Laika, the Elegant Swordmaiden
1743 Words
Laika Santiaguel.
The woman with elegance written all over her.
Whether it's her casual poise, or how she handles the quintessential sword – she does all of these and more with fluid grace.
It should be no surprise that I'm fortunate to be her childhood friend.
Her collection of stuffed animals, as far as I know, mainly consists of depictions of marine animals and other creatures that live in other bodies of water.
I guess... that lends credence to her graceful and fluid attitude.
The clock then ticks 6 post meridiem.
Our commanding officer, Corporal Primitivo Ben-Kulera, gives us his timely reminder, communicated via the apartment building's built-in sparkgrid-powered public address system.
“All cadets residing in the Zach Suratos Building, please form yourselves outside the hallways for the 6 post meridiem dinner.”
Of course, we have to straighten out our uniforms whenever we confront our officers. That's another rule in the cadet handbook.
We all file neatly in the hallways, and then walk towards the dining hall with the same proper procedure: Straight lines, always on the right-hand side.
Some of the other cadets bring some eating utensils with them, and I bring my own mug.
The cadet handbook permits cadets to bring their own eating and drinking utensils, as well as use the ones being provided by the military school.
If they will bring their own utensils, they must shoulder the responsibility of washing them after eating.
The dining hall itself is composed of tables and benches, neatly arranged horizontally and vertically, and lined up parallel to one another.
This is to foster easy filing in and out of cadets.
Once everyone's inside the dining hall, the commanding officer faces everyone.
“Good evening, cadets. I see you're all in high spirits since you expect a fancy dinner. Well, to be fair, the dishes you're about to see are not as fancy as the ones you typically see in restaurants; but all the same, they are specially formulated with nutrients to enhance both your bodies and minds. You are all prospective soldiers, so you must always be at the top at your game. Do you understand, cadets?”
We all give a snappy “Sir, yes, sir!”
“Very well. Please sit down as the head chef and his assistants will give you the dishes shortly.”
As we all sit down, there are murmurs among some cadets regarding the dishes that will be served.
“I miss whole roasted chicken. Hope it's being served here tonight.”
“I'm down for some tater tots, yo.”
“Anything but carrots... anything but carrots... anything but carrots...”
Laika, of course, expresses her penchant for her favorite foods.
“I hope melon bread is being served here.”
I reply, “Ah, melon bread. I frequently see you munching on one.”
“Yeah, especially one that's freshly-baked from Aunt Margot's Bakery back in our hometown.”
“Speaking of which, it bugs me that I don't taste actual melon flavors in melon bread.”
“Well, good news. Every bakery in the kingdom is now obliged to add actual melon flavors, whether it's melon juice or melon shavings, to add authenticity to the name, so to speak.”
My sister cuts in.
“Ah yes! I think I've sampled one here in the capital just yesterday!”
“Where actually?”
“Juliana's Bakeshop.”
“Hmm... might wanna visit that someday.”
And then, the head chef and his assistants casually approach us cadets, providing the dishes for tonight.
I have my mug, which is carved from an actual rock, ready.
Tonight's dinner course consists of the following:
Hamburger tacos with coleslaw and sauerkraut.
Spicy shrimp fried rice with pot stickers.
Ham and bean soup.
Broccoli and cheddar cheese poppers, provided with a sour cream dip.
As for the drink, it is a Yellow Gummy Cocktail, which is a juice made from pineapples and mangoes, and has bits of pineapple- and mango-flavored nata de coco.
There are also some variations in tonight's dish set, mainly to account for cadets who have food allergies.
And for the after-meal dessert...
I can hear Laika's response.
“Oh, a brioche? At least it's better than nothing.”
On my end, I peek at the brioche's packaging.
“It's not just a brioche! It's Nutri-Brioche! Fortified with vitamins and minerals to keep you going!”
I open the pack, take a bite, and...
“Mm. Not too bad.”
In just fifteen minutes, we three are through with our meals, with clean plates and all.
The commander expects us to consume everything within thirty minutes.
Once dinner time is declared to be over, we cadets are then being commanded to return to our apartment rooms, with one final reminder by Cpl. Ben-Kulera.
“Everyone, you can rest yourselves fully for tomorrow. We will be holding some physical exercises and some sparring sessions at the training hall, so please wear your training gear and have your sabers ready for the entirety of the day. Well then, good night.”
