"Milady! It's morning! Time to get up!" Marina cried in an energetic voice as she opened the window to the cold air outside.

A miserable groan was the response as 'her ladyship' sank deeper beneath the plush comforter.

Marina felt her lips curve into a teasing smile as she eyed the snowy hair that covered the exposed island of Kaede's head. The Landgrave had given the order for her current task: to wake his familiar up for their scheduled breakfast time. Though for Marina, the opportunity to torment Kaede eclipsed such rationale as she gleefully peeled the bedcovers away from the small girl's meager grasp.

"Come on, Milady! Breakfast is ready!"

"Uhhhhnnnnn..."

The head retreated further as Kaede curled up like a ball beneath the bedcovers. It left behind waves of silky hair scattered across the embroidered pillows. However the maid pursued without mercy as she yanked the comforter down to the Samaran girl's waist. This exposed not only the fluttering eyelashes to the bright sunlight pouring in, but also the delicate skin on her back to the cold morning air.

This is kind of fun, Marina thought with a wide grin as she reveled in her moment of clearly defying her lady's wishes yet getting away with it.

With a sharp, startled intake, Kaede immediately twisted herself face up. She buried her back against the bed. Her thin arms rushed to cover her narrow shoulders, which were left bare by her white halter top.

"Uuuuu." The small girl blinked open her teary eyes. Her whole body shivered as more wintry air wafted in from the open window. "You... you're evil."

"I'm just obeying your master's orders," Marina smiled sweetly. She finally released the comforter which her lady hurried to pull up.

Marina did feel a hint of remorse as she noticed the dark shadows under Kaede's eyes. However it was soon swept away by her sense of fulfillment. The maid was grateful towards Kaede for her new position, as being lady's maid to a dame was a considerable rise from being merely a maidservant. Even Majordomo Karsten admitted the other day that it had taken him many years to rise to an equivalent position, and Marina was still only seventeen.

Nevertheless, after all the emotional turmoil she had suffered since that botched mission, it seemed only fair that she could torment the girl a little for her own amusement. Sure, she knew the risks she had taken as an Imperial spy all along. She had done it to repay the favor of the Dux who took in an orphaned girl and raised her. But being rational about her situation didn't erase her emotional bitterness.

Yet now, as Marina recovered from her melancholy, she realized that her prior debt had been repaid. She knew that under most scenarios, she would have faced execution for her role in the assassination plot. In many ways it was Kaede who gave her a new lease on life, and the Samaran girl had given her as good a starting position as anyone could offer.

--Which is why I'm only tormenting her 'a little'. The maid amused herself.

"Yes-yes-I-know, now would you please close the window!?" Kaede pleaded as she huddled beneath the bedcovers with her only face and her fingertips exposed.

"Aren't your garments enchanted?"

"They keep me from being cold. But they don't stop my skin from feeling that icy wind that's blowing straight in!"

With a smile still stretched across her lips, Marina walked over to the window and shut it tight. She had to rub some heat into her own hands afterward, but it had definitely been worth it.

"Didn't sleep well?" The maid finally allowed some concern to work its way into her voice.

"Same nightmares." Kaede mumbled as she sat up in her bed. Her drooping head lay propped up in her hands as though it was too heavy to lift.

"From your first battle?"

"Yes." The familiar girl noted before emitting a deep groan.

"Didn't Your Ladyship sleep fine when His Grace was here? Maybe that's the reason."

Then, as Marina passed over Kaede's neatly folded clothes, the Samaran girl sighed before raising her head upright. However, the words that followed were even more depressed than before:

"That's what I'm afraid of..."

----- * * * -----

"Ughhhhh, my head." Kaede groaned as she cradled her aching brain at the breakfast table.

"You do not have to come with me this morning if you need more rest," Pascal remarked sympathetically. "My meeting with Colonel Gunther-Hans Rudel this morning will solely be about magic. I need to consult him for a more powerful offensive spell for use in the coming campaign."

"Then why did you drag me up this early!?" The Samaran girl cried out in her soft voice.

"Because maintaining a normal schedule is healthy for your bio-rhythm and keeps you 'campaign ready'," Pascal answered straight.

"You and your... reasons!" Kaede retorted petulantly. She did remember her mother doing something similar back during summer vacation. Though she certainly wasn't going to admit that to Pascal!