Homestead

As predicted, we arrived mid-afternoon the next day. Before we reached the farm though, we travelled through a large and busy village, where everybody seemed to know who we were. 

Honestly, it probably took two hours to travel what should have taken twenty minutes, we were stopped and greeted so many times. Eventually, we pulled up outside the most impressive looking building I'd seen so far. Made of white stone, and four stories high, with a spire rising up even further than that.

My mothers picked me off the wagon and plonked me down on the cobbled street, and then Lissa knelt down, facing me, holding my hands.

"This is the Blessed Mother's temple," she told me in a serious tone. "I'm asking you to be very respectful please, Theodore. This is very important to me. Do you understand?"

"I do mother," I replied, sincerely. "I shall behave."

"Well, to be honest, I didn't expect otherwise," she laughed. "However, it was important for you to know what this place is. Come on."

Lissa stood up again, and, holding my hand, walked towards the temple.

Before we could arrive, the doors were flung open, and a stream of nuns erupted from the place.

"Blessed!" many of them cried, in a gleeful fashion. 

Maybe I was the only one to hear Lissa sigh.

A young nun, a very attractive one I noted, ran up to Lissa and hugged her, before having to give way to several others, who did the same. I was nearly trampled underfoot, until they spotted me that is, whereupon I was mobbed in a similar fashion to when I had been in the baths, although obviously these women were clothed. I did remember though, rather sadly, that these were Blessed Mother nuns, and as such would not be interested in my manly charms, once I had developed them.

In any case, I endured, ha! Endured. I enjoyed being fawned over and cuddled, something that finally ended when an older woman, silver haired, with a stern face and a body that would be described as 'handsome' arrived on the scene.

"Sister Lissa," she said to Lissa, performing a shallow bow, as the other nuns scrambled to make space.

"Mother Superior," Lissa replied, giving a deeper bow in return. "How lovely to see you all again, it has been too long."

"It has indeed." The woman nodded to Rath, who was standing a few paces behind, and then looked at me, and smiled. "And this is your son then?"

"Theodore, yes," Lissa said. "Theo…"

I was expecting something like this, so I bowed deeply. "Blessed Mother, it is an honour."

"Oh! How well spoken he is! How mature!" The Mother Superior exclaimed. 

"He's something all right." Lissa looked back at Rath. "Do you want to take Theo home? I shall catch up."

"Of course." Rath held a hand out to me. 

I gave another small bow to the nuns, which produced another bout of murmuring, and then ran back to accompany Rath back to the wagon. I didn't often run, I reflected. I should do more of it. It was something my body number one hadn't done in too many years, except for a few rather harrowing chases in dark alleys on occasion.

Waving to Lissa and the nuns, we set off again, making faster progress as the houses began to thin out a little. We were soon following a winding lane through well-tended fields, full of strange crops, and interspersed with large trees sporting red-orange leaves, like it was autumn. 

"They are oro trees," Rath explained, when I asked. "They are native to this part of the world and produce a delicious, sweet fruit in late summer. They can be eaten raw, or squeezed for the juice, or used in baking. Your mother makes a wonderful oro cake. Oh, I've missed tasting that!"

I smiled at Rath's enthusiasm. Usually my fighting mother was quite serious, but when it came to Lissa, she was as soft as marshmallow. Which they didn't have in this world, at least as far as I knew. 

The oro trees grew thicker, although never thick enough to be classes as woodland, and so I didn't see the farm until we rounded a corner. 

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Indeed it is little one. It's taken a few years, but welcome home."

The house was a large affair, made of white stone with wooden beams embedded, and a grey slate roof. It was sitting in a clearing, with a path leading to the front door, and surrounded by flowers.

"How beautiful," I said.

"It is. Oh, I should have waited for Lissa. We should be coming back here together." Rath, wiped at her eyes, uncharacteristically emotional.

Placing a hand on her knee, I leaned into her. "I'm here mother, and don't worry, we'll have plenty of time together."

Sniffing, Rath smiled down at me and hugged me with one arm, nearly squeezing the life out of me in the process. "You're such a good boy Theo, I do truly believe you are a gift from the Blessed."

If only she knew. 

~*~

The next day or so was spent settling in. 

I was shown to my room, which had, apparently, been waiting for me for over a year. It had been prepared by Hungerford, the groundskeeper and general handyman, and the maid, Freia.

I fell in lust with Freia the moment I clapped eyes on her. She was probably about fifteen, petite but really fit, built like an Olympic gymnast. Her hair was a wild mass of orange, which she could never seem to tame. It would fly out at all angles, like a fire on her head. Her skin was very slightly tinted as well, and her eyes were dark, yet somehow not menacing. 

Her personality, I was soon to find out, matched her looks. She was fierce, and never took any crap. I learned she wouldn't hesitate to give me a clip around the ear if I didn't tidy up after myself, or gave her what she called, 'lip' when speaking to her. 

When I complained to Rath, my mother just laughed. 

"You had better be careful around her," she said. "I took Freia on because she shows great potential with a sword. She's practically intermediate level in standard style already, and she's showing promise in Sly as well, not to mention unarmed combat."

"Maybe she's become stale though," I pointed out. "After all, you've not trained her for three years."

