Dragons and Destiny (13 page)

Hilla was in
mortal dread of it happening again.

She took her
place, grounded the hated pike and assumed the ready stance. This
was the easiest part of the drill, with everyone standing in a
single rank and about to perform the set moves a pike squad would
use in a battle situation.

“Out,”
commanded the Sergeant and her left leg came forward and her pike
came out. The squad’s job was to hold the pikes in a steady line so
that the barbed end could impale or knock a rider of his horse.
“Down.” The pike ends were lowered to a horizontal position. This
position was designed to combat attacking Larg kohorts who didn’t
have riders on their backs but was hard to hold the pike steady.
The strain on Hilla’s arms grew and beads of sweat appeared on her
forehead. “Present,” commanded Sergeant Jillson and the pikes were
grounded once more.

Today, much to
Hilla’s relief (and to the relief of not a few of the others),
Sergeant Jillson decided that enough was enough where pike-work was
concerned after a bare quarter-bell. She was not to know that
Leftenant Hallam had decided that they all needed more work
strengthening their muscles before the more intricate work was
tried and had given orders to that effect. The men and women in the
pike squads were big and strong and pike-work was a difficult skill
to teach at the Academie although as future officers they had to
understand how pike troops operated. In later years they might have
to command both militia and regular pike-men and pike-women in the
field.

Hilla and the
others placed the hated pikes back in the storage racks and picked
up the short speared javelin. Spear work was far more to Hilla’s
liking and she managed the drills well, earning a few guarded words
of praise from the Sergeant.

After this they
had a short rest and as one ran to the water butts to slake their
thirst. Sergeant Jillson marched away and was replaced by the sword
instructors.

This is more
like it
, thought Hilla as she practiced her moves. She did so
love sword-work. She, Jen and the others were using the short sword
but officers carried their own, longer sword, their personal
weapon. In their second year instruction would be offered in the
long-sword. Her own long-sword, the one her sister and
brother-in-law had given her was locked away in the armoury for
now.

The practice
session ended with more drill, the moves an infantry squad used on
a battlefield. The moves were learned by rote, just as the recruits
learned.

Leftenant
Hallam dismissed them and Hilla, Jen and the others marched away to
make the most of the free time before the evening meal.

At last Hilla
was able to read Rilla’s letter.

‘
Dearest
Hilla,

You’ll probably
have heard the news by now. I am at Vada. Zawlei appeared at the
stables, right out of the blue and what an escape! No doubt you are
surprised but no more than I was when it happened. You always
wanted to be a soldier, me never, yet here I am and enjoying it up
to the hilt.

It was hard at
first but am getting used to the life. Zawlei is absolutely
marvellous and I hope you’ll be able to meet him one day. I think
you’ll like each other. I don’t know how your training compares
with ours, we do riding and it is hard, even for me and you know
how many bells I have spent in the saddle, but riding Zawlei is
wonderful. I’m beginning to hang in there (and I mean that
literally). We also do sword work which you’ll be doing as well but
I think what we learn is different. There are many other classes
too, Tactics, Lindish, Geography, First Aid, do you do the same? I
presume you do, please write and tell me.

I’ve also made
some friends, actually one of them has a mother at Settlement and
has said I can enclose a note (this one) for you and that her
mother will send it on to you. Good of her, I haven’t got any coin
to pay for the Express. Anyway sis, I’ll have to finish, Toinette
has come for the note. I love you lots.

Take care, love
from

Rilla and
Zawlei

XXX’

* * * * *

A tenday later
the First Staticum Trainees were at the beginning of a four day
‘exercise’, the first of such excursions that would occur at
intervals during their training.

Accompanied by
four non-commissioned officers and under the overall command of
Leftenant Hallam, they marched out of the Academie, through
Settlement, over Battle Plain (where the Battle of the Alliance had
been fought in AL2) and up the hill leading to the forest in open
order.

Hilla had
studied the Battle of the Alliance during her tactics classes. To
her surprise the battle as taught by the Tactical Training Officer
had been subtly different than the story in her history books at
school.

