It was a day that had begun like any other. At least, for me, it that is the way it was.
A few months had passed since the goddess Ashera turned almost everyone to stone, but thanks to Greil's son and the new queen of Daein, everyone was restored.
I had decided to stay with the Greil mercenaries for a while. I wasn't quite sure why, at first. It wouldn't be until later that I would realize why…
I stood in the shadows, leaning against a building of the mercenary's home. In my mind, I was going over what Commander Ike had asked of me. At least, that's what I thought I was doing. But my eyes continued to wander…until they always found her.
Mia.
For her as well, the day was not unlike any other. There she was, wildly but gracefully swinging her practice sword at Boyd. After several failed attempts to strike back, the young axeman gave up, and left the training grounds, leaving Mia alone to swing at a practice dummy. She went on for hours, and I stood in the shadows and watched for hours. Soon came the sunset. That was when she noticed me. She smiled. My heart stopped. She walked up to me covered in sweat that glistened in the sunlight. Her long, violet hair trailed out behind her.
"Heya, Volke! What'cha doing?" she asked. "Oh, uh…I mean…would you prefer Fireman? Sir Fireman? …Mr. Fireman?"
"…Just Volke is fine," I replied. Mr. Fireman? That's just…way too awkward…"…Do you have a job for me? I already had a job from the commander, so it'll have to wait—"
"Oh, no, it's nothing like that!" Mia said. "I was just…you know…saying hi."
"…Hello."
"Yep! So…I saw you watching while I was training today. Did you want to join me? Always better to train with someone else than swinging at a practice dummy all day!"
"…I'll pass. I'm not a front-line fighter."
"Oh…well, do you want to…I don't know, hang out?" I felt my face redden slightly at her question. Fortunately, I kept my face hidden, so she could not tell.
"…If you wish. I…do not mind."
"All right! So…"
And that was how it began. Mia just…started talking to me, out of the blue, and about things I never would have expected from someone like her. I always knew she was a highly skilled swordswoman, but not once had I ever thought about her as just a girl. She had reasonable confidence in her own skills, but she opened up to me about problems that she seemed incredibly modest about. The one moment that caught my attention the most was when she began talking about Gatrie, the self-proclaimed ladies' man.
"I mean…he hits on just about every girl he sees, you know?" she asked. "It's not like I like him or anything, but he…hasn't said anything about me…Does that mean that…Am I not…pretty?"
Why would she come to me about these problems? I caught myself wondering this many times during our lengthy conversation. Why come to me and not another one of the women? Why not her best friend, Ilyana? Captain Titania? The commander's little sister? Hell, even Rhys would probably be better at this than me…All I do is just smile and nod. Not like she could see me smiling. And anyway, I was only half-paying attention to all that she was saying. It wasn't that I was trying to ignore her, or drown her out with other thoughts. I just kept getting lost in her eyes…those large, emerald eyes…and her smile, her laugh…the sweet, fruity scent of her hair…
"Well, anyway, thanks for listening, Volke," Mia said. "It feels good to let all that stuff out, you know?"
"…Uh…sure. No problem."
"Well, it's 'bout time for dinner. Time to fill my belly with some of Oscar's food. Mmm…I can smell it all the way from here…" She hungrily placed a hand over her stomach, and walked towards the kitchen. "See ya' later, Volke! Let's chat again soon, 'kay?"
"Uh, yeah…sure…" A few stars were beginning to shine in the sky. I looked up at it and thought, Why me? Out of everyone here, why would she want to chat with someone like me? Maybe…I'm just lucky. Heh. Get a grip, Volke; you're starting to sound like Bastian. And having those kinds of thoughts about a girl…now I'm even starting to act like that jester…