Chapter 29

In Her Eye

That smells good...

Oh, smells like beef ribs with lemon juice, black pepper, oregano, rosemary, and some chives.

"Oh, Ilyana!"

Oh, there's another delicious aroma...

Smells like oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon... with maple syrup.

There's also a glass of grape juice. Good grape juice.

"Ilyana?"

Oh, that's such a tantalizing smell. I'm hungry... very hungry. I think I'm going to faint if I don't eat soon.

Oh, Ashera... deliver me some food.

"Ilyana!"

"I'm hungry..." I said weakly.

"Oh, you're hungry?"

There's someone talking to me. I turned to the voice. It's Marcia!

"Oh, hello Marcia. Do you smell that?" I asked her.

"Smell what?" she asked me in return.

"I smell ribs, oatmeal, grape juice, and some potatoes," I said hungrily.

"Well, I ate oatmeal for breakfast with grape juice and for lunch I had ribs and potatoes," Marcia said to me.

"Ohhhh," I replied. That smell was so overpoweringly strong that I could practically taste the meal.

"Are you hungry?" she asked me.

"Yes," I replied hungrily.

"Would you care if I took you to dinner? You look famished!" Marcia stated.

"I'd love dinner," I replied.

"Cool beans!" Marcia exclaimed in reply.

"Ohhh..." I replied. Beans sounded really good right now, especially with pork and brown sugar and molasses. Maybe beans for chili with ground beef, carrots and celery.

"What's wrong?" Marcia asked.

"Hungryy," I replied.

"I'll buy her something to eat," Makalov said, apparently overhearing my plea for food.

"On what money? The debt you owe to another Begnion soldier?" Marcia asked.

"No... I borrowed a small amount from a Daein soldier," Makalov replied.

"You cheese-eating chowderhead!" Marcia exclaimed, pulling out her lance and whacking Makalov on the back of the head.

"Ohhhhh..." I groaned. Chowder sounds good... especially with milk or with tomato juice. Oh, clam chowder sounds really good right about now. And cheese. Pasta and cheese, especially macaroni. Cheese fondue. Cheese crackers. Mozzarella cheeze on pizza. Pizza with mushrooms, ground beef, olives, and pepperoni. Oh, olives... stuffed with ham. Ham makes a good header to a feast. So as turkey. A whole turkey, just for me.

"Ilyana!!!" Marcia called out.

"Wh-what is it?" I asked in a famished voice.

"You spaced out on me. Let's go to dinner," Marcia said.

"Oh, okay..." I said.

Food.

Food everywhere...

Leg of lamb...

Prime rib...

Clam chowder...

A barbecue...

Sushi...

Swordfish steaks... covered with its own glazed juices that were obtained hwen it was seared on the pan in lemon juice and crushed red pepper.

Lamb chops...

Ribs... beef ribs in barbecue sauce...

... crackers!

Bottles of all kinds of wine and champagne...

I died and went to Ashera's loving care!

I couldn't remember much as soon as I got to the restaurant. I just remember Marcia took me to a fancy all-you-can-eat buffet where I promptly did just that. I don't think I've ever ate that much in my life, or had people look at me in such a way before. Marcia said she'd leave a generous tip. She said something along the lines of an apology to the restaurant.

After my thirty-seventh heaping plate, Marcia started tugging on my arm. I wonder why. I wasn't even close to being full yet.

"Ilyana?"

"Ohhhh, this fried chicken tastes SO good," I replied.

"We better get a quick jump outta here when you're done," Marcia said again.

"Okay," I replied.

I decided, twenty plates later, that I had ate enough. I mean, sure I wasn't full, but I can't imagine how much all this food had to have cost. I'll have to come back tomorrow if they're open.

Marcia and I were silent until we got back to the palace.

"You sure can eat! Where do you put it all?" Marcia asked.

"Uh..." I replied.

"Oh well, doesn't matter."

"Thank you for the meal."

"No problem. Looked like you needed it," Marcia said.