It wasn’t
tactics Hilla was concerned with once she and the others reached
the woods. The four days were what Leftenant Hallam was calling ‘a
toughening up exercise’. They would do everything for themselves,
from digging latrines to building shelters, washing, scouting and
guarding. If they wanted to eat they would have to catch and cook
it. Some of the cadets came from well-to-do families and had never
boiled an egg, far less a meal.

Jen, Hilla’s
friend was the granddaughter of one Councillor Durand. Her family
owned vast tracts of land in central Argyll and had merchant
interest in the islands. There was a long tradition of military
service in her family and her two older brothers were serving
officers. They had made sure their little sister knew what to
expect.

Jen and Hilla
had gravitated towards each other the first day and were now
friends of the most inseparable type, Jen’s friendship filling the
void left by the absence of Hilla’s sisters.

As they
marched, country boy Dolvin Annson had pointed out the tell-tale
signs of a rabbit warren, whispering that last year’s Juvenis had
told him.

“How do we
catch them?” Jen whispered back and Dolvin explained, bragging that
last summer he had caught a brace of no less than eighteen
rabbits.

“We shalln’t
starve with me here,” he declared.

“Greenfruit,”
laughed Hilla, pointing to a bush and bringing down on her head the
wrath of Staff Sergeant Taplin who had not given them leave to
speak. Greenfruit was a berry-fruit that grew all the year
through.

“I think I’d
rather gather roots,” whispered town-bred Paul when Taplin had
gone. Dolvin’s graphic descriptions of the methods by which he
intended to catch and kill the aforesaid rabbits was turning his
stomach.

“Don’t you
think you can do it?” Dolvin teased.

“I’ll manage,”
Paul answered with a gulp, “but don’t ask me to eat them as
well.”

“You’ll go
hungry.”

Jen and Hilla
had been allocated to Squad Three who on arrival at the campsite
were ordered to dig the refuse trench and the latrines. Squads Four
and Five set up the bivouac tents. Squad One was allocated the
cook-fire and to begin on the evening meal using the food they had
brought with them. Squad Two had guard duty.

As Hilla helped
Paul Farquer and Jen pile up the mud from the latrine pits to one
side she grinned at him; a grin of pure enjoyment; real soldiering
at last.

Warrant Officer
Taplin inspected the pits and pronounced himself satisfied; a good
deep trench he said and went over to inspect the trio who were
digging the trench. There he made the pleasing discovery that the
sides were already showing distinct signs of caving in.

Hilla, Paul and
Jen left their compeers wilting under Taplin’s withering tongue and
headed for the stream to wash. As they had been told often enough,
cleanliness was next to godliness in the Garda. A dirty soldier was
an inefficient soldier. No trainee would present him or herself at
the cook-fire in any state but clean. They were all hungry and no
one wanted to be berated like a naughty puppy and so run the risk
of missing out on their share of the food.

She and Jen
fell into line, mess-tins at the ready. The smell was tantalising
to the hungry trainees, more so than usual because it was coupled
with the knowledge that this was the only food they had brought
with them from the Academie.

“Smells good,”
said Jen as she accepted her share and went off to find a suitable
place to eat. Hilla, Paul and Dolvin joined her.

“Eat up girls,”
the latter said. “Tomorrow you’ll be thanking me for a tasty
meal.”

“Why’s that?”
Jen asked.

“Because,” was
his maddening answer.

“Because?”

“Because me and
Paul here are going to that warren we passed. Who have you been
partnered with?”

“Each other,”
grinned Jen, “and me and Hilla bet you three florins that we will
bring in as last as much as you if not more.”

“Done,” laughed
Dolvin with an evil grin as he spat on his hand and held it out to
Jen for the traditional acceptance of the bet.

“What are you
doing?” hissed Hilla in Jen’s ear. Jen shushed her but Hilla wasn’t
happy. “How are we going to manage that?” she whispered, “three
florins.” For Hilla this was a great deal of coin.

“See you later
girls,” crowed Dolvin as he left them for the cook-pot hoping to
scrounge a second helping.

