Interlude: Gile Marion
The Training Hall in the Emaleid Citadel
It was dusk. From a corner of the training hall came the whooshing sound of a blade.
“I thought I’d find you here,” came a voice. “Still practicing your sword form?”
“Is that you, Ashton?” replied Gile without looking. “Hope you don’t mind if I leave off the formalities, seeing as we’re alone.” He raised his sword again.
“That’s fine by me,” Ashton replied. “You’re really working hard at this.” As he watched Gile continuing to swing his sword, his expression showed neither admiration nor annoyance. At this time of day, Gile was the only one still training. At least, he was the only one in the training hall.
“Of course I am,” he said. “I’m not fit to fight alongside Major Olivia like this. As was made painfully obvious when we fought the Crimson Knights...” Gile had been training for over a year now. As he grew stronger, however, it only cast into clearer relief more clearly how unbelievably powerful Olivia was.
I must have sounded like such a fool back then, he thought, remembering how on the way to the Plains of Ilys he had loudly declared to Claudia how strong he’d gotten. She had looked at him with something like pity. Now he understood why. The embarrassment and disgust he felt at that memory made him want to crawl into a hole and never come out.
“You say that, but you’ve actually improved quite a lot, don’t you think?” Ashton said. “Didn’t you take down one of the Crimson Knights’ platoon leaders?”
Gile was silent for a moment. “Tell me, Ashton,” he said. “If you had to be precise, just how big do you think the gap is between me and Major Olivia?”
“Wait, what?”
“Just answer the question.”
“I don’t know! You can’t just ask me that all of a sudden,” said Ashton, holding his hands up apologetically.
“Fine, then. Let me tell you,” said Gile. “It’s like I’m an ant, and she’s a unicorn. In other words, we’re not even competing.”
“Is it really that bad?” Ashton said. “I mean, I’ve seen Olivia in action. I get where you’re coming from. But from my perspective you’re both strong—I wish I was as strong as you.” He looked thoroughly dejected. Gile couldn’t help but smile a little.
“Seriously?” he asked. “Even now, you want to get stronger?”
“I’m still a man,” Ashton replied. “Every man wants to be strong.” He slowly drew the sword sheathed at his waist, and swung it a few times for Gile. His stance was terrible, and Gile had to stop himself laughing as he watched Ashton get yanked off balance by the weight of the blade. Gile observed him in silence for a while, until Ashton turned jerkily back to him, moving like a rusty hinge.
“Do you think I’m getting better?” he asked.
“Look, Ashton...” Gile began. “There’s other kinds of strength that don’t involve swinging a sword, you know?”
“I-I didn’t ask you to try and make me feel better,” said Ashton, pouting.
“I’m not,” retorted Gile. “Are you seriously telling me you don’t know your own strength?”
“My strength? I’m worse with a sword and spear than our worst soldiers,” he said, with a self-deprecating smile. Gile raised a finger and jabbed it into Ashton’s forehead.
“You’re a real moron sometimes,” he said. “Your strength is here!” He jabbed him again. “Here! You’ve got something I can’t have, no matter how much I might want it. All my strength is nothing compared to that!” Gile could die and it probably wouldn’t have any lasting impact on the regiment. The other members of the first platoon might mourn his death, but that was it. If they lost Ashton, on the other hand, the brains of the whole operation, that would be devastating. Ashton had once said it was more important to keep one’s allies alive than to kill one’s enemies. Though he only had a few soldiers under his command, Gile knew firsthand just how hard that was.
Ashton rubbed the red spot on his forehead, muttering, “Yeah, but how can I call myself a man when I can’t even defend myself? It’s pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic, and if it comes to that, I’ll protect you. I, for one, don’t want to see Major Olivia sad.”
“What do you mean, ‘sad’?” said Ashton blankly. Gile tapped him on the forehead again.
“Are you that dense? You think she wouldn’t be sad?”
“Well, no, I just...” Ashton mumbled, “I mean, I’ve never seen her sad before. She’s always got that carefree smile...”
Gile sighed deeply. “For a clever guy, you are really dumb. Typical, though.”
“Well, I’m sorry for my stupidity.”
“Ah, well. You’ll work it out eventually.”
“Like you’re so smart,” grumbled Ashton, returning his sword to its sheath and looking suspiciously at Gile. “Have you worked it out, then, whatever it is?”
