Chapter Eleven - Rix Maadi

28 Griev 10.075 Z.C., Pre-dawn

The instructing sergeants gathered the squire units together and drilled them on morning preparations, including personal hygiene and cleaning duties, until midnight. Lilla savored the few precious hours of sleep, her body aching in anticipation.

Before long, unit one’s sergeant burst back into the barracks, yelling a command word to ignite the chamber’s braziers. The amber brilliance burned the vedalken’s eyes; she felt a headache forming and tried to block out the sergeant’s deafening drone, echoing off the stone walls.

Nadine didn’t lie; they fell asleep in Sunhome and woke up in Rix Maadi. But the thought of losing this chance to avenge her parents tempered her resolve. She endured the pain, promising herself she would make Rugilar pay for this.

With no other option, Lilla rose with the rest of the squires, jumped into her fatigues and made her bed. The sergeant, a human who introduced herself last night as Chandana, tore into a squire who thought they would save time by sleeping in their fatigues. She reprimanded them for theft - by doing so the squire commandeered Legion equipment from its designated storage locker - and ordered them to hold a squat against their bunk.

The sergeant found similar faults in every squire, and subjected them to similar excruciations. Watching the example of the others, Lilla learned to respond to the sergeant’s goading and clamorous questions with a confident shout of, “Yes, sergeant!” or, “No, sergeant!” They must really like hearing the sound of their own voice.

The Boros and the Gruul shared this at least - whether giving or receiving orders, everyone shouted, and those in command shouted loudest.

After unit one’s uniforms and barracks passed a rigorous inspection, Sergeant Chandana commanded them to get their worthless asses to the mess hall. Lilla struggled to even enter the corridor, thick with other squire units rushing out to fetch breakfast.

Swept along with the throng, Lilla tried to clear her head. She expected training to be tough, but not to be treated like garbage. Her legs and butt still burned from the squat Chandana forced her to hold. But she couldn’t give up now. Lilla imagined Rugilar’s surprised look when the soldiers ambushed the clan. Not so smart now, are you?

In the midst of Lilla pondering her new catchphrase, a minotaur instructing sergeant waded into the hall and frowned at the impassable crowd. “Make a hole!” they bellowed, and the squires scattered before lining up against one wall to walk single-file. Lilla jumped against the granite, securing a place near the back of the line. She glanced around for Nadine, but didn’t see her. After the line formed, squires hurried to the mess under the sergeant’s watchful gaze.

Lilla assumed, based on the orderliness of the line into the mess hall, they would all wait their turn to fetch their cadet a platter of food. She was wrong.

The pandemonium of the mess hall made the earlier ruckus in the corridor seem placid. Squires swarmed a long buffet table, racing against each other to fill plates with their cadets’ preferred foods. She spotted Mav, witnessing him and two broad minotaurs trading elbows as they tussled over the choicest cuts of meat. Right now this so-called guild of order reminded her of the chaos of the clan.

Lilla shook her head at the circus, and the tension in her skull intensified. Why did they have to wake up so early?

She stood at the back of the room, craning her neck to see over minotaurs, centaurs, and loxodon. Although Lilla lacked typical vedalken impassivity, she did possess their above-average height. The feast laid out on the long table vanished at an alarming rate. Panic flared through Lilla at the prospect of returning to Allura without breakfast on her first day. She swallowed hard, remembering the cadet’s malevolent grin.

There’s no time to lose. She vaulted atop a nearby chair to get a better view and steadied her breathing, preparing to cast. Picturing the spell in her mind, she whistled a soft note and summoned a spring of mana, shaping it into an ethereal hand. Lilla checked the room as she rounded out the fingertips; no one else thought to use magic to fill their cadet’s platter.

Satisfied with her work, she sent the magic hand across the room. Puppeteering its movements, she snatched up large helpings of the most desireable-looking dishes, including several baked goods, fruits and vegetables, and some mystery items in high demand with the other squires.

She called the spell back, food floating above the mayhem, and it deposited the heaping helping onto her waiting plate. Lilla laughed with smug satisfaction under her breath, waving to dismiss the magic hand. Even though she entered the mess after most other squires, with quick thinking she beat the rest of those chumps out of there by a longshot.

She paid more attention to her surroundings now, reluctant to repeat yesterday’s mistake. With a victorious stride, she trotted through the maze of stone and steel corridors to Allura’s room.

She arrived, hands too full to knock, and hesitated. Did Allura say to wake her? She couldn’t remember, and felt the food cooling.

Balancing the plate and glass of juice in one hand, she opened the door with her other. It popped open, and she eased it the rest of the way with her foot, juggling the items between her hands. Dark inside. Not surprising - Lilla would still be sleeping too, if she could.

Navigating from memory, she walked into the room until she found the edge of the desk. She set the plate and cup down with care, then fumbled around the desk for a candle or lamp when she heard the rustle of blankets and a surprised shriek.

