"Bi!" Ashima exclaimed as she opened the door of her dwelling to find Biechta standing on the other side. "Come in!"

"Greetings, Ashima. I hope I'm not intruding by showing up like this."

"Not at all, please come in and have a seat." The two women sat on either end of the sofa in the living room of Ashima's dwelling. "I'm so sorry I upset you the other day." Ashima began.

"Please don't apologize. I actually wanted to come here to thank you." Biechta cleared her throat. "I've been in denial for some time now." She sighed. "And since I've arrived here I've tried to ignore the awkward comments and questions and looks of surprise, confusion, and even sometimes anger that have been shown when others learn of how I was raised."

She glanced away momentarily before taking in a deep breath and returning her eyes to Ashima. "I can not thank you enough for giving me the push I needed. I've never had anyone be so honest with me."

"I hope I wasn't too brutal."

"No. I... I've never had anyone trying to help me like that. I've never really had a friend."

"Never?" Ashima asked, surprised.

"Well, except perhaps..." Biechta looked away again, embarrassed. "Well, it doesn't matter. It was brief and I ruined it. I doubt he'll want to be my friend anymore."

"Who? What do you mean?"

"Forget I said anything." Biechta internally kicked herself.

"Are you talking about Othen?"

Biechta's eyes rounded in surprise and she gasped at Ashima. "How did you guess that's who I was referring to?"

"I have my ways." Ashima smiled. "Now, I can't imagine you've done anything so terrible he would no longer want to be your friend. How about you tell me what happened?"

Biechta did just that, giving Ashima a quick recap of Othen's kindness and patience and then his offer to teach her a tune on the piano. And how poorly she reacted to such a kind gesture.

"I'm thoroughly ashamed of how I reacted." Biechta added.

"We all do things we're not proud of. I'm sure he will understand. He's a very kind person."

"Yes.... I suppose you're right. But I'm so embarrassed."

"Have you changed your mind about learning the piano? If you could now, would you?"

"I did want to tell you about my decision."

"Yes?"

"I've decided to move out from under my family's thumb. I want to learn to be my own person, like those other ladies you mentioned. Like you."

"That's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"In fact, I read that book you brought me."

"You did?!" Ashima bounced in her seat in excitement.

Biechta nodded her head. "I didn't even realize I still had it in my hand when I left until I got to my dwelling and there it was. So after a good cry and some soul searching, I started reading it. It was amazing! I had no idea such wonderful stories existed right in the pages of a book! I stayed up all night to finish it."

"I'm so glad you enjoyed it."

"You didn't mention that it was a romance novel."

"I didn't? Oh I hope that was ok?"

"Yes. In fact, I..." she fiddled with her hands as she looked down at her lap. "I honestly don't know much about romantic partnerships. My parents joined as more of a responsibility to their positions as it was a good fit for the province. And my uncle's wife passed away when I was young. I haven't had much interaction with partners outside of that. Seeing each of you these past few weeks has been... different."

Ashima simply listened as Biechta shared, being patient to let her new friend open up.

"This book, although fiction, I believe has helped enlighten me in some ways."

"I'm glad to hear it." Ashima smiled. "I chose one that was based loosely on true events, or so I'm told. I thought that best to ease you into the world of fiction. The romance portion was added as pure fiction, but in my experience I'd say it's a realistic story."

"Oh." Biechta sighed. "That's good. I wasn't sure."

"If you ever have any questions about such things, please don't hesitate to come ask me. Promise?"

Biechta nodded, feeling relieved she had someone to help guide her through these new experiences.

"So." Ashima stood. "Looks like we have one thing left to do."

Biechta stood and stared at her in confusion.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rahn sighed as she plopped herself onto her couch in her dwelling. She had finally been released back out on her own, earning at least some amount of trust within the rebel group. Although she'd be surprised if they weren't still secretly monitoring her.

She showered and changed into her pajamas. She was eager to go for a run in the forest, but the sun was already setting. She'd wait until first light.

