Chapter 2: 7th Platoon
"So, we're in the 7th platoon?" I asked Katarina for confirmation.
"Yup. I wonder, who else is in this platoon?" She wondered out loud. Just as she finished her sentence, a small group approached us.
"You two are in the 7th platoon, too?" A well-armored, man with green hair asked as he stepped forward, "I'm Luke! Or if you prefer, you can call me Luke, the Paladin of Dawn!"
Another man stepped forward with Luke. "I'm Rody. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you." He had green armor on instead of blue armor like Luke and chocolate brown hair. "Is that everyone?"
"U-um…" A very shy voice came from behind the two armor-clad men, "I-I'm Ryan… I'm an archer." He had green hair similar to Luke, but had a bowl-haircut style instead of standing straight up. He had light armor on and a quiver strapped to his back.
"I'm Glacia and this is Katarina." I said, "I'm a cavalier while she's an aspiring strategist."
"Yup. I'm not so good at fighting, but I want to do what I can to help out." She said with a smile.
"Now that we all know each other, what do we have to do?" Rody asked.
"Sir Jagen has ordered us to decide who our platoon's commander will be." Katarina answered.
"Well, clearly it should be me, Luke!" Luke exclaimed with confidence, "It's obvious that I'm the strongest one around here. I'd make a great commander."
"I… I actually think Glacia should be our commander." Katarina said while looking at me.
"I'm clearly better than her. I'm an actual warrior on the battlefield." Luke said with a big smile.
"She was great during her fight with Cain and she didn't leave me when I said I couldn't fight." Katarina rebutted with a stern look, "She's the greatest fighter I've ever seen."
"Katarina… are you sure?" I asked, concerned that she had put too much faith in me.
"Well, then how about we fight for it?" Luke suggested, "I'll prove my strength to you and rightfully claim the position of commander of the 7th platoon!"
"As long as it's a fair fight, I accept." I said. I felt confident about fighting Luke.
"Let's go out to the field where the mock battles took place. We'll grab our horses and after that," Luke turned around and pointed at me, "it's just you and me!" Luke and Rody ran through the hallways ahead of us while I took my time walking with Katarina and Ryan.
"I… I'm sorry I said that so suddenly…" Katarina said quietly, "I just didn't like how he talked you."
"It's fine." I reassured her, "I'll teach him a few lessons on the battlefield and he'll learn to keep quiet." I got a small giggle from Katarina. When we got to the stables, Luke and Rody have already mounted their horses.
"Come on! Let's go!" Luke yelled as he rode with Rody through the gate into the large field.
"Can I help out?" Ryan asked as I led Blazemane out of her stable.
"I think its best that you stayed with Katarina. I'll be fine on my own." I said as I rode Blazemane through the gate to meet with Luke. Rody stood a several feet behind him.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Luke shouted as he pulled out his lance.
"I'm ready when you are!" I shouted and gripped my lance tightly. I noticed Rody backing away from the battle. What's Rody doing over there anyways, I wondered. I quickly stopped staring at Rody when I heard Luke already starting to charge at me. Blazemane jumped into action, dodging Luke's sudden charge. I turned around and rode towards Luke, hoping for a clean hit. He anticipated my move and blocked my lance with his own. Our lances crossed and we fought to push each other's weapons to the ground.
Luke gave a loud yell and was able to push my lance to the side. A quick movement of his lance sent my lance flying away. I heard a small chuckle as I rode away. I quickly unsheathed my sword and went in for an attack. The sword was much too short to attack a lance wielder without sustaining damage, but it was my only option. I charged in with my sword pointed outward. Luke charged at me as well, his long lance pointing in my direction. I fought against instinct and ordered Blazemane to ride closer to the incoming horse. It was the only way my sword will stand a fighting chance.
With Luke a lance-distance away, I swung my blade as hard as I could while ducking down at the same time. I felt the air move above me as a lance swung overhead. My sword made contact with Luke's chest plate, leaving a significant dent in it. I quickly turned Blazemane around and went for another charge. Luke was still stunned from my blow. I took the chance to knock him off with a swift kick.
"Looks like I've won this one." I said out loud. Before I was able to get down and help Luke get up, I spotted something coming towards me.
"I knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. Now it's my turn!" It was Rody and he was coming at me very quickly. I readied my blade for another battle. I turned to face him, but was too late to mount an attack. His lance was already coming at me. I raised my sword up to block the attack. The lance clinked off the blade as Rody rode past me. I turned around once again and charged in for an attack. He noticed my advance and retaliated by blocking my blade.
"You might have been able to beat Luke, but I won't go down so easily." He said before pushing my blade away and thrusting his lance at me. Luckily, I was able to dodge it in time before it did serious damage.
"I thought this was going to be a one-on-one!" I exclaimed as I blocked another attack.
"It is one-on-one. Just two separate ones." He pushed against my blade and attempted another attack. The tip of his lance caught onto the bandage on my arm and pulled it off. Using the time it took for Rody to reclaim his lance, I struck him on his side. He raised his arm to block it, but the swing was too much for it to handle. The piece of metal bent as my blade made contact. I risked losing my balance and attacked again from the opposite side. Rody tried to evade the strike, but my blade had already made contact with his armor. The sound of metal on metal was heard as my blade left a long scratch. He was finally able to regain control of his lance and prepared for another strike. However, my blade was already at his throat.
"Alright. You win." He said as he dropped his lance. "Guess you're officially the commander now."
After recovering from the events of the fight for the position of commander, we gathered in the hallway in front of my living quarters.
"Well, I hate to admit it, but I guess you've won fair and square." Luke admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"What was with Rody joining the fight?" I asked.
"I felt that Luke wouldn't be able to put up a good fight against you, so I would serve as the real test of strength." Rody answered as Luke gave him an odd look.
"Should we address you as Commander Glacia?" Ryan asked.
"Please don't. I don't need any titles." I replied.
"Hey, is it alright if I call you by a nickname?" Luke asked while giving a not-so-innocent smile.
"Sure, whatever floats your boat." I said as I prepared to go inside for a rest.
"Hmmm…." Luke thought long and hard about a good nickname for me, "How about… Glacia the Terrible?" What happened afterwards was a blur to me. I just remember going back into my quarters exhausted from running all around Castle Altea.