Sam was positively jubilant with the thought of camping. It took immense effort not to skip down the halls and hum a merry tune. She couldn’t remember the last time she was out in the wilderness, where she could take in the smells and sounds of nature and truly hunt her own game, share stories around a campfire, and just let loose.

  And Matt seems like just the kinda guy who’s fun to have around a campfire.

  Being one of the Queen’s Own was an honor of the highest regard. Her very presence commanded the attention of every [Crusader], every soldier willing to give their life in servitude to the queen. Shoulders squared, backs straightened, and salutes were crisp and uniform. She commanded respect, and she returned it in equal measure.

  A position as high as hers was also equally coveted. The petty remarks of rival captains whose experience was more acquainted with a court than a battlefield often made their way to her ears, whether by gossip or otherwise. The few times Sam had approached these individuals to clear the air had done little more than exacerbate the issue. One time was annoying enough, but after the second, the third, even the fourth, she’d realized that they simply didn’t like her.

  So, as much as she enjoyed being a knight who sought to protect the weak, to stand by the queen’s side and enact justice with a firm, but fair hand, she was more than a little excited to escape it all for a while.

  Sam knocked on the door to the provisioning room. Seconds later, the door creaked open, and a woman with short blue hair and turquoise eyes looked through the crack. “Hiya, Rei.” Sam wiggled her fingers in a wave to the provisions officer. “Did ya get the stuff set aside like I asked?”

  Rei nodded her head and stepped to the side, opening the door the rest of the way. Once Sam was inside, she shut the door and threw the latch, leaning against it and pointing at the table at the center of the room. “Are you sure things will be alright while you’re gone?”

  “What do ya mean?” Sam asked as she rifled through the bags of supplies.

  Rei shifted her weight to the other foot. She was one of the few women who always told it straight. Sam liked that about her. “The other captains are talking again. They think you’re unfit for the role.”

  Sam stopped and pressed her tongue against her cheek. This again. She turned her shoulder toward Rei. “Those are just the words of sore losers. If they got a problem with me, they know where they can find me.”

  Rei sighed. “I said that.”

  “And?”

  “They laughed. They see you as a brute.”

  “What else is new?” Sam returned to the supplies and pulled apart the center of one pouch to see enough salted meat for a week. She pulled the strings of the pouch taut, then pushed it aside and retrieved the next bag. “Do I already know which captains are talking about me?”

  Rei hummed inward. That was a yes.

  “How Shilly and Celestine are acting is immature and unbecoming of a knight.” Sam tore open the biggest bag with a little more strength than she should have, and located a pair of bedrolls inside. She closed it up and checked the third. “Try to ignore it.”

  Not that I’m doing a very good job of that.

  “Captain—”

  “The queen has said nothing of my performance,” Sam interrupted. “Matt and I managed to bring down a Defiled and rescue his daughter. Cailu Raloquen saw fit to have me as Matt’s [Battleguard] trainer.” The items inside the third bag were accounted for. She closed it up and pushed it close to the center with the other two bags, turning to face Rei when she finished. “Actions speak louder than words, and I am sorely disappointed by both when it comes to them.”

  Rei squirmed and rubbed her elbow. “They think what you did at the outpost was reckless.”

  Sam frowned. “I am a Third Class, and Matt needed the experience.” She crossed her arms. “The others were put on standby if anything were to happen. Those were my orders. They can take it up with the queen, if they like. I penned a similar report to her.”

  “I know, I know.” Rei sighed. “Just…thought I’d let you know.”

  Sam looked at the drab stone wall to her side. The last time something like this happened, they’d used Sam’s forward nature to push their issue. She wanted to believe it was a misunderstanding, but nothing could’ve been further from the truth. By the time the encounter had come to an end, there were several soldiers who questioned Sam’s methods and whether she was fit to be a captain. The soldiers were mere fresh recruits, but word spreads like fire, and it took until a few of those very recruits were placed under her wing that she was able to convince them otherwise.

  The fires were quenched, and eventually the rumors ended.

  I’d like not to do that again, if I can avoid it.

  Since then, she’d learned that if they wanted to talk about her, then it was best to let them talk. Avoiding confrontations was for the best. If the queen chose to respond to them, then that was a discussion the two of them could have in private. Until then, Sam decided to let her abilities speak for themselves.

