Principles of Play
Disclaimer: These characters are the property of
Geneon, and Chiaki Koichi, Tamioka Katsuhiro, and Yamashita Tomohiro. I am not any of these individuals, and claim
no rights to their characters. Please
enjoy this completely free update.
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“Alister, you’re going to be late if you don’t hurry.” A middle-aged woman with sandy blonde hair
stood at the bottom of the staircase and looked up at her young daughter. Alister was only seven, and she was fighting
abject terror as she finished buttoning up her skirt. “Come on dear.”
Alister slowly made her way down the stairs and looked at
her mother with wet eyes. “I don’t want
to go. I heard the nobles eat small
children.”
Kaileen laughed.
“Honey, no. You’re going to stay
with their daughter and help take care of her like I take care of her
parents.” She straightened the bow on
her daughter’s dark blonde braid before opening the door.
“Does that mean I’m going to cook?” Pure dread lurked in the brown of her
eyes. Her previous attempts had been
met with failure.
“Not at your age.
Why don’t you concern yourself with getting to know Tatiana and let me
continue to worry about the food.
“Ta-tI-a-na?” It
sounded pretty.
Kaileen reached down and grabbed Alister’s hand. “Yes, that’s correct. Now, we must hurry or we’ll be late.”
Alister’s mother had been working for the Wislas for seven
years when she met Markem. Markem had
been hired to handle the repairs around the home, and never passed up an
opportunity to harass the pretty cook.
After a year of antagonistic behavior that spread out beyond the
servants’ areas, Mrs. Wisla had sat them down and explained they were either to
marry or to find other jobs. At first
they were appalled at the thought; but within six months of their marriage,
they were thanking Mrs. Wisla for understanding the human heart more than they
did.
Their marriage had survived five years when Kaileen realized
she was pregnant. They had given up on
having their own children and were devoting all of their attention to the Wisla
youngsters. Tatiana had just turned one
when Alister was born. The Agrews knew
Alister was a gift from God. The Wislas
were overjoyed because they would be able to provide a companion to their
darling daughter when she was old enough.
Eight years later, Alister found herself standing in front
of two tall adults and a very strict looking girl with straight blonde hair
pulled back into a ponytail. Alister
bowed. “I’m Alister Agrew and it’s a
pleasure to meet you.”
Tatiana blinked and smiled.
“I didn’t say you could speak.”
Alister was taken back.
Not sure if she’d get in trouble for speaking out of turn, she looked at
the ground, a submissive posture.
Tatiana was not one to back down from anyone, and she had to
establish her superiority early. “And
you’re rude. Aren’t you even going to
say you’re sorry?” Blue eyes glared at
the down-turned head.
Alister looked up in confusion. She’d been told to stay quiet, now she was being told she was
rude because she hadn’t apologized. She
looked at the older girl and fell to the floor, bowing. “Sumimasen.”
“Oh for crying out loud, stand up.” Tatiana turned to leave, knowing Alister
would follow. “Just one thing. Realize that if I want your opinion, I’ll
tell you what it is.”
Thus started their relationship. Within a year, everyone knew Alister, or Alista as she was often
called, as Tatiana’s shadow. She
enjoyed her new life as Tatiana’s personal servant. However, it was Tatiana’s ninth birthday that would change the
path of Alister’s life forever. Mr.
Wisla hired a freelancer to take his daughter for a short flight. When the ship landed, Tatiana’s eyes were
filled with a glow that had never been apparent before.
Over the next year, Tatiana had talked her father into many
more trips. As Tatiana’s right hand,
Alister stood on the ground while Tatiana danced through the air. For Tatiana’s tenth birthday, she walked out
of the house to find her own vanship parked in the front yard. It was nothing fancy, but it was hers. Captain Charles Worster was hired to teach
the young pilot how to fly.
Within the month, she’d gotten enough training to be able to
pilot on her own. However, the first
trip out was a disaster. The plane
crashed less than ten feet from where Alister had been standing. As Tatiana’s parents ran to the crumpled
vanship, Alister watched as Tatiana angrily flung the restraining straps off
and stomped out of the cockpit.
“Are you okay Tatiana?”
Alister’s face was tight with concern.
Tatiana’s blue eyes sparked in anger. “Why did it crash? I did NOTHING wrong!”
Captain Worster, standing beside Alister, chuckled. “Why do you think there are two seats on
this plane? Vanship pilots are only as
good as the navie.”
“So you let me crash just to prove your point?” The youngster stomped up to the captain and
hit him in the arm.
Charles caught her and held her still. “You wouldn’t listen any other way.” He let go and walked over to the ship. Kicking the side of it, he turned back. “We can have this fixed in a week.”
“Fine.” Tatiana
pulled off her custom made goggles and stomped up to Alister. “You will be my navie.” That was the beginning of her career.
Since Alister was Tatiana’s personal servant, they received
the same schooling. When Tatiana stated
Alister would be her navie, Captain Charles Worster took her in and trained her
too. Finally Captain Worster left them,
having taught them all he knew, and learned much in return.
When Tatiana turned 16, a vanship pilot and two navies were
lost in the Grand Stream and Dissith & Anatoray started a war with each
other. Whenever they stopped to pick up
more Claudia fuel, Tatiana would have Alister listen to the other pilots to
learn what was happening in the battle.
One day Tatiana walked into the house and informed her parents that she
had decided to attend the Academy to become a fighter pilot.
Alister stood in silence as Mr. & Mrs. Wisla protested
their daughter’s choice. Suddenly
Tatiana turned those cutting eyes to her navie. “Alista, I free you from servitude. I’m going to the Academy.
If you want to follow, you do so under your own free will.” Without another word, Tatiana turned and
left.
The silence was pressing.
Alister stared at the door her master and best friend had just walked
through while the Wislas stared at Alister.
Finally Mrs. Wisla spoke.
“Alister, do you want to go with Tatiana, or do you want to leave and
find your own path?”
Alister Agrew, age 17, stood in contemplative silence for
several moments. Finally, she looked up
at the woman who had treated her as a daughter. “All I’ve ever known is life with Tatiana. Flying is her dream, and it has become
mine. I choose to be her navie.”
ssssss
The waiter leaned over to pick up the money for the
check. Suddenly she realized she’d
blanked out and left Geise on his own for way too long.
“I’m so sorry Geise.”
She blushed prettily.
“Quite alright. But
it looks like you went on a long trip.”
She leaned forward and gently took his hand. “Yes, but it’s been a good one. Thank you for sharing one more day with me.”
Geise smiled. Their
pasts did not matter. They had the
future.
A/N: Rumors of my death were greatly
exaggerated. Yes, I did unintentionally
try to kill myself. No, I’m not
depressed or anything else. I am just
extremely clumsy and will tell you that I now have so much respect for first
responders and paramedics. If you’re
one of these, give yourself a hug for me.
However, my accident is not why I’ve been MIA. I went to Nihon to see if the world over
there was as awesome as all the Anime would have us believe. Well, now I REALLY miss the green tea,
REALLY miss the public transportation system, and have started a desperate
search for instant seaweed ramen…but I’ll leave that for another day. My experiences will come into play during future
stories (this one was completed before I left), so look for a little of the
local color in upcoming tales.
