A few days passed as they reached halfway through their journey to Leilesse.
Morning time came around, the time just passed 8:20 when Claire was abruptly woken up by the sound of the ship's horn.
She opened her eyes, immediately sitting up onto her bed before looking left and right. It took her a moment to realise where she was.
"Good morning," she heard a voice from below. Following where the voice came from, Claire's eyes met Gina, kneeling by her suitcase, rummaging through it. "The horn must have woken you up.".
As if it was her reply, Claire yawned at her words. "Yeah...". A brief pause followed. "Good morning to you too. What's the time?".
She spectated Gina as she turned to get her pocket watch out of her pocket. Opening it, she saw the time. "8:21 in the morning," she spoke as she placed the watch back into her pocket.
"8:21?... I slept in..." Claire laughed ever so slightly.
"I don't blame you... we had those drinks at the bar last night," Gina replied. "You passed away in an instant when we came back into the room.".
"It's just what alcohol does to me. I get very tired before I can get drunk," Claire spoke. "So I wasn't even tipsy.".
"I'd be surprised if you were, we merely had anything," Gina giggled ever so slightly.
"Just how I like it," Claire replied to Gina's words through a smile. "I like to have a small drink. Nothing too much...".
"And as it should be. What we had last night, that you can only call a celebratory drink. If anyone asks why we drank while on duty, that's gonna be our 'excuse' if you will," Gina spoke as another small smile grew on her lips.
"You're making it sound as if we were the only ones who had a drink," Claire said through a small smile, her eyes remaining on Gina.
Yesterday, they got the news that the enemies have begun to crack under the pressure. A few of the outposts they took over have been taken back by the allies.
"If we and our allies continue at this rate, we will win the war," Gina added after a second of silence.
"Hopefully..." Claire muttered under her breath as her gaze descended to her hands. 'I hope this war will end soon. The sooner it does... the sooner we can go home, Garrett.'.
With that, a brief moment of silence descended amongst the two women.
"Wanna go and get breakfast together?" Gina inquired, lifting her eyes from the briefcase and looking up at Claire.
Claire nodded. "Yeah, sure.". Then, just like a few moments ago, a pause followed. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go and get freshened up before we go.".
"Of course, feel free. Go at it. You know where the bathrooms are, ye?".
"Yeah, sure, there's one right across from the food hall," Claire replied.
"You actually have one closer to us. If you go right now and then take another right. Go straight forward, take a left and to your right, you will see the bathrooms. On top of that, those have showers. Just realised that this morning myself," Gina said.
Claire raised her brows to Gina's words. "Thank you, thank you so much, Gina. I didn't think they'd have those aboard.".
"Me neither... Now go, I'll be waiting for you here and then we can both go and get some food," Gina replied as a friendly smile took its place on her lips.
Claire kept her eyes on Gina. She, too, smiled at Gina's words. Then she kneeled down beside her luggage. There, she took the travel bag which was handed out on their first night onboard the ship. With the bag, she also took clean clothes before she began her way to the door. "Okay. I'll see you in a bit.".
With those words, she turned the knob of the door before exiting their room. Closing the door behind her, she began her way towards the bathrooms.
While she walked, she let her mind reflect upon last night. She remembered everything up until the moment when her face hit the pillow of her bed.
With that, a thought entered her head. Throughout the whole night, she didn't see Gabriel anywhere.
'Where was he?' She thought to herself. 'Was it because of me?...'.
She was about to turn the corner as Gina told her when all of a sudden, she was kicked out of her thought when she abruptly stopped in front of someone, who was also turning the corner.
An olive green suit was all that Claire saw. Then, she rose her gaze up to see the face of the person who stood only centimetres away from her. And when she did, her eyes widened.
That was right before her chest ached ever so slightly as she looked into his eyes. Gabriel's eyes.
There, in his eyes, she saw an emotion similar to hers. She also felt a strange sensation of melancholy swirling in the pit of her stomach as his eyes remained looking into hers.
"Gabriel..." she called out his name quietly. Then, moving her gaze more up his head only then did she notice that his hair was wet.
A small smile appeared on his lips as he heard her voice. "Good morning," he spoke back gently as he held a bag in his hands. He just finished showering.
They stood in front of each other, not moving an inch as they looked at one another.
Blinking herself out of their small staring competition, she cleared her throat. "Good morning to you too...". Just as she was about to finish her sentence, a fellow soldier of theirs passed by. "Captain.". At that moment, she evaded calling him by his first name. Her eyes moved between Gabriel and the person who just passed them.
Once they were all alone again, they both averted their attention back to one another.
After a few seconds of silence, a small smile appeared on Claire's lips. "Did you hear the news?".
