her, and she sighed as she took off the raincoat and hung it on the hanger. The familiar inside of the tent that was her home for almost two months was warm and cosy. It was actually even bigger on the inside than the tent should be and had a few spacious rooms. She entered what could have been considered her office, and she froze. Then she all turned red and almost ran away, embarrassed. Raphael was sitting near his usual desk with some papers he must have worked on scattered around. While that wasn't particularly anything new, he was turned away from the... Her thoughts trailed away, looking for a name that effectively was an inside tent door leading to the tent equivalent of the hall. Anyway... Raphael was partly naked, with his long, silvery hair soaking wet as he wrung water out of his shirt. Then she noticed a red line on his back. A fresh scar, which was going to disappear soon enough, was the only indication he was seriously hurt.

"What happened?" she asked, forgetting about her embarrassment.

"Hello, Princess!" He straightened in salute, but his face twisted in pain as he did it. He sat back heavily and started putting on his still-soaked shirt. "I'm sorry... I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"What the hell happened, Raphael?!" She quickly took out a blanket from her storage ring and went towards him.

"It's nothing, really..." he replied, very embarrassed.

"If that is nothing, I wonder what something looks like. Take off that shirt. You will catch a cold." The job was quite easy since he had only managed to put on just one sleeve.

Raphael sighed heavily and took off the shirt as she ordered. Meanwhile, she tried her best to start a fire in the tent's metal stove. She also set the water to boil while she was on it. Her heart was racing, and she was anxious since the scar on his back was very long. She turned around and saw him huddled under the blanket with a shameful expression, avoiding her gaze and staring at the table. She sighed and sat in front of him, fixing her uniform a bit.

"Can you tell me already what happened?" She asked much more calmly, making him sigh loudly in response.

"It was a stupid accident." he finally muttered, but it wasn't nearly enough for her. He knew that, and after a moment, he continued. "It really was a stupid accident, and what's worse, it's a miracle that I am alive. Once we arrived at this place with scouts, I set up the initial campsite, and with the Legion officers, we planned the fort layout. Then, I returned to the Guardsmen Scouts to give them the order to scout the area. I was crossing the cart unloading area when I slipped on the loose lump of mud and fell to the ground."

She blinked a few times, trying to connect the large scar with his fall, failing miserably. However, it seemed there was more to it, so she waited patiently. He sighed, blushed, and looked away.

"Then one of the unloaded carts drove over me." Her eyes narrowed from shock, but Raphael continued. "The driver had no chance to see me. He was driving backwards, and the wind must have muffled my cursing. Fortunately, he unloaded the healers, so I had luck in my bad luck. They managed to patch me up, but I will be out of commission for a few days. I'm sorry..."

"I'm happy that you are alive." She wiped a tear that started falling down her cheek as she smiled at him. "I'm glad it wasn't any ambush or anything like that..."

"Thankfully, nothing like that." He smiled back. "I just feel dumb..."

"Oh, stop it, Raph!" She stood up very quickly and hugged him. "I don't know what I would do if you would have died..."