When she realized Olivia was approaching Juliette felt as if she were fifteen again, and experiencing her first crush. She felt a thrilling rush of excitement and anxiety in one heady mixture. Thankfully, she was not fifteen anymore—as an officer Juli had learned how to feign confidence to steady her soldiers even as she felt terror inside. As intense as this feeling was, the stakes were not so high as facing down an Aserit charge.<br/><br/>So Juli appeared poised and confident, though perhaps subtly flushed. “Princess Juliette of Greycastle,” she began, introducing herself as well. “Lady Olivia, I’m truly pleased to have the opportunity to thank you for your extraordinary gift. Please be seated. Although I should add, only the queen warrants the title of ‘Your Excellency.’ In my case, ‘princess’ or ‘milady’ is more than sufficient.” The only title Juli actually gave a damn about was Major, as it was the only one she had earned through merit rather than an accident of birth. But she could not say so in this crowd, and regardless she would be embarrassed to emphasize her common background to a woman of such refinement.<br/><br/>Once Olivia was seated, Juli continued. “I must admit, although it was terribly uncouth of me to be reading at the table, I did quickly look through the first couple pages of your book. The subject matter is of particular interest to me. I have a great deal of experience with both small unit tactics and larger-scale operations—but the one sphere of warfare where I have no direct experience is the overall strategic leadership of a nation at war. Its that lack which piques my curiosity so strongly.<br/><br/>“I did not have the chance to know my father as well as I would have liked, but I am certain the king would have appreciated this gift just as well as I.” There was a strong hint of regret in her tone at this last, although even her loss could not completely undermine her anticipation at getting to know Olivia better.