Vienna Game
Disclaimer: If it hasn’t become especially clear over
the last almost year I’ve been writing fanfics, I don’t own any of them. If I did, I wouldn’t be writing fanfics…well
maybe I would, but not for the ones I owned.
These characters are the property of Geneon, and Chiaki Koichi, Tamioka
Katsuhiro, and Yamashita Tomohiro.
Please enjoy this completely free update.
Chapter 7:
The next morning, Giese was bent over the red vanship
engine, head between the Claudia cylinder and the cam box when he felt like he
was being watched. In this group of
mechanics, that was not unusual; but it didn’t feel like Gale or any of his
teammates. Slowly extricating his body
parts from the ship, he stood up and turned around.
Alister was standing at the base of the ladder, as quiet as
a waif. Deciding to tease her, he bent
down on his haunches and smiled. “How
was the view? Did you like what you
saw?”
As she realized what he meant, she blushed ferociously. He was just about to laugh and tell her he
was just kidding with her when she cleared her throat and looked at him. “Yes, I did.”
They both blinked, neither believing that she’d actually
been that forward. Realizing he would
probably now think she was a loose woman, she turned to flee. Before she could put her first foot forward,
he gently caught her hand, stopping her escape. “Wait!”
He smiled gently at her.
“Miss Agrew, I’m not embarrassed you told me the truth. You’re always so quiet, it’s hard to see
what you are thinking.” He let go of
her hand, expecting her to leave.
“It’s not my job to voice my opinion.” Her grey eyes were almost vacant.
Giese grabbed her shoulders, bringing him closer to her
face. “But you are allowed to have
an opinion. You might be Tatiana’s
navie, but she doesn’t own your soul.”
She blinked, but he continued.
“What say we go out and see the sights tonight? I never spend any of my wages and I would be
honored to treat you to dinner.”
“Like a date?”
“Only if you want.”
He caught his breath. “Just
dinner, I know you’re not easy.”
“Oh…okay. What
time?”
“Five, we’ll go early before the rowdies show up.”
“I’ll be here.” She
turned and left, again like the mist she resembled.
Giese spent the rest of the day on cloud nine. Twice Gale stopped him and asked him what
was going on. Giese never sang, and
he’d been doing show tunes all afternoon.
Despite Gale’s persistence, Giese held his own council and no one
guessed his secret. Just before 5pm,
Giese walked out of his quarters, wearing civies and walked up the
staircase. As he expected, he met
Alister on her way down. She was very
pretty in a light sage colored dress.
“Hello, what say we take an alternate path down.”
Eyes that had been excited a moment before dulled. “Are you ashamed to be seen with me?”
He tripped on a step and almost fell on his face. Stopping, he caught her arm, gently turning
her and placing his hand tenderly along her cheek. “Are you kidding me? I’ve
wanted to spend time with you since I first saw you. I just thought you might like a night out with a possibility that
Tatiana doesn’t discover your whereabouts.
I’m sure she wouldn’t approve of her navie going on a date with a grease
monkey.”
She suddenly narrowed her eyes and flicked him sharply on
his chin with a finger. “Don’t say that
about yourself! If it wasn’t for you
guys, we fly girls would never get off the ground.”
He laughed, a warm hearty sound, and turned; pulling her
down the stair behind him. “We both
know that, but there are others that wouldn’t agree.” Suddenly he stopped. “Are
you sure I’m not too old for you?”
She laughed. “You
might be a year or two older. I’m not
as young as I look.”
He scratched his head.
“Huh. I could have sworn you
were just out of academy.”
“Five years ago.”
“Five years!?! We’ve
worked together for five years?”
She rushed over and put her hand over his mouth. “Hush.
After all of this work, do you want to blow our cover now?” She turned the handle and they found
themselves two ports away from the plank.
Moving quickly, they reached the plank and disembarked without anyone
the wiser.
ssssss
Over two pints of Grade 3 water, having decided to save
their money for other things, they talked about life on the Silverna and where
they had come from. Geise had grown up
in a small farming community a short trip from the Anatoray capital. He talked about what it was like to grow up
with the grass under his feet, running along the rock-strewn plains and hiding
behind the trees that occasionally littered the countryside.
“Do you have any siblings?”
Alister would never look at this gentle man the same again.
He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Yeah, an older brother and a little
sister.”
She smiled. “So
you’re the middle child?”
“Mmm. What’s the
saying about the middle child?”
Alister leaned forward, putting her chin on her folded
hands. “I don’t know.”
Geise smiled.
“Something about how since the middle child is not the oldest, the
middle child never is given the respect due an elder. But since the middle child is not the youngest, never receives
the coddling either. I seem to remember
it being something about how we are the invisible ones, destined to lead
average lives.”
Alister turned her head and looked at him with sad
eyes. “Surely that’s not the truth!”
Geige chuckled and looked at the somber woman across from
him. “Of course not. We’re just like any other child. We have all the potential in the
world.” Their food arrived and he
waited for the waiter to leave before adding, “But to be honest, I’m more comfortable
in those invisible jobs.”
Humor briefly lit Alister’s eyes before she turned to her
plate. The specialty of Casino Royale
was bird. Not unbelievable considering
the constant bird races. She wondered
if she was eating the loser, or just one who had outlived its race potential.
“Mmm, pretty good.”
Geise held up a piece of bird on the end of his fork. “Do you think this one lost last night?”
Alister chucked, her laugh like the low bells in a temple
shrine, harmonic and quiet. “I was
wondering the same thing.”
“Kinda morbid if you ask me.” He popped the fork in his mouth and chewed. “But pretty tasty none the less.”
They ate in companionable conversation. As the plates were cleared off, Geise turned
back to their earlier conversation. “I
told you all about my life and the crazy antics of my family, but I didn’t give
you the chance to talk. Where are you
from?”
Alister had hoped this topic wouldn’t arise. “I’m an only child.” She didn’t elaborate.
“Did you grow up on a farm…no, you’re too refined for
that.” Geise looked up and realized
that Alister’s mind had traveled to some past memory without him.
