II
“Was General Blood amenable to the idea?” At this question, Sara was silent. “Princess Sara?”
“I am going to call on Lieutenant General Olivia now.”
“Sorry? Then... Then I will accompany you.” Sara’s aide, Warrant Officer Roland, started to follow her a few steps behind.
“No need for that,” Sara said without breaking stride.
“Don’t be ridiculous. My duty is to protect you, Your Highness.”
Even in the confines of the military district, Roland wouldn’t readily acquiesce. Sara had nothing but gratitude for his loyalty, but right now, she wanted him out of the way.
“I wish to speak to the lieutenant general alone,” she said. Still, Roland followed close at her heels.
“Very good, Princess. I will not impose upon the two of you. I only ask permission to keep Your Highness within my sights.”
“No.”
“‘No’...?” Sara heard his sigh of exasperation. She stopped and whirled around, then, as Roland skidded to a halt, she jabbed her index finger into his chest.
“No means no. That’s an order.” She glared at him until he hung his head.
“I forgot how stubborn you are once you make up your mind, Princess. I will await your return in your chambers.” Looking dour, Roland saluted, then walked away in the opposite direction. Something about his retreating figure struck her as awfully lonely.
I’m sorry. Sara set off once more without delay, but after turning a few corners in the corridors she stopped again. I didn’t ask where Olivia is...
She was about to rush back to the commander’s room, but she only took one step before giving up on the idea. I can just ask someone who is likely to know.
Trying to find a single person in the vast military district was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but with the way she looked, Olivia attracted attention. Sara began by approaching an officer walking down the corridor, who looked painfully nervous but told Sara that Olivia had been outside.
I should have guessed, she thought. She went out and began making inquiries as to Olivia’s whereabouts until a young officer with an intelligent face told her where she would find Olivia at this time of day. The location was an outdoor training ground that had long since fallen into disuse.
The shortcut the officer shared with Sara was devoid of other passersby and full of complicated twists and turns. On more than one occasion, she ended up wasting time retracing her steps. By the time the southern walls that marked her destination came into view, she’d gotten more than a little sweaty, her uniform darkened with the damp of it.
At last, I’ve found her.
The stonework of the training ground was grown over here and there with moss. Olivia stood there quietly, dressed not in her military uniform, but in an ebony black set of armor. There was no sign of the bright, sunny girl Sara knew so well. She emanated a powerful aura that made Sara’s hair stand on end just looking at her. The atmosphere was so beyond the ordinary that Sara hesitated to call out to her, when—
What...?!
A silver glow was slowly spreading out around Olivia. Sara strained her eyes but what she saw didn’t change. Wondering if it was a trick of the light, she moved to stand somewhere else, but there was still no change.
Am I dreaming? Oh my... Olivia appeared to her then just like a painting she had seen long ago, of the Goddess Strecia descending to the mortal realm.
As she stood there, struck dumb by the impossible sight, she was jerked back to reality by an earsplitting bang emanating from Olivia, accompanied by a shock wave that rocked the ground beneath her feet.
“Eek!!!” Sara lost her footing and fell backward onto the ground.
“Sara?” At the sound of her name, she looked up. Olivia was peering at her curiously.
“N-No, um, I wasn’t spying on you,” Sara babbled, speaking much faster than usual. “I just happened to be here! Yes, a coincidence, that’s all this is!” Even she wasn’t sure what she was talking about. She blushed. Olivia, head cocked to one side, held out a hand and helped her to her feet.
“Th-Thank you,” Sara said, then realized there was mud on her hand. “I’m sorry. I got your hand dirty.”
“Huh? Oh, that’s nothing. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“I had something to tell General Blood. And I wanted to see you...” Sara hesitated. “But you seem to be in the middle of something. I’m so sorry to have interrupted.”
Olivia laughed. “I get to see you for the first time in ages and all you do is apologize. I’m glad you came to see me—you’re not interrupting. Hey, have you had lunch?”
“L-Lunch? Now that you mention it, I haven’t.”
“Well, I brought my own. How about we share it?” Olivia looked over at a basket sitting atop an old stump. It was inordinately large for one person.
“But that’s yours. I can’t just take your lunch...”
“Don’t worry about that!” Olivia picked up the basket in one hand then, for some reason, she wrapped the other around Sara’s waist.
“Um...?”
Olivia’s grin was almost simultaneous with Sara’s second scream of the day. The next thing she knew—
“What just happened...?” Inexplicably, Sara was standing atop the wall. She peered nervously over the edge, then gulped. “Maybe I am dreaming.” She gave her cheek an experimental pinch. That was definitely painful.
Then Olivia took her by the hand and, without further ado, marched them both away. Before she had a moment to ask any further questions, she found herself in front of a conical watchtower that jutted out from the wall. With Olivia still leading her by the hand, she climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the tower. Her eyes were met by the vast sweep of the Emaleid Citadel.
“What a beautiful view...”
“You like it? I have been eating lunch here every day lately.” Olivia took slices of bread white as snow from the basket, then briskly spread them with jam. It smelled sweet and fresh.
“Here you go.” Olivia held out a slice of bread. Sara hesitated, but then, it wasn’t every day that a chance like this came along. She decided to accept Olivia’s generosity with good grace.
“Well, then. Don’t mind if I do.”
“Mm-hmm, eat up!” Olivia rested both arms on the top of the wall, leaned against it, then opened her mouth wide and chomped down her bread. Sara took up the same pose as she bit into her own slice. She couldn’t help but smile as she imagined how the ladies-in-waiting who attended to her at the palace would react if they could see her now.
“That’s better,” Olivia said suddenly.
“Hmm?”
“I dunno, you seemed down.” Olivia ran her fingers through her hair, not looking at Sara, and with that, Sara realized why the other girl had practically forced her into having lunch together.
I’m so ashamed. I was supposed to cheer her up, but instead I’ve made her worry about me. She stared at the half-eaten bread in her hands, then stuffed the rest into her mouth. She chewed, forced herself to swallow, then let out a breath.
“Y-You okay?” Olivia held out her water canteen with an anxious look.
Sara, summoning up her courage, gripped Olivia by the shoulders, then stared directly into those ebony black eyes that made her feel like she could drown in them.
“Olivia.”
“Um. Yes?”
“As of this moment, we are not just friends, but the best of friends.”
“W-We are???”
“Yes. And when you are the best of friends, you open up your heart. It’s compulsory.”
Olivia blinked a few times. “I’m not sure what you mean, but I’m pretty sure that’d hurt.”
Sara gave this unexpected remark exactly zero attention. She plowed straight on.
“The point is,” she said, emphasizing every word, “we keep nothing from each other. Now, you’d best get ready because I’m going to tell you everything.”
“O-Okay.” Olivia’s head bobbed up and down like a nodding doll.
After that, the two of them talked on and on until the sun went down. What sorts of things did they talk about? That was for them alone to know.
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