Medith strolled into the common quarter and stretched wide; “Ugh... ha...” She loosened stiff limbs, a purr of pleasure drifting like silk in wind.

She tipped her face to a sun-bright sky; the day felt glass-clear. Warm light pooled on her cheeks like honey. For the first time, she felt weightless. The stone on her heart finally rolled aside; she wasn’t fighting in the dark alone.

“Captain?!” A familiar girl’s voice rustled from the branches like a sparrow. Thup! A short skirt flared, scattering dreamlike light. She landed and wrapped Medith in a bright hug.

“Captain, thank the spirits you’re fine!” Her words tumbled like beads. “I heard about yesterday and nearly died. I thought you might just... be gone. What would we do... boohoo...” She folded onto Medith’s chest, crying like petals in rain.

Medith smiled and stroked the girl’s head, hand gentle as moss. “Alright, alright, Iling. What are you doing, hmm? I’m fine, aren’t I? And didn’t I teach you—heads can roll, blood can fall, but tears don’t?”

“But... but...” Iling looked up with wet eyes, a lake about to spill, then broke into louder sobs.

“You...” Melia flicked Medith’s forehead, a playful thud like a pea on a drum, then wiped her own sparkling tears. “When will you behave? Every time I take you to see the Queen, trouble blooms.”

“That’s one of the captain’s charms.” Milia and the Lita Sisters drifted to Medith’s side like swallows to a beam.

“You all...” Medith looked at their smiling faces; warmth surged like spring sap. Her nose stung; a tear almost slipped. “Don’t you have posts? So idle? Just wait till I deal with you later!”

She pointed and scolded in mock anger, finger a willow switch, then casually brushed away a tear with her arm. The girls saw it all; their hearts opened like flowers, yet their mouths chimed, “Yes, Captain~.”

“Looks like our big hero’s back to full strength.” Sais perched on a high bough within Medith’s sight, green as a leaf-sprite. She wore no armor, only the tailored green-fairy dress from their first meeting. On the branch, she crossed one leg over the other, gaze playful as moonlight on water, a snow-lotus-pale hand propping her chin.

“Ah...” Several Sprite matrons carrying washbasins saw Sais; their basins slid down with a splash, and they covered their mouths, pointing with startled hands.

“Is... is that [Thorn-Flower Sais] of the Flying Leaf Guard? Why would she be here...” A male Sprite stared at Sais’s peerless face and murmured in dazed awe.

“[Blaze-Mouth Medith]? Why are you here? Weren’t you wanted by Her Majesty the Queen?” Dozens of fully armed city guards ringed Medith like a steel hedge. Sais sprang forward and shielded Medith with a shadow like a leaf.

She drew a parchment from under her skirt, the rustle crisp as reeds. “Fresh decree. Priestess Medith has offset her faults with merit. She proposed ‘no building without breaking, break to rebuild.’ Our kin loved it. The warrant’s canceled.”

“I see. Our apologies, Honored Envoy.” The captain-like guard bowed deep, like a reed bending in wind.

Sais flicked her hair; light rippled like silk. “It’s fine. You’re only doing your rounds.”

“Stand down!” the captain snapped, hand cutting air. The guards froze like carved wood, eyes locked on Sais. She was a beauty that bent heavens: a bewitching, flawless face, almond eyes brimming with autumn ripples. With that devilish figure and that outfit, even a saint would tremble thrice; mortals stood no chance.

“Like what you see? Need... a closer look?” Sais tilted her head and offered a fox-sweet smile.

“Ah!” The guards jolted like struck bells. “We beg forgiveness, Honored Envoy! No offense meant! Please pardon us!” They dropped to their knees in a neat wave, armored helms thumping the ground like drums.

Sais lifted a slender hand, light as a petal. “Up. Your bodies are just honest. Unlike some people who look stone-calm while nearly biting through their tongues. Right, Captain?”

“Goh—!” The captain garbled the word and bolted, dragging his men in a rush like leaves before a gale, as if Death herself were after them.

...

Back in the familiar noble district home, Sais and the others dove onto Medith’s absurdly huge, cloud-soft bed. They grabbed the sheets and rolled, laughter tugging like ribbons. A handful of Sprite girls roughhoused, and the scene looked like a painted paradise.

“Wow! The captain’s changing! Look, look!” Iling pointed at Medith and shrieked like a magpie.

“Grab her! We have to ‘teach’ her. She was so fierce to us!” The Lina Sisters hugged Medith’s delicate body and toppled with her onto the bed like falling blossoms.

...

...

“You little rascals—!” Medith stood in a white short-sleeve and long cloth pants, face burning like a sunset, glaring at the six women. They knelt like guilty children, both hands clutching their long pink ears, heads bowed without a peep.

“You actually... dared to do that to me?!” Medith’s chest heaved like a stormed sea. She could hardly believe it. One blink, and she was thrown onto the soft pad, and then...

“Revolt! Revolt! The world’s gone upside down!” She barked a crude curse at the crumpled sheet, voice cracking like a whip. The six knew they were in the wrong; a playful mood had gone too far. In their boots, it would be shame enough; to proud-as-sky Medith, it was a brand.

“You’ll kneel here till morning. If I catch one move, I’ll cut off your hands. Clear?” Her words hit the air like frost, ready to bite.

“Y-yes, yes...” None dared argue. They shivered under Medith’s storming glare.

Medith yanked up the sheet with a snap, then stormed out and slammed the door; thunder shook the wood.

The six mischief-making Sprite girls really did kneel there until dawn’s pale light spread like milk.