And before I forget, each apartment room has its own communal shower, laundry room, and bathroom, because the last thing cadets want to experience is wandering around the school in the middle of the night in the midst of a potty emergency, among other potential inconveniences.
Today's just orientation day.
Tomorrow will be the start of the real thing.
And the last faces I will see before dozing off are the smiling and comfortable faces of my childhood friend and my sister.
The next day. The 2nd of Watermonth, 1016 CE.
Five ante meridiem.
As stated in the cadet handbook, we need to get ourselves ready for today's lessons by 6:30 ante meridiem.
That includes breakfast, bathing, wearing the required uniforms, and other necessary morning rituals.
As for breakfast, the military school thankfully provides us cadets with monthly supplies of oats, delivered to our apartment rooms.
It's up to us if we'll be eating plain old oat porridge, or we'll be sprucing it up with things such as chocolate powder and sliced fruits.
6:30 ante meridiem.
We're all fully decked in our training gear, which consists of a white shirt, denim pants, and a belt with a brass buckle.
This type of gear is applicable to both genders, by the way.
The buckle must be polished to a brilliant sheen, as failure to do so will lead to a demerit.
We also have our sabers strapped to our belts via the provided scabbards.
Regarding the sabers and scabbards, they must also be subject to polishing and other simple acts of maintenance, or else that will lead to what else? A demerit.
And as instructed by our commanding officer, we're now being led to the training hall, which is two blocks away.
The corporal then gives us preliminary instructions.
“Good morning, cadets! Today is physical training day, so you must prepare your bodies for it. First, we will be doing some stretching exercises, and then we will be having some strength and flexibility training. Once you've had your 11 ante meridiem lunch break, you will then change into your cadet gear and help yourselves in friendly sparring sessions. That is all for this day. Do you cadets understand?”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
“Good. Now enjoy this day.”
He takes his leave, leaving us to fitness instructors who are hired by the military.
The morning sessions are plain vanilla. We just follow what the instructors tell us, for the sake of toning our bodies for actual combat.
And once we've had our lunch and our change of gear, we're back to the training hall, for the part I'm probably excited for: The sparring sessions.
There are no instructors for these, but that doesn't mean we'll be slacking off.
The steps are simple. One cadet must challenge another to a duel, the two must agree, the two duel, end of story.
While I'm waiting for a potential sparring partner, I'm seeing both Laika and Yulissa already engaged in their own duels.
Yulissa just hops to and fro as her evasive maneuvers, befitting her upbeat personality.
And as for Laika...
Yup.
Her elegance veritably never left her ever.
She just lets her body flow naturally, like the motions of water, whenever she dodges.
And when she attacks or counters, she crashes onto her opponent, just like water.
I remember that one time when she and I underwent basic weapon combat as part of physical education classes back in the Royal Academy proper.
Whenever she made her moves, she always muttered, “Be formless. Be shapeless. Be like water.”
And indeed, like water, she flips her hair exquisitely, as she prevails in her duel.
She's indeed the quintessential swordmaiden I admittedly dedicated a roughly-written poem to before graduation; and she accepted it, albeit flustered.
“Mister Floribunda! I challenge you to a duel!”
Oh, yeah. I'm about to duel a black-haired, red-eyed lady sporting a short bob cut.
Her name tag reads “WALLIS I”.
“Alright then, Miss Wallis...”
“Ivanka Wallis. That is my full name. Now then, let's start the duel!”
Ivanka and I unsheathe our sabers, commencing the duel.
I always remember one thing when it comes to battles: Be always on the defensive once it starts.
I just let her do the opening salvo, and I ready myself to block her strike with a parry.
The next minutes of the duel are then dedicated to countering everything she can throw at me, whether with parries, evasions, or ripostes.
And in the end, I prevail.
“Wow. Not too bad, actually. You win this time, but next...”
Laika interrupts her.
“Uh... Miss Wallis, must you use vindictive language?”
“Sorry, Miss Santiaguel. I guess... I went too far. I have to go now.”
As Miss Wallis leaves and Yulissa approaches us both...
“Brother! I've had a good time with Mr. Fermoze! He can be a real tough cookie at times, but at least I prevailed!”
“That's my sister!”
I give her a wholesome headpat, just like what a good older brother does to his younger sister.
“I guess some things never change, huh?”
Laika jovially comments on our still-strong sibling bonds.
But even those bonds can be causes of concern for some people.
- Writer
