Dear Cinder, 

I hope our surprise meeting didn't cause you to have a heart attack any time soon. My dear, I wish you had my eyes then; you would laugh too if you saw your face! But on a more serious note, I accept your offer. My years of work haven't left me in a stable place. I had many offers similar to yours, but I felt too imposing on them as I'm not at liberty to stay long, especially with the secret I share with Estelle. But now I know that Estelle told you she was the daughter of your guys' great emperor; I can't help but put more faith in you.

After the war, please come back safe and sound; quite a few people are waiting for your arrival.

Yours truly,

Beth.

The chilling night was biting at Cinder's hands as she read the letter. It has been a year since the first movement of the troops. As expected, the situation was dire; The Constantine army was a brutal bunch of bastards. Granted, given that the lands they lived in were always in extreme conditions, they knew how to live off the land and move faster. However, their numbers were diminishing as their populations were less significant than Heaven's. 

In this useless war, Constantine had more 'compassion' to prevent more and more of their people from dying. 

Cinder held her nose to the paper and breathed its scent in. It smelt like honey jam with a dash of strawberries. She smiled at the familiar scent: it was a perfume crafted by Olivia for her before she left for the camps. She left them at home as she couldn't trust her nosy comrades to rummage through her stuff; everything was shared here. The line between nobles and civilians had crumbled over in months as losing became a constant worry and winning became the only consistent Moarel bringer. 

However, these letters were her happiness. Even more so, when Beth managed to gather with Olivia and Mary due to a request by Cinder, they decided to give the perfume to Beth to spray on the letters for them. It cleared her nose pallet of musk and tar and saved her from losing sight of what she managed to do so far. 

On the topic of smells, she sniffed her armpits. As she detected, the awful smell that seemed to follow her was indeed her. She applauds herself for finding the criminal of that smell: herself. She got up from the ground and busted her pants off. She looked to the right to see the makeshift camps the team had made after the battle in Tungsten. They won the battle, pushing closer out to the coast. Consequently, they used so much of their supplies they couldn't reasonably move forward. The higher-ups had requested more supplies from the imperial government as they decided to hold out in Tungsten until further notice.

Many knights in the camps were using this grace period to write massive letters to their families, and some were using it to indulge in many pleasures: love affairs, gambling, drinking, and letting out steam between each other. Cinder herself started to gamble with others for things like cigars and ale. She had been trying to interact with her comrades more than she had used to in her past life. She figures she instead feels lonely once again as she fights through hell. General Kris was a significant source of direct human interaction she regularly had compared to others; she still seemed untouched, being the 'Beast,' she figured. She did turn the tables in battles with the enemy, especially in the struggle for Pearland, where she managed to dismantle a stronghold from the inside. So, consequently, many would be envious of her achievements, along with Kris giving her ability to commend. 

Speaking of Kris, she hasn't seen much of Kris outside meetings after the edict from the imperial family that supplies would be coming slower than usual due to changing opinions of support for the war. The boy was no older than nineteen, and he was being shackled to hold the entirety of everyone's lives every day. Kris wasn't known for being utterly expressive about his personal feelings. Cinder learned that from being under his command and pushing for more than that; she is just trying to put a stressed cat. 

Cinder sniffed herself again; she audibly groaned from the smell. She grabbed her clothes bundle and went deep into the woods to find a fresh stream to do a quick wash, or she would feel like they could hang her on the poles to avoid the nightmares. She soon sees the end of the land where a steep cliff hangs over a rushing river, making large echoes throughout the forest. Among the sights was a figure sitting over the dangerous edge; first, Cinder would move cautiously away from the scene to avoid disturbing the figure until she made out a familiar batch of orange hair. It was Kris, mumbling words to himself as he gazed upon the river. However, a sharp, harsh sound caused by Cinder's crushed stick startled the usually observant man; his body twisted around only to slip into the water. Cinder rushes over to the edge, scanning frantically for his body in the water, but the splashing waves are too thick to make out anything. She untied the rope from a clothes bundle and tied it against a sturdy tree before jumping after Kris. 

