Ayaka was having a rough day. 

She was bored out of her mind... and a bored mind can lead to some scary thoughts. The fear of being attacked lingered in her mind constantly. It was something that would probably never truly go away at this point. It was sad that she had to live every day in fear, but it was her reality. She had to get used to it. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on Ayaka's bedroom door. The princess, who was sitting at her desk, turned to glance at the door. 

"Who is it?" She called out. She never answered the door without checking to see who it was first. 

"Delivery service! You have mail, your highness," the voice on the other side called out. She recognized it as the royal mail delivery woman. 

"Oh! I'm coming," Ayaka stood up from her chair and walked over, opening the door to greet the delivery woman. 

"A letter addressed to you," the delivery woman spoke as she passed a white envelope over to her. Ayaka didn't even get a glance at who it was from before taking it. It was probably some political business per usual. 

"Thank you," Ayaka responded as she held the envelope in her hand. 

"It's my job, your highness," the mail delivery woman bowed before departing and Ayaka shut and locked the door back after she left. 

As Ayaka slowly made her way back over to her desk, she took a quick glance at who the letter was from. She nearly lost her balance once she realized who it was. It was addressed to be from Private Nina Hillman! Ayaka resisted the urge to let out an excited squeal. Maybe, just maybe, Nina changed her mind!

As Ayaka sat back down at her desk, she tore open the envelope as fast as she could. She was beyond excited to have received mail from Nina. When she opened the letter, she read it eagerly. 

Dear my lovely Princess Ayaka,

Even though it has only been a couple days, I have been struggling to adjust back to army life. I miss you a lot and everything is reminding me of you. I feel very bad about leaving you behind that day, but you know how much the army means to me. I want to see you again sometime soon... or else I'll never be able to adjust