The raft of the Medusa

“One chore down!” As we walked down the bustling streets of Gallai, Aila’s ecstatic voice did little to wake me up.

In what could only be considered ritualistic hazing, the other recruits woke us up at six in the morning sharp, handing us a long list of chores to be done for the day. Not that I could complain if that was the worst it got.

The yellow of the two suns beat down with a harsh light. Sadly, this place shares Japan’s ability to have the sun rise at four in the morning. But with two suns, the blue light stayed out way past when the night would have normally come.

My body felt like a hundred pounds were attached to each limb. Just the short journey to the main streets of Gallai felt more exhausting than my typical spar with Lilly. And that wasn’t to mention the humidity.

I glanced down at the fresh cloak I’d found in my room last night. Airi had explained that as an official knight, I had to look the part wherever we went out. One uniform for another.

The dark grey robes seemed to shimmer against the brick roads, almost blending in with the scenery. Gold seams were sewn across the entire piece of fabric. Not too showy, yet still enough to where anyone looking for an officer would find us without much issue.

Airi, on the other hand, showed no signs of my exhaustion. She hummed a sweet tune, holding a bag of bread in one hand and our list of chores in the other. Unlike my slouching back, she looked around the city with a sense of energy I couldn't match on a good day.

“And fifteen to go,” I sighed. Typically, the day’s chores were split amongst the unit, just enough to take an hour or two, but nowhere near enough to take up a section of the day. As a newbie, that wasn’t a privilege I had gained.

“Come on, Rin! It’s a beautiful day! The weather is actually nice for once. Cheer up!”

“I’d rather be enjoying this weather from bed,” I grumbled.

“Hold this,” Aila ignored me and shoved the bag of fresh bread into my hands. The familiar smell woke me up a bit, heat radiating from the bag into my chest. “Next on the list is hitting up the fruit stands. Are you ready to carry more?”

“I’ll be fine!”

“Great!” Aila’a energy felt infectious, even to my tired body.

As the dawn continued, the streets around us started to get a bit more crowded. It wasn’t the kind of crowd that would draw eyebrows like the masses in Shibuya, yet calling it a quiet gathering would be a lie. It was fun and festive without that hint of reservation that crowds typically gather.

At the same time, the energy felt more serene, time here being everything but of the essence.

“So this partner stuff, I don’t think you ever explained how that works,” I said.

“Did I not?” Aila asked as she handed some silver coins to a shopkeeper, receiving a massive bag of colorful fruit in return. “It's pretty simple. Just like how Urial and Gabriel fought side by side back in ancient times, all soldiers in the Gallai army have a partner that they train with, one man and one woman fighting together.”

A vision of me and Lilly fighting side by side popped up in my mind, a thought I quickly shoved aside. “For how long?”

“Well, until they quit or die.” Aila shrugged. “Soldiers get a year to choose their partner before one gets assigned to them. I’m pretty new to the city of Gallai, so, well, unlike the rest of Unit E, it proved to be a bit more difficult than I was expecting.”

“And that's where I came in,” my lips curled up in a smile. “I’m glad I could assist.”

“You don’t know how much you saved my life. Demihumans are pretty hard to find in this part of the world, and combined with the fact I'm in Unit E, there were a lot of people refusing to pick a partner for the chance of teaming up.”

“Every world is the same,” I said.

“Not that everyone had entirely crappy motivations! I mean, sure, a lot of partners do end up married. Not that I was thinking about that when I asked you to partner!” Aila shrank down as she realized exactly what she was implying.

“Anyway,” I said, desperate to change the topic. “You said you’re not from Gallai?”

“Most people haven’t heard of where I'm from, Gallai works.” For once, Aila’s voice felt sharp. I’d tapped on a nerve somehow. “Not on any map, nor the memories of anyone you will meet around these parts.”

“So you’re as much of a foreigner as I am.” I didn’t mean to pry; if she didn’t want to say, that was her business. I had been in this country for a few days, and discrimination had already been brought up more than once. Why would foreigners be any different?

“It would have been easier that way. My hometown wasn’t too far from here, not like anything here was particularly new.”

“Was?”

“Like I said, it’s not on any map these days.” Aila snapped. “We're falling behind, come on.”

“R-right” I said, startled at the sudden authority in her tone. Whatever nerve I stepped on clearly wasn’t any old wound.

                                                                             ֎ ֎ ֎

The blue sun shone just above the west as we reached the end of Aila’s scribbled list. Messy ink strikes covered the page where the tasks were completed one by one.

Both my arms held light bags of cloth and soap. With Aila running back and forth whenever our bags got too heavy, the weight I’d assumed would have been unbearable turned out to be a non-issue.

With a blue hue covering the streets, Gallai gained a bit of a mysterious feeling as the day went on. Every corner felt covered in a fog of light like that seen in a horror movie. It felt alien, something out of a movie compared to real life.

Yet even Japan had places like that, ones I was more than familiar with.

“One left!” Aila glanced down at the list, balancing a sack of potatoes on her leg. “Just eggs and milk left.” Luckily, her mood had reverted back to the excitable girl I was used to.

“One more chore and back to bed.”

“Bed?” Aila chucked. “You’re forgetting our morning exercises. I wish we got out of them, but Richard isn’t that nice.”

“They’re just exercises." I shrugged.

“Doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to them. Thinking of all that running makes my legs hurt.”

“Well, thinking about it will only make you more depressed. Nothing you can do to stop it?”

“Do you have to remind me like that?” Aila said.

I ignored her as we turned the corner. The same church from earlier cast a dull gray shadow on the streets we passed under, almost a simile for the grim reality behind these glowing steampunk pipes and fine suits.

With just one thing left, our schedules were technically somewhat free after that. I glanced down at my shoulder, the bright orange flames tattooed on my skin peaking out from my cloak.

“How do churches work in this world?” I asked Airi.

“Churches?” She asked. “I don't know, you go in and pray and stuff?”

“I can see you’ve not been to many. Do you think they would recognize my Senn?”

“There's a chance, but,” Airi hesitated for a second, deciding to continue on only after steadying herself. “The discrimination I mentioned earlier doesn’t come from the people or royal family. It’s the church that spreads the propaganda about foreign Senn users.”

“Then I have to beat a few priests up. No big deal.”

“I guess…”

“Come on,” I said, having more than made up my mind.

Aila crept up carefully behind my back. From the corner of my eye, her nervousness was plain to see, not that Aila was particularly great about concealing her emotions in the first place.

Standing in front of the massive wooden doors of the church gave a new sense of scale to everything. The carved gargoyles seemed to stare down at us. They sent a warning, threats of danger if we dared to step into the building. Their intricately carved teeth alone served to dampen the cadence in my step for a second.

Yet just a second.

“Ack,” the second my foot crossed onto the black and white tiled floors of the church, my head exploded with the feeling of a sword sticking out from my forehead.

“Rin?” Aila asked, concerned.

“I’m… Fine…” I grunted out, hobbling my way over to the nearest wooden pew. “Let me sit… down.” Pain was an annoyance at best, something people just had to push down and ignore till it went away.

Compared to stumbling in abandoned streets with blood running down my leg, a headache was nothing.

Nothing!

“Rin!” Aila’s shout echoed in the church as she caught my falling body.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Say that when you can stand on your own two feet.” She gently led me to the nearest pew, letting me lie flat on the hardwood. “What’s happening?”

“Stabbing… forehead.” My eyes watered and vision started to fade. “It’s just a minor–”

Internally, I cursed as sleep consumed me before my sentence finished.