1.19.2 At the End of the Academic Year (Part 2)
so i cheated a bit
[x] Elizabeth Irivich Zabanya
[x] Stephanie
It takes more than two weeks for your squad to finally loosely decide that all of you need to talk about squad tactics in much greater detail at some point, preferably soon.
It's not that apprentices haven't taken tactics classes; every single apprentice has, even though some are clearly better at it than others. But the fundamental point - as made clear more than two weeks ago - is that Squad Four has never fought together before until the night the Squirrels attacked, and translating theory to practice without ever even having discussed theory with your squadmates in the middle of your first real battle was...difficult, as it turned out.
So it is on an afternoon that you and Stephanie decide that now - on a weekend and with little better to do other than wallow under the oppressive atmosphere of a traumatized community - is as good a time as ever to step out of your shared dorm room and pay Sieglinde and Elizabeth a visit.
Except almost immediately, you see two things: That Elizabeth is currently standing in the hallway right outside her room, leaning against the wall with an expression that hints at mild impatience and irritation; and that that the door to the room she shares with Sieglinde is half-open.
As you helplessly approach despite suddenly not very much wanting to, you are consumed by the fear that Sieglinde and Elizabeth have fought, and that the West Wing is about a minute from transforming into a massive pile of rubble with everyone still inside.
But as you approach Elizabeth - or more precisely, the door she is standing next to - she reaches out and grabs your forearm, stopping you. Her grip is actually surprisingly gentle, but it may as well have been vice-like for all you attempt to struggle out of it. "L-Lady Zabanya?" you stammer, wide-eyed, when you realize that quiet, hushed, but agitated voices are coming out from inside the room. At this angle, you barely managing to see two figures talking to each other inside: An adult woman you don't recognize, who wears the garb of a noblewoman, and Sieglinde who only betrays hints of frustration on her features yet is still the most upset you've ever seen her.
Elizabeth starts walking whence you came, walking towards the staircase at the end of the corridor. She barely exerts any force on your forearm, but you somehow feel yourself being pulled along as she casually suggests, "Let's go for a little walk downstairs."
You vaguely sense Stephanie catching up with the two of you after a moment of hesitation. "Lady Ravenhill..." she starts.
"Ravenhill is busy."
"W-Was that...?" you nervously ask.
"Ravenhill's mother," Elizabeth confirms. "Her visit was rather discreet, all things considered."
"They don't really look alike," Stephanie observes.
"She takes after her father."
"Is something wrong?"
"She's being summoned back to Arcaster."
"What?" you and Stephanie exclaim at the same time, freezing up in the hallway and find yourselves looking back down the corridor to make sure the two of you weren't overheard by the two Ravenhills in Elizabeth's dorm room after a moment of shock.
"Yes," smirks Elizabeth, not bothering to stop or even slow down in her stride, and you and Stephanie have to catch back up, "it turns out her parents were never entirely happy that she chose to come to Faulkren instead of Llyneyth, first among equals and closer to home."
"She c-can't just leave!" you protest. Whatever else, Sieglinde is probably the person closest to you in the academy and - perhaps just as importantly - a member of your squad. You've already lost fellow apprentices here at Faulkren; you don't know what you'd do if Sieglinde left as well.
"Oh?" laughs Elizabeth, grinning at you the way a smug older sister would at a foolish younger sister after a particularly ill-conceived bit of mischief backfired spectacularly. "And what are you going to do? Charge in with your buster sword and scare off Ravenhill's mother with it?"
The thought of even possibly threatening a noblewoman with bodily harm - especially with a buster sword as large as yours - sends you into a panic: "I-I..."
"Neither of you can help," Elizabeth waves a hand over her shoulder dismissively as she and Stephanie reach the top of the stairs, and you have to catch up from where you've frozen up behind them. "Let it go. Whatever else, Ravenhill's putting up a decent fight. Don't go in there and ruin it."
You hesitantly look back towards Sieglinde's room, but after a moment, you reluctantly chase Stephanie and Elizabeth down the stairs towards the common area.
Of course, your alacrity quickly comes to an end as you reach the bottom of the stairs...and find in front of you - sitting on a couch in the common area with a somewhat impatient and frustrated expression on her face, muted as it is - Headmistress Cornelia Rastangard.
"H-Headmistress Rastangard," you stammer, bowing your head slightly. Stephanie, too, politely murmurs "headmistress" in greeting.
Rastangard looks up at the three of you and nods in acknowledgement, mastering her expression: "Girls." Then she swivels her head towards Elizabeth and asks, "How is it?"
"Ravenhill is being stubborn," the tiny elven mage says. You suppose you aren't surprised that the headmistress herself is waiting here for whatever conclusion comes out from upstairs. Not only is a lady of House Ravenhill here, but she risks losing one of her three prodigies here at Faulkren.
"Which one?" inquires Rastangard.
You don't actually turn to look as your stomach drops and your blood momentarily freezes in your veins, but you're almost sure that Elizabeth is smirking when she answers, "Yes."
That look of mild annoyance - the kind an aunt might have with a particularly cheeky niece - returns to Rastangard's face as she rolls her eyes and mutters, "Get out of my face."
You quickly flee the immediate area with Stephanie, and find yourself entirely unsurprised as Elizabeth leisurely strolls towards you in the center of the common area with a big grin on her face.
"Come on," she declares when she finally catches up with the two of you, gesturing to a constellation of couches arranged around a tea table, "let's have a game of chess." Conveniently, there are already two chessboards on the table, albeit with scattered pieces; someone probably abandoned a game midway. "I'll play a game with both of you each simultaneously. You do know how to play, yes?"
Stephanie hesitates, clearly not sure she wants to play a game with Elizabeth, but she allows, "I'm not good at it, but...yes."
"I kn-know the rules," you answer. Indeed, you were taught the rules of chess as a child back in your village school, but you doubt that your schoolteacher really actually knew how to play either.
Elizabeth shrugs in a manner not unlike a girl being presented with chocolate that she doesn't particularly like but doesn't particularly dislike either. "Good enough. Sit."
BGM: Final Fantasy XII - Sorrow: Resistance
You are the slowest to set up your side of the board as you sit beside Stephanie. Your aseri roommate is the first to finish, although Elizabeth - on the other side - is done mere seconds after the aseri, and she was setting up two separate boards in vaguely lethargic motions. Fortunately, you don't take that much longer, although there is an embarrassing moment where Elizabeth has to point out that you put your marshall and champion pieces in reverse.
