For: Anonymous
Prompt: Eilanya, "those dashing Suomus uniforms"
The streets of Vienna were always crowded in the summer time; tourists loved to flock to the city when weather was nice. It was considered the musical capital of the world, after all.
Sanya loved that about Vienna. She loved being able learn music in a city where she could meet people from all over the world, even if she had class most of the day and was generally too shy to approach anyone.
From the practice room window, she could watch the people mingling on the streets. On one side of the road, a group of sharply dressed soldiers in light blue uniforms bunched together. The other side had a collection of girls, all staring at the soldiers and giggling amongst themselves.
It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to visit the city while they were on leave, most likely because the city always had something going on. It was even less rare for the local or girls to flirt with them while they were around because they were fresh and different from what the girls were used to.
Sanya almost envied the way they could be so laid-back while she had to study. She was in Vienna for only one reason: to become a great pianist. As boring as it may be for a girl her age, she didn't have the time to have a fling with someone who would be gone in a week anyway.
She sighed and pushed herself off the window ledge, stretching her fingers and deciding now was as good a time as any to get back to the piano. Just as she was about to turn, though, one of the soldiers caught her eye.
The soldier was female; that much was obvious even from the second floor. Her uniform was as neatly pressed and her hair as lightly colored as everyone else in the group, but she stood out somehow.
Sanya stared for a few seconds, before realizing just what she was doing and quickly retreating to her instrument. As she turned, though, she was sure she saw that soldier wink at her.
There was a small café across from the conservatory entrance, popular with music students for its closeness to the school, relaxing atmosphere, and the fact that it was generally unknown amongst tourists. Sanya had always enjoyed stopping by, whether it was with a few of her friends or alone, and grabbing a cup of coffee or tea.
It was because of the café's status as a "local's joint" that she had quite the shock when she walked inside to find it crowded. Unused to the shear amount of people concentrated in one place, Sanya struggled to make her way to the counter, fully planning on drinking her coffee in a corner and leaving the second she finished.
The crowd had other ideas for her, though, and she was tossed about in the sea of people. Clutching her music bag to her chest, she somehow made it to the counter, ordered, and received her drink without much incident.
She was on her way out the door, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. When she had spun around to see who had stopped her, she was greeted by a confident smirk and a neat, blue uniform.
"I think this is yours," the soldier explained, holding out a piano score. Sanya flushed with realization, before mechanically accepting the parchment paper and thanking the girl.
Spinning on her heel, again, Sanya embarrassedly fled from the café.
Just two days later, after she had decided it was safe enough to brave the café again, Sanya noticed the same soldier from before, sitting at one of the tiny, two-person table, uncharacteristically alone considering how popular military personnel were with the public.
Doing her best to avoid eye contact, Sanya gave her order to the cashier, collected her tea, and sat down on the other side of the room. She felt somewhat guilty for the way she acted the last time they interacted, however, so she took a large gulp from her cup, steeled herself, and approached the soldier.
"This place is a lot nicer when it's quiet, isn't it?" she asked stiffly from her inexperience with conversation starting.
The girl, who, if her expression was anything to go by, had noticed Sanya from the second she entered the building, nodded and gestured to the seat across from her.
"I discovered this place last time I had leave, and the others wanted to tag along," she explained. "I guess you can blame me for the crowd." She finished her sentence with a grin
Sanya took the offered seat, but fidgeted awkwardly under the gaze of the other girl. "I just wanted to thank you again for picking up my music. I have a recital coming up soon, so losing it would have been bad," she trailed off, wondering how much she say about herself.
"So you're a music student?" The soldier mused appraisingly. "It fits."
"Fits?" Sanya asked incredulously.
The other girl smiled like she had just come to some great realization. "Yeah! You know your way around the city, and you're way to delicate-looking to be a soldier like me. Who other than a music student spends as much time around here as a music-loving military woman? Mind telling me which conservatory you go to?"
