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Thu 24th Apr 2025 04:42

91. Fitting in

by Lady Leticia Scarlet-Bloesembhel Voetdhel-Montaneus

The flickering lamplight cast shifting shadows across the table as Scarlet flipped through the pages in front of her, her eyes narrowing. The reports were dense with updates; figures, notes, status updates, but it was all text. No maps. No diagrams. Just walls of annotations.
 
“What’s the state of the territories?” she asked, her voice steady but edged with concern. Her mind added silently, This is nothing but annotations. This would have been better designed with diagrams.... Why didn't I make diagrams?
 
Across from her, Ciel didn’t look up from the thick stack of folders they were sifting through. “The plans you authorized last year have been in full swing since early this year. So, despite the global upheaval, we’re in a unique but stable position.”
 
To Scarlet’s right, Porter muttered under his breath, “That Colonel, always one step ahead of the game.”
 
Karmela gave him a gentle elbow to the ribs and whispered, “Scarlet helped.”
 
Scarlet exhaled sharply, but it was more resignation than protest. “Doesn’t matter,” she said aloud, her fingers tightening slightly on the paper. “I didn’t even know where to start, or what to implement. We’d be in a far weaker position without her foresight.”
 
There was a beat of silence, broken only by the faint rustle of pages and distant thunder. Outside the window, the world continued to reel, but inside this room, the foundation laid a year ago was holding firm.
 
There was a beat of silence, broken only by the faint rustle of pages and the distant rumble of thunder. Outside the window, lightning stitched the sky with light. It had been like this for weeks now—torrential rains to the east, fires sweeping the western drylands, and tremors unsettling once-quiet coasts. The world had shifted, tilted into a new and uncertain rhythm.
 
And yet, here… her territory stood.
 
Scarlet leaned back in her chair, letting the paper fall against the table. Her eyes drifted across the room, not really seeing it. Instead, her mind replayed the memory of long nights spent reviewing proposals and half-scrawled strategies. She’d felt lost, out of her depth. When the Colonel had offered her the framework; layered defenses, supply redundancy, protected trade corridors, it had felt overwhelming. Scarlet had simply nodded and signed, trusting someone else’s vision because she had none of her own at the time.
 
But now…
 
Ciel slid a sheet toward her without a word. Scarlet glanced down.
 
Aerial delivery routes, still operational, thanks to staggered elevation platforms and glide-wing pilots. The underground cistern network, uncontaminated and feeding into purified water caches. Emergency housing hubs, three new ones active, with rotating staffing schedules and enchanted climate buffers.
 
All of it was real. Functional. People were safe.
 
Her throat tightened unexpectedly.
 
She had thought herself a placeholder. A clever squirrel trying to play leader until the real ones could return. But the results in front of her argued otherwise.
 
Maybe I didn’t know what I was doing, she admitted silently, but I listened. I learned. I trusted the right people. And maybe… that counts for something. The realization hit her, ‘This is what the other me wanted to see… To open herself to trust instead of trying to handle everything herself. Wisdom knew when to reach for help, understood the importance and need.’
 
She looked back up. “Have the outposts in the northern ridge reported in?”
 
Porter nodded. “Steady check-ins. Supply lines still running. We lost a few outer fences to the wind, but no breaches.”
 
Karmela added, “They’ve already begun repairs. Locals are pitching in, even without being asked.”
 
That made Scarlet pause. Community effort: unprovoked. Not out of obligation, but out of belief.
 
She folded her hands over the table, feeling the faint hum of hope inside her chest. Maybe for the first time in a long while, it didn’t feel so out of place.

Continue reading...

  1. 01. Settling in
  2. 02. Fist Fight at a fancy Ball
  3. 03. It's a Lion not a 'Cat'
  4. 04. Patron's tea and dance
  5. 05. The escort job
  6. 06. Update: Today's purchase list
  7. 07. Escort for Bella and the Loot King
  8. 08. Sirens and a chase in town
  9. 09. Got abducted again
  10. 10. Jams and Jellies
  11. 11. New Dog
  12. 12. Guards in the Trees
  13. 13. Temple Visit
  14. 14. New Pup & Outing
  15. 15. Training exercises
  16. 16. Fighting over an idol
  17. 17. Jobs galore
  18. 18. New stationary
  19. 19. A small visit
  20. 20. Slaps and shows
  21. 21. Today's meal
  22. 22. Homesick
  23. 23. Lanterns in the sky
  24. 24. Baby in the park
  25. 25. The Heist
  26. 26. Update: Guild
  27. 27. Mines and Traps
  28. 28. New clothes
  29. 29. I made Journeyer!
  30. 30. Investment shopping
  31. 31. The Pit (fights)
  32. 32. Ghosts of the past
  33. 33. Unexpected ending in a Play
  34. 34. Today's meal
    https://www.worldanvil.com/hero/journal/1aa083c5-ae1f-4624-a724-197a3f8704e3/view
  35. 35. Spies and secrets
  36. 36. Wanted: Three Hand Gang (WED)
  37. 37. Well it's official
  38. 38. Hags and stones
  39. 39. Death and visitations
  40. 40. the shell game
  41. 41. Anger and plots
  42. 42. The jobs so far
  43. 43. (Doodles)
  44. 44. Meetings and Partings
  45. 45. Double checking
  46. 46. An office Scene
    8/01/2023
  47. 47. An(other) office Scene
  48. 48. Paperwork
  49. 49. Behind the curve
  50. 50. Notes and notation
  51. 51. Cake and notes
  52. 52. Paperwork on the high seas
  53. 53. Pics and notes
  54. 54. A small talk
  55. 55. Small notes
  56. 56. The Dressmaker
  57. 57. (food)
  58. 58. Notes
  59. 59. Putting the clues together
  60. 60. Notes
  61. 61. Tea cakes (& slights)
  62. 62. Updates
  63. 63. Board Meetings during battles
  64. 64. Updates
  65. 65. Field command
  66. 66. I am okay
  67. 67. Mountains of paperwork
  68. 68. Needed Vacation
  69. 69. A note
  70. 70. An update
  71. 71. Dissapointment
  72. 72. Notes
  73. 73. Journal entry
  74. 74. Ledgers
  75. 75. Food
  76. 76. An update
  77. 77. A thought
  78. 78. Basking in Dusk's light
  79. 79. A note
  80. 80. A letter home
  81. 81. A dream/a journal entry
  82. 82. An update
  83. 83. Working long hours
  84. 84. A dream, a memory
  85. 85. A meeting
  86. 86. The ride home
  87. 87. Reflections
  88. 88. Paperwork
  89. 89. A small trip
  90. 90. The journey there
  91. 91. Fitting in
  92. 92: Finding your voice
  93. 93: New plans made
  94. 94. (the missive)
  95. 95. Nursery planning
  96. 96: New spell gem
  97. 97: Shuffling

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.045 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 17:32, May 30 2025