"I'm guessing we're not having our squad tactics discussion today," Stephanie speculates as the two games begin, and because she moves one of her lances forward by two spaces, you do the same.
"Until such a time that we are sure Ravenhill's staying," responds Elizabeth, "I am not about to waste my time." Noticing that you looked at Stephanie's board and perhaps just to mess with the two of you, Elizabeth moves her identical lance on both boards two spaces forward as well. "I assume the two of you are staying, given the absence of parents of packed bags."
"I am."
"S-Same," you quickly stammer when you realize that Elizabeth is looking expectantly at you for an answer.
"Good," Elizabeth smiles sweetly. "Having to deal with new squadmates would be a massive pain."
Stephanie looks like she's trying to withhold a sigh as her second paladin moves forward on the board. Their game is progressing fast enough that the first line of lances are advancing and the major pieces are slowly moving up offensively. "You don't really care that much about whether or not Lady Ravenhill leaves, do you?"
Elizabeth tilts her head slightly to the side in an almost angelically childish gesture. "What could possibly make you believe so?"
"Have you actually seen people who have lost roommates?"
Elizabeth pauses for a moment, and for just that moment, you think that Stephanie may have hit a nerve, or at least forced Elizabeth to reconsider. This moment ends when you realize she's just looking at Stephanie's board in contemplation, and quickly moves her mage out from her corner of that board before quickly moving her paladin behind a formation of lances on your board. Then she looks back at Stephanie with an amused expression. "Ravenhill isn't lost yet."
Stephanie sighs. "Never mind. Forget I asked."
And, for a long moment, it seems like that's just how the conversation is going to end, even after Stephanie moves her champion close to the midboard in a somewhat aggressive move, only for Elizabeth to move her skirmisher in a flanking position in what seems like a surprisingly balanced play, before returning to your own game and advancing her own paladin to the midboard.
Except you aren't really thinking about chess at the moment. Gulping, you muster your courage before murmuring just loud enough for the other two to hear, "I...I-I think Lady Zabanya cares." Then, blushing furiously as you realize that both of your present squadmates are staring at you in surprise, you stammer, "A-About Sieglinde, I mean." You are, after all, thinking about that night you walked with Elizabeth to Faulkren for Midwinter's Feast. "I think she respects her."
You don't really peg Elizabeth as someone who would compliment another person she doesn't like. She may have coated the point with a conversation about how "genius deserves respect", but it doesn't really change the fact that the respect is there. It doesn't really change that Elizabeth dragged you and Stephanie away from her door, pulling both of you into a chess game, because Sieglinde is "putting up a decent fight". Her actions - in all the months before and just today alone - don't really lend to an impression that deep down, Elizabeth just doesn't care about Sieglinde leaving. And you realize it bothers you, a little, seeing Stephanie having the wrong idea.
The elf in question seems genuinely surprised for a slightly longer moment that you would've otherwise expected, staring at you with a curiously blank expression. Then she giggles, and you feel like the hair on your skin stands on end slightly. "Oh, Neianne," she beams. Whether she appreciates you coming to her defense at all isn't entirely clear. "If you keep telling other people about me, you're going to strip away all my mystique."
"I-I'm sorry," you squeak. You wonder if you should have bothered to open your mouth at all.
Elizabeth shrugs, not really caring to either acknowledge or discourage your apology. Instead, she taps you chessboard as if to remind you to make your move before turning to Stephanie. "Still, I suppose I'm doing better than Fluffy and Mysterious."
The aseri in question blinks, her muted surprise towards you transforming into muted surprise towards the elven mage. "Is that supposed to be me?"
"Part of being mysterious is knowing when to lead the curious along." Elizabeth and Stephanie have both taken two of each other's pieces thus far, but even a quick glance at the board shows that, even to your inexpert eyes, Elizabeth's side of the board is clearly better developed, her pieces moving out to support one another with an almost mathematical grace, the purpose of some moves only becoming clear a turn or two after the fact. "If you're just being evasive when it's obvious you have a secret, you're just being boring."
She hides it well, but months of being her roommate tells you that Stephanie is probably trying to suppress a sigh. "Maybe I like being boring. Maybe I don't actually have a secret. Maybe there's nothing to be evasive about."
The tiny elf rolls her eyes. "It was cute for maybe the first half year, but you're not exactly convincing anyone." She glances towards you, and a mischievous smile graces her face as she asks, "Isn't that right, Neianne?"
"U-Um." Squeaking again upon realizing that attention has turned to you once more - and on a subject you certainly feel conflicted about. Stephanie is your roommate and yet you know little about her. The fact that Stephanie herself seems to like it that way makes you both disinclined to pry...but also deeply curious. And, you have to admit, a little bit hurt. You look between your two squadmates with a conflicted expression. "I...d-don't know," you finally admit, fidgeting and glancing at your chessboard for a moment longer than is really necessary. Then, understanding that you're really just avoiding the topic, you glance hesitantly at Stephanie before finally murmuring, "I...want to r-respect Stephanie's privacy."
Stephanie's shoulders sag in relief, and it's only then that you realize she had been tensed for your reaction. She gives you a nod of respect, if not gratitude. Elizabeth, for her part, scoffs a little and makes a wry smile, shrugging her shoulders and saying, "Have it your way."
In spite of that almost ominous last line that Elizabeth lets the topic go, and the conversation largely continues unabated. For a while, topics come and go, from hobbies that you share - you even bring up Elizabeth's singing, to which the elf in question seems amused by - to the topic of deserts - which Stephanie and Elizabeth seem to have a greater affinity for. Yet you somehow can't help but feel that the conversation - to a degree - is performative, with the three of you dancing around topics in a manner that almost seems like you're avoiding the two subjects that matter the most right now: The Squirrel attack on Faulkren and the possibility that Sieglinde may very well leave the academy.
You're trying your best, but somehow, this squad conversation - one that already includes Elizabeth - feels even more awkward and forced than usual.
