Helga woke at four in the morning sharp. The first thing she did was check on the alarm spell. Miss Alice’s room had not been intruded upon, and her spell had remained untouched. With a nod, she rolled over, careful not to squish her wings into the mattress as she hopped out of the bed. With the water from the basin she prepared the previous night, she splashed her face and rubbed off some of the sleep.

She made her bed, dressed up, and did another check of the spell on Miss Alice’s room before removing the spell before it fully ran out, and placing a fresh one. Helga went back into her room and opened the window, carefully perching herself on the sill before closing it from outside. A little rustle of her wings, and she jumped.

Morning take-off was always the worst. The air was cold, and it took extra effort to struggle against it. If the building were taller, she might have been able to just glide, but as it was Helga had to beat her wings with everything she had until she started to get some altitude.

Spotting the other hunters and guards, she gathered some radiant energy on her hand and flashed a quick, silent greeting. They all returned it, meaning none of the maidens flying overhead were ferals. That brightened Helga’s smile. It meant she wouldn’t have to be worried of Miss Alice’s safety and she could focus on her training.

Beating her wings with everything she had, she pushed herself higher and higher. There were no thermals for her to use since the ground was cold, so she kept flapping harder and harder. The strain was good. It burned in her wings and back with the sting of effort. Higher and higher, she kept rising into the sky, only switching to gliding for the brief reprise to catch her breath.

Up and up, she kept going, focusing only ever on the dark sky above, on the clouds. An eager smile came to her lips as beads of sweat started to make their way down her back. Higher, higher, up and up, her wings were trembling, and as she was starting to reach her point of exhaustion, she began pouring her radiant energy into her strained wings, urging them to go harder, harder, up and up.

And suddenly, she saw sunlight.

Helga spread her wings with a gasp, breathing hard. It was sunlight.

She quickly looked around, finding the clouds underneath, still dark, not yet touched by the sun. A loud whoop escaped her. She cheered, throwing her hands in triumph. She’d beaten the clouds again. She’d watched the sunrise before anyone else in the village.

A quick look downwards. Astunes was so tiny from this high up, she could cover it all up with her thumb!

Taking a deep breath, she began to dive. The smile was plastered all over her face as she plunged down through the chilly air. Wind blasted all around her until it became a deafening roar. Faster and faster, the ground was rushing up to meet her, inexorable, unrelenting, a foe she could one day crush.

Snapping her wings open before she reached close enough to really get close to the village, she had to signal her greetings to several others when they’d reasonably sent beams of light on her way to check she wasn’t feral. Now that she’d warmed up properly, Helga began her aerial combat drills. There were several other aerial maidens mid-training like herself, but she couldn’t really match their speed or agility mid-air, so she had to train on her own so she wouldn’t hold them back.

Swirls, loops, lunges, she moved through each combat technique and ability, picturing a fight against another Valkyrie, an imaginary spear flung in her arms as she twirled and thrust, blocked and dodged.

Once the sunlight reached the top of the radio-tower, Helga stopped her training, doing one last fly-by around the village. She greeted several other hunters, this time with friendly waves since she was close enough to more easily recognize the various people. Right as she was about to turn back to the Baroness’ house, she spotted a banner in the distance, signaling for her to approach.

Considering it was the Earl’s banner, Helga didn’t see why she shouldn’t.

Getting closer, it was clear this was a contingent of knights from the Earl. Their pale blue armor glimmered magnificently. Helga could only marvel at the dignity and poise the knights held as they marched up the road towards Astunes.

“I greet the knights.” She landed, careful not to raise too much dust as she did, bowing her head. “May honor follow you.”

“And you.” The banner-woman said. “Are you a hunter?”

“No longer, ma’am. I am owned by Lady Alice.” The words swelled with warmth and pride within her as she spoke.

There was a quiet scoff. “Guide my second in command to the Baroness’ estate. We will secure the area and prepare for the departure.”

“Certainly.”

She glanced at the only other winged maiden in the contingent. A Valkyrie, much like herself, one wearing a lighter variation of the knightly armor. The maiden was older. However, there was an air of quiet dignity that was no more than a veil over the ferocious determination within her eyes.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Helga turned to leave, taking to the air. A quick look over her shoulder revealed the knight was keeping pace without much effort, even while weighed down by the armor. The younger maiden could only look in awe at the elegance the knight flew with, as if the metal surrounding her chest, legs, and arms was no more than an illusion.

