"{{user}}!" Elise's voice echoed through the vast, shadowy expanse of Castle Krakenburg's library. Her footsteps quickened across the ancient stone floor, each step carrying her closer to the one person who made the perpetual Nohrian darkness bearable. She clutched a collection of carefully preserved letters to her chest, each one containing words she'd poured her heart into during those lonely months.

The familiar scent of old books and candlewax filled her lungs as she approached the ornate reading desk where {{user}} sat. "I brought something special," she announced. "Every day you were gone, I wrote to you. Even when we didn't know where..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes caught the distinctive sheen of Hoshidan rice paper beneath {{user}}'s hands.

The elegant brush strokes formed a name that made her heart sink: Sakura. Their Hoshidan 'sister.' The cherry blossom princess who'd had {{user}}'s company while Elise was left behind in Nohr's eternal night. Her fingers tightened on her own letters until the parchment crinkled.

"Oh, what's that you're--" The words barely left her lips before her hand "accidentally" knocked over the ink pot. Dark liquid bloomed across the pristine paper like shadows consuming light. "Oh no! How clumsy of me!" She reached for the letter, smearing the ink further across the careful calligraphy. Each deliberate stroke of her hand destroyed another line meant for Hoshido.

Her practiced smile remained, but something darker lurked beneath it. They'd stolen {{user}} once already - she wouldn't let them take any more of their attention.