Chapter 7.
My new commander showed me to a tent away from all of the others. Probably because I was the only female in the army. Mentally rolling my eyes, I set my bag on the soft bed. Zelgius came in with me and put a hand on his hip. "You seem like a mystery to me... Usually it only takes me about five minutes of conversation to figure a person out, yet your personality is still confusing me. You're different, and I like that. Here, catch," He warned. He tossed me some chest plates that were, what else, red. I caught them and nodded in thanks. "I'll be outside so you can change. Come see me when you're ready to meet the rest of the army."
"Will do, sir," I said. He stepped out of my room, leaving me be. I strapped the slightly bulky armor over my chest and one set over my elbows. It looked abnormal on me, considering that I've been used to no armor at all. I adjusted my leather boots and belt, making sure everything was kept neat. Quietly, I pulled out my journal and pen. I had kept one, but I never used it. So, why not use it now to write down the information I get from Bengion now?
In the blank page, I wrote: "Day one. Bengion base. Getting in was a pain in the butt, but I'm in. The guards at the gate didn't let me in at first, just because I'm a girl. Go figure. But I passed the test that General Zelgius gave me. He even made me his second in command. With this new rank, I plan on getting all the Intel I need and more. But, knowing that when I leave, they'll most likely look for me, I used a fake name. Here, I'm known as Alex Kessler. But when I get back, that's gone. When you read this Ike... Ha! I win! I didn't get hurt on the first day! ~Abby." I muffled a laugh at my own writings. I shut the book and put it in my bag, which I slipped under the bed.
Zelgius was waiting outside when I came out. He smiled. "Fits you well. Now, we must show you around camp. Walk with me, Alex?" He offered.
"Yes Sir," I said quietly. He chuckled and started walking. I stayed beside him. As we passed the soldiers, they gaped at me, probably wondering why a woman was wearing Bengion armor. I smirked in satisfaction. Two men were practicing when we walked by and one of them got stabbed in the foot because the other soldier dropped his sword when he saw me. Zelgius and I laughed, unable to keep our amusement a secret to the rest of them. Even the guy that had dropped the weapon was laughing, along with everyone around us.
"So, I asked you questions, so now it's only fair for you to ask me some, Alex," Zelgius said out of the blue. I looked up at him, confused. "I asked some questions, so you may ask me something in return. An eye for an eye you may say."
"Well... um, how old are you?" I said randomly.
"Twenty-two actually," He answered honestly. I thought he looked older than that, but that works too. Ike was about eighteen, so this was going to be about the same type of person to hang out with. Even if he was only twenty-two years old, he still knew how to take charge like a respected elder commander. I gave him silent praise for that, even if we was a Bengion bastard. But maybe... not all Bengion scum... were total bastards.
"Um... I can't think of anything other than that, sir," I admitted. He shrugged his shoulders.
"You'll think of something when the time comes I bet," He said, walking towards another tent. "This is where we have our meals. Just look for the sign up there for when we move from place to place to find it. Don't worry, once you're here for a little while, you'll get used to it." I didn't say anything. He moved along with the rest of the tour. I listened, knowing that I was only staying for about a week. I was surprised that no one knew me from the Griel Mercenaries. Oh well, at a time like this, I was sort of glad no one remembered me.
We ended the walkthrough at around sunset and we ended up back at my tent. He looked towards the horizen and seemed lost in thought. "Hm, that took longer than I thought. Come on, why don't the two of us go have dinner with the other soldiers? I know you must be hungry after your long journey."
I hadn't realized it, but I was. I suddenly felt a little hungry and took up to his offer. If Ike had taught me one thing it was to except food when it came your way. He's told me that over ten times when Oscar asked if anyone wanted seconds back at the base. The two of us made our way back to the dinning hall and entered. When Zelgius came into view, everyone stood up and bowed. I raised an eyebrow and glanced up at the raven haired commander.
"Greetings men! I have come with good news. I present you with your new second in command... and the first female in the army... Alex Kessler! May give her warm welcomes and great respect. The same respect that you show me! Understood?" Zelguis bellowed. The rest of the huge crowd said "yes sir" and then sat down. "Come, why don't you sit next to me?"
"You sure sir?" I asked. He nodded once, guiding me over to where he sat. He pulled the chair out for me and I sat down, thanking him. I scooted in toward the table and looked down to the food. It actually didn't look all that bad. I looked over to him and smiled. He smiled back, taking a bite. I followed suit... and it was really good. Not as good as Oscar's cooking though, nothing beats his stuff. We sat in silence for the most part. The only time he spoke was when someone came up to him to ask when the next battle was. He told him that they would be leaving this set up in the morning.