It really doesn't help that the degree to which you're losing in your chess game is evident to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the rules. Although her playstyle has ended up being far more measured and far less aggressive than you otherwise would've thought, Elizabeth has already taken twice the number of pieces you have, and has advanced far into your half of the board. Her moves are almost painstakingly methodical, but that doesn't change the fact that she is pulverizing you with little mercy. She is very much not a chess player who toys around with a weaker opponent, and seems almost single-mindedly intent on crushing you, a player who barely remembers the rules of the game and had no chance of victory to begin with. It's more than a little frustrating, not only because you're losing so badly, but also because you're fundamentally not learning anything from this game other than how wide the gulf is between you and Elizabeth, at least in terms of chess.
Sometimes, it feels like Elizabeth is a passable teacher in some ways and a horrible one in others. Or she's not remotely inclined to teach you how to get better at chess. Then again, you haven't asked her to. And, you suppose, everyone blows off steam in different ways, and there are certainly...less desirable ways that Elizabeth Irvich Zabanya could be doing so than making you look stupid at chess.
The conversation has just turned to the matter of a reduction in the services provided by the academy staff when - out of the corner of your vision - you see Headmistress Rastangard suddenly rise impatiently from her couch, and the conversation swiftly dies - at least because you and Stephanie instantly stop talking - as eyes track the headmistress stomping her way up the staircase, eventually disappearing from sight.
Elizabeth, who only barely acknowledged this with a glance, smirked, remarking with just a bit of a drawl, "This should be good."
You are not sure a potential confrontation between Headmistress Rastangard and a lady of a viscomital can be described as "good". "W-Will they be alright?" you ask in a nervous, furtive voice, as if the headmistress is actually waiting atop the flight of stairs, listening to anything you may have to say about her departure.
But the elven mage merely shrugs as she takes your last cavalier, ignoring your dismayed pout as she slides over back to Stephanie's board. "Rastangard isn't so foolish as to do anything entirely stupid with Ravenhill. And although she outranks her, Ravenhill is far from Arcaster, dealing with the trusted headmistress of Countess Celestia in Apaloft. I suspect it'll be a barbed conversation, nothing more." She repositions her mage from the flank slightly closer to the center as an answer against Stephanie's advancing skirmisher before sitting up slightly in her couch, looking around the common room, and producing a look of mild disappointment as she slides back down against the cushions of her seat. "And you'd think that maid would be here with tea by now, especially with the headmistress here. The service here has truly degraded."
Rather than looking just upset, Stephanie suddenly looks stern - perhaps even a little cold - as if an invisible line has been crossed. "There were injuries amongst the servants," she points out quietly. "Deaths." She advances her cavalier and places it down against the board with just a tiny bit more force than is necessary, but with the common room empty and the academy somberly quiet, it almost sounds loud enough to make you flinch a little.
"Indeed," the elven mage answers. And although she still sounds calm and lazy, there's just something about her - her tone, her expression, her body language - that suggests a degree of quiet reflection that you do not often see coming from her. "Such is the consequence of our weakness. People are maimed and killed, and there is little we can do about it."
Even Stephanie seems at least a little surprised by the answer, sharing a look with you when it seems like Elizabeth is concentrating on the chessboard. As far as the two of you can tell, this is the closest either of you have ever seen her come to regret, or ruefulness, or even guilt. She isn't talking about how other people are weak and thus powerless to change anything; it comes with the qualifier of "we", but somehow you get the feeling that she's talking about her own weakness rather than just the other apprentices of Faulkren Academy, or perhaps even the confederacy.
But then Elizabeth sighs in an almost content manner as she slides a skirmisher closer to the center and kicks back against her couch. "And, of course, some of them are leaving," she concludes. "This includes the maid who usually serves me tea, now that I think about it. There's no helping cowardice, I suppose."
Stephanie sighs in a manner not unlike someone who has witnessed something unpleasant but is not really surprised by it anymore. "You don't care about people very much, do you? Especially those of lesser means."
"You are making a lot of assumptions today. Praytell, what makes you think I don't have her best interests at heart?" Elizabeth's tone is almost gently mocking. "The maid leaves now, but do you think she'd rather be in town when the Tenereian armies arrive at our doorstep, or here, behind stone walls, a few dozen Caldran mercenaries, and more than a hundred apprentices?"
Stephanie makes a face as she realizes she doesn't have a good answer to that. Nor do you, not really. Certainly, you understand why people might want to leave after the academy was so brazenly attacked, but...where else, exactly, is "safe"? It's not like Faulkren and Invermere hadn't been attacked. If it could happen here, there it can happen anywhere else. In a manner of speaking, the academy is perhaps the safest place for kilometers.
Not that Stephanie wants to admit as such, so she merely holds her silence with a tired glare.
But Elizabeth is already shrugging and moving on in the conversation. "As you can see, I do think for her," she smiles, staring down at her boards...rather curiously, as if contemplating her next move for the first time since you've started. "Besides, she had a nice butt." She slowly moves her champion up to flank the formation on your left with a tenderness in her motions that cannot be attributed to her usual lethargy alone. "I...should have grabbed it, at least once," she adds, almost wistfully.
You and Stephanie exchange a startled glance. "The...tall human girl?" you ask, face coloring at how frank she's being. And also at how your first thought was to go down your mental list of maids who have a cute butt.
"With the dark hair and bangs?" Stephanie adds, her face less flushed but her eyes no less wide. "Who serves table?"
You recall that she was the one at your table during meals, almost unfailingly. You hadn't thought to make anything of that before now.
"She also tidied the library," Elizabeth confirms. She tilts her head, as if lost in vaguely pleasant memory. "Her chest was nicely shaped too."
"So, you're sure it was the battle that chased her off?" Stephanie asks. "Because if you were staring..." Which is as far as she gets, because there is a small crackling as Elizabeth leans over the table, and Stephanie yelps almost exactly at the same time as if poked by a needle. "Since when is it allowed in the rules to shock your opponent?" Stephanie rubs at a fattened eartip gingerly.
"It's allowed when she's being a brat," Elizabeth says, moving a piece in both games. "And believe me, that wasn't a shock. If I ever shock you, you won't be talking back about it." She leans back in her couch again, looking almost a little sullen at Stephanie's "joke"...but then she shrugs, and then that angelic, lazy, carefree smile easily returns to her lips once more. "Oh, well. What's done is done. If she's leaving, there's little else to think about."
