My Enemy, My Love

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔉𝔬𝔲𝔯

Lady Meili 

I couldn't sleep. I hadn't in weeks. Each day bled into the next with the same rhythm—tea gone cold, letters from the front line burned before I finished reading them, and conversations about floral arrangements and eligible sons of wealthy lords who had nothing in their heads but hunting dogs and inheritance taxes. My stomach turned at the thought of it all.

I sat slouched over my desk, an empty page staring back at me like an accusation. The ink in the pot had dried slightly at the edges, and I swirled my plume in it to bring it back to life.

I didn't want this life. I never did. The life my mother carefully curated for me—elegant gowns, polite laughter, softened opinions, and the fate of bearing a child I never wanted to birth for a man I'd never love. My mind was at the borders, in the cold, mud-drenched battlefields, beside Anurak. My best friend. My only real family. He was out there, and I was in here, useless.

I dipped my quill again and scratched out the first line:

Mother, Father -

I know this will come as a great shock to you both...

No. Too formal. I crumpled the parchment and tossed it across the desk.

I tried again.

I'm sorry.

Too weak.

I took a breath, pressed the quill to the parchment, and wrote:

To my dearest family,

I don't expect forgiveness. Nor do I expect understanding. But I do hope, in time, you'll accept that I couldn't stay. I couldn't sit here while the world outside burns and my closest friend fights for our safety alone. I am not made for parties and perfumes. I am not a Lady—not in the way the court demands. I do not want marriage. I do not want motherhood.

I want to fight. And I will.

Do not try to find me. Do not send men to bring me back. This is my decision. My calling.

I love you. Please believe that. But I must go.

—Meili

I folded the letter tightly, sealed it with wax, and stared at it on the bed for a long, trembling moment. My bag was already packed with everything I thought I might need—two changes of clothes, a hunting knife, preserved food, and coins.

I cracked open the window. The air outside was cool and alive with crickets and wind. I threw my bag first—it landed with a muffled thump on the grass. Then I carefully climbed out, my slippers scraping against the jagged stone of the wall. My palms stung. A cut opened on my thigh. Still, I pressed on until I reached the ground.

I crouched low and crept toward the stables.

Then I saw the guard.

"Shit," I whispered.

My eyes darted around until they found a rock. I picked it up and lobbed it toward the orchard wall. A hard crack echoed, and sure enough, the guard lifted his lantern and went off to investigate. I sprinted. My heart pounded in my chest like a war drum.

I slipped into the stables, unsaddled my horse, and tugged at his reins. "Quiet now," I whispered. "We need to go."

A sharp whistle behind me made me freeze.

"Stop! Who goes there?!"

I didn't turn around. I mounted the horse bareback and kicked.

We burst from the stables in a blur of motion, hooves pounding the earth. The guard's voice echoed behind me, but it grew smaller and smaller until it was nothing at all.

I laughed. Not because anything was funny. But because I had never felt this free in my life.

The wind whipped through my hair. My legs ached from gripping the horse so tightly, my hands blistered on the reins, but I didn't care. I was gone. I had done it.

+---------+

Morning came with a grey sky and sore muscles. I had made it as far as a small village at the edge of the foothills. My horse needed rest, and so did I. I found a tavern tucked between two shrines, its thatched roof sagging with age. I tied the reins and pushed through the door.

The tavern owner was a hunched man with a gentle face and teeth yellowed by tea. He poured me a bowl of hot broth and squinted at my muddy cloak.

"You ain't from around here," he said, stirring the fire. "Where you headed, miss?"

I glanced around, leaned closer. "West. Toward the army camp at Ban Yung Field."

He raised a brow. "That's a three-week ride, and that's assuming no delays. That's a dangerous stretch of land, girl. Why would you want to go there?"

"To find someone," I said. "A soldier."

He nodded slowly. "You'll need a guide. Someone who knows the land. And the roads. You won't make it otherwise."

My pulse quickened. I thanked him, tossed a few coins on the table, and stepped outside, heart racing again.

A guide.

Someone I could trust.

Someone who would understand what this meant.

And then it struck me.

Ray.

Ray would know where Anurak was. He had to. If anyone could get me to the front lines—it was him.

I turned my horse toward the south.

+----------+