My nerves went on high. If we were leaving tomorrow, that meant that I would have to meet up with the Laguz army and that meant that I would see Ike and the others. I had never thought about that until now. Now that I'm a part of the Bengion army, then I would have to fight with them too. Would've figured that I would have known that from common sense, but... I guess I forgot. It seemed that Zelgius noticed my change in expression when he said that.
"Something troubling you Alex?" He wondered. I quickly turned my gaze to him, shaking my head. He narrowed his eyes in confusion and shrugged, going back to his meal. I sighed, suddenly loosing my appetite. After we were both finished, Zlegius guided me over to the woods. "I figured that you would want to refresh yourself after the long journey. Through these trees is a spring. If you want, you can go back to your tent to get some towels left in there for you. Or would you rather me fetch them for you?"
"I'm fine. I'll get them myself, thank you... And sir, you don't have to treat me differently from the other soldiers just because I'm a girl. I know how to take care of myself and I know how to take a harsh order. There isn't any need to treat me with such kindness like this," I insisted truthfully. I hated it when people give me a softer time just because they think I'm unable to handle it. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'm sorry. I just... I came from a place where harsh orders were given and I'm not too used to this sort of treatment." ... okay, that one was a lie, but who cared?
"It's quite alright, I'm just concerned is all. If you don't mind me asking, where did you work before this? Are you a wondering mercenary for hire or something of that nature?" He asked. I froze where I stood and shook my head, not able to come up with a lie to tell him.
"I um... don't want to talk about it, sir. I'm sorry, and thank you for showing me this spring. I appreciate it," I said, walking off and toward my tent. I heard him follow me. I ran into my tent and peeked out of the tent flap, seeing where he was going. He seemed to be heading back to his tent on the other side of camp. I sighed, saying to myself, "maybe he's right. Maybe a bath will calm my nerves. Then I'll go find him and ask when I can get that top secret information... but perhaps not quite like that." I grabbed a towel and made my way back to the spring. Lucky for me no one was there.
Once I got undressed, I jumped into the warm water. Zelgius was right, it really was refreshing. I sighed in relaxation and let the water come up to my chin. I rested my head on the rocks and stared up into the sunsetting sky through the think canopy. It was probably the most at ease I've been since the Laguz conflict started. But no matter what I did, I always got this feeling like I was being watched from somewhere. Brushing it off, my mind went blank. After about a half an hour of just sitting in the hot spring, I got out, wrapping the towel around my body to dry off. Then I got my clothes on and made my way back to my tent. A weird feeling rose in my gut. Walking around at night in a Bengion camp will do that to you.
When my tent was in sight, my pace got slower, knowing that I was safe... well, as safe as I get for being in my enemies camp. I walked into my tent and sat down on my bed, lighting the candle on the nightstand. I started to take my armor off, but as I glanced around my room, I thought I saw the silhouettes of people surrounding my room. I raised an eyebrow and shrugged, slipping my shirt off. Then I heard soft murmuring outside. Now there was no way that I was seeing or hearing things. I walked towards the entry of my tent and poked my head out, seeing about ten soldiers trying to get a show!
"Scram! This isn't a bar, you perverts! Get away!" I shouted at them. They all made a beeline, running away as fast as they could. Apparently they could see the shadow of my figure from the light of the candle. Sighing, I went back into my room and blew the candle out, taking the chance of changing in the dark. I could tell that this was going to be one of the longest weeks of my life. But as long as I got the secret information, then all of this was going to be worth it. Bring on the best challenges that you could possibly throw at me, I'll take them all on!
Out of the blue, someone called out my name from outside. "Zelgius, sir? Is that you?" I asked, walking out of the tent. It was him.
"I heard you screaming... at what sounded like some of my men. Is something the matter? What happened?" He asked back. I turned my head away from him and tried to back into my tent, but he grabbed my arm to stop me. "Tell me."
"They didn't do anything to me, so there isn't anything to concern yourself over," I said harshly. He narrowed his eyes at me. Even though I could barely see his face, his eyes were cold and demanding. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. "They were peeping on me, okay? Probably not a big shocker since I'm the first girl in the army! I'm fine, and I don't really care about it all that much anyway. Now if you'll excuse me general, I need to get to sleep so... we c-can go hunt down the Laguz army."