  “Appreciate your honesty as always, Rei. I know you want everyone to get along.” Sam approached and put a hand on her shoulder. Rei was a petite woman, still in her First Class, but she was honest and headstrong. With time, she’d become a fine knight. “In situations like these, though, it’s best to worry about yourself and not care what others think. If the queen were to believe every word out of every person’s mouth, then nothing would ever get done.” She shook her head. “I’m not concerned. Angry, maybe. But not concerned.”

  Rei offered the hint of a smile. “Okay. Thank you, Captain.”

  “We’re friends. You can just call me Sam. At least, when we’re away from prying ears and eyes.”

  Rei’s smile widened. “Sam, then.” She pushed away from the door and undid the latch. “When will you be back?”

  Sam thought. “Give me at least three days, a week at the most. I’m kinda playin’ this by ear, seein’ how Matt responds to certain situations. He’s a toughie, but he’s a bit soft in some areas, so we gotta work that outta him somehow.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Rei giggled. “I don’t dislike that in a man.”

  Sam returned a chuckle of her own. “I don’t either.” She used her thumb to point at the bags behind her. “Do you mind settin’ that stuff aside for the time bein’? Just gotta check out a few pieces of gear and then I’m going to the throne room to collect our man.”

  Rei shook her freckle-speckled head and stepped to the side as she opened the door. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Sam waved again on her way out. “See ya soon.”

  With the provisions taken care of and her duties reassigned to the other not-backstabbing captains, she made her way to the courtyard and out to the armory. Their weapons would be fine in case any big Encroachers or Defiled attacked, but what they really needed were tools to help start fires, butcher game, and cut plants. Their axes wouldn’t cut it.

  Sam soaked in the sun as she crossed the threshold over to where Deedee was clanging away at her newest project. Deedee had her back turned, so Sam waited until she was finished. One thing she’d learned from Deedee was how much blacksmiths valued their concentration. Sam didn’t have the skills or the desire to build a weapon from scratch, but she’d been interrupted plenty of times when she was busy whetting her blade. Two times she’d cut herself, and a third she’d cut someone else. The fire, the metal, and the oil were enough to deter Sam from making a similar mistake.

  Deedee quenched the incomplete blade she was working on, then wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. She pulled off her gloves, glancing at Sam, back at the blade, then back at Sam. “Ah shit, didn’t see ya there.” She rushed to the counter and leaned forward on her palms. “What do ya need, Captain?”

  Deedee was a proud Ichi Island native. A head of bright orange hair framed a face with sparkling blue eyes and bronze skin. A scar traveled the length of her nose—gained from wrestling a longclaw, she said, though the story changed a bit each time she told it—and was bent to one side. Her complexion was smooth for someone who toiled in her line of work, and her blacksmith’s smock and apron looked natural among her toned features.

  “I need some tools for hunting,” Sam said, placing a hand on her hip and shifting her weight to one leg. “Flint and steel, hunting knives, a pair of woodchoppers too, if you got ‘em.”

  Deedee nodded and turned around to the counter behind her. She retrieved a large roll of leather, then unfurled it from one end of the counter to the other. The tools clinked as she undid the cylinder, and she used her forefinger to tap each tool Sam requested moments prior.

  “These will do nicely,” Deedee said as she plucked the knife closest to the left-hand side by the flat. She turned it around so the handle faced Sam. Sam held the blade’s flat level with her vision, closing one eye to better inspect the edge. “Forged that one just a few days ago, so it’s nice and sharp.”

  “Good stuff, Deedee.” The blade was sharpened to perfection. It would cleanly cut any Encroacher they hunted. She set the knife on the counter while Deedee pointed to a pair of axes. Every item was of the highest quality, as per usual, and Sam’s excitement rekindled anew. “This is more of a personal journey,” she said, knowing full well that Deedee wouldn’t let these items go for free, “so how much do I owe ya?”

  Deedee smirked. “I charge eight hundred Bells for the knife, and twelve hundred Bells for the axe, but I’ll let the axes and knives go for thirty-two hundred and throw the flint and steel in for free. How’s that?”

  Sam nodded. “You got yourself a deal!” She undid the strings to her [Cat Pack] and plucked three Bells valued at one thousand each, and two more valued at one hundred each, pressing them into Deedee’s palm.