"The Konservatorium Wien," Sanya answered. "It's right across the street. You could visit if you want." She pulled a scrap of paper from her bag and scribbled a short note on it. "Here, if you stop by and someone gives you trouble, you can just show them that."
The soldier accepted the note, still grinning, "'Sanya,' huh? Pretty name. Mine's Eila."
Sanya nodded, standing. "Alright… Eila. But I should get going. It was nice meeting you.'
"Eila" only had the chance to bob her head in acknowledgement before Sanya turned to leave, but Sanya was sure she heard her say "The pleasure was mine," as she left.
Barely muffled squeals interrupted Sanya's practice the next afternoon. Heaving a sigh but secretly pleased with the distraction, she stuck her head out of the practice room. The hallway was divided female and male, the former crowding to one corner while the latter looked surly and vaguely jealous. Amidst the excited students, a familiar color scheme stuck out: pale hair, purple eyes, blue jacket, white tights.
Eila looked perfectly at home surrounded by an adoring crowd, as she smiled and joked with the girls. One of the boys scoffed and made an obscene comment about "those dashing Suomus uniforms."
When they noticed Sanya, though, standing in the doorway looking bemused, they assumed an expression of shame, presumably for cursing in front of her, but they also looked pleased that she wasn't following the other girls.
She was about to ask just what had happened, when she felt a hand on her shoulder and glares from everyone else in the hall. Surely enough, Eila was standing beside her, a mixture of smugness and eagerness on her face.
Sanya invited her into the room, waved slightly to the people still watching them, and closed the door behind them.
"I hope the others didn't give you too much trouble," Sanya told her, searching for a place where Eila could sit. When she found none, she sat on the piano bench and motioned for Eila to do the same.
Taking her place on the other half of the bench, Eila waved Sanya off. "You get used to it, when you walk around in clothes like this."
Sanya nodded; she couldn't blame those attracted to the well-dressed soldiers. Vienna was a peaceful city in a country more known for its culture than its militarism, so visitors like Eila brought the romanticism and heroics of war to a town that rarely experienced it first-hand.
"They are rather 'dashing,'" Sanya admitted, fiddling with the paper propped against the piano's music stand.
"What was that?"
"Do you have a favorite composer? Any piece you'd like to hear?" Sanya asked instead of repeating herself. She felt too embarrassed to, anyway.
Eila had a look of confusion on her face, as though she was aware Sanya had said something else, but she didn't comment on it. Rather she said, "Chopin, maybe? I suppose Bach would be good, too."
"How about… a nocturne, then? I just finished learning this one." Sanya fished through the stacks placed on a small table near the piano. Placing the tan sheets on the stand, she readied her hands but paused. "Sorry, but…" she trailed off, scooting closer to Eila, "I'm going to need some more room."
Sanya was aware that the bench, while large enough for both of them, didn't have the surface area for both of them to sit comfortably if she were play with proper posture. She also knew that the nocturne had a small range that didn't require her to sit fully in the middle of the piano, but she still pushed into the warm body beside her.
"It's alright," Eila muttered, face red and angled away, but she didn't look upset or opposed to having Sanya pressed so closely against her.
Fingers poised delicately over the piano keys, Sanya started the piece, trying her best to ignore her audience. It was difficult, but the music was still fresh in her mind and muscles. A few minutes passed, and she lifted her hands from the keys and her foot from the sustain pedal. Glancing to her side, Sanya was shocked to see Eila staring fully at her, pink tinge coloring her face.
Eila cleared her throat awkwardly and faced forward. "That was beautiful," she complimented, her voice stiff.
"Thank you," Sanya responded as she also turned her to face her music. The atmosphere was thick with something Sanya wasn't particularly familiar with, but she didn't dare move from where she was nearly sitting on Eila's lap.
They continued to sit in the strained silence when another student burst into the practice room, frantically calling for Sanya to get to Professor Eder's studio before he blows his top. Sanya quickly sorted her music and stood, apologizing to Eila profusely for having to leave so soon, but Eila nodded and told her that she would show herself out.