His body sank bottomlessly; his eyes were half closed as bubbles escaped his lips. Cinder grabbed his body, wrapped his arms around her neck, and swam upwards. She gasped for air once they reached the surface as Kris clung to her body and his eyes fully closed. Cinder screams for him to wake up, but it is to no avail as Kris's body loses all his strength. She cursed at the gods for putting her in this place and cursed at the rope, barely holding them to the land with waves crashing into them. Cinder looked for another plan because there was no way she could climb the rope with Kris's unconscious body. She then saw a shore far to her left, which she reckoned she could let the waves carry them over. Holding on to Kris tight, she let go of the rope and fought, keeping her and Kris above the water until they reached the shore. She dragged Kris's body onto the beach before clasping beside him in exhaustion. 

She let out another curse before stumbling to her legs. She looked around her surroundings: it was trees and trees beyond the way; she could only see green with green mixing in with even more, in her words, fucking green. Yet, she noticed a striking gray amongst the trees, a small cave procuring from a hill. She huffed in exhaustion once again. She picked up Kris before inching their way to the cave. 

It was raining heavily when Kris regained consciousness; the poor boy snapped up, a makeshift cloth slipping down from his body, though he was still wet. Cinder kept her eyes on him as his eyes wandered to see her clothes near the fire. After saving his ass and making camp at the cave, she decided she needed to strip off the wet clothes from her body to dry up. She found the worn blanket while gathering wood for a fire; it came from a ruined carriage that looked like it was pillaged during a trip in the woods. 

His wandering eyes soon met with Cinder; his stern eyes softened when he seemed to recognize that it was Cinder or "Felix...?" 

Cinder stiffened from the utterance of that stupid name. She can't wait to burn that name in the ashes after the war, along with many other things. Still, she held no ill will towards Kris for using it; he didn't know where her heart really was, and she had no intention of telling him. But a bee sting still stings no matter how prepared you are. 

"I didn't mean to leave you in those clothes," Cindr perked up. 

"You could've stripped me," He responded.

"I couldn't dare strip down a general. Even if it would help you...I have enough rumors surrounding me already. I don't want to sully your name with mine."

Kris unbuttoned his shirt, "You couldn't do such a thing even if I had died." Cinder laughed to herself as she was reminded that Kris was not a man of gossip and rumors, even concerning ones that spread that she was 'gay.' He was a brick wall through and through. Kris raised an eyebrow, "Are you getting a fever, Sir Felix?"

Cinder touched her face and realized it was getting superheated from laughing. She took a deep breath and turned to Kris, her face slightly flushed, "I can say the wind is helping, but no, sir. I'm not developing a fever as far as I know." Kris took off his pants and was only in his undies. "There's stew brewing over the fire; help yourself."

"Thank you for saving me," Kris praised as he gathered over to the pot. 

Cinder smiled at Kris, "Well, we can't continue this battle without our great general. Besides," She revealed her right arm, wrapped in cloth, "It would only leave a small scar."

"Once we get back to camp, I see that you get treatment immediately."

She waved her hand, "Trust me, I'm fine, general. I'm more worried about you. You seemed lost when you were on the edge. I kinda thought you...well.."

"I assure you that I have no intention of killing myself. The fall was a simple mistake, nothing more or nothing less," Kris snapped, staring deep into Cinder's eyes. 

"Apologies for the assumption."

His eyes shifted down as his shoulders dropped. Kris sighed, "No. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have raised my voice at you, for you did no wrong, but I just need to clear any misunderstanding in case it affects us."

 "Wow. You really are blunt and to the point, as others say you are."

"And you haven't changed since the academy."

She smirked, "Did I leave a lasting impression at the academy?"

"A thrilling one; you were quite a fierce sparring partner. First time I ever broke a sweat with a peer," Kris finished his stew before walking with the blanket to sit next to Cinder, as the campfire was the warmest. Cinder made room for him.

"I reckon that you forgot, as you are now an Ironheart heir. Well, you weren't bad yourself. I thought my father ran me thin enough that I couldn't be broken, but you damn nearly killed my streak a couple of times."

Kris glanced at her, "I heard your father was once a great general. Shame he suffers such massive injuries."