She pulled the tablet out from its hiding place and climbed into bed as it powered up, getting comfortable. She was surprised to see a notification pop up with several messages, but then she imagined a certain male was likely concerned at how long she'd disappeared with no updates. She could only hope no one did anything to blow her cover. Not when she'd made so much progress.

She opened up the oldest letter. It was a response from "Thuq" to the letter "Lana" had sent him. As Rahn's eyes scanned the letter, a smile formed on her lips. She had to admit she was surprised at Kahal's openness in this letter. Or at least the parts she was guessing were genuine and not part of the charade.

She found herself eager to respond. But first she needed to read the rest of the messages.

The second one was dated five days after the first.

Lana,

I must admit I'm surprised you haven't responded to my letter. You have been insistent on keeping our relationship going and requested we write letters so I'm confused as to why you haven't responded when I agreed by sending you a response to your letter.

Did you not receive it?

Please respond and at least let me know you are well.

Thuq

Rahn quickly

Moved on to the third message, which was dated four days later.

Lana,

I'm beginning to get concerned. As I said in my first letter, even though I asked for space from our relationship, I do care about your well being.

I wish you'd told me where your new dwelling is, or at least which part of town you're in. I find myself wanting to come check on you.

Thuq.

The final message was dated two days ago and was more of the same. Rahn sighed and opened the first letter again, reading it over to remind herself of all he had said. She then opened a new message document to write and send a response before turning off the tablet and returning it to its hiding spot and going to sleep.



~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't do this."

"Yes. You can."

"No, I'd rather not."

"You can and you will, Bi. I will not take no for an answer here. I insist."

Biechta grumbled but took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling it. "Ok." She lifted her hand and knocked on the door before she could talk herself out of it.

After a moment, the door opened and Biechta found herself frozen in place when Othen stood before her with wide eyes. "Lady Biechta. What a surprise." He opened the door further but stood there staring at her.

She cleared her throat. "Lord Othen, I..." she glanced at Ashima for support but gasped quietly when she saw no one. She turned fully and saw the hallway was completely empty. Ashima had abandoned her!

"My lady? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" She turned quickly back to Othen.

When she didn't continue he cleared his throat. "My lady, I wanted to apologize again for my words that day I upset you. I hope you can forgive me."

"Forgive you?!" She said in surprise.

"Well... yes, I had wished for us to remain friends but I haven't had the courage to try and apologize to you again. I feared you did not wish to speak with me."

"Oh, Othen." Biechta found herself tearing up. "I came here to ask you to forgive me."

"You don't need to apologize!"

"But I-"

"Lady Biechta, perhaps we should speak somewhere more private." Othen said quietly as a group of females passed them in the hallway. "I'd welcome you in but I worry that will not be seen as appropriate. Walk with me?"

"Yes, I'd like that." She followed him in silence as they made the short walk down the hall and into a small sitting room.

"Here we are." Othen motioned for her to have a seat as he crossed the room and poured himself a glass of water from the stocked wet bar. "Would you like anything?"

"Water would be perfect, thank you."

He nodded and then brought her a glass, sitting in the armchair across from her with a small side table between them.

"I want to apologize for my behavior." Biechta started. "I regret how I reacted. You have been nothing but kind to me and patient and understanding of my lack of knowledge. I must admit I am not accustomed to such treatment." She kept her eyes down at her hands holding the glass in her lap, willing herself to speak her mind clearly despite being thoroughly embarrassed.

"I must admit I am saddened that you are not accustomed to simple kindness." Othen spoke softly.

"Yes, I am as well." She exhaled. "In fact in my time here I feel my eyes have been opened to many... peculiarities of my upbringing."

Instead of responding, Othen waited and let her process her next words as he took a sip of water.

"I have decided I would like to start making decisions for myself."

"I hope nothing I said made you feel forced to do anything to change yourself. I would never try to do such a thing."

"No, please don't worry about that. It wasn't only what you said, there were plenty of comments from others as well to bring me to this conclusion. And this will be good for me. I'm actually excited about something. I don't think I've ever truly felt excited for my future."

