Training Sucks

I spent the following 3 years doing nothing except essential tasks and training. It was rough resisting the juicy steaks and meat Mindy made for the first year, my mouth and body betraying my mind, as i'd always end up gobbling it before I even processed that I'd grabbed the plate. I shrugged it off to my parents as a growth spurt, after all, I did grow taller by quite a bit. After the first year, I found that if I bit my tongue... literally, tongue to teeth, I could focus on the pain and stay grounded enough to resist. In my 12th year I found out that my canines had become very sharp when I tried to resist the meat and instead bit a hole clear through my tongue. Let's just say it was not a fun day. I could find no other solution, so I grounded them down to typical length and shape, but they always somehow returned to their sharpness after merely a week, thus it became a weekly routine. Locking myself in the bathroom with a nail file and Tylenol, sanding away as quietly as I could and swallowing a full dose of pain meds right after. In my 13th year, I made another friend, one of Mindy's elder cousins. He was around 15 years old when we met. He was 2 years older than this body, but to me, he was a baby. He was around 20 years younger than my mentality, that of someone around the age of 38, including my past life. He would always follow us around, Mindy and I, staying silent and observant like a guard. He was very stoic at first, his big brown eyes and blank expression making us feel awkward as we just sat there, messing with the daisies sprouting from the earth. As time flew by, I came to realize that he was assigned to protect me. I confronted him about it later that day, expressing my displeasure in being lied to. He quickly apologized and introduced himself properly. "Your Royal Highness, Princess Sienna, I am Sir Ozzie, junior knight of the Lycan Kingdom. I was assigned to keep you safe at all times, an order i was unable to decline as it came straight from the king and queen." Oh great, now I have a court ordered babysitter.

I had been using the late nights to shift and let Sierra run wild, but now that I'm being watched, that is no longer a good idea. I left towards the castle and met my mother and father in the throne room. I had to get them to give me my privacy. As I reached the door, I heard my mother and father whispering to eachother. I heard my father say something about lycanthropy and then a few moments later I heard my name. Lycan? Isn't that just another name for werewolf? Oh shit, do they know?! I took a few deep breaths before entering and stared at my parents shocked faces. They knew I heard something. After a few moments, my mother broke the silence. "Sienna, dear, what are you doing here. Did you need something?" I just raised a brow at her. I was already ticked off from Ozzie lying to me, did my mother have to as well? She was acting as if she wasn't just talking about me. "Mother, Father, I love you both; however, I need you to stop assigning people to guard me. I would like my own privacy and I am able to protect myself. " My parents shared an uncomfortable glance before my father spoke softly. "My dear Sienna, we just want you to be safe. It isn't that we think you cant protect yourself. We know you're strong, but we still worry." I crossed my arms, trying my best to imitate the cute little puppies of my old world. The pouty pups that got pretty much whatever they wanted. After awhile my Mother finally spoke up again. "Sienna, we just worry about you. We love you so much, and we have kept you sheltered from the terrible life in the outside world. You are not aware of the danger there. We will allow you to have time to yourself while in palace gates under 2 conditions. Number 1. You MUST take Ozzie with you on any trips outside the palace. Number 2. You MUST agree to taking fighting lessons." At number 2, my father's eyes widened and he whipped his head around to look at my mother in shock. I dont know exactly how I heard, but the sound of him whispering to my mother filled my ears as if he was talking right next to me. "Vanna?! We hadn't discussed this. She is a lady. We dont even know if she is Lycan, all we know is that she needs to be safe. A lady should be trained in housemaking, not fighting. What are we going to do if she isn't a lycan?" I pretended I hadn't heard a word as my father glanced at me, my hip propped while I looked at my cuticles, feigning innocence. My mother looked my way before quickly turning back and whispering to my father. "My king, what if she is a lycan, like you? She needs to be prepared of the rough road ahead. If she isn't, then she will have the tools to protect herself and still can learn homemaking later. I want our daughter to be safe. Whether she is a lycan like you, or a human like I am, matters not. We must protect our little girl." After that, I heard my father sigh and I looked up. I put my hands on my hips impatiently, pretending I hadn't heard the whole conversation. "So? No bodyguard?" My mother smoothed our her rose gold satin dress, a delicate but noble design complimenting her skintone perfectly. "No bodyguard so ling as you follow my 2 rules. Deal?" Well, it wasn't entirely the freedom I was hoping for, but ill take what I can get. "Deal!" I bowed my head slightly and turned, leaving the room swiftly. Of course Ozzie had to be right behind me. I stopped as quickly as I could, stumbling around him slightly, narrowly avoiding a collision. I gasped and held a hand over my chest. "Whats wrong with you?! Why would you just stand there?" I looked up at him in rage, but it quickly went away as my eyes focused on his face. This poor boy looked like one of those hound dogs, crying to the moon of its troubles. His expression was too damn tragic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell... no need to be sad." He shook his head slightly, his face staying the same. "Its not because you yelled"

"Then why that tragic expression on your face? You look like you're about to flood the palace with your tears."

He hesitated for a moment before raising his big honey brown eyes to look at me and speaking softly. "Do you really not like me that much?" I was surprised, staring at this boy who seemed so stoic this whole time, his eyes welled with tears. Shit, I traumatized a little kid... well, there goes any plans to have children one day.