Phaedra was tense. There were rumors of war in the air, and the fact that she and her troops had been ordered into the capital city was only feeding her fears that they were soon to ship off to war. The rumors were that it would be Egypt this time around and that had put Phaedra in a distinctly unpleasant mood. Egypt had been the location of her first experiences at war and she had no desire to see that country or any of its people ever again.

There was only one thing Phaedra knew to do to settle her mind, and that was to practice. She knew that she had to be prepared for when she faced the enemy. Standing on the training grounds, she could reassure herself that she knew what she was doing, that when facing down the Egyptians on the battlefield that she would live to fight another day. Normally she tried to find a time where she could use the training ground undisturbed, away from either the derision or so-called appreciation of the male soldiers.

This time, she was surprised as she saw other women soldiers leaving as she approached. They weren’t from her own unit, though she supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. Hers couldn’t have been the only unit called into the city. Still, it was such a rarity to see other women soldiers that she had almost forgotten that they existed.

When she reached the training grounds, she saw a soldier she vaguely recognized. She was from one of the other Drakos provinces, though she couldn’t say which one. Nor could she say she remembered the woman’s name. Phaedra had hoped for some solitude and practice, but it would have been impolite to ignore her completely.

“Are you just finishing up here? I’ll take one of those archery targets off your hands for my own practice.” Her own bow she held in her hand, unstrung and she carried a quiver of arrows on her back. She didn’t bother with armor for archery practice, the padded cloth she normally wore did little but make her hotter when she wasn’t at risk of the slash of a blade. As she took the moment to string her bow, she spoke again “So do you think it’ll be war with Egypt then?” She hadn’t even meant to begin a conversation, just to fill the silence between the two women, but it was too late now. She may not be able to practice in peace after all.