"Why do you keep d-doing that?" you suddenly demand without really thinking about it, without really considering the consequences, and there must be something in your tone that causes Stephanie and Elizabeth to suddenly stare at you in surprise. Most of the time, this is your cue to realize you're speaking out of turn and clam up, but there's just something about Elizabeth that always feels aggravating to you from time to time. "You keep t-trying to seem like you don't care, b-but you do. It's a-alright to say that you're sad if p-people go and you'll miss them."
Unlike you, Elizabeth doesn't exchange glances with Stephanie, whereas the aseri furtively casts an anxious glance at the elf's temporarily unreadable expression. You are hardly a great reader of hidden emotions, but the fact that you can't tell what Elizabeth is thinking with regards to your outburst definitely makes you nervous, with the thoughts about possible consequences finally catching up with you, far too late to stop you from saying anything...
...At least until Elizabeth suddenly starts giggling.
You and Stephanie exchange nervous glances as the tiny elf doesn't just giggle, she hugs her stomach and almost starts kicking her legs, so apparently hilarious did she find your statement. It takes her a moment or two to finally master herself, and there's a rather wide grin on her lips as she looks at you and shakes her head. "You are giving a lot of tongue today, aren't you?" she laughs in a manner that somehow reminds you of ringing porcelain. "You are so very sweet."
You try to find something coherent to say, but you're mostly reduced to looking at Stephanie futilely for help and nervously stammering, "I-I-I..."
"And it's nice to see you finally speaking up more often, even if you're so often wrong. I don't care about people very much, but persons. Especially interesting ones." The tiny elf looks directly at you and her gaze lingers for a moment, for some reason. "There's a difference." Then Elizabeth moves her champion, and as she slides over to Stephanie's board, you slowly realize that you've been checkmated. As you sulkily pout once more at your misfortune, Elizabeth smiles at Stephanie, and there's just something about it that seems a lot less endearing than the one she gave you just now. "I suppose that answers your questions, doesn't it? I hardly hold those of lesser means in disdain, merely those who insist on making stupid decisions."
"I suppose it's you who gets to decide what's stupid and what's not," Stephanie mutters.
"I...think she l-liked you too," you offer, relatively quick in your attempt to interject this time, changing the topic. You pretend that all you're doing is calmly watching the game, too; the aseri is putting up a much better show than you are, achieving a degree of parity with the elf, but to your unpracticed eye, the elf is slowly pushing her advantage, prioritizing neither positioning nor the taking of pieces. It's almost as if Elizabeth's playstyle - a contrast to her usual seemingly nonchalant personality - embraces a balanced technical approach. "I-I mean...now that I think of it, sh-she always served your tea first. And w-was in the library when you were."
Elizabeth scoffs in an almost dismissive manner, but some of that amusement returns to her tone in a way that was absent when she was talking with Stephanie. "'Like' is a rather strong word, isn't it?" She shrugs and smirks. "Watching you make these assumptions is amusing. Either way, she's leaving. That's her choice, whether or not it's the wisest one to make. Common girls don't often survive bad decisions. Nor do they often get many second chances."
"I wonder why," Stephanie asks; her tone is even, but it's clear she means it sarcastically.
Matching her squadmate with a roll of her eyes, the elf snaps, "Because they're of lesser means. Because they often do not recover from poor decisions. Because there are too many hurdles they must overcome." She smirks a little, but it's clear that she's not being as patient as before...not that it's being reflected in her playstyle, which remains as balanced as ever. This does terrify you a bit even as you struggle not to shrink back a little. "Is that what you wish to tell me, Stephanie?"
"I haven't said anything," the aseri says coolly, neutrally, deliberately, slowly.
"Pray do not say such, then. Until you change how the world works, you can only make do with how the world is. I've heard enough prattle from the likes of Celestia and Penelope for a lifetime, and you don't see either changing the world. How would you like Penelope as a squad leader?"
Stephanie makes the slightest of faces, as if the very thought of it hurts her brain. "Does it have to be Penelope?"
"And just who are you trying to convince, anyways?"
This catches your roommate off-guard as she tilts her head slightly to the side. "Pardon?"
The elf leans forward in a way that - for just the tiniest of moments - makes you terrified for the aseri, but Elizabeth mostly lazily stares at Stephanie for a moment, as if studying her squadmate for the first time in a way that makes Stephanie shift uncomfortably under the gaze. "You're not the kind of evangelize. Nor are your arguments anything but the typical dreck. It's not even rehashed." She tilts her head slightly in your direction. "I'd be surprised if Neianne is particularly taken by your arguments."
A little surprised and alarmed at suddenly being dragged into this conversation, you stammer,"M-Me? I-I'm..."
But Elizabeth doesn't actually seem to intend to drag you into the conversation after all as she continues on, causing your lips to snap shut the moment she leans back against her couch and speaks again. "I have, at times, thought about whether or not to figure you out. How you're all over the place when it comes to describing your thoughts." She grins. "You didn't make it easy, seeing how little you've ever offered. But maybe that's why what little you have seems so jarringly mismatched, jumping from one thought to another. Where was this fervor, I wonder, when you were complaining about the likes of Penelope taking out vengeance by proxy on you? Or when you were so very worried about Neianne having eavesdropped on Rastangard about the Squirrels?"
Again, Stephanie's expression and tone is carefully mastered as she moves her remaining skirmisher in a defensive manner, completing a loose retaliatory formation around her marshall. "People change."
"Or maybe you didn't have much to begin with." Her smile is still there, but Elizabeth's eyes narrow a bit. "So, really, who do you think you're really serving with comments like that? Who are you really trying to convince?"
To her credit, Stephanie is impressively impassive as she simply considers the chessboard, even though her ears and tail barely hint at least a bit of agitation. "You, perhaps," she shrugs. "The...Spring knows I try."
For a moment, the elf raises an eyebrow at the aseri, regarding her in a skeptical, unimpressed manner. But then she shrugs, and that easy, lazy smile comes back to her lips. "I suppose you're more amusing than you're interesting, at least," she concedes, moving her paladin in an aggressive, threatening advance. "Check."
Your roommate lasts a few more turns as she tries to salvage the situation, but it is perhaps unsurprising when she is checkmated a few turns later.
The good news, at least, is that by the time day turns to night, Sieglinde confirms - much to the relief of the rest of the squad - that she'll be staying in Faulkren, at least for now.