“Out, squire!” Allura demanded, her voice resounding in the shadows. She did not sound happy.

Frustration brought heat to her cheeks, and Lilla fled the room. The door slammed shut behind her. She leaned back against the wall of the corridor, supposing Allura wanted her to wait here.

Getting in trouble for going above and beyond. What else is new? The Legion couldn’t handle her drive, she figured. Best to earn Boulder Tooth’s trust fast, so she spent no more time here than necessary. But first she’d need information to pass on...

Other squires arrived, plates and cups brimming with their cadets’ breakfasts. Lilla watched, fuming in silence as most called out their cadet’s name at the door and waited for a reply before entering. Nadine shot her a quizzical look as she passed, further souring Lilla’s mood.

Finally, the door beside her opened. Lilla pushed against the wall and turned to see Allura, clearing her throat to speak.

“Squire Lilla, I appreciate your promptness with breakfast. You will do well to remember that I value my privacy more than food,” she paused, “even sweetmeats.”

Lilla tried to decipher the glimmer in the elf’s expression, feeling like a street mouse cornered by a hungry stray.

“You came earlier than expected,” Allura added. “I can work with that. Next time, knock or at least announce yourself.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Lilla muttered, and Allura’s face darkened. She stepped forward and leaned in, their noses almost touching.

“What was that, squire?” the cadet asked, her voice foreboding. Lilla felt very vulnerable all at once. Captain Mebor’s words rang through her head, “You will graduate when, and only when, your cadet deems you ready.” Lilla straightened up with a crisp salute.

“Yes cadet!” she bellowed, mimicking a minotaur. Allura nodded.

“That’s what I thought. I don’t have anything for you to do. You’re dismissed for now; get yourself some breakfast and report back here in one hour.”

“My chainmail got damaged in training yesterday. You will have it fixed and ready by 1400 hours,” Allura ordered, her stormy green eyes hard, tone brooking no argument.

Knowing she could not refuse, Lilla saluted. She already hated the strict protocol of the Legion.

“Yes, Cadet Pendragon,” she complied, vigilant to keep weariness out of her voice. After such little sleep and unrelenting toil, Lilla wanted a nap and nothing more.

She just served lunch to Allura, the mess as chaotic during lunch as at breakfast. Only two hours remained until 1400, she counted twice to be sure, without the slightest clue about how to fix chainmail. Leather and cloth she could handle, no problem. But chain? The Gruul didn’t wear metal suits of armor, they required too much maintenance and repair to be practical in the rubblebelt.

Allura held a skeptical expression for a moment, before she returned a cold and precise salute.

“Don’t mess this up, squire. Failure displeases me.” With that, Allura turned back to her lunch, which she’d asked to be packed for travel this time.

Interpreting this as dismissal, Lilla dropped her salute and focused on her breathing. Her heart throbbed in her chest. Something about this woman disquieted Lilla, but she couldn’t risk disappointing her. The sooner she graduated, the sooner she could exact her vengeance.

The chainmail shirt lay on the bed, made by Lilla, with a field repair kit alongside it. The armor looked fine. Lilla turned it over, finding a snag on the back. She bent down to get a closer look. A few snarled metal links tugged at their neighbors, warping the flexible shirt.

Behind her, Allura stood and collected her skyknight’s flight jacket, slinging it on over a tight black bodice. The cadet jetted off to her next class, smacking Lilla’s tight rump on her way. “Be quick, squire,” she called back as the vedalken squeaked and jumped at the unexpected contact, before pulling the door closed.

Rubbing her violated hind, Lilla glared after Allura, glad no one bore witness to her blush. This wasn’t a debauchery club; didn’t Legion code restrict lewd and indecent behavior? She sat on the bed, resting her sore buns, and remembered this morning’s squats. Did Allura know Sergeant Chandana forced her to do those? They made all of us squires do those wretched squats, probably her too, way back when dragons ruled the earth. Of course she would know.

Nadine warned her the cadets would test them on a variety of traits. Probably just another test, Lilla convinced herself. She would succeed; she wouldn’t let herself be regarded as a coward in two guilds.

Shaking her head, she turned back to the chainmail. She opened the repair kit and assessed the tools inside, unleashing her keen vedalken mind on the problem.

Twenty minutes later, some progress, but nowhere near enough. Working with the rings felt like a puzzle - every time she fixed a snag, another would appear as if by magic. No matter what she tried, the buckled deformity just moved around the shirt without releasing any tension.

Time slipped through her fingers, which grew sore from gripping the compact pliers. She couldn’t tackle this challenge alone, not with this nagging headache anyways. She needed a shieldmate.

Lilla gathered the heavy metal shirt and repair kit into her arms and walked to the door. She opened it and checked the hallway for instructing sergeants. Not one in sight. Good. Last night Nadine mentioned something about her father owning a forge; Lilla hoped she would know how to fix this accursed chainmail.