"About our allies? Of course, I did. I was one of the first ones who found out," he spoke as a smile made its way to his lips too. Then, he cleared his throat, "Were you at the small celebration last night?".
She nodded her head before covering her mouth as a yawn caught her by surprise only seconds later.
"Yeah, I went down to the bar with my roommate, Gina," she replied after lowering her hand from her mouth. "And you? Were you there too?".
'Maybe... maybe he was there, somewhere among the crowd...' she thought to herself.
But her through was proven wrong when he shook his head to her words. "No, I couldn't go. Had quite a bit of work in the office.".
"Oh... oh, I see..." Claire replied as she felt her cheeks go red ever so slightly. She felt slight embarrassment when she thought back to her reasoning behind Gabriel not attending last night's celebration was because of her. 'I can't believe that I managed to, in a way, convince myself that his reasoning behind last night was as petty as him not wanting to see me. He's the Captain, he is busy... more than busy to have us on his mind. To have me on his mind.'.
Nonetheless, she was more than relieved to know that it wasn't because of her that he didn't go down to celebrate alongside them.
Then, Gabriel's voice kicked her out of her trance.
"I do have to go now," he began. "But if you need me for anything, you know where to find me. I'll be in my office.".
Claire nodded to his words.
Content with her reply, Gabriel gave her another smile before he walked on past her.
When he left, Claire turned around and kept her gaze on his back. She watched him walking further away from that corner where they both ran into one another.
Seconds later, a small smile appeared on her lips, it showed the slight bit of serenity she felt at that moment. The relief she still felt and the way that her chest stopped aching, much unlike how she felt at the very beginning of their conversation only minutes ago.
Slowly, Claire felt as if she began to understand his words, to stay close to him. To go closer if she wished. "But not to get too close..." she muttered under her breath.
She cursed herself for saying such words. They acted like a wrecking ball to the peace that she just now managed to build up. There, once more, she felt her chest ache ever so slightly.
The smile on her lips ceased as she averted her eyes down to the ground before, just like Gabriel, she walked off, heading her own way.
---
A few more days passed before they reached Leilesse.
Both Gina and Claire grabbed their things before they joined the crowd of people who waited to disembark the ship.
When they did, they walked down a wooden platform, just like the one in Veursau, when they were boarding the vessel.
Unlike in Veursau, the weather in Leilesse was much cooler. There were much more clouds present in the sky and the wind that blew, it held some sort of coldness, unlike in Veursau, where the breeze had a pleasant warmth to it.
Nevertheless, the coldness offered them all some much-needed refreshment from the tropical climate Verusau had.
Both Claire and Gina got onto the tarmac of the port. Assuming others knew where to go, they followed the crowd.
"For it being my very first sail out on the sea..." Gina began. "That was very enjoyable.".
Claire laughed ever so slightly at her words.
Before their conversation could have continued any further. "Claire!". She knew whose voice it was that called out her name.
Turning towards the voice, her eyes landed on Gabriel who seemed to be waiting for her. She looked back at Gina, who looked at her.
"Go, go, go. He called you for a reason," Gina said to Claire. "Either way, when you get back, we will see each other later.". And with a small, Gina gave Claire a brief hug before she continued walking with the crowd as Claire went over to Gabriel.
"Is everything okay, Captain?" Claire asked when she stood in front of him with people upon people passing them by.
All he did was greet her with a slight smile. "Yes," he replied. Then he proceeded on adding, "I believe I mentioned to you that our camp is approximately 20-30 minutes away from Agluf...". He paused when he noticed Claire's facial expression change ever so slightly. "I have organised a car," with him saying those words, he turned around.
Following his gaze, Claire's eyes come across a black coloured car, parked behind all the busses.
Getting what he was trying to put down, all that Claire managed to mutter out was his name. "G-Gabriel...".
Hearing her call out his name, his attention returned back to her.
"If you would like, I will be more than willing to drive you to Agluf so that you can see your brother. That is if his force is still there.".
Upon hearing his words, Claire felt her chest tighten as her eyes immediately welled with tears. A smile, unlike any of hers he had seen before, appeared on her lips.
"Y-you would do that for me?" Claire asked. She felt a lump grow in her throat.
"Of course!" Gabriel exclaimed, his eyes widening. He was surprised she'd even ask him such a question. "He's your damn brother, so of course I'd drive you to see him.".
Then, her smile receded ever so slightly and Gabriel noticed this.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"What is they see me, if they see us in the car, together?" Claire asked. "Am I even allowed to be with you in the car?".