Rath laughed again. "No, Hungerford has been training her, so I very much doubt that."

"Hungerford?" I asked, amazed.

The reason I was so surprised is because Hungerford, whom I thought of as a rather quiet and reserved butler-type, looked rather scrawny. He must have been in his mid-fifties, and I mostly saw him pottering around, looking after the plants, or doing the odd maintenance job in the house.

"Hungerford is in charge of security," Rath went on. "And is an old acquaintance of my family. He worked for my father, may the Blessed keep him." She touched her lips in a religious gesture. "He trained me too, when I was young. Hungerford's a master in several styles of sword. In a fight I could probably beat him these days. He's not as young as he was, but I wouldn't put money on it."

"Hungerford could beat you?" I asked, eyes wide.

"In a sword fight. He's a Blade Master. Don't let the looks fool you. He's fast and lethal."

"Oh."

I sat back and mulled over the fact I was surrounded by incredibly dangerous people. Well, I could be dangerous too! Still, it was some comfort. This world was not the one I had first lived in. There were literal monsters in the surrounding lands, as well as bandits, and who knows what else? 

In any case, Freia was certainly easy on the eyes, although I was careful not to get caught ogling her. Her temper was a hot as she was. 

I was given free reign with my room, which had a small bunk, some bookshelves, a wardrobe and a table and chair set in front of one of the two windows, which looked out over the rear garden, a sprawling mass of green, with an oro tree slap bang in the middle. A round table with chairs had been placed in its shade, and I would spend many an hour sitting there, sipping juice and happily reading.

I didn't have many belongings, so my unpacking mainly consisted of retrieving my purloined books and putting them on the bookshelf. I was unsatisfied. There were only about half a dozen.

Rath was as good as her word, and on the third day woke me up early. 

"Come on sleepy. From now on you're going to be training first thing. You've been spending too much time laying around reading."

"Mother!" I moaned. My body was still that of a child's, and it craved sleep.

"Up!" Rath simply pulled my bedcovers away, and rolled me roughly out of bed. I fell on the floor with a thump.

"If you are not ready by a hundred count, I shall send Freia in to dress you," she threatened, and walked out.

Whilst the thought of Freia manhandling me had its attractions, I would likely end up with several bruises, so I fairly quickly readied myself, turning up in the kitchen several minutes later, rubbing at my eyes and yawning.

"He's not even washed," Lissa said, giggling at my appearance.

"He can wash later. Eat later too," Rath said. "Come on boy, time for your first lesson."

My first lesson started off with me doing laps around the garden. Rath had Freia doing the same thing, so I didn't feel especially picked on. Mind you, I did feel quite humiliated. Freia sprinted the assigned course, lapping me countlessly, and effortlessly, whilst seemingly not even breathing heavily.

I, on the other hand, was gasping for breath. Some of that could have been down to the fact that Freia was dressed in a tiny top, and super short shorts that would have had me panting hard laying down.

"You are unfit," Rath declared, when I finally collapsed at her feet. Freia giggled, the first time I had heard her amused. I silently vowed revenge.

"Come on, that was barely even a warm up." Rath poked me with something hard, which turned out to be a tiny wooden sword, about the size of a dagger. "Here, you're too young to really spar with, but you can practice some of the basic style sequences."

So my first day of sword training went. Rath had me practice as series of set pieces with my mini-sword, over and over and over and over again. 

"These need to become automatic," she chastised me, when I had the nerve to complain. "Look at her, she started off doing the same thing. Freia, show him."

Our maid who had platted her hair for this occasion, which made her look even more schoolgirl like to my filthy mind, had been doing some light sparring against Rath. Both women were using real, deadly sharp, swords. Some of the moves had been too fast for me to even see, let alone follow.

"You are standing wrong," Freia said, adjusting my limbs rather forcibly, until I was in the desired stance. "Now, hold your sword up and go through the base sequence."

I did so, and was immediately stopped and corrected. 

Rath nodded and wandered off to a small hut in the corner, which, I learned, was Hungerford's special domain. The man had been leaning against the door, observing. He had been so still I'd not even noticed him until that moment. There was certainly more to the chap than first met the eye.

My attention was, abruptly, and painfully, brought back to my exercise by a sharp clip around the ear from Freia. "Watch your feet!" she shouted.

"Yes ma'am," I mumbled and tried to adjust my position, only to be corrected again.

Finally, after a great many prods and jabs from my young coach, I managed to get through the most basic sequence to her satisfaction. Upon which, I was made to do it again, and again and again.

Finally, just as I was considering casting a fireball at her, Rath came back over.

"That's enough for today Frey, thank you for your help."

"But we've only just started!" the orange maid complained.

"Please remember Theo is only four, and this is his first day to boot," Rath admonished, frowning at her, and making the girl hang her head.

"I'm sorry Master," she replied, sounding at least a tiny bit contrite. "I apologise to you too, Theodore. I forget myself sometimes."

"At least you're enthusiastic," I said, deciding to be the bigger man. She smiled at that. First smile I'd managed to elicit from the hot girl.

"Very well, Theo, go and wash and have some breakfast. You will be back out here tomorrow morning, and every morning though, so you get a good rest tonight."

"Yes mother," I replied. After a shallow bow to Freia, I turned and ran off before anyone could change their mind.