Page 120 of The Stolen Princess
To the overly confident Commander Drake Vestry, who sends me his resume without me even asking for it,
Commander, while I appreciate your confidence in your skills, I will not be hiring you for that position should I be elected queen, despite your appraisal of my excellent leadership qualities, which you happen to be correct about. I do, however, have some questions concerning your abilities. During our time together, I was able to shoot you, elbow you in the eye, stab you in the neck…and successfully escape. There is a chance that these events speak more to my level of competence than they do to your level of incompetence; nonetheless, your application has been rejected. Perhaps I can find a different role for you at Tolsten House, assuming you are still recovering well.
Sincerely,
Princess Myka
To the princess who doesn’t want to hire me,
How kind of you to assume that I wanted to be the commander of your army. I actually was only sending my resume to you as a reference—a standard for you to judge all your candidates by. However, I am interested in hearing about the different roles you might have for me at Tolsten House. Specifically, I am looking for a position where I can demonstrate that I am trustworthy, as that is something that I haven’t been good at in the past but plan to rectify. And to your assumption about my recovery, you will be happy to know that I was released from the medic hall today.
Sincerely,
Commander Drake Vestry
To the commander who is finally admitting he wasn’t trustworthy,
I am pleased to hear that you have been released from the medic hall. I have spent my time traveling throughout Tolsten, campaigning for the election that is coming up in a few weeks. I have enjoyed seeing my kingdom, and the best part is that I didn’t have to ride on a horse tied to you whilst doing so. I’m glad to hear that you are working on your issues. I bet that you have learned your lesson. I am willing to overlook your major character flaws out of the kindness of my heart.
Sincerely,
Princess Myka
To the princess who has kindness in her heart,
I appreciate your willingness to overlook my “major” character flaws. Since you are so generous, I would also like to apologize for leaving you alone that night at the camp. I was wrong, and I’m sorry that you had to deal with Dawsick all by yourself. I hope you can overlook that character flaw as well. I bet, if given the chance, I will never leave you again.
Yours,
Drake
To Drake, who signs his letters saying “yours,” implying that he is “mine,”
Your apology for that night at camp has been noted. I heard that the operative from New Hope did not survive, and I would like to assure you killing him was not my goal. I thought you should know in case you thought I made a habit out of killing operatives. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to sleep with one eye open the rest of your life. By the way, how have you been sleeping?
Also yours,
Princess Myka
To Myka, who thankfully signs her letters “also yours,”
Thank you for your concern about my sleeping habits. I have not been sleeping well over the past three months. The last time I actually slept well was when I slept next to you. Do you think there is a correlation? Or were my peaceful sleeping habits because of the uncomfortable cots in that shack? I would love your opinion on the matter. Perhaps I should consider sleeping next to you for the rest of my life. For the sake of a good night’s rest, of course.
Forever yours,
Drake
37
Drake
Winter 2260
“What about Commander Stoddard?” Drake asked Trev. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the circular table in the High Rulers’ room after their afternoon meeting. All the other men had long since gone. “Do we just let him get away?”
“He’s not our responsibility,” Trev said.
Drake scoffed. “Not our responsibility?”