“I’ve got it
covered,” Jen told Hilla as they ate. “Anyway, it’ll be them who is
paying us.”

“How do you
make that out?”

“We’re Juvenis
right? Supposed to use our initiative?”

“Well … yes,”
answered Hilla hungrily spooning stew into her mouth.

“So,” grinned
Jen. “Let Dolvin and Paul spend tomorrow trying to catch their
rabbits, we’ll not be wasting out time. Leftenant Hallam said that
after morning parade we were to go out in our twos and bring back
enough food for two days. None of the instructors are coming with
us, right?”

“Ok.”

“So I’ve made
arrangements for some suitable edibles to be placed in a suitable
place by certain people.”

“Isn’t that
cheating?”

“Technically
speaking I suppose it is but there’s cheating and
cheating
.
We are going to use our wits. Anyway, you put the initial idea into
my head. Don’t forget, my brothers have been through this. They
told me what was what. Apart from that one rabbit warren that
Dolvin was talking about there’s little other live meat around
here. Perhaps a vuz hole or two but not much else. It’s too close
to Settlement. Granted, wild roots grow in abundance and fruit too
but I want something decent and Leftenant Hallam has made it
abundantly clear that if we only being in fruit and vegetables we
will be marked down so I made plans. Last day off I went into town
and spoke to one of the fishmongers there. In a net, hidden under
the waterfall, you remember Hilla, where we came that first free
day?”

Hilla
nodded.

“Are a large
number of tranet waiting for us to ‘catch’. There was no point in
going to a game shop. Leftenant Hallam would be suspicious if we
brought to him, soaking wet and dead for over a day, rabbit or vuz.
Fish is the thing. It won’t arouse suspicion.”

“Why didn’t you
tell me?”

“Wanted to
surprise you.”

Jen’s plan
panned out much as she had worked it out, at least at the
beginning.

Hilla and Jen
were heard discussing how they were going to bait a trap at a vuz
hole by Dolvin and Paul who smirked at each other as they went
through the trees on their way to the warren.

Alas for Jen’s
devious planning she had forgotten that her elder brother had been
a Juvenis the same year as Leftenant Hallam and
he
had an
indecently long memory. Also this wouldn’t be the first time that
Juvenis had tried to bend the rules. He watched Jen and Hila leave
on their food foraging expedition with a speculative look. He had a
few words with the Sergeants then followed them.

Keeping behind
the cover of the trees he watched and listened.

Carrying
satchels and using their knives, Jen and Hilla first located and
dug out some roots of the whitebush, being careful to take only so
much so as not to damage the plant beyond the replenishment level.
They found a ripe greenfruit bush and he heard them talking as they
marked the spot for the return journey.

Robain nodded
with approval. They were using their brains. Ripe greenfruit didn’t
carry well and deciding to collect the fruit on their return
journey was a sensible move. Years ago he and Jen’s brother had
picked theirs on the way out and the resultant mess in his satchel
he didn’t want to remember. It had smelt of rotting greenfruit
juice for days.

He continued to
follow them and realised the two girls were heading for the river,
not a surprise to Robain who had rather thought they might.

He heard noises
made by the others in the area and nearly stumbled over one who was
seated at the entrance to a rabbit warren, hands open, as if
expecting a rabbit would conveniently leap out into them. He had
not been paying attention during the lectures. The lad hadn’t
realised that the warren was a disused one. Robain saw no signs of
any fresh droppings. There might be a small family of the little
vuz using the abandoned tunnels but their disposition was even more
timid than that of the rabbits and they would be hidden deep
inside, too afraid to risk even a peek.

Robain rather
thought that this lad and his partner would be returning to the
campsite empty-handed or with only vegetables in their satchels. He
hoped that they wouldn’t pick any pison berries (they looked very
like the greenfruit) and which were ultra poisonous. Perhaps these
two town-bred lads had been paying attention to that part of the
lecture at least.

Robain backed
away unseen.

He lost the
girls for a while but found them again after he realised they had
doubled back, following the river bank, towards the campsite. He
sighted them standing beside a large grass-covered mound. He hid
behind a tree and listened.