The raven haired general stared down at me and shook his head. "I'm sorry for the imaturety of my soldiers. I promise you, I won't allow it to happen again. Good night, Alex. I'll see you bright and early by my side at dawn." With that, he walked away. I sighed and walked into my room, jumping into my bed. Right as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep.
I woke up when it was still slightly dark. The sun was just starting to come up over the many hills. Rubbing my eyes, I got dressed for the day, put Ike's necklace over my head, and put my armor on. I walked quietly out of my tent and looked around camp for Zelgius. He was helping soldiers get tents put down and supplies gathered for the fifty mile journey to our next battle. He turned around and seemed to be surprised to see me.
"Good morning, Alex. Why are you up? It's not even dawn yet. Could you not sleep?" He asked. I shook my head.
"I slept just fine, I'm just used to getting up this early in the morning," I answered. Ike had always made us get up right about now for early morning training if we knew about a mission in advanced, so I always got up this early no matter what. "Is there anything I can do to help make this go faster?"
"Yes actually. Could you go to the kitchen and help get the food and other supplies together? And when that's done, you can help get these tents down, if you don't mind," He ordered. I bowed and ran to the kitchen, surprising myself that I remembered where it was in the first place. The four people that were already there smiled at me. I offered my help and they gladly took it. The food was probably the quickest thing to put into storage containers. It was everything else. One guy got hit in the head with a huge spoon because some other guy got scared by a spider and jumped back. I laughed and patted the guy that got hit in the head on the back. He smiled at me and shrugged.
"Hey... I was um... one of the guys that was staring at you last night. Please fogive us. It's just, we're not used to being around women in the army, so... yeah, you get the picture," He apoligized. I smiled.
"No problem. I don't really mind. It's all cool, soldier," I said, still smiling. "What's your name so I won't have to keep calling you 'soldier,' soldier." He stuck his hand out, wanting me to shake it. I took his hand and shook it like he wanted me to.
"The name's Draco, commander. Yourself?" He asked. He had dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes. He had a bright smile as well. He seemed a little older than me, maybe about eighteen or even nineteen even and he had a thick country accent, much like Boyd. He also seemed like a really nice person, just can't keep himself from peeking on girls all that much. Like I said, I couldn't care less. Why a nice guy like Draco was in the Bengion army was beyond me. But then again, they could be thinking the same way about we people from Crimea, Daien and Gallia.
"Alex, your new second in command. And I suggest that you don't peep at your commanding officer that can get you kicked out the army, Draco," I teased. His eyes went wide and his face got red. "Only kidding. Now, come on. We've gotta get moving. What's your next job?" I walked out of the kitchen and he followed. I smirked. These guys already had my full trust.
"W-well, no one has really given me another job. But you can since you're second in command! What do you want me to do, miss?" He asked, seeming all military like. I chuckled.
"Why don't you tell me more about yourself as you help me get these tents down," I suggested. He nodded once and walked beside me. "So, where you from Draco? Bengion I take it?"
"Yeah. Born and raised. When my mama and papa got killed in a bandit attack when I was young, I wanted to join the army to get things like that settled and taken care of. I was able to for a while, but then this ol' conflict came up, so I said that I'd go with the army to take down those Sub-humans," He answered. I flinched at that nasty word he had used for Laguz. When anyone called them that, I would punch them in the face. But... if I did that, my cover would be blown in an instant. I only nodded and shot him a sorry look. Truthfully, I was sorry for him about loosing his parents at a young age... because I could relate to the matter.
"I... lost my parents as well when I was young. I know how you feel, Draco. Ah, we're here. Come on, help me with the stands!" I called to him when I started running. He rolled his eyes and ran after me. "Slow much? Come on, you've gotta be faster than that!"
"Well, you're very enerjectic for a little girl, miss! Wait up!" I laughed and tossed my head back. I was actually starting to... like it here? No... this was all work, nothing more. I was here to steal secret information, not make friends and have a good time. That was the last thing I wanted to do. If Ike could see me now, he would smack me upside the head, telling me to pay more attention to the mission and, what else? Be careful. He was always telling me that more than the other mercenaries for some odd reason and I had no idea why. Thinking of Ike made the all too fimillair butterflies come back to my stomach. Why won't this feeling go away? It's abnormal and I hate not knowing things.
Well, in the meantime, I guess I'll help get everything together. Then we're off... to fight my original commpany and my friends, the Laguz.
Hope you guys liked it. Please review!