Cinder burst out laughing, "Oh gods, right!" The famous Nozelle's lie is that parents pretend to suffer massive injuries to do their dirty work while gaining benefits. Kris stares at her in confusion as she lets her laughter let loose, tears barring in the corner of her eyes. She wiped them away before leading into Kris's ear. She whispered, "Here's a secret, general. My father never suffered any such injuries. He just lied, so he couldn't be sent to battle anymore. As much he likes to profit off of war, he hates sullying his hands much more." Kris's eyes widen. She leaned away, "So, he sends his so...offspring off to fight so he can win profit without actually making any effort."

"And you go along with it?" 

She gives a crooked smile, "Are we all? I mean, are you doing this for Heavan, or you doing this for Ironheart?" 

He remains silent. 

"I'll be honest with you, general," she continued, "I gave up on winning my father's favor. But I haven't given up on escaping. If slaughtering through hell is what I have to do to be free...so be it. If I die, I die. But if I live, I will get a chance to fix everything. I know I'm at least worth more than what he thinks of me."

"...That's truly honorable," Kris praised.

"Besides," She nudged him, "I get to come up with alternative fantasies about my scars. Like this one," she pointed to a large angle scar on her right leg, "I got it from a horse. First time I ever tried to ride one. I was given three choices for a lifetime. Choose this real character; its name was Crazy Knob; guess what? Damn, the bastard flung me off and tried to crush my legs."

Kris covered his mouth before chuckling. A soft, simple smile ranged from his lips, "I feel that was entirely your fault." 

Cinder's eyes soften as she gazes at him, a sweet smile drawn on her lips. What she said next caught them off guard, "You have the most lovest smile." They stared at each other in disbelief before Cinder pulled away from Kris with a nervous chuckle. "I-I-I meant in a way a lot of girls would fall for! Like you would have no problems getting a wife anytime soon!" 

Kris just closed his eyes, still smiling, and leaned his back against the wall. "Thank you," He said. 

A moment of silence eases the awkward stories as they listen to the soothing drops of rain that echo like music in the cave. Cinder nervously twisted her finger at her hair as she glanced over to Kris, who was breathing calmly with his eyes closed. 

"Um, General?" She whispered.

Kris opened one eye, glancing at her, "Yes, Sir Felix?"

"About that. Can you just refer to me as Lix instead? I'd rather not hear that name...it serves no joy to me."

He turned his full attention to her, "Of course. I will see that others refer to you as that as well."

"Oh, oh. I didn't expect much fo-You would do that for me?"

"Yes, I don't see why I shouldn't. You're an ally to me, and though others might think I'm as warm as a snowman...I always see that my allies are well taken care of." 

"...Thank you...."

The next day, they both went back to camp to a band of soldiers looking for them. Kris made up a lie that they went out for a game of hunting that led to an animal backing them into a river. Kris also made sure that no sexual rumors sprang up either. However, it seemed to Cinder that she and Kris had an unspoken agreement to go on as if that exchange hadn't happened; she didn't realize how much that exchange had impacted Kris. Kris also kept his word: the young lord of Nozelle was affectionately called Lix throughout the army.

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Cheers and cheers were heard of the knights who fought bravely, cries for the fallen comrades, and praises for their efforts. The fanfare was even more prominent once the knights returned to the marbleland district as they were met with standards of people blessing as if they were gods and goddesses. The emperor ran speeches; people danced for them; awards were given to them. All of them except one, the young lord of the Mayflower family. The rumored Beast of the battlefield, a hero that helped shift the war to Heaven's favor; 'he' was missing from the celebrations. Some say 'he' couldn't make it because 'he' had to be back with his only family, his loving father. Others speculated that he felt too above or below others to be seated alongside the other heroes. 

Honestly, what had happened was that she went back intently to her real treasure: the shining faces of her beloveds who hugged her as if she were the most precious person in the world. She even saw two new faces that would fit nicely into her life. 

A month into spring, despite the happy atmosphere, tragedy struck: the Mayflower's household had been raided by bandits. The father remains alive and well in tack.

However, the young lord was nowhere around and was later declared dead.