Moving fast in case an instructing sergeant somehow materialized out of thin air, she tiptoed across the hall to the room she saw Nadine leave yesterday. She knocked with a soft rap, and heard footsteps cross the chamber. Lilla breathed an audible sigh of relief when the door opened and Nadine peered out, smiling when she recognized her fellow squire.

“I can’t get this stup-” Nadine raised a hand to stop Lilla, glancing down at the armor. She opened the door wider and pointed to the bed in her cadet’s room. There, next to an open field repair kit, sat a chain shirt with a familiar wrinkle.

“I knew this was a test,” came Lilla’s triumphant exclamation. Nadine just laughed.

“I don’t know what my cadet did to this stupid, heavy armor, but it’s really messed up.” Lilla tried to look sweet and helpless, hoping Nadine would take pity on her. Instead she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe with assertive swagger.

“I can show you, but you’ll need to pay me back. I’m busy enough as it is.”

Lilla nodded. In the clan, everyone bartered and traded services, a balancing act she learned to tip in her favor. “What do you want?”

Nadine thought for a moment. “Can you sew? Like, with a needle?” She mimed the technique, and Lilla replied with an affirmative nod. “Great, we have a deal then. I’ll help you with this chain today, and you-”

A door closing down the hall caught Lilla’s attention. Her head snapped over her shoulder to the figure in the corner of her vision, fearing a sergeant or cadet caught them chatting. Her eyes focused and she identified the newcomer as Mav. He walked towards her, also carrying a chain shirt. Lilla beckoned him with two awkward jerks of her head, her arms still full of heavy metal, and then turned back to Nadine.

“Let me in before someone sees us,” she demanded, and Nadine stepped back. Lilla walked into the room and dropped Allura’s chainmail onto the bed. Behind her, Mav knocked on the open door frame, cradling a chain shirt under one arm and holding the field repair kit in the other.

“Sorry to interrupt. Lilla, do you know how to fix chainmail?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and keeping his voice low. She looked at Nadine and watched her turn redder than imp’s backside. Damn this pretty boy! I asked first! Adapting to this new threat, she realized perhaps she could get off the hook if Nadine decided to give them both a lesson.

“No, but Nadine does. She’s going to show me how,” Lilla offered. “Nadine, this is Mav.”

Nadine froze, then surrendered a nervous laugh as she brushed a stray hair out of her face.

“Mav...erick?” Nadine begged. Lilla saw him shift and avoid their gazes - he looked uncomfortable.

Interesting. Who is this guy?

“Just Mav,” he clarified, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and asked, “I don’t suppose you could show Lilla and I how to fix this at the same time? I can teach you some first aid.” Nadine turned her head like a marionette on a string to look at Lilla and nodded.

“S-sure,” Nadine stuttered. “Lilla’s going to … yeah, come on in.” She held the door open and motioned for him to enter the small room. He did so, and she closed the door with a resounding boom. Mav studied the door like a caged maaka, before claiming the chair and pulling it away from the bed where Lilla already sat.

Nadine plopped down next to Lilla, giving her curls an emphatic bounce. She giggled as she picked up the repair tools. Lilla suppressed the urge to barf, and instead rolled her eyes. Mav was cute, but not stupefying.

Nadine gave them an eager demonstration of the problem and solution. In several places, missing and extra rings caused the armor to buckle and warp instead of laying flat. She pointed out the cadets likely did this on purpose, to doom them to fail. In order to fix it, the squires needed to remove all the extra rings and place them back in the gaps.

After a frustrating hour of labor and cursing, Lilla glared at Mav’s back as he left, her head still burning. He finished fixing his chainmail already, thanks to Nadine’s ‘extra help,’ and bid the two luck before returning to his duties. He didn’t even offer to help her finish her last ten rings.

“What a tool,” she whispered as he closed the door behind him.

“What was that?” came a terse reply from Nadine. She stopped fiddling with her cadet’s mail and threw it on the ground. Lilla’s eyes and stomach rolled in unison.

“I said I hate this tool!” Lilla shouted, shaking the pliers. These outbursts of anger, unbecoming for a vedalken, started to feel routine. That’s what this life will do to you.

“Oh,” Nadine demurred, scooping up the discarded chain and hanging it on the armor stand. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Maverick Viktorr?” she continued, sounding both excited and furious as she emphasized his name.

Lilla blinked. She could use this, if she played her cards right. “We’re not like best friends or anything.” She shrugged, her mind whirring for some detail she could drop to sound more important.

“It’s not like I go to him and his uncle’s family dinners. I didn’t think it was important,” she admitted. Nadine smiled, joining Lilla on the bed again and draping an arm over her shieldmate’s shoulder. Her eyes betrayed her cupidity.

“You and I are going to be best friends, I can tell,” she murmured with a smile, pointing out a missed ring and tightening her grip. “Just stay away from Mav, he’s mine.”