Step, thunk. Step, thunk.
A distinctive sound reached a black haired girl's ears as she walked down a hallway in complete and utter silence. Turning her head to meet the sound, she found a uniformed man giving her a short wave as he leaned on a wooden cane. "'Morning, miss. Sleep well?" He spoke with an accent that was more than a little familiar to the girl and he wore a smile on his older looking face, all of this comforted the girl in a strange sort of way. He wore a military dress uniform, one that was still used today, though only in a mysterious city far south and away from where the pair stood. A dark, subdued grey color with a few dark salmon accents. On the front of the shirt, he wore two medals, both somewhat scratched up but still shining bright in the dim light of the morning. The man stood leaning on his cane, which was a wooden one, nothing especially unique. On his head, he wore an officer's cap, perfectly straight as if he was to appear before an audience. He had a weathered looking face, though he wore a smile as he regarded the girl.
"
Yes, sir." The girl returned the smile and responded with a friendly tone. In reply, the man simply nodded before continuing to walk.
"Care to walk with me? Where are you headed?" He said as he began to walk again, his cane making a distinctive wood on wood sound as he used it to walk in the wood floored hallway. The girl began to follow and she explained.
"
The mess hall. I spent most of the night reading that book you gave me and I grew hungry." She explained, subconsciously making a gesture with her hand. The man laughed.
"So you like it then? Good, I was worried you might find it boring. 'A Blue Dove for the Princess' is a bit simply worded at parts, but it's a wonderful story. The original tale is probably older than all the people in this facility combined." The officer mused, before asking a question. "Did you take a look at the worksheets I stuck in there?" She nodded in reply.
"
I finished the mathematics one and I'm quite sure I properly executed the objective in the strategy exercise you gave me." The man nodded and grinned in satisfaction. "
I have to thank you sir. These books and sheets you have been giving me have been a great help in giving me a bit of personal culture. Thank you, Mister Charlton."
The man, now named as a Mister Charlton, seemed even happier now. "Ha, you're just too kind, Raisa. Glad to see what happened to you those five years hasn't changed you too much."
That's right. This man, Major Joseph Chalton, was the only one in the entire academy who knew about Raisa's dark past, having known her even before the event. He had been a close friend of her father, being like a sort of brother to him. He had just become a Major when Raisa was chosen for Lorem, and was one of the few who was against it. Unfortunately, he was unable to keep her from leaving and was instead imprisoned for insubordination. Upon her return, she was made an officer, but a day after, she deserted. In her desertion, she rescued Charlton from captivity before leaving the town for good. Ever since then, Charlton had become a sort of teacher and a father figure to Raisa.
The two both silently reflected on this, until they reached the messhall. With a slight bow of the head and a wave, Charlton left Raisa and continued on his way. Waving in return, she quietly entered the messhall and sat down at an unoccupied table,. Looking around the room, she took note of the people there. There was a girl with curiously rose colored hair, rather pretty, dressed elegantly. Then there was a pair of black dressed youths, who looked to be siblings, perhaps even twins. Finally, there was a somewhat melancholic yet casually dressed boy, with a fiery colored mop of hair adorning his sharply shaped head. Hearing the complaint of the 'cook' (if you could call her that...), she realized that she would have to wait and unpacked her bag on the table, retrieving her book, giving extreme care not to damage its
simple yet peculiarly interesting cover.