You're still no closer to having that discussion on squad tactics, though.
holy crap im not dead yet from sheer utter uselessness
i will fill in bgm stuff for this update and the last update soon seriously
[x] Elizabeth Irivich Zabanya
[x] Stephanie
It takes more than two weeks for your squad to finally loosely decide that all of you need to talk about squad tactics in much greater detail at some point, preferably soon.
It's not that apprentices haven't taken tactics classes; every single apprentice has, even though some are clearly better at it than others. But the fundamental point - as made clear more than two weeks ago - is that Squad Four has never fought together before until the night the Squirrels attacked, and translating theory to practice without ever even having discussed theory with your squadmates in the middle of your first real battle was...difficult, as it turned out.
So it is on an afternoon that you and Stephanie decide that now - on a weekend and with little better to do other than wallow under the oppressive atmosphere of a traumatized community - is as good a time as ever to step out of your shared dorm room and pay Sieglinde and Elizabeth a visit.
Except almost immediately, you see two things: That Elizabeth is currently standing in the hallway right outside her room, leaning against the wall with an expression that hints at mild impatience and irritation; and that that the door to the room she shares with Sieglinde is half-open.
As you helplessly approach despite suddenly not very much wanting to, you are consumed by the fear that Sieglinde and Elizabeth have fought, and that the West Wing is about a minute from transforming into a massive pile of rubble with everyone still inside.
But as you approach Elizabeth - or more precisely, the door she is standing next to - she reaches out and grabs your forearm, stopping you. Her grip is actually surprisingly gentle, but it may as well have been vice-like for all you attempt to struggle out of it. "L-Lady Zabanya?" you stammer, wide-eyed, when you realize that quiet, hushed, but agitated voices are coming out from inside the room. At this angle, you barely managing to see two figures talking to each other inside: An adult woman you don't recognize, who wears the garb of a noblewoman, and Sieglinde who only betrays hints of frustration on her features yet is still the most upset you've ever seen her.
Elizabeth starts walking whence you came, walking towards the staircase at the end of the corridor. She barely exerts any force on your forearm, but you somehow feel yourself being pulled along as she casually suggests, "Let's go for a little walk downstairs."
You vaguely sense Stephanie catching up with the two of you after a moment of hesitation. "Lady Ravenhill..." she starts.
"Ravenhill is busy."
"W-Was that...?" you nervously ask.
"Ravenhill's mother," Elizabeth confirms. "Her visit was rather discreet, all things considered."
"They don't really look alike," Stephanie observes.
"She takes after her father."
"Is something wrong?"
"She's being summoned back to Arcaster."
"What?" you and Stephanie exclaim at the same time, freezing up in the hallway and find yourselves looking back down the corridor to make sure the two of you weren't overheard by the two Ravenhills in Elizabeth's dorm room after a moment of shock.
"Yes," smirks Elizabeth, not bothering to stop or even slow down in her stride, and you and Stephanie have to catch back up, "it turns out her parents were never entirely happy that she chose to come to Faulkren instead of Llyneyth, first among equals and closer to home."
"She c-can't just leave!" you protest. Whatever else, Sieglinde is probably the person closest to you in the academy and - perhaps just as importantly - a member of your squad. You've already lost fellow apprentices here at Faulkren; you don't know what you'd do if Sieglinde left as well.
"Oh?" laughs Elizabeth, grinning at you the way a smug older sister would at a foolish younger sister after a particularly ill-conceived bit of mischief backfired spectacularly. "And what are you going to do? Charge in with your buster sword and scare off Ravenhill's mother with it?"
The thought of even possibly threatening a noblewoman with bodily harm - especially with a buster sword as large as yours - sends you into a panic: "I-I..."
"Neither of you can help," Elizabeth waves a hand over her shoulder dismissively as she and Stephanie reach the top of the stairs, and you have to catch up from where you've frozen up behind them. "Let it go. Whatever else, Ravenhill's putting up a decent fight. Don't go in there and ruin it."
You hesitantly look back towards Sieglinde's room, but after a moment, you reluctantly chase Stephanie and Elizabeth down the stairs towards the common area.
Of course, your alacrity quickly comes to an end as you reach the bottom of the stairs...and find in front of you - sitting on a couch in the common area with a somewhat impatient and frustrated expression on her face, muted as it is - Headmistress Cornelia Rastangard.
"H-Headmistress Rastangard," you stammer, bowing your head slightly. Stephanie, too, politely murmurs "headmistress" in greeting.
Rastangard looks up at the three of you and nods in acknowledgement, mastering her expression: "Girls." Then she swivels her head towards Elizabeth and asks, "How is it?"
"Ravenhill is being stubborn," the tiny elven mage says. You suppose you aren't surprised that the headmistress herself is waiting here for whatever conclusion comes out from upstairs. Not only is a lady of House Ravenhill here, but she risks losing one of her three prodigies here at Faulkren.
"Which one?" inquires Rastangard.
You don't actually turn to look as your stomach drops and your blood momentarily freezes in your veins, but you're almost sure that Elizabeth is smirking when she answers, "Yes."
That look of mild annoyance - the kind an aunt might have with a particularly cheeky niece - returns to Rastangard's face as she rolls her eyes and mutters, "Get out of my face."
You quickly flee the immediate area with Stephanie, and find yourself entirely unsurprised as Elizabeth leisurely strolls towards you in the center of the common area with a big grin on her face.
"Come on," she declares when she finally catches up with the two of you, gesturing to a constellation of couches arranged around a tea table, "let's have a game of chess." Conveniently, there are already two chessboards on the table, albeit with scattered pieces; someone probably abandoned a game midway. "I'll play a game with both of you each simultaneously. You do know how to play, yes?"
Stephanie hesitates, clearly not sure she wants to play a game with Elizabeth, but she allows, "I'm not good at it, but...yes."
"I kn-know the rules," you answer. Indeed, you were taught the rules of chess as a child back in your village school, but you doubt that your schoolteacher really actually knew how to play either.
Elizabeth shrugs in a manner not unlike a girl being presented with chocolate that she doesn't particularly like but doesn't particularly dislike either. "Good enough. Sit."
BGM: Final Fantasy XII - Sorrow: Resistance
You are the slowest to set up your side of the board as you sit beside Stephanie. Your aseri roommate is the first to finish, although Elizabeth - on the other side - is done mere seconds after the aseri, and she was setting up two separate boards in vaguely lethargic motions. Fortunately, you don't take that much longer, although there is an embarrassing moment where Elizabeth has to point out that you put your marshall and champion pieces in reverse.