“Pretty sure I’ve got a better idea of what’s going on than you, at least.” Ashton looked like he was about to say something, but Gile held up a hand to cut him off.
“Major Olivia!” he called out.
“So this is where you’ve been, Gile. Oh, and Ashton!” Olivia peered through the half-closed door. Gile bounded over to her, swift as an arrow.
“My Lady Valkyrie, it pains me to receive you in such a squalid place!” he cried, dropping to his knees and pressing his hand to his heart. “You need only to call, and I would be at your side in a moment!” From above him, Olivia gave a strained smile. How he loved the rare smiles she bestowed upon him.
“Umm, okay,” she said. “I just wanted to ask, are there any vampire birds around here? I’m really craving them.”
“A vampire bird? Just a moment,” Gile said, pulling a notebook titled The Valkyrie from his pocket and flipping through the pages. In the pages of this book, he had recorded his painstaking investigation of all the foods that Olivia liked. It was a treasure worth more than jewels. He had, of course, questioned all the hunters of Emaleid to ensure all his information was up-to-date and exhaustive.
“Let’s see now...” he said. “It says that vampire birds were sighted on Mount Ebona, to the west of here.” He then opened a new page and noted down, Likes vampire bird meat.
“Got it! I really appreciate it, thank you. See you around too, Ashton.” With a wave, Olivia turned to go, but Gile frantically called after her.
“You mean you’re going to go hunting vampire birds now, ser? Alone?”
“Well, yeah, got to strike while the iron’s hot!” Olivia said, turning back with a cheerful smile. “I’ve got good night vision too.”
“May I go with you, my lady? I happen to know the wilderness well. I might be of some small assistance...”
“Oh, that’s right. You used to be a hunter, right?” said Olivia, putting a finger to her cheek and thinking. “You’re good at tracking prey, and those birds you plucked were to die for...” She considered a moment longer, then said, “All right, let’s go!”
“Thank you, ser!” gushed Gile. Olivia nodded, and set off. As Gile followed her, exuberant, Ashton reached out and roughly grabbed his arm. “Oy!” Gile said. “What, you want to come too?”
Ashton, eyes widening in affront, hissed in his ear, “Of course I don’t. Do you know what you’re getting yourself into? She said ‘vampire bird,’ as in, the class two dangerous beast vampire bird! You’re a hunter, you must know that much!”
It was true. Gile knew all of that without needing Ashton to tell him. Hunters spoke of unicorns as the rulers of the land, and vampire birds as rulers of the sky. They had glossy black feathers and four bloodred eyes, two on each side of their heads. Their wingspan was as great as three grown men, and they came corkscrewing down out of the sky to skewer their prey with their strong and cruelly sharp beaks. As their name suggested, they fed on blood.
It was law amongst hunters that if you came across such desiccated corpses, you ran.
“I’m well aware of all that.”
“You know, and yet you’re still going? And you call me a moron? I think you’ve got me beat there!” Ashton replied, staring at Gile in disbelief.
“I know the major’s strong, but I can’t let her go alone,” said Gile.
“Then stop her!”
“Okay, let’s say I told her not to go. Do you think she’d stop?” Gile asked.
Ashton was silent for a long moment. “No,” he said at length. “She wouldn’t listen to me either.” There was a pause, then Ashton sighed heavily.
“Exactly,” said Gile. “Maybe Lieutenant Claudia could stop her, but no one else. Besides, I couldn’t bring myself to do it, not when she looks so happy.” He looked over to Olivia, who was humming cheerfully to herself. “Look, don’t worry about it. If I have to, I’ll throw myself in between her and anything that could hurt her.” He patted Ashton on the shoulder, trying to be comforting, but Ashton brushed him off.
Looking worriedly at Gile, he said, “Actually, I was more concerned for you.”
“Me?!”
“If you’re not coming, Gile, I’m leaving you behind!” called Olivia. Gile looked over and saw to his shock that she was already a way ahead of them and puffing out her cheeks.
“Ah, crap. See you round, Ashton!”
“Hold on—” Ashton tried to call him back, but Gile ignored him, sprinting to catch up with Olivia.
The next morning, the breakfast table was piled high with juicy, delicious meat.
Just as the Independent Cavalry Regiment soldiers were eagerly digging in, Gile, without thinking, announced loudly that what they saw before them was the meat of the vampire bird. Needless to say, every soldier froze mid-mouthful.
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