"Ilyana!"

It was Bill! Oh, it was good to see him again.

"Hi Bill," I replied with a smile.

"Zihark. My name's Zihark," he replied. What? Really?

"Oh, I'm sorry Zihark," I said to him.

"I'll... leave you two alone?" Marcia said curiously with a smile on her face and some kind of knowing look on her face. She started to walk away as she waved her farewell to me. I wonder what she's thinking. Maybe it's a new food recipe for a new way to cook something?

"How are you doing?" Zihark asked me.

"I'm fine. A little tired, but I'm doing good overall," I replied.

"Are you doing anything?" Zihark asked, his voice somewhat shaking.

"I'm talking to you," I replied. Oh, I can smell beef jerky coming from his front left pocket.

"How about after you talk with me?" Zihark asked with a smile.

"That depends on how long we're talking," I replied. What's he getting at? Is he going to take me to dinner too? I'm starting to get a little hungry.

"Well, if you want, we can go to my room and talk," Zihark offered, his voice trembling.

"Oh, of course! Is there a place to sit down?" I asked.

"... yes?" Zihark answered rather peculiarly. Was my question weird?

We were walking back to Zihark's room when we spotted Mist at the end of the hallway. She was talking to someone, but we couldn't tell since the other person was around the corner.

"... and I just felt a surge of power and the blade and I just seemed to react with each other," Mist was explaining.

"Wow, awesome! I knew you'd become a great sword wielder," a somewhat high-pitched male voice praised.

"Oh, hi Zihark... Ilyana," Mist greeted. John stepped out from the corner and waved a greeting.

"Hello there Mist and John. How are you holding up?" Zihark asked.

"Holding up?" Mist asked.

"I heard you had quite the scare in the training room yesterday," Zihark said.

"Oh, I'm fine. John here was asking me the same thing. I'm fine. Thanks for asking, though," Mist said.

"I heard you improved with your sword!" I said. I wonder if swords are used to cut big pieces of meat. I mean a sword is just a big knife, right?

"Oh, I have. Ike tells me I've finally perfected the technique that our father had created and he had learned. I can do it just as well as Ike can, although it has to be with a lighter sword. In addition, I'm being trained by a teacher in the local academy on techniques for the magical swords. I'll have two different techniques at my disposal to help become more efficient in combat!" Mist explained.

"That's very good. Good luck with that," Zihark said. He nodded to me.

"I wish you good luck. Maybe one day we can break bread together over a feast," I said to Mist. Oh, I'm getting hungry.

"Yes we should," Mist replied. I could see John seemed to be trying not to laugh at the breaking of the bread comment. I wonder why. Maybe he doesn't know about my tradition of friendship and food yet.

"Oh, hello Karla," Zihark said as his attention went down to the hallway we just came from.

"Greetings, Zihark..." Karla replied. She rounded the corner and spotted Mist and John. A weird kind of oppressive tension and nerves was in the air as she continued to walk past without another word. I could see Mist look down and sigh. I wonder if it had to do with that mysterious conversation Mist and Karla had two days ago that I accidentally walked into.

We arrived at Zihark's room and went in. It was just like the other rooms. Two chairs and a bed.

"You can sit down if you'd like," Zihark said while sitting down in a chair.

"Thank you!" I said as I sat down in the other chair.

"Beef jerky?" Zihark asked as he pulled it out of his front-left pocket.

"Thank you," I replied. He opened up a drawer in the desk and tossed me a bag. I opened it up and within a minute, it was all gone.

"You really eat fast, don't you?" Zihark asked.

"I'm just a little bit hungry," I replied.

Talking with Zihark was fun. He wasn't as serious as people think he was. After some time, the topic of laguz came up.

"Do you hate the laguz?" Zihark asked me.

"No. I think everyone is equal," I replied. What a strange question.

"Do you hate those who persecute laguz or use them for twisted experiments?" Zihark asked.

"Hate is such a strong word. I can be upset, but everyone deserves a second chance," I replied.

