Escorted to the guest wing by four castle maids, Maltida was ushered into a sprawling, fire-lit room. The maids immediately produced a wardrobe of heavy silks and velvets, laying them across the bed.
Maltida scanned the rich colors before tapping a deep crimson gown. "This one."
As the others put the discarded options away, two maids helped Maltida undress and eased her into the steaming, copper basin. She sank beneath the scented water, letting the heat pull the mud, ash, and dried blood of Oakhaven from her skin.
"Tell me," Maltida sighed, resting her head against the rim. "What's the mood in the castle lately?"
"On edge, My Lady," the nearest maid replied, gently working a sponge over Maltida's shoulders. "With the Vice Commander taking so many troops south, the remaining guards are pulling double shifts. Bandits heard the garrison was thin and tried their luck."
"And did they find it?" Maltida asked, cracking an eye open.
The maid smiled faintly. "They found Lord Kent. He left preemptive orders with Vice Commander Stone before the army even marched. The entire bandit network was swept up in a day."
Maltida hummed, closing her eyes again. Kent planned three steps ahead, expecting the blind spot. Impressive. "And what is your name?"
"Ruby, My Lady. Lord Kent took me in a year ago."
"What kind of trouble were you in, Ruby?"
The sponge paused for a fraction of a second. "Slavers," Ruby said, her voice dropping. "I was in the woods gathering herbs. They burned my village, killed the elders, and took the rest of us. It was blind luck that Lord Kent was riding patrol that afternoon."
Ruby's eyes took on a distant, awed look. "He was entirely alone against a dozen armed men. I just saw him touch his hilt, and suddenly he was cloaked in this blinding, golden light. He cut them down before they even had the chance to draw their steel. Then he brought us here."
Maltida let out a quiet, knowing laugh. "Typical."
Ruby blinked, confused. "My Lady?"
"Ruby, my dear, that is a high-ranking Paladin spell," Maltida smirked. "It lets the caster move as fast as light itself. Kent just wanted to show off his absurd mana pool."
Ruby giggled, the tension leaving her shoulders, and the two chatted warmly until the bath grew cold.
In the war room, the heavy oak doors swung open. Kent paused mid-sentence, looking up from a sprawling map of the Iron Horn.
Maltida stepped through the frame, entirely transformed. The mud and heavy plate of the border were gone. In their place, the floor-length crimson gown fit her flawlessly, accompanied by a dark navy cape edged in gold vine embroidery. With her hair pinned back in a delicate silver circlet, she looked every inch the legendary Knight of the Phoenix Order.
Kent leaned back, crossing his massive arms. "Well. You clean up nicely. I almost forgot you were nobility under all that temper."
Maltida smoothed the front of her skirt, her posture immaculate as she approached the table. "And you are still nursing a bruised jaw, Commander," she replied coolly, the candlelight catching the gold in her cape. "Don't let the silk fool you, Percival. I hit just as hard in a dress."
Standing near the fireplace, High Mage Kelvin chuckled into his beard. "She has you there, My Lord. Best not to provoke her before Stone arrives. We have enough wars to fight today."
Maltida took her place beside Kent, her sharp eyes scanning the miniature Dwarven markers clustered near the Iron Horn. "Speaking of your tactical genius," she murmured. "When exactly is he arriving?"
Heavy, rhythmic boot steps echoed in the stone corridor.
"My Lord, I have arrived," Ulric Stone's rumbling voice called out.
He stepped through the doorway just as a blur of motion sprinted down the hall. Someone came flying around the corner at full speed and plowed directly into Ulric's back.
Ulric didn't budge. He stood like a brick wall. The boy who hit him, however, bounced off and hit the floor hard.
It was Elara.
"I'm so sorry, sir!" Elara gasped, rubbing his forehead.
Then he looked up. He realized whose boots he was sitting at. The blood drained from his face as General Ulric Stone slowly turned his head, fixing the boy with an unblinking, dead-eyed glare.
The brutal memories of Ulric's basic training hit Elara like a physical blow. Without even trying to stand, he panicked, crab-walking frantically backward across the floorboards to get as close to the High Mage and as far from Ulric;as humanly possible.
The entire war room erupted into laughter.
"Alright, Ulric, stop terrifying the boy and sit down," Kent chuckled, looking down at the scrambling young man with a proud grin. "After all, he is your new Second Vice Commander."
Ulric's eyebrow twitched. He looked from Kent, down to Elara, and back to Kent.