"What are your plans?"

"I started by asking Lord Kahal if I could extend my stay here and he was gracious enough to agree."

"Oh? How long will you stay?"

"I don't know." She giggled. "Isn't it wonderful? I'm just going to see how things go and then figure it out from there! I've never done anything spontaneous in my life!"

He gave her a slight smile. "I'm happy for you."

"The second thing I hoped to do is... I mean... I was hoping you might..." she sighed and rubbed her hands together.

"Would you like piano lessons?" Othen asked eagerly.

"Yes!" Biechta giggled again.

"I would love to help you."

"Oh!" She said surprised. "I can't ask you to take that much time out of your schedule. I know as a lord you have many responsibilities. I can hardly expect you to devote the time required to teach me something as intricate as the piano. I thought perhaps you could find someone to help me."

"Nonsense. My parents had four sons, so our responsibilities are easily covered. And as administrator of the arts, I have the most flexible schedule of all of them. I can easily make time to help you with this. I would honestly be honored to do so. I love teaching music and I'm confident you will be a delightful pupil."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

She smiled and thanked him. "When can we start?"



~~~~~~~~~~

"My lord!" Thuq practically burst into Kahal's study.

"What is it?"

"I went through my messages as soon as I came in and there's a new one from Lana."

"Let me see it." Kahal said eagerly as he stood and took the tablet from Thuq.

As his eyes scanned the words Thuq asked. "Is she alright?"

"I think so...." Kahal said somewhat absentmindedly as he read her words. "I'll have to go through this in great detail to discern any hidden messages she's trying to convey. But I believe she's ok for now."

"I'm glad. I'll leave you to it, then."

Kahal nodded at Thuq as he exited and closed the door behind him.

He sat at his desk and went back to the top of the letter and started reading again.

Thuq,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I apologize for not having responded to your messages. When I sent my letter I honestly doubted you would ever write back to me. After visiting you at the grand hall those times, I was losing hope that you would want to keep me in your life. So on a spur of the moment decision, I decided to get away for a couple weeks. I needed to clear my head and find some peace.

Like you said in your letter, I needed to take advantage of my time here and grow. I can honestly say my getaway was just what I needed. I've made great progress in figuring out who I am and what I truly want in life. And now I've returned home and will make it a point to embrace my new life here and my new friends. I think I can be happy living a simpler life. The only things I miss from the grand hall are my profession and you. And those creamy pies you can only get from the grand hall kitchen.

I'm glad to hear I have made such an impression within your memories. I will have to do my best to add more to those in the future. My mischievous mind is already thinking of ideas on how to surprise you.

I want you to promise you won't ever settle for anything less than you deserve in a life partner. Joining for the wrong reasons is not only not fair to you but also not fair to the female. Everyone deserves a true destined partner, Thuq. Whether it's me or someone else. I have confidence you'll figure it out.

Lana



Kahal let his eyes roam over the words again before leaning back in his chair and exhaling, as he closed his eyes. She was safe, and it seemed that she must've made great progress in infiltrating the rebel group. But he couldn't shake the worry he had had these past couple weeks. He hoped he was doing the right thing by sending in an undercover spy, and possibly risking their life. They weren't sure what this group was capable of, but they had already almost caused the deaths of the entire royal family. Was one life worth potentially saving the lives of many others?

He knew these were the kinds of decisions he would have to make as the standing general, and soon he would have to make them as king. But that didn't make them any easier. Especially now that he knew her. It was easier to come up with the idea when she was a stranger.

The way she unashamedly flirted with him both in person and in her letters, only then to bluntly tell him to not settle for a life partner less than he deserved...the way she could be fun and mischievous yet also serious... all while not hesitating to risk her life to protect her people...

It all made him feel uneasy about her current situation. He suddenly wanted to pull her from the field and forbid her from leaving the safety of the grand hall.

A ridiculous notion, he knew.