Ella

Ella is a Paladin and longtime member of Alexis's guard. She combines close protection with practical security work, moving from the Royal Order into Alexis's personal retinue and remaining one of the Princess's most trusted attendants.

Biography

Protecting the royal household

Ella first supports Alexis's escape from Burton by wearing the Princess's armour during a public training exercise, keeping the visor down so spies follow the decoy while Alexis and Josephine gain a day's lead. After joining the Wistover household, she checks letters and maps, recognizes the mindless aggression used in earlier Royal assassination attempts, and urges the Duchy to formalize its military before another attack. She later searches enemy bodies for communication evidence and guards Dominic's left flank beside Alexis, extending her role from personal escort to intelligence, planning, and battlefield protection. (Chapters 165 and 262–365)

Personal-guard continuity

Ella continues handling vulnerable people, convoy security, transport, and household logistics as Wistover grows. Dave identifies her as the Paladin who can heal an injured girl, while city guards recognize her and accept her voucher for the Royal convoy. Alexis later explains that Ella was promoted out of the Royal Order into her personal Guard, a rare personnel change in a retinue otherwise preserved from childhood. Her latest appearances therefore show continuity rather than retirement: she remains close enough to the household to understand Dominic's smithing needs and Alexis's daily operations. (Chapters 586–587, 685–704, 724, and 793)

Appearance and personality

Ella is described through her armour and physical bearing rather than fixed bodily traits. Her movement has the raw physicality of a trained female warrior, and her helmet commonly hides her expressions, though the narration records smiles or laughter behind the visor. She is blunt, observant, and comfortable teasing Colonel Wilkes, but becomes grim when confronting suspected mistreatment. (Chapters 212–213, 264, 291, and 586–587)

Magic, skills, and craft

Ella is identified as a Paladin, and Dave says she can heal an injured person; the corpus does not show the mechanics, range, or limits of a specific healing spell, so her exact restorative repertoire is not established. Her directly demonstrated skills are protective combat with sword and shield, close formation guarding, disguise as a body double, document and map inspection, recognition of assassination patterns, convoy control, and driving. Armour enables the decoy and frontline roles, but it does not make every associated ability magical. (Chapters 165, 262–265, 365, 586, 685, and 704)

Relationships

• Alexis: Ella serves Alexis from the Royal Order into her personal Guard, acting as decoy, driver, investigator, and close protector. (Chapters 165, 262–265, 685–704, and 724)
• Dominic Wavemates: Ella advises Dominic on local military security, guards his flank in combat, and manages travel and household tasks around his work. (Chapters 264–265, 365, 685–704, and 793)
• Colonel Wilkes: Ella serves in Wilkes's detachment and treats him with the familiarity of a longstanding comrade, including joining his corrections and teasing banter. (Chapters 212 and 218)

Items

• Alexis's armour: Ella temporarily wears the Princess's armour as a decoy, keeping its visor closed so observers cannot identify the substitute. It is borrowed operational equipment, not Ella's property. (Chapter 165)
• Royal Guard arms and armour: Ella uses a sword, shield, helmet, and guard armour in protective duty; the corpus does not give these pieces individual names. (Chapters 264, 291, and 365)