"Even a person who takes away someone you love so dearly... take that person away... kidnap them while you're gone... and perform vile and twisted experiments with them?" Zihark asked in a very serious tone.

"Then I'd be very upset. If the person had no intention of apologizing, I would hate the person. Experimenting on anything is not right," Ilyana replied.

"I see..." Zihark replied.

"Zihark...?"

"Thank you," Zihark said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I... once had a relationship with someone some time ago. We loved each other dearly. One day, a twisted, vile, evil man by the name of Izuka came in the name of Daein and took her away for experiments. No, not took. He kidnapped her. I fought through to try to see her again, but she was... horribly... mutated. She was gone. I left Daein after that day and vowed to stop those who mistreat laguz," Zihark said to me.

That's such a sad story. I can't believe someone would do that to anyone at all.

"I... feel guilty that I hate someone with such a fiery passion, but at the same time, I can't help it and I can't control it," Zihark explained.

"It's fine to feel how you feel. If you bottle it up like wine, it will get older and become sour like vinegar. You have to treat it and put it in the right conditions and it will become better, like champagne. You're the one who knows how to fix the situation, even if it is killing Izuka," Ilyana said.

"I understand. Thank you," Zihark said.

"You're welcome," I replied with a smile. I'm so happy I could help someone. I'm hungry, though.

After a brief conversation, we said our goodbyes and I left the room. On the way back, I saw the axe guy from Gerik's Mercenaries. Truth be told, he didn't completely look like an axe wielder. He looked a bit weak.

Although... he gave out this kind of aura. It's weird. There's something about him that stands out.

Oh, I have to find out someday. They said that Gerik and his group are going back except for his sword fighter. What's her name again? Mary? Clarissa? Clarine? Miledy? Marta? Marle?

Oh well, I'll find out.

"Ilyana..."

I turned to see the axe guy looking at me in a peculiar way. I don't know why, but it didn't make me uncomfortable. It was interesting...

"Yes?" I asked him.

"Y-you hungry?" he asked me in a slightly nervous tone.

"Yes," I replied.

"Want to go somewhere to eat?" he asked me.

"Really?" I asked him.

"Yeah, to... um... you know... show there's... no hard feelings between our groups?" he said hopefully. Well, why does he have to stutter it? Good food coming! He's such a kind guy.

"Okay, we can go to a late dinner," I replied with a nice smile. Oh, I hope we get a lot of food.

Author's Note: Ilyana chapter with a little further depth on Zihark. Here goes Ilyana with her deceptive trick of getting food from members of groups. Next chapter may or may not continue this little "filler" arc. I'm also writing the next story chapter of the fic. I'm about four or five pages in. I won't say much, but it consists of finally going to the Daein-Begnion border to begin the war. Here's a small clip from the chapter. It's also where I stopped... meaning, I don't have anything beyond this.

The other person left with us was a sniper by the name of Robin. That's really such a masculine name for a guy.

yeah.

He had a bowl cut, which was the point of any jokes I made in my head. In addition to that, he had a dark blue outfit, a bit like a gown. He reminded me of the Composite Archers of the original Age of Empires game. I guess you could call them robes. Under them, he explained, was his chain mail armor. He wasn't a true sniper either. Under his robes was a sword. He was not as proficient with the sword as the rest of his company, but his skill with a bow would've probably shut Shinon up.

Speaking of Shinon, I think we'll be running into him sometime soon. I had honestly forgotten about him until now. I hope we kill him instead of recruiting him. That would be SO awesome. It was bad enough I couldn't kill Oliver. I know we're not supposed to kill Shinon either, but damn... it'll be FUN to rough him up.

... a lot.

Painfully.

With a thunderbolt up the--

"John?" Mist said to knock me out of my reverie.

"Yes?" I asked Mist.

"How do you think Shinon's doing? I miss him. I'm a bit worried about him," she said. Damn it, Mist... can't you find a person you don't care about? You know, like Shinon?