  “Great. Give me a sec and I’ll get your fire-starting tools.” Deedee got on her hands and knees and disappeared behind the counter while Sam waited.

  “Ah, Captain Sam.” Sam shut her eyes and composed herself. That shrill voice could only belong to one person. She opened her eyes and turned sideways to see Captain Celestine in her ornate armor, long brunette hair falling in waves around her shoulders, her skin the color of alabaster, and her air of superiority as strong as ever. “I am most glad that I was able to find you.”

  “Captain Celestine,” Sam said, nodding curtly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “Oh, mind not the formalities. I simply wished to verify the statement set forth. You are to take leave for the next three days, I understand it. May I ask why?”

  You know exactly why, you haughty pig. It’s in my letter.

  Sam smiled easily. “Cailu Raloquen has tasked me with overseeing Matt’s [Battleguard] training. [Battleguard] is at home in the forest, so that’s where I intend to take him.”

  “Ah, yes, more Encroacher than catgirl.” Celestine laughed, her soulless blue eyes sparkling with amusement. Sam refrained from balling her hands into fists. “A most worrisome Class.”

  “I don’t think it would be fair to judge one’s choice of Class as ‘worrisome’ simply because it doesn’t align with your personal preferences, do you not agree, Captain?”

  Celestine smiled, but there was something else there, and it sure as hell bore no light. “I would not dare. Brutish as they may be, they have their purpose. If it were not for them, then I, as a [Templar], would be unable to lead my subordinates properly.” She giggled. “I would never think anything less of those who choose to pursue such a wild and unpredictable path.”

  “As your fellow captain, I would certainly hope not.” Sam forced herself to smile. “Anything else I can assist you with?”

  “I simply worried that I misinterpreted your letter. I am most happy to see that I did not. While the soldiers will be strained without their favorite captain to guide them, I am certain that the burdens left in your absence will be properly tended.”

  I could squeeze your neck. “I have the utmost confidence in not only your abilities, Captain Celestine, but the others as well. Leadership bears many burdens, and I believe that if I can shoulder Cailu Raloquen’s requests with grace and respect, then so can my comrades in arms. I will miss my subordinates dearly, but my time away will be brief.” She put a firm hand on Celestine’s shoulder. “Thank you for your assistance.” Back-stabbing roach.

  Celestine looked at Sam’s hand with half-opened eyes and lips formed into a sharp, thin smile—as if a bird had just defecated on her shoulder while she pretended not to notice. She gracefully turned to her side, and Sam retracted her hand. “You will be missed. I await your expedient return.” With that, she flicked her hair over one shoulder and exited back into the castle, a pair of guards at her sides.

  Sam rocked her jaw and exhaled.

  “Do I even want to know?” Deedee asked. Sam turned around, realizing that she had probably watched the whole thing.

  Sam shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Deedee extended the flint and steel. “Enjoy your time in the woods, Captain. I think you need it.”

  Sam took the tools and nodded. “I think so too.”

  With everything accounted for, Sam returned to the throne room to find a very stiff Matt. It was so unlike him; squared shoulders and his hands behind his back. She frowned at the sight, then quickly recovered and marched to his side, bowing to Queen Nehelennia.

  “My affairs are in order, Your Majesty. With your permission, I would prefer to leave immediately,” Sam said.

  Queen Nehelennia offered a slow and curt nod. “You may.” She rose from her seat with Ruyah in her arms, and ushered her daughters along, gently pressing her long, pale fingers against Princess Makoto’s back when she didn’t immediately listen.

  “We’ll start as soon as I get back,” Matt said, smiling.

  Princess Makoto returned his smile, then walked alongside her mother. Neither of them said a word until the queen and her daughters were gone.

  “Seems like Queen Nehelennia’s taken a liking to Ruyah,” Sam said after they’d left. “That’s good.”

  “Is it?” Matt asked. He was a bit paler than he was this morning.

  Sam frowned. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “It’s not… Nevermind. If you say it’s okay, then I’ll try and trust that.”

  Sam snickered. “Ruyah’ll be fine. There aren’t better nyannies in all of Nyarlea.”

  “Yeah. Of course.”

  Something’s got him bugged. Maybe he’ll tell me later. “Ease up, Matt. Things will be fine while we’re gone. You got my promise. Now come on. The wilderness awaits.”

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