Home Life and Training (Part 2)

We finished our lunch quickly this time, with minimal bullshitting on the table. We tried to pry some hints of the next training session from our father, but he didn't budge. Instead, we tried to ask our mom what she did for her training.

She told us that the day after their wedding with Maximilian, our father, that Julius, our grandfather made her do a six-month long crash course on all things Kaiser. Their honeymoon, even if our dad grumbled could only really be held after Jade had become a full-fledged Kaiser. And so, she told us about how she had to learn about the roller coaster history of the Kaiser family. She had to run half marathons for a full month, survive in the deepest, uninhabited places known to man-kind for a full month, and learn all sorts of combat skills. After the six-month crash course, Jade wasn't the pure, sweet woman that Max had married. She became a hardened veteran that wouldn't take any bullshit from Max anymore.

Throughout all this, we could see our father's face twitch and twist whenever he remembered what was supposed to be their lovey-dovey honeymoon. His deep sighs showing how he longed to go back to the innocent Jade he once knew.

We knew that it was all very superficial, and that his regrets were just part of his antics. If anything, Max fell even more in love with Jade after all she went through for him and their future family. He would never tell anyone this, but we all knew that he secretly just didn't want to face such a strict wife that didn't find any of his sarcasm or quirks funny.

With newfound respect for our mother, Mary and I walked out into our yard.

(A/N: To not confuse anyone, I will switch from first person into an omniscient POV at times, while some transitions may be seamless, some will not. It's not as easy as you may think! Thank you for understanding)

The Kaiser estate used to be a huge piece of property in Germany. As nobility, the Kaisers used to have their own castle and a town. The family used to own the land that was part of the town, but nobility had no real power anymore. Thus, the family sold the land to the state at a fairly good price a couple of generations ago. Although the money was useful, the Kaiser's were already prosperous, and it made no real impact on their financial situation. Now, the Kaiser's owned their main estate just outside the town of Kaiser in the north-eastern part of Germany that was about 1 km squared.

When we walked out to the yard, father started talking about the training.

"Alright kids, until you've completed these next set of instructions, you'll be training separately."

Mary and I looked at each other with relieved faces. I think we both wanted some time to do our own exercises after four, long years of running side by side. Although we loved each other and helped each other whenever we could, I think we both wanted to see our individual potentials and how far we could go alone.

"While you may be sad that I'm splitting you two up, it's necessary. Alex, let's start with you."

"From now on, you will be focused on strength building in the mornings, and combat in the

afternoons. Although I say that, it will not be so simple, as you are probably already aware," he said with a sly smile on his face.

"From when I finish telling you your instructions until I say you're done, you will wear this little suit I have carrying on my shoulder 24/7 under your clothes, " he said as he dropped this grey, bulky looking thing onto the floor. And with a big thump as the suit hit the floor, I now understood my father's intentions.

With a big gulp, I ask, "How heavy is it?"

Thirty kilograms."

"Holy !@#!" muttered Mary as she glanced and me and tried to hold in her mocking laughter.

"But..." I said as I tried to find my words carefully as to not anger father, "Won't this much weight somehow stunt my growth. I want to be at least 187cm when I grow up!" Although to my father this just seemed like a random number, to me, it was a carefully calculated number that would increase my chances at becoming an actor.

What pride? What honor? I'm going through all this training to become an actor.

Oh, and for that sweet, sweet cash baby.

I can't wait to finally finish my training and get that inheritance money we were promised at eighteen.

Not knowing what was going through my mind, my father retorted, "That's a myth. And even if it did, some of the fiercest warriors have been small. Just look at your grandfather, he's barely 160 cm at his age and I can barely touch a hair of his... not that I'd even want to."

"Yes, father. You have a point. Grandpa Julius is indeed a fierce fighter," I said as if acknowledging his outrageous point.

Anyway, I weigh around sixty kilograms, so suddenly becoming 50% heavier is going to be tough. I probably shouldn't even worry about my future height yet, but my present problem with this insane training.

"So, with this suit on, I expect you to do a multitude of exercises in the morning that I will administer to you each morning. Now, since it's the afternoon, I'm going to tell you a bit about the combat exercises."

"You will be expected to spar with me for four hours. You'll get a 5 minute break every 25 minutes. That'll be all. If you touch me, then I will discontinue the spar for the rest of the afternoon. Easy enough right?"

This was going to be intense. Other than my losing to my grandfather, I don't think I've ever seen my father lose a fight.

"Yes, sir!" I said resolutely, with pride and honor.

"Now, Mary. I see that you think Alex has it tough, just wait until you hear this."

"No, father, you have it all wrong. My profanity was just a show of compassion to my dear brother Alex in his future training," said Mary as she tried her best to put on an innocent face.

"Hmph. Well, in any case. You will be running."

"What the !@#!," she abruptly shouted before she held her hands up to her mouth as if she could retrieve the words she uttered back.

"Watch your mouth, young lady. If I hear you say any more of those words, I will tell your mother," he said as if to threaten her before he silently muttered, "... and we both don't want that"

"Did you say something, father?" I said, pretending I hadn't heard him, just to save him some face.

"Ah, nothing! Ahem, you, young lady, will be running. However, I have designed an obstacle course for you. Your goal is to complete the course of a mere five km in under 20 minutes. I know you can run it in around 16 on a straight track and with no obstacles, perhaps even faster. However, the challenge will be for you to keep up pace as you avoid all the obstacles. This is not a simple course either. Your body will be stretched to its limits. You will be forced to bend, jump, and maneuver in ways you didn't think was possible."

"This will be during the mornings, as I can't spar with Alex and also watch you. During the afternoons, you will have to focus on your footwork and flexibility in order to prepare you for the obstacle course."

"COOL! So I will be doing parkour? I always liked watching those videos online! Thanks dad!"

"Don't thank me yet, let's go see the obstacle course I designed for you."