Being a Daughter

"Mm. It looks good."

"Oh my! Miss Ruby, you look dashing in your apprenticeship attire!"

Ruby glances down at her clothes that came in earlier that evening. The white and red suit hangs on the rack to her right.

"Can I try on my suit?" Ruby asks as she points to it.

"Go ahead," the duke answers. "I have to see if they fitted it right."

Leyna and Fiona take Ruby into the bathroom for her to change. Duke Stoneborne and Raynold take a seat on a nearby chair in Ruby's room.

"I never knew that a girl would look so nice in men's clothing," Raynold comments as he fixes the duke a cup of tea.

"Yes, she does make the outfit work in her favor," the duke replies, taking a sip of the tea.

"However, won't the crown get in the way when she is training?"

"That's true. The crown isn't so big to be distracting, but it will become a nuisance if it keeps falling off. For now, she will just wear the mana bracelet when she is training. After training, she can put the crown back on."

"Father, do I look nice?" Ruby asks as she exits the bathroom in her white and red suit.

"Miss Ruby! You look incredibly handsome in the suit. The rose pin matches you perfectly," Raynold compliments with a wide smile.

"Thank you, Raynold."

The duke stands up and walks over to Ruby. "It fits you well. Do you like it?"

Ruby quickly nods her head. "Yes, Father. I like it very much."

A knock at the door attracts the duke and Ruby's attention. A maid and butler stand in the doorway announcing that dinner is ready.

"Ruby will change after dinner," Nicholas tells Leyna and Fiona.

"Understood, Your Grace," they reply with a small bow.

The duke holds out his hand to Ruby. "Let's go. Dinner will get cold if we delay any further."

Staring at her father's hand, Ruby sharply comments, "Do you like holding hands, Father?"

"It has become a habit today as you get lost easily since you are led by your curiosity. Don't think that I will be doing this every time we walk together."

Ruby slips her small hand into the duke's, and a small hint of a smile peaks from Ruby's lips. "Yes, Father," she responds as the two of them leave the room.

"Ruby just smiled, right?" Leyna whispers to Fiona.

"I saw that, too. Do you think it was intentional?" Fiona whispers back.

"You two aren't aware, but Ruby has been showing different emotions today," Raynold interjects as he slips behind the maids. "She is quickly experiencing different feelings. Maybe soon, she will develop a personality to fit who she is."

---

"My Lady! Are you okay?!" Norman asks, jumping from his spot to help Ruby up.

"I'm fine," Ruby answers as she pats the dirt off her clothes.

Earlier that morning, Taylor got Ruby dressed for her morning practice with the Order of the Eternal Stone.

"Lady Ruby, are you sure you want to train with the knights? It is unheard of for women to learn swordsmanship," Taylor says as she ties Ruby's hair in a neatly tight ponytail.

"Yes. I want to learn their dance and hear the sounds of swords clashing again."

"If you want to hear the swords, you can just visit the knights whenever you want. You don't have to risk getting hurt simply for the sound of swords."

Ruby stares at herself in the mirror. The faint light of the rising sun shines behind her.

"The knights were training hard even though it was just practice. When I visited them, I didn't quite understand what they were doing since I was very unaware of the world. I just liked the way they moved around. It was beautiful to watch. But now, I understand more. I understand that they are training in order to be ready for whenever the time comes to protect my father. They are strong.

"I want to be strong as well. I still don't quite understand what a daughter is supposed to do or what a family is, but I do know that despite my father's cold expression, he is doing his best to take care of me. I was found three days ago, so I don't have a strong position in this house. I want to at least be able to secure a spot so that I won't be discarded if I don't fulfill my duties as a daughter."

Taylor's hands pause in the middle of finalizing Ruby's hair. She gazes down at the child in front of her who didn't even know what happiness was when they first met.

"Lady Ruby, I may be overstepping, but I don't think that the duke will discard you solely for not being able to act like a proper daughter. You might not know because you were only here for three days, but I have been working at the Stoneborne Estate for over ten years. When I first started working here, I was terrified of being fired since I was only fifteen and kept messing up. However, the duke didn't fire me. He simply glared at me and walked away, but he didn't say or do anything. After a while, I was able to perform my duties as a maid, and the duke's glare occurred less and less.

"What I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to mess up while trying to figure out what it is that you are supposed to do. From my experience as a daughter, daughters are a father's source of happiness and light. Yeah, you and your father might not always see eye to eye, but at the end of the day, he will still see you as the most precious person in the world. You're still young, so you are allowed to get in trouble and make a mess since that is what we are expecting -no- wanting you to do. You don't have to grow up too fast worrying about your place in this house. You are only ten, so you have several more years until you grow up."

---

"Do you want to take a break?" Norman asks after knocking Ruby down for the fifteenth time.

"No, I have to get this right," Ruby says as she wipes the sweat from her face.

"You don't have to get it right immediately. You just started so you're going to be bad at first."

"I'll be fine. Let's continue." Ruby gets into the proper stance that Norman taught her earlier.

"First position!" Norman yells. Ruby jumps aiming for the top of Norman's head. Norman quickly blocks, then yells, "Fifth position!" Ruby uses Norman's overhead block to push her back. She digs her feet into the ground then races to Norman aiming for his stomach. This time, Norman doesn't block but raises his arms to strike Ruby's exposed back. "Vertical block!" Quickly, Ruby spins herself around and lifts the wooden sword over her body to block Norman's strike. This causes Ruby to be slammed onto the ground which briefly knocks the wind out of her.

"Lady Ruby! My apologies! I didn't realize that I used so much strength." Norman swiftly sits Ruby up and pats her back to help her breath a bit.

"Princess!" the other knights yell as they run to Ruby's side after seeing her gasping for air.

"Are the knights still beautiful and graceful?" the duke asks as he enters the training ground.

"We greet the Duke of Stoneborne!" the knights announce as they kneel in front of the duke.

"Your Grace. My apologies. I didn't mean to hit Lady Ruby so hard," Norman says while still rubbing Ruby's back.

The duke looks down at Ruby who is still recovering from her latest fall. "It is not too late to stop. If you so wish, I can bring you-"

"No," Ruby interrupts as she tries to stand up. She coughs a bit more but soon composes herself, glaring right back at the duke. "I will continue. This is something that I requested from you, and I will see it through. I will learn quickly and exceed your expectations."

"Hm?" The duke smirks as he and Ruby openly glare at each other.

"How is she able to stand her ground like that?" one of the knights whispers.

"I wouldn't be able to last two seconds with His Grace glaring at me like that."

"She is so small yet is able to withstand such a deadly glare."

"Your Grace, you said that you weren't going to interfere with Miss Ruby's training," Raynold states as he steps up beside the duke. "Yet here you are being just as childish as Ruby."

Duke Stoneborne straightens himself up and sets a hand on Ruby's head. "You are a stubborn yet strong child. I will let you continue your training. I would like to see how far you go before you give up."

The duke and Raynold leave the training grounds with everyone in awe of Ruby.

"Shall we continue?" Norman awkwardly asks.