The Defiant Blue, Part I

The Imperial camp was a monotonic place.

Muddy ground of grey. Closely arranged tents of pale white. In the light of the setting sun, all had been dyed in a blood orange colour, painting another shade of red onto the red-black uniforms of forgettable soldiers and their standard flying overhead. In the howling wind, the flag --- with its double-headed eagle on an iron cross --- flew proudly from the flagpole, as if it was watching over the vast lands of the empire. Which, of course, extends far beyond that nameless camp; dozens, no, hundreds of such nameless camps must have existed beyond the horizon, beyond the land’s end, in the embrace of the blood orange sunlight.

But in a sea of red, there was defiance.

In majestic blue a man stood, resolutely and yet defiantly, on the red-tainted ground. In a neatly buttoned up blazer and with a beret on his head, the man was about the same age or a bit older than myself, yet his harsh turquoise eyes and tall build expressed a sternness that I never had. But what really set him apart from the rest of the soldiers was neither the colour of his uniform, nor his towering height; it was the insignia he wore on his marine blue beret:

A white dove that spreads its wings over a bronze bell. The insignia of the Kalumar Republic.

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“May the wings of liberty always protect you, the Witch’s representative and Princess Augusta. I am James Venezia, a Lieutenant in the 4th Dragoon Regiment of the Kalumar Army. I am here to represent my country in this investigation. I hope we can work well together in the future.”

Without respecting Imperial etiquette nor sounding obviously insulting, the Republic’s representative gave us a traditional Republican greeting --- one that was barely diplomatically acceptable. Perhaps, it was only natural that he did so: me aside, the princess was undoubtedly his enemy. If not for the temporary truce signed to conduct the investigation, the two might have pointed their sabres at each other.

“Likewise. I am Augusta Claudia Eugenia von Clausewitz, Lieutenant in the Archian Division of the Imperial Army.” The princess replied with her usual coldness; she had no intention to return the Republican greeting with an Imperial one. “Please call me Claudia. ‘Augusta’ is too grand of a name for a simple soldier like me.”

“I didn’t know you hated your own name, Princess Augusta.” I smirked, to the chagrin of the princess. “That aside. May the bells of equality always reach you, Kalumar’s representative.” I returned the Republican greeting. “I am Grey, and I am here on behalf of Dandelion. I hope we can get along well, Lieutenant Venezia.”

“Please just call me James.” The soldier in blue replied. His face still as serious as ever, he nevertheless seemed pleased that I answered his greeting. “I heard you are the great Witch’s rumoured assistant; your wisdom must know no bounds, like the great Witch herself. We will need your expertise in magic in the investigation, and I am sure you will prove our innocence. I look forward to working with you, Grey.”

“What ‘innocence’?” The princess interjected. “The shell was found on your side of the frontline. I am not sure what ‘innocence’ you lot can have. Even now, you are trying to influence the investigation by getting friendly with Her Excellency’s assistant---”

The soldier in blue was incensed. “What? It was clearly one of your schemes. How come the famed soldier princess happened to fight on this tiny, unimportant island, happened to get into a skirmish, and happened to find a used shell then escape unharmed? You aristocrats are good at nothing but your dirty schemes…”

“Me? Scheming? That’s rich, coming from a bluecoat like you.” The princess retorted, a fire lighting in her crimson eyes. “Don’t you remember how many times you bluecoats treacherously broke the truces? And now you are resorting to forbidden weapons. Do you even have a silver of honour in your body, you unrefined barbarian?”

“You redcoats did the same! Do you know how many comrades I lost because of the Empire?” The soldier’s gaze contained no less anger than the princess’s. “Didn’t ‘your highness’ sent out poor common men to ambush us, while you sat back at the camp and sipped your tea and ate your cake? You long---”

“Are you about to call me a long-ear?” The princess raised her voice, her fists clenched in anger.

The soldier in blue stopped mid-sentence, realising that the entire camp now had their eyes on him. While the Vertian Protocols granted investigators immunity from repercussions, and while the princess was not exactly polite, he realised that uttering that slur would not have been acceptable, especially in a camp filled with enemy soldiers from diverse races. Bloodlust was in the air; regardless, the Republic’s representative did not want to be seen surrendering to enemies’ threats.

I decided to give him a hand.

“So, that L-word is a racial slur?” I pretended that I did not know and asked the princess.

The princess, having regained her cool and realised my intent, replied. “Yes, Mr Assistant. You are still new to this world, so you might not know this yet. It is incredibly insulting to people that have non-human ancestry, and therefore it’s a taboo word in the Empire.”

“Oh. James, shouldn’t you apologise to the princess then? I am not sure about here, but in my world, racial slurs are not acceptable.”

“If that is what the great Witch’s representative wants, then I should do so.” The soldier in blue, still standing defiantly, replied. “I apologise for my discourtesy, Princess Claudia. Please forgive my transgressions.”

“I accept your apology. Please don’t do it again.” Without apologising for her own rudeness, the princess changed the topic. “Let’s get going. If we hurry now, we should still be able to get to the site before sunset.”

“Wait. We are still tired from the trip, and even if we get there before sunset, we won’t be able to come back before the night falls. Shouldn’t we rest here tonight and start the investigation tomorrow? Please?” I pleaded the princess; I was in no condition for further travelling.

“I am doing this for you, Mr Assistant. Didn’t you want to finish the investigation sooner?”

“But then we will have to camp for the night---”

“That was always the plan though?” The princess seemed perplexed. “We have to search a large area over several days, so it is not practical to travel back and forth from the camp. Besides, it is not like we can have James staying at the camp after that.”

“…I am sorry, Grey.” The soldier apologised to me.

“Now, all the eyes are still on us. Quit yapping and go---”