"I'm guessing we're not having our squad tactics discussion today," Stephanie speculates as the two games begin, and because she moves one of her lances forward by two spaces, you do the same.
"Until such a time that we are sure Ravenhill's staying," responds Elizabeth, "I am not about to waste my time." Noticing that you looked at Stephanie's board and perhaps just to mess with the two of you, Elizabeth moves her identical lance on both boards two spaces forward as well. "I assume the two of you are staying, given the absence of parents of packed bags."
"I am."
"S-Same," you quickly stammer when you realize that Elizabeth is looking expectantly at you for an answer.
"Good," Elizabeth smiles sweetly. "Having to deal with new squadmates would be a massive pain."
Stephanie looks like she's trying to withhold a sigh as her second paladin moves forward on the board. Their game is progressing fast enough that the first line of lances are advancing and the major pieces are slowly moving up offensively. "You don't really care that much about whether or not Lady Ravenhill leaves, do you?"
Elizabeth tilts her head slightly to the side in an almost angelically childish gesture. "What could possibly make you believe so?"
"Have you actually seen people who have lost roommates?"
Elizabeth pauses for a moment, and for just that moment, you think that Stephanie may have hit a nerve, or at least forced Elizabeth to reconsider. This moment ends when you realize she's just looking at Stephanie's board in contemplation, and quickly moves her mage out from her corner of that board before quickly moving her paladin behind a formation of lances on your board. Then she looks back at Stephanie with an amused expression. "Ravenhill isn't lost yet."
Stephanie sighs. "Never mind. Forget I asked."
And, for a long moment, it seems like that's just how the conversation is going to end, even after Stephanie moves her champion close to the midboard in a somewhat aggressive move, only for Elizabeth to move her skirmisher in a flanking position in what seems like a surprisingly balanced play, before returning to your own game and advancing her own paladin to the midboard.
Except you aren't really thinking about chess at the moment. Gulping, you muster your courage before murmuring just loud enough for the other two to hear, "I...I-I think Lady Zabanya cares." Then, blushing furiously as you realize that both of your present squadmates are staring at you in surprise, you stammer, "A-About Sieglinde, I mean." You are, after all, thinking about that night you walked with Elizabeth to Faulkren for Midwinter's Feast. "I think she respects her."
You don't really peg Elizabeth as someone who would compliment another person she doesn't like. She may have coated the point with a conversation about how "genius deserves respect", but it doesn't really change the fact that the respect is there. It doesn't really change that Elizabeth dragged you and Stephanie away from her door, pulling both of you into a chess game, because Sieglinde is "putting up a decent fight". Her actions - in all the months before and just today alone - don't really lend to an impression that deep down, Elizabeth just doesn't care about Sieglinde leaving. And you realize it bothers you, a little, seeing Stephanie having the wrong idea.
The elf in question seems genuinely surprised for a slightly longer moment that you would've otherwise expected, staring at you with a curiously blank expression. Then she giggles, and you feel like the hair on your skin stands on end slightly. "Oh, Neianne," she beams. Whether she appreciates you coming to her defense at all isn't entirely clear. "If you keep telling other people about me, you're going to strip away all my mystique."
"I-I'm sorry," you squeak. You wonder if you should have bothered to open your mouth at all.
Elizabeth shrugs, not really caring to either acknowledge or discourage your apology. Instead, she taps you chessboard as if to remind you to make your move before turning to Stephanie. "Still, I suppose I'm doing better than Fluffy and Mysterious."
The aseri in question blinks, her muted surprise towards you transforming into muted surprise towards the elven mage. "Is that supposed to be me?"
"Part of being mysterious is knowing when to lead the curious along." Elizabeth and Stephanie have both taken two of each other's pieces thus far, but even a quick glance at the board shows that, even to your inexpert eyes, Elizabeth's side of the board is clearly better developed, her pieces moving out to support one another with an almost mathematical grace, the purpose of some moves only becoming clear a turn or two after the fact. "If you're just being evasive when it's obvious you have a secret, you're just being boring."
She hides it well, but months of being her roommate tells you that Stephanie is probably trying to suppress a sigh. "Maybe I like being boring. Maybe I don't actually have a secret. Maybe there's nothing to be evasive about."
The tiny elf rolls her eyes. "It was cute for maybe the first half year, but you're not exactly convincing anyone." She glances towards you, and a mischievous smile graces her face as she asks, "Isn't that right, Neianne?"
"U-Um." Squeaking again upon realizing that attention has turned to you once more - and on a subject you certainly feel conflicted about. Stephanie is your roommate and yet you know little about her. The fact that Stephanie herself seems to like it that way makes you both disinclined to pry...but also deeply curious. And, you have to admit, a little bit hurt. You look between your two squadmates with a conflicted expression. "I...d-don't know," you finally admit, fidgeting and glancing at your chessboard for a moment longer than is really necessary. Then, understanding that you're really just avoiding the topic, you glance hesitantly at Stephanie before finally murmuring, "I...want to r-respect Stephanie's privacy."
Stephanie's shoulders sag in relief, and it's only then that you realize she had been tensed for your reaction. She gives you a nod of respect, if not gratitude. Elizabeth, for her part, scoffs a little and makes a wry smile, shrugging her shoulders and saying, "Have it your way."
In spite of that almost ominous last line that Elizabeth lets the topic go, and the conversation largely continues unabated. For a while, topics come and go, from hobbies that you share - you even bring up Elizabeth's singing, to which the elf in question seems amused by - to the topic of deserts - which Stephanie and Elizabeth seem to have a greater affinity for. Yet you somehow can't help but feel that the conversation - to a degree - is performative, with the three of you dancing around topics in a manner that almost seems like you're avoiding the two subjects that matter the most right now: The Squirrel attack on Faulkren and the possibility that Sieglinde may very well leave the academy.
You're trying your best, but somehow, this squad conversation - one that already includes Elizabeth - feels even more awkward and forced than usual.
