Vignette 12 - Girl-Talk in the Graveyard
Mandalia Plain, 16 miles from Eagrose, early evening
There had been a battle that afternoon and the boys had been in the thick of things - even Ramza, who had fought as a black mage - but the girls had managed to hang back and fire spells from a distance. They had, therefore, been only too happy to let the tired, blood-spattered boys go off to bathe in the nearby river, while they set up camp.
After they finished that, they were able to settle down and have a proper chat, just amongst themselves – something they hadn't had much chance to do since leaving the Akademy. The boys were great, of course, but sometimes you wanted a few minutes of talk without them.
"I don't like this place," Samantha said, "these stones make it look like a graveyard."
"Well there's a cheerful thought!" Hildegarde said.
"I'm just saying..." Sam said tiredly, trailing off.
After a few moments she went on in a dull voice.
"Is this what you all thought it would be like?"
"What? What do you mean by "this"?" Hildy asked.
"The fighting, the being in the army?" Sam said.
"We aren't in the army yet." Ophellia said quietly, almost as subdued as Sam.
"That's the thing, isn't it? This isn't even the army and yet we act like it was." Sam said. Ophellia and Hildy looked at each other, neither was sure what that was supposed to mean.
"Sam you're in the fourth year of the Military Akademy – surely you wanted to go into the army when you came to the school?" Hildy asked.
"Not really," Sam said, biting her lip, "I just didn't want to end up married off to one of the neighbouring barons like my two elder sisters. I wanted more freedom, and so when my little brother – Deryk, you know, in second year - dared me to tell father I wanted to go to the Gariland Akademy, I did."
"Good grief, Sam, are you saying that you're only just realising now that it was a mistake?" Hildy asked.
"I don't know. It's still better than the alternative, I think. My sister, Minerva, was made to marry one of our neighbours and he's vile - old, fat, smells odd and he beats her, I think. I may not always enjoy this life, but I'd rather be here, shooting Thunder at panthers than go through that." Sam said.
"Your family stick to the old ways - arranged marriages where the girl has no say, and all that?" Hildy asked.
"Yes." Sam said, simply.
"Mine too." Ophellia said. "The difference is, I've always really wanted to be in the military. My eldest brother is a Brigadier and I idolised him when I was little - wanted to be just like him - so I persuaded father that I should come to the Akademy. It was different, four years ago, though, when we all started at school. The war was still on, and there was a need for dozens of new officers each year. If I don't get a posting immediately, my father may marry me off, anyway.
"My uncle, my mother's brother, is a senior officer in the Lionsguards. I was thinking of writing to him and telling him how well we're doing and sounding him out about a place with them. I wanted to be in the real army but guarding the Queen or the Princess is better than going home, just to become some man's chattel." Ophellia said, sighing.
"There wouldn't be a place for all four of us with the Lionsguard, would there? I think living in the capital for a year or two might be fun." Hildy said with a grin.
"If we train hard as knights, there might be. Uncle once said that he thinks the commander is rather short-sighted; he employs only physical fighters, even the female guards, which Uncle Esmond thinks is stupid. Whether we like it or not, none of us will ever be as strong as a broad six-foot bloke with the muscle and sinew to swing a battle-axe all day. I mean look at me!"
Ophellia was the most delicate of the four girls, short and slender. It meant she had eventually been forced to throw herself into the magical training harder than the physical, whatever her true preference might have been. She was stronger than she looked, but it was still a great disappointment to her that, as petite as she was, she would never be ideal knight material.
"So many women end up specialising in magic, that physical fighters are at premium for the Royal Ladies' guard."
"What about you, Juli? Want to join the Lionsguards with us?" Hildy asked Juliana with a laugh, Juliana being the only one of them who had not joined in the conversation.
"Hmm?" Juliana said, clearly distracted. Hildy changed tack, still trying to draw her into the conversation.
"Why did you want to join the army? Assuming you did." She threw a puzzled glance at Sam with those last words.
"Oh, I guess it just seemed like the only thing - all of my family are career military. Seemed like I'd do it too." She said, slightly vaguely.
