[h2][center]Esther von Degraff[/center][/h2]
[hr]
Esther watched as Gradon took out another wolf. As usual, he made it look so easy, she thought. When he reassured her that he wouldn't let any of the wolves get to her, she nodded to him, trusting his ability wholly as a partner, and most importantly, a friend.

She then heard the captain's command to push up the hill. Before she knew it, Gradon already grabbed her hand, guiding her towards the shorcut. She blushed a little at his brazenness. She had never held hands with a boy before. Her grandfather didn't really care for courting her with the other noble kids.

"Are we still counting?" he asked as he slayed another wolf as they climbed up the hillside. "Y-yes, I suppose..." she answered, flustered.

Finally, they rejoined the others with the downed Wagnil. Unfortunately, as Gradon talked with the others, he forgot to release her hand, so Esther had to ask, "Umm, Gradon, c-can you please release my hand?" She felt terribly embarrassed now that the others could see him holding her hand.

After that, they finally managed to go through the storm and arrived at Orello. She was relieved that it hadn't fallen to the enemy yet. See, there was indeed no point in thinking the worst, since most of the time, things wouldn't actually get that bad.

After the Captain gave her closing briefing, they were dismissed, free to have the rest of the day to their own.

Aaah, finally, she could rest at last!

She immediately headed to the assigned dormitory, saw that no one was there, changed to her nightgown, and then threw herself into one of the beds available. The bed wasn't that soft, but she didn't care. She just wanted to rest. And soon after, she fell asleep.