Inwardly, Helga wondered how she trained to fly like that. Maybe she flew carrying weight? She would have to test it out and see how much she could handle.

“You serve a Lady? Is she one of the visitors?”

“Yes, she owns me, ma’am.”

She raised her chin as she spoke, revealing the worn blue collar. The knight’s was green, technically of lower standing, but she was a knight. There was no way Helga could compare herself. Just flying alongside her made it clear she had a long way to go.

“It seems we should have come sooner.”

“Sooner is always better. Any help fighting ferals or rebuilding is always good.” Helga nodded in agreement. “What is your name, if I may ask? I am Helga.”

“No, you may not ask.”

“Oh, ok. I guess it’s a protection against certain spells? It always confused me, what with how some spells used someone’s name.”

“We should not waste energy in useless conversation.”

“Completely agree, I was about to finish my morning training, so I’m going to need to clean up before I greet my Lady. If she wakes up late, I might be able to help with her breakfast too.”

Ignoring the bewildered look from the knight, Helga beat her wings faster, working up speed to reach the manor sooner. They landed near the gate, and the Baroness’ knights came to greet their fellow. While Helga jumped up to her window. No one had locked it, which was good because she didn’t think she had the time to go through the top entrance. The manor was a maze, and she’d definitely get lost again on her way down to her room.

Helga locked the window behind herself, humming a little tune and stripping off her training clothes. She thought back to the armor wearing Valkyrie. Maybe she could sew some pockets into her training clothes and add weights like rocks? Though that would have to be for later.

With a washcloth and some cleaning spells, she freshened up, then put on her uniform. A quick check in the mirror so she could comb her hair properly and smooth out her clothes, and a comb to carefully go over the feathers on her wings that the spell had missed. Everything was perfect, so she turned towards her roommates. “The knights from the Earl have come. Today looks like it will be busy.”

And suddenly the whole room became a whirlwind of activity as five other maidens were rushing through their morning preparations while Helga stepped out. Another quick check on the alarm spell. No one had stepped into Miss Alice’s room. Helga listened intently. Her owner was still breathing deeply, slowly, asleep.

Cheering quietly, she hurried down to the kitchen where the morning meals were already being prepared for both the humans and the maidens in the household. “I have news, the Earl’s knights have arrived.”

“Already know!” The head-maid spoke while frantically working on four stoves at once.

Helga took her own corner of the kitchen, picking up Miss Alice’s favorite foods, but putting extra focus on the coffee. She knew it was her favorite and today was going to be a big day so she would definitely need the energy.

She took the tray with the food all the way up to the Lady’s room, quietly entering and leaving the tray near the bed. With her wings she tugged the curtains open and glanced at miss Alice. The woman was older than her by nearly a decade, yet her face was fair, soft, and she always seemed to somehow manage to get her hair to perfectly frame her sleeping face like a halo.

“Good morning, ma’am!” Helga cheerfully, nudging her awake.

Miss Alice yawned, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her face. “Morning.” She muttered, sniffing at the air and spotting the hot cup of coffee. She took the beverage and slowly sipped at it, sighing pleasantly and smiling softly. “This is good.”

Butterflies fluttered inside Helga’s stomach as the room became a little brighter.

“Thank you!” She beamed a little too hard, her radiant energy seeping through her and making her wings glow. Helga very quickly reined it in, feeling a burning in her cheeks as she turned to bring her Lady the wash basin. “The Earl’s knights have come and are currently in the process of greeting the Baroness. The expedition to Balet is likely to depart in two or three days.”

“Oh joy.”

This time miss Alice did not sound quite so happy, Helga wondered whether she should have held back from sharing the news until after breakfast. A rumbling sound interrupted them both. Helga’s cheeks turned from slightly flustered to intensely blushing. Embarrassment washed over her like an avalanche. She’d forgotten to eat!

Miss Alice looked at her in concern. “Are you hungry?”

“No ma’am!” Helga spoke hastily. “I just forgot my mid-training snacks. I’ll manage.”

“You are a terrible liar.” There was no sting to her words, only a smile. Miss Alice glanced at the tray. “Well, you happened to bring me too much, again. How about we share?” She smiled at Helga with that disarmingly mature smile.

She gulped, nodding. “Thank you, ma’am.” Miss Alice might not have worded it as an order, but Helga had learnt that was just how she spoke. Soft words and never imposing or commanding, tender like a very warm blanket.

Helga knew it was improper, but the butterflies in her gut told her it was oh so perfectly right.