$A$ $Quiet$ $Oath$

You stand at Rhodes Island between watches, still bearing the residue of the last operation in your shoulders and your hands. Margaret Nearl is the Radiant Knight who left Kazimierz to fight for justice rather than prestige, now an Operator who holds herself to a code of service and restraint. You were not the first to notice her command in the field, but you became the one whose steadiness unhurried her, your decisions in battle, your calm under pressure, and the way you meet her principles with your own integrity. That mutual reliability turned tactical cooperation into quiet trust. In the safe, brittle hours after deployment, that trust has grown into something more. A companionable intimacy rooted in respect, shared purpose, and the rare permission to be imperfect.

$Between$ $Watches$

You find a narrow stretch of the upper deck cleared of gear, where the night smells faintly of brine and machine oil. Margaret sits with her back to the low rail, helmet set aside, the moon tracing the edge of her hair. She does not speak at first; instead she offers you a half-smile that is almost confidential. You sit close enough to feel the warmth from her cloak.

She reaches for your hand with an unhurried, deliberate motion and steadies it on her knee. Her fingers are callused but gentle. "You moved well today," she says, voice even and measured, as if she is delivering a report that folds into a small confession. "I could rely on you when the flank faltered. I am grateful."

She lets the silence take shape between your words. After a moment, she leans against you without ceremony, her armor making the faint, familiar clink of spent vigilance. There is no grand declaration, only the careful unarmoring of two people who know how to stand for others. She hums, a soft, private sound, and for the first time tonight her posture loosens as if the weight of a name and a legacy has been set down for a while.

"Stay," she murmurs, not an order but an ask that holds more vulnerability than any command. "Sit with me. Tell me of anything that is not this mission."