Training Desperately

The next day went by slowly. Despite the long training the evening before, Katherine felt not an ounce of fatigue. Instead, she felt very lively and refreshed and took her trainer for another bout of practice right after breakfast. The same could be said about lunch.

Somehow, Katherine seemed to have gained an unending amount of energy after her long sleep. Even Jack found it astonishing, and where usually the trainer tortured the learner, it was soon the other way around. Despite the cold air, perspiration had collected on Jack's brows only hours after midday.

"Another try", Katherine demanded after landing on her back for who-knows-how-many times, and sprang to her feet again. The motion looked much like that of a willow sprout that barely touched the ground when bend and then jumped up again. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. Come on, Jack!"

Jack wiped the sweat off his face with a wry grin before he got back in position. For the first time in his life, he felt as old as he was. The hooting and cheering of the guards off-duty that had gathered around the training field for a while now, only made it worse. How come he felt already so spent when the Lady, untrained as she was, was still lively like a grasshopper? This wasn't natural. No, of course it wasn't, since it was his daughter. His daughter was the best in everything.

When Katherine smiled brilliantly at the crowd, his underlings were not the only ones who swooned. However, Jack had to pay the price for being distracted when her dagger came suddenly flying for his chest.

"This is not a throwing dagger!", he barked and barely dodged it. The sharp blade still made a scratch on the leather armor of his shoulder.

"Oh, come on!" Katherine laughed. "I didn't even hit you once! It's like you read my mind! So I had to try it differently. I can't get out of my lesson without making a scratch again!"

The guards who heard her roared with laughter, shouting: "Careful, leader! She discovered your secret!"

"Yes, beat him up for us! He can't do anything about you!"

"Go for it, your Highness!"

Jack tried glaring at them but ended up laughing along.

"With this scratch in the leather, you did more than any of those drunkards in their first week of training", he confined with her when he caught his breath. "You hear that, boys? Try harder if you don't want to get beaten by her Highness soon!"

More laugher followed from the sidelines and Katherine got the feeling that this comment was not to be taken all-so seriously. Nonetheless, she grinned at him while stretching her arms. "Thanks, Jack. Let's try it again though. I'm positive I can hit you one more time without trickery till midnight."

When Jack groaned, she added with a smirk: "Or should I go lightly on an old man as yourself and send you to sleep?"

The provocation hit its mark, making Jack straighten again. "I can always take on a rookie. For now, you are nothing more than that. Bring it on, Milady!"

However, despite these proud words, fatigue caught up with Jack before the sun went down and with wobbly legs, he switched with one of his all-too-willing colleagues, namely Dorian. This guard was a bit younger, a bit healthier - especially his eyes - , and yet less polished in his movements. All in all, he was by far enough to deal with Katherine for another few hours.

Before going to the sidelines, however, Jack left one last advice: "You know, Milady, you don't need to train so hard. All of us guards would jump at the first sight of a threat for you, and I don't think the prince would be any different. So, why do you want to train so desperately? You should take it more slowly."

Katherine's face dimmed a bit. "It's nice to know you are there, but if I can't fight for myself, I will always be a hindrance to all of you. The war is coming soon, and the kidnapping showed me how weak I still am. I don't have much time - especially since it seems like we will move again - so I want to get as much training as I can in these days. Who knows when the next chance will be?"

She looked around the meadow as if they would leave right now and she wanted to take a last glance at the scenery. Her smile when her eyes met Jack's again was melancholic.

Then, though, she seemed to think of something, and her expression found back to the usual brightness. "By the way, Jack, Nathaniel told me Pete is doing better in the capital. His wounds are healing well."

"I heard", Jack replied with a nod. What he didn't tell her though, was that the short letter Pete had somehow sent to him yesterday also implied he would retire.

'I doubt I will be healthy in time for the big war, my friend', he had written. 'I can't limp into battle, so I might as well take this as a sign to start a new life now. We will soon be too old for a soldier anyway. I dream of making myself a home in the countryside and who knows, maybe I will even marry. If you ever get tired of fighting, you can come over and rest at my place. Until then, just take care of the prince and princess in my stead.'

Reading the letter, Jack had ridiculed the thought that the great warrior named 'the wall' would ever think himself inadequate to fight again. This was a warrior that would never tire, never admit defeat.

Yet, after today, Jack wondered if it wasn't the truth - they were getting old. And all the youngsters out there, some trained by their own hands, would slowly overpower them. But not now.

Jack inwardly shook his head with a grin. Different from Pete, he didn't believe it was already time for retirement. The upcoming war was one of the biggest ever brewing in the history of the Icelands. He would be a fool if he didn't take part in it.

One more time he wanted to feel the thrill of the fight deep down in his bones. Maybe then, he would be satisfied and retire. Yet, he doubted it. Fighting was his life, his job as well as his obsession. If the adrenaline didn't pulse through his veins anymore, he didn't know what else could take its place.

.

It was late in the night when Katherine finally entered her chambers. She was exhausted, but glad. With the training today, she felt like she could soon protect herself - at least against the regular thugs. Actually, her high energy level over the day was partially thanks to her strong will, but also thanks to her magic.

The evening before, after her first training, she had noticed a slight glow on her skin that bettered the aching of her limbs. Figuring out that it was her magic, she had since deliberately used a light pulse of it to wash through her body whenever she felt an ounce of exhaustion. And it looked like it worked wonders. After a whole day of pushing herself further magically, there was not the slightest pain in her limbs, yet she could still feel the sleepiness slowly sink into her as the aftereffect of her magic running low.

With a yawn, she stretched. The only things she wanted now, were a hot bath and her bed. However, before she could call for the former, it knocked on the door.

"Katherine, are you back yet?"

Katherine's eyes lit up like sunshine when she recognized the voice of her husband, but then her gaze grew troubled. She was still in her sweaty, muddy training attire, and her hair looked like someone deliberately sprinkled it with leaves and dirt. "Just a moment, my dear!"