Gabriel clenched his jaw ever so slightly to her words. He moved closed to Claire before he whispered, "I'm the Captain of you, and everyone you see around yourself. I can make or abolish rules. I am the authority, so long as you all are under my supervision.". A pause followed his words. "And to answer your other question yes, you are allowed to be in a car with me.".
He took a step back as his eyes returned to looking Claire in the eyes. And as he looked at her, he thought over her words, the question she asked him.
He couldn't help but smile.
"So, do I even have to ask?" He inquired, his smile not leaving his lips. "I pretty much saw the answer in your eyes.".
---
In the car, which followed the busses in front of it, were both Claire and Gabriel.
The ride was silent. Gabriel had his eyes out on the road, as Claire looked out the passenger window at the landscape that surrounded them both.
"It's so beautiful... the land, the hills...". Then, turning around and looking out Gabriel's window, she looked out at the mountains that rose above the horizon, "And then... there... the mountains.".
Turning back around, Claire failed to notice the smile that appeared on Gabriel's lips. He smiled at the pure awe that Claire was in.
"First time in Leilesse, I assume?".
"Yeah..." She replied, a sheepish smile forming on her lips as she lowered her eyes down to her feet.
Still keeping his eyes out on the road, a green board caught his gaze, telling him how far the various towns and cities were from them.
"We are almost by our camp. In a short while, the busses will take a left turn. But we will continue heading straight forward," Gabriel told to Claire.
And just as he said, the busses turned and they drove past them, heading straight forward.
Claire continued looking out at the landscape, her eyes scanning everything they saw. Then, a swirling in the pit of the stomach began to occur.
They are getting closer to Agluf. She is getting closer to her brother.
"Are you excited, Claire?" asked Gabriel.
"I mean, I don't want to have my hopes up, but yes, yes I am. Very. I just hope he is still there. That he is still safe. I really hope so. I missed him, I missed him a lot, a lot," she replied. Speaking of him only caused her eyes to once again well with tears as she tried to fight them, keep them at bay.
"I bet," Gabriel replied, it was all he was able to say. The sadness that spread within him made it hard for him to carry on with the conversation. He felt what Claire did right that moment, he empathized with her.
With that, he swallowed down the lump that was in his throat as silence once more spread within the car.
Then, the sound of a plane was heard, its engines roaring above them.
In an instant, both Claire and Gabriel looked up into the sky. They both eyed the plane.
From the plane, Claire lowered her gaze towards Gabriel. She saw the way he had his gaze on the plane, before looking back down at the road and up at the plane again.
"... What the fuck is that plane doing here?..." he muttered under his breath, loud enough for Claire to hear. When she did, she wished she hadn't heard those words of his. "One thing is for sure, that's not a passenger plane," he added. Something else Claire wished she didn't hear.
"Is it safe if we continue then, Gabriel?" Claire asked.
She felt Gabriel slow down the car before he turned on a blinker and moved off the road. There he stopped as he looked up. The airplane was too high in the sky, surfing through clouds, in order for him to make out as to whether it was a friendly or an enemy.
"Nothing we did thus far was safe," Gabriel spoke back as he sat back with his hands interlocking themselves as his arms rested on his thighs. "It seems like it's only one plane and it looks like it's heading towards Agluf. Maybe it's doing a circle to turn around, I don't know.". Then, he turned his head and looked back. "But look, look at all the other cars on the road," he said, referring to all the other vehicles that drove past them. Not that there was an overwhelming amount out and about. Then he added, "On top of that, we are heading into a town that's out of the battlefield. Unless the enemies found out their hideout in Agluf, it shouldn't be within boundaries of the battlefield.".
He looked at Claire who had her eyes on him, worry all too present in her gaze. "It rarely ever happens, if the force is stealthy enough," he spoke back up, in hope that his words brought Claire that bit more reassurance.
"I mean if you think it's safe enough..." Claire began before she gave up on her attempt to continue with her sentence. There she let out a slight rush of air. "I-I just want to see him, hear from him that he is okay, you know?".
Gabriel nodded to her words.
With that, nothing else was said. He placed his hand back on the clutch before shifting the gear. From there, he pressed the gas pedal and continued off their drive towards Agluf.
Seconds later, they passed another green board. This time, the board contained 'Agluf' on it.
"We'll be there in about 10 minutes," Gabriel said, keeping his eyes out on the road.
Throughout that time, silence ruled both Gabriel and Claire. The only sound audible was the engine as it ran, powering the car.
Then, the sound of the blinker was heard as Gabriel took a turn. There, appearing on the landscape were buildings. Claire looked at them as they appeared bigger the closer they got to them.
"I-is that Agluf?" Claire asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's Agluf," Gabriel replied as they drove by a sign.
A sign that said 'Welcome to Agluf'.