It really doesn't help that the degree to which you're losing in your chess game is evident to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the rules. Although her playstyle has ended up being far more measured and far less aggressive than you otherwise would've thought, Elizabeth has already taken twice the number of pieces you have, and has advanced far into your half of the board. Her moves are almost painstakingly methodical, but that doesn't change the fact that she is pulverizing you with little mercy. She is very much not a chess player who toys around with a weaker opponent, and seems almost single-mindedly intent on crushing you, a player who barely remembers the rules of the game and had no chance of victory to begin with. It's more than a little frustrating, not only because you're losing so badly, but also because you're fundamentally not learning anything from this game other than how wide the gulf is between you and Elizabeth, at least in terms of chess.
Sometimes, it feels like Elizabeth is a passable teacher in some ways and a horrible one in others. Or she's not remotely inclined to teach you how to get better at chess. Then again, you haven't asked her to. And, you suppose, everyone blows off steam in different ways, and there are certainly...less desirable ways that Elizabeth Irvich Zabanya could be doing so than making you look stupid at chess.
The conversation has just turned to the matter of a reduction in the services provided by the academy staff when - out of the corner of your vision - you see Headmistress Rastangard suddenly rise impatiently from her couch, and the conversation swiftly dies - at least because you and Stephanie instantly stop talking - as eyes track the headmistress stomping her way up the staircase, eventually disappearing from sight.
Elizabeth, who only barely acknowledged this with a glance, smirked, remarking with just a bit of a drawl, "This should be good."
You are not sure a potential confrontation between Headmistress Rastangard and a lady of a viscomital can be described as "good". "W-Will they be alright?" you ask in a nervous, furtive voice, as if the headmistress is actually waiting atop the flight of stairs, listening to anything you may have to say about her departure.
But the elven mage merely shrugs as she takes your last cavalier, ignoring your dismayed pout as she slides over back to Stephanie's board. "Rastangard isn't so foolish as to do anything entirely stupid with Ravenhill. And although she outranks her, Ravenhill is far from Arcaster, dealing with the trusted headmistress of Countess Celestia in Apaloft. I suspect it'll be a barbed conversation, nothing more." She repositions her mage from the flank slightly closer to the center as an answer against Stephanie's advancing skirmisher before sitting up slightly in her couch, looking around the common room, and producing a look of mild disappointment as she slides back down against the cushions of her seat. "And you'd think that maid would be here with tea by now, especially with the headmistress here. The service here has truly degraded."
Rather than looking just upset, Stephanie suddenly looks stern - perhaps even a little cold - as if an invisible line has been crossed. "There were injuries amongst the servants," she points out quietly. "Deaths." She advances her cavalier and places it down against the board with just a tiny bit more force than is necessary, but with the common room empty and the academy somberly quiet, it almost sounds loud enough to make you flinch a little.
"Indeed," the elven mage answers. And although she still sounds calm and lazy, there's just something about her - her tone, her expression, her body language - that suggests a degree of quiet reflection that you do not often see coming from her. "Such is the consequence of our weakness. People are maimed and killed, and there is little we can do about it."
Even Stephanie seems at least a little surprised by the answer, sharing a look with you when it seems like Elizabeth is concentrating on the chessboard. As far as the two of you can tell, this is the closest either of you have ever seen her come to regret, or ruefulness, or even guilt. She isn't talking about how other people are weak and thus powerless to change anything; it comes with the qualifier of "we", but somehow you get the feeling that she's talking about her own weakness rather than just the other apprentices of Faulkren Academy, or perhaps even the confederacy.
But then Elizabeth sighs in an almost content manner as she slides a skirmisher closer to the center and kicks back against her couch. "And, of course, some of them are leaving," she concludes. "This includes the maid who usually serves me tea, now that I think about it. There's no helping cowardice, I suppose."
Stephanie sighs in a manner not unlike someone who has witnessed something unpleasant but is not really surprised by it anymore. "You don't care about people very much, do you? Especially those of lesser means."
"You are making a lot of assumptions today. Praytell, what makes you think I don't have her best interests at heart?" Elizabeth's tone is almost gently mocking. "The maid leaves now, but do you think she'd rather be in town when the Tenereian armies arrive at our doorstep, or here, behind stone walls, a few dozen Caldran mercenaries, and more than a hundred apprentices?"
Stephanie makes a face as she realizes she doesn't have a good answer to that. Nor do you, not really. Certainly, you understand why people might want to leave after the academy was so brazenly attacked, but...where else, exactly, is "safe"? It's not like Faulkren and Invermere hadn't been attacked. If it could happen here, there it can happen anywhere else. In a manner of speaking, the academy is perhaps the safest place for kilometers.
Not that Stephanie wants to admit as such, so she merely holds her silence with a tired glare.
But Elizabeth is already shrugging and moving on in the conversation. "As you can see, I do think for her," she smiles, staring down at her boards...rather curiously, as if contemplating her next move for the first time since you've started. "Besides, she had a nice butt." She slowly moves her champion up to flank the formation on your left with a tenderness in her motions that cannot be attributed to her usual lethargy alone. "I...should have grabbed it, at least once," she adds, almost wistfully.
You and Stephanie exchange a startled glance. "The...tall human girl?" you ask, face coloring at how frank she's being. And also at how your first thought was to go down your mental list of maids who have a cute butt.
"With the dark hair and bangs?" Stephanie adds, her face less flushed but her eyes no less wide. "Who serves table?"
You recall that she was the one at your table during meals, almost unfailingly. You hadn't thought to make anything of that before now.
"She also tidied the library," Elizabeth confirms. She tilts her head, as if lost in vaguely pleasant memory. "Her chest was nicely shaped too."
"So, you're sure it was the battle that chased her off?" Stephanie asks. "Because if you were staring..." Which is as far as she gets, because there is a small crackling as Elizabeth leans over the table, and Stephanie yelps almost exactly at the same time as if poked by a needle. "Since when is it allowed in the rules to shock your opponent?" Stephanie rubs at a fattened eartip gingerly.
"It's allowed when she's being a brat," Elizabeth says, moving a piece in both games. "And believe me, that wasn't a shock. If I ever shock you, you won't be talking back about it." She leans back in her couch again, looking almost a little sullen at Stephanie's "joke"...but then she shrugs, and then that angelic, lazy, carefree smile easily returns to her lips once more. "Oh, well. What's done is done. If she's leaving, there's little else to think about."