Hildy frowned at her.
"Where were you and Delita last night, anyway? The rest of us all went to the pub after the Headmaster finished speaking to Ramza." She asked.
"Oh we went for a walk." Juliana said, even more vaguely.
The walk had lasted all of twenty minutes, the rest of their evening had been spent in her room. She'd wanted a few kisses and a cuddle, but things had gone a lot further than she'd originally intended – though she couldn't blame him for that... or, at least, no more than she could blame herself.
"It's a shame that you didn't come; Ramza bought us a few rounds and even Argath came out of his shell a little." Hildy said.
"Really?" Juliana didn't sound particularly interested.
"What's up, Juli? You're not really with us, are you?" Ophellia asked.
"I... nothing, everything's fine." She said, trying to smile normally.
"Did you and Delita have another row?" Ophellia asked, quietly.
"No... No, nothing like that." Juliana said.
"Juli, what's wrong?" Sam asked.
"Nothing! Nothing's wrong; everything's fine! Why am I suddenly being interrogated?" Juliana snapped. She got the her feet and stalked away.
"She's only been moody like this in the last couple of months whenever she and Delita have had a disagreement." Ophellia, her closest friend among the girls, said, with a shake of her head.
"She said they didn't have a row." Sam pointed out.
"You don't think the two of them... you know?" Hildy asked, looking a little worried.
"What? You mean...?" Sam asked, her eyes wide.
"I'd better go after her." Ophellia said, sighing heavily and getting to her feet.
"Here come the boys." Sam called after her.
Ophellia shocked Delita by throwing him a filthy look as she walked away from their camp; they usually got on well.
"What have I done?" He asked the other two girls as he approached.
"We don't know; we just know that Juli seems rather closed-mouthed and upset. So I suspect you already know what you've done." Hildy said, sounding disapproving as she watched colour rise into the boy's cheeks.
"Where is Juliana?" He asked, looking worried.
"She went off in that direction." Sam said, pointing to where he'd seen Ophellia go. Delita strode quickly off after the two girls.
"Ramza, was Delita already in your room when we got back from the pub last night?" Ramza used Fire to light the camp-fire that the girls had already built, but not lit, before he replied.
"Hmm? No."
"What time did he get back?" Hildy asked.
"Don't know, he didn't light a candle, just got into bed. I'd been asleep a while, though, I think." Ramza said, fiddling with the top of one of his boots.
"Did he say anything?" Sam asked.
"Just "'Night, Ramza", I think - I was still half-asleep."
Hildy narrowed her eyes at Ramza, she knew their captain wasn't this dense. He knew what they were asking and was trying to ignore the real import of the questions.
"Did he say where he'd been when you got up this morning, then?" Hildy asked. Ramza raised a frustrated hand to his head.
"Look Hildegarde, Samantha, if you want to know about Delita's movements last night, ask him yourselves!" Ramza said, clearly exasperated.
"Oh, don't you worry, I will!" Hildegard said, in a tone that boded no good for the other boy.
Ramza briefly considered reminding her that he was their Cadet-Captain and Delita his second in command but decided that pulling rank probably wouldn't get a good reaction, especially since they were, sort of, off duty at the moment.
Author's Note:
I wanted to think a bit more about what life for women in this late-medieval setting might be like (admittedly only upper-middle and upper class women, in this case). The problem is that late-medieval settings and women fighting as part of an army just do not mix well, so it suddenly occurred that one way out of having to submit to the cultural norms for these women would be going into the army. Pre-marital sex also isn't socially acceptable in a medieval setting, especially where a strict religion plays a large part in life, hence Juliana getting so worried about what they've done. Delita hasn't done anything wrong, in this case, she's just feeling conflicted that she's committed a sin and broken the social taboos. I imagine I'll return to these themes once I hit Chapters 2-4 and have Agrias and the other female characters to explore them with (some of them are also several years older that the cadets, so that will also lend a slightly different twist).
Oh, if anyone has anything they'd particularly like to see in one of these vignettes, or any suggestions at all, really, make a comment/review or PM me, please. I'd welcome the ideas.