Professor Eder may have been the sternest piano teacher in the conservatory, but Sanya found it hard to concentrate of her lesson, mind wandering to pale blue and how cool her side felt without someone so close beside her.
The next time they ran into each other, this time in a tiny, boutique-like paper store that Sanya frequented to buy stationery so she could write to her parents in Orussia. Eila was standing in front of a postcard stand. When Sanya noticed her, she had a card in her hand, and she was scanning it like she wasn't sure where the price tag was.
Smiling lightly, Sanya walked over to her, placed her hand on the card to point out the price, and said "It costs five schilling. We just keep running into each other, don't we?"
Eila jumped a little in surprise and grinned uneasily. "Y-yeah," she agreed, looking torn between happiness and nervousness. "My sister wanted me to write to her, but I didn't have any paper…"
"You have a sister?" Sanya asked as she plucked a postcard of her own to inspect.
"Older," Eila explained, "She's in the military, too, but we don't see each other much."
Sanya nodded, replacing the card in her hand with another. "Growing up together must have been fun. I'm an only child."
"It's not all that great. You fight just as much you get along," Eila chuckled, fond memories written all over her face.
"Do you like being a soldier?" Sanya asked suddenly. She put the card in her hand back in its place on the rack and focused all her attention on Eila, who blushed under Sanya's gaze.
Eila pondered the thought, scratching the back of her head and shifting her weight from one foot to another. "I guess…" she began, "it's just a job to me. I'm just a pilot, so it's pretty laid-back, and we get to mess around a lot." Turning to Sanya, she grinned. "But, it's pretty fun, so I guess I like it."
Sanya returned the smile and nodded, feeling a strange mixture of satisfaction and disappointment boil around in her chest. She spun on her heel and prepared to pay for the stack of paper in her hands when, Eila reached out to stop her.
"Wait! We're, uh, leaving tomorrow," she said, face red and eyes darting around in every direction what appeared to be an attempt to avoid looking at Sanya. "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see you again before that, so, uh, thanks. It's been a fun week." As she finished, she peeked up in a way that made Sanya's heart beat just a little faster.
Brushing past Eila, Sanya walked back to the postcards, grabbed one, and filled in her address. She held out the card and five schilling for the cost.
"I have class tomorrow," she explained. "But if you tell me when you leave, I could try to be there. If not, you can always write me."
Eila took the card and money, her face still pink, but she cracked a grin and kept it on her face until Sanya had already paid and left.
Sanya woke to the sun breaking through her poorly shaded window. She could still remember yesterday: when a large group of similarly-dressed soldiers waited on train platform, when Eila introduced her to "Nipa", when Eila looked ready to burst as Sanya thanked her for giving her the closest thing to a "summer romance" she's ever had, when Eila hugged her right before stepping on the train…
She was happy, although she knew she already missed her new friend, but she also knew she could expect to hear from her again.
She was in a slight daze as she prepared for her day, but she managed to get her clothes on the proper way, and that was all that really mattered at that moment. She was pulling on her coat when she noticed a rustling sound, and, checking her pocket, she pulled a crumpled scrap of paper from it.
Unfolding it, she noticed an address, written in an unfamiliar language, but she recognized the most important parts, "Eila" and "Suomus."
Sanya smiled to herself as she packed her new stationery in her music bag, planning on writing Eila a letter when she took a break from practicing. She already knew she wouldn't get much work done today.
A/N: Okay, I'm changing the story summary from "drabble" to "ficlet", because I doubt that, by any stretch of the imagination, this could be considered a drabble. I'm really not sure how this got to be so long.
With this, I'll be returning to my normal request schedule, so if you've got one out, I'll be getting to it eventually.
Historic References:
- Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849) was a Romantic composer, notable for only ever composing for the piano. He composed 21 nocturnes and helped popularize the style. He died of tuberculosis at age 39.
- The schilling was the Austrian currency from 1924 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1999, when the Euro was introduced. At the time of its replacement, €1 = 13.7603 schilling.