"Why do you keep d-doing that?" you suddenly demand without really thinking about it, without really considering the consequences, and there must be something in your tone that causes Stephanie and Elizabeth to suddenly stare at you in surprise. Most of the time, this is your cue to realize you're speaking out of turn and clam up, but there's just something about Elizabeth that always feels aggravating to you from time to time. "You keep t-trying to seem like you don't care, b-but you do. It's a-alright to say that you're sad if p-people go and you'll miss them."
Unlike you, Elizabeth doesn't exchange glances with Stephanie, whereas the aseri furtively casts an anxious glance at the elf's temporarily unreadable expression. You are hardly a great reader of hidden emotions, but the fact that you can't tell what Elizabeth is thinking with regards to your outburst definitely makes you nervous, with the thoughts about possible consequences finally catching up with you, far too late to stop you from saying anything...
...At least until Elizabeth suddenly starts giggling.
You and Stephanie exchange nervous glances as the tiny elf doesn't just giggle, she hugs her stomach and almost starts kicking her legs, so apparently hilarious did she find your statement. It takes her a moment or two to finally master herself, and there's a rather wide grin on her lips as she looks at you and shakes her head. "You are giving a lot of tongue today, aren't you?" she laughs in a manner that somehow reminds you of ringing porcelain. "You are so very sweet."
You try to find something coherent to say, but you're mostly reduced to looking at Stephanie futilely for help and nervously stammering, "I-I-I..."
"And it's nice to see you finally speaking up more often, even if you're so often wrong. I don't care about people very much, but persons. Especially interesting ones." The tiny elf looks directly at you and her gaze lingers for a moment, for some reason. "There's a difference." Then Elizabeth moves her champion, and as she slides over to Stephanie's board, you slowly realize that you've been checkmated. As you sulkily pout once more at your misfortune, Elizabeth smiles at Stephanie, and there's just something about it that seems a lot less endearing than the one she gave you just now. "I suppose that answers your questions, doesn't it? I hardly hold those of lesser means in disdain, merely those who insist on making stupid decisions."
"I suppose it's you who gets to decide what's stupid and what's not," Stephanie mutters.
"I...think she l-liked you too," you offer, relatively quick in your attempt to interject this time, changing the topic. You pretend that all you're doing is calmly watching the game, too; the aseri is putting up a much better show than you are, achieving a degree of parity with the elf, but to your unpracticed eye, the elf is slowly pushing her advantage, prioritizing neither positioning nor the taking of pieces. It's almost as if Elizabeth's playstyle - a contrast to her usual seemingly nonchalant personality - embraces a balanced technical approach. "I-I mean...now that I think of it, sh-she always served your tea first. And w-was in the library when you were."
Elizabeth scoffs in an almost dismissive manner, but some of that amusement returns to her tone in a way that was absent when she was talking with Stephanie. "'Like' is a rather strong word, isn't it?" She shrugs and smirks. "Watching you make these assumptions is amusing. Either way, she's leaving. That's her choice, whether or not it's the wisest one to make. Common girls don't often survive bad decisions. Nor do they often get many second chances."
"I wonder why," Stephanie asks; her tone is even, but it's clear she means it sarcastically.
Matching her squadmate with a roll of her eyes, the elf snaps, "Because they're of lesser means. Because they often do not recover from poor decisions. Because there are too many hurdles they must overcome." She smirks a little, but it's clear that she's not being as patient as before...not that it's being reflected in her playstyle, which remains as balanced as ever. This does terrify you a bit even as you struggle not to shrink back a little. "Is that what you wish to tell me, Stephanie?"
"I haven't said anything," the aseri says coolly, neutrally, deliberately, slowly.
"Pray do not say such, then. Until you change how the world works, you can only make do with how the world is. I've heard enough prattle from the likes of Celestia and Penelope for a lifetime, and you don't see either changing the world. How would you like Penelope as a squad leader?"
Stephanie makes the slightest of faces, as if the very thought of it hurts her brain. "Does it have to be Penelope?"
"And just who are you trying to convince, anyways?"
This catches your roommate off-guard as she tilts her head slightly to the side. "Pardon?"
The elf leans forward in a way that - for just the tiniest of moments - makes you terrified for the aseri, but Elizabeth mostly lazily stares at Stephanie for a moment, as if studying her squadmate for the first time in a way that makes Stephanie shift uncomfortably under the gaze. "You're not the kind of evangelize. Nor are your arguments anything but the typical dreck. It's not even rehashed." She tilts her head slightly in your direction. "I'd be surprised if Neianne is particularly taken by your arguments."
A little surprised and alarmed at suddenly being dragged into this conversation, you stammer,"M-Me? I-I'm..."
But Elizabeth doesn't actually seem to intend to drag you into the conversation after all as she continues on, causing your lips to snap shut the moment she leans back against her couch and speaks again. "I have, at times, thought about whether or not to figure you out. How you're all over the place when it comes to describing your thoughts." She grins. "You didn't make it easy, seeing how little you've ever offered. But maybe that's why what little you have seems so jarringly mismatched, jumping from one thought to another. Where was this fervor, I wonder, when you were complaining about the likes of Penelope taking out vengeance by proxy on you? Or when you were so very worried about Neianne having eavesdropped on Rastangard about the Squirrels?"
Again, Stephanie's expression and tone is carefully mastered as she moves her remaining skirmisher in a defensive manner, completing a loose retaliatory formation around her marshall. "People change."
"Or maybe you didn't have much to begin with." Her smile is still there, but Elizabeth's eyes narrow a bit. "So, really, who do you think you're really serving with comments like that? Who are you really trying to convince?"
To her credit, Stephanie is impressively impassive as she simply considers the chessboard, even though her ears and tail barely hint at least a bit of agitation. "You, perhaps," she shrugs. "The...Spring knows I try."
For a moment, the elf raises an eyebrow at the aseri, regarding her in a skeptical, unimpressed manner. But then she shrugs, and that easy, lazy smile comes back to her lips. "I suppose you're more amusing than you're interesting, at least," she concedes, moving her paladin in an aggressive, threatening advance. "Check."
Your roommate lasts a few more turns as she tries to salvage the situation, but it is perhaps unsurprising when she is checkmated a few turns later.
The good news, at least, is that by the time day turns to night, Sieglinde confirms - much to the relief of the rest of the squad - that she'll be staying in Faulkren, at least for now.
You're still no closer to having that discussion on squad tactics, though.
holy crap im not dead yet from sheer utter uselessness
i will fill in bgm stuff for this update and the last update soon seriously
