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I suppress a groan. “Are you really going to make me carry boulders again today?”
“We’re working on strength,” Viv says.
She does a little shimmy, shaking her chest in joy. The clouds break, and sunshine peeks out, glittering off her feathery white hair. It appears almost translucent.
“Carrying them, kicking them, pushing them,” Ken says. “Do what you gotta do, little human.” He claps his hands together excitedly.
“Ken’s thrilled about this workout, and he’s in rare form today,” Viv warns. “We have a spot in the grass marked off, see the rope on the ground there?” She points over next to a rose bush at the edge of the garden, where a rope sits stretched out on the ground. “You’re going to start with the smallest boulder. Get that boulder all the way down to the rope, bring it back, move to the next largest and repeat, until you’ve completed the task with all four.”
Sounds easy enough in theory. I’ve done enough labor at the lord’s estates—carrying water-filled buckets, rearranging the furniture, carrying the lady’s packages to her chambers. I’m fairly confident in my own strength. The first two look small enough to carry without too much trouble, the third and fourth look difficult.
I grin, rubbing my hands together. “Let’s do this.”
“First run is to get a feel for it. We’ll see how fast you get in the following weeks. Think of this as a way to gauge your strength and speed over time.”
It was a mistake thinking the task would be easy.
The first boulder is a lot heavier than I expected, and though I can pick it up, I move a lot slower with the extra weight. My arms strain to keep a grip on it, and I’m winded by the time I make it over to the rope. I drop the boulder, letting it fall heavily on the grass. Using the hem of my tunic, I wipe the sweat from my forehead. Luckily the sun is still crawling up from the East, and the house blocks a lot of the direct light, offering me a bit of reprieve.
After I get through the first boulder, I can barely keep a grip on the second. With each run, I’m slower and slower. I have to push the last two—even opting to scoot on my arse and push with my feet for a bit, to give my arms a break.
“Use those legs, little human!” Ken cheers, picking blackberries from a bush in the garden and flicking them up with his thumb, in a high arch, before tilting his head back and catching them in his mouth. He grins at me with purple-stained lips that match his berry juice-covered fingers.
“Keep your core tight! Don’t put your back into it.” Viveka has her hands cupped around her mouth as she barks instructions from my side.
I grunt a reply, focusing on finishing. I don’t know how much time has passed, but the shade is slowly diminishing as the sun makes a surprise appearance.
When I finally finish, soaked with sweat and trembling, Viv and Ken run up to each other, jumping, and bumping their chests together with a celebratory yell.
Letting my legs give out, I flop onto my back, squinting up at the bright sky. I close my eyes for a moment, to relax, but a stream of cold water trickles onto my head.
I yelp, jolting into an upright position. Ken slaps his thigh in laughter.
“Stay hydrated,” he says, before handing me a glass of water. He holds an empty pitcher in his other hand.
“I can’t drink it if you dump it all on me.” I pretend to scowl at him, but I can’t deny how refreshing the sensation of cool water on my sweaty scalp is.
“You did well,” Viv says, coming to sit next to me. I have no idea how they wear their leathers all the time. It’s not that hot, but the physical activity definitely makes it a few degrees warmer. “You have good form. The speed and strength will come with practice. We’ll give your body time to rest, and then the day after tomorrow we will start our rope climbing drills.”
“Rope climbing?”
“Yup. We hang ropes from both the trees and the perimeter wall. We’ll teach you how to rappel and how to free-climb. All in good time. It’s all upper body strength, really. As you build more muscle, it’ll get easier.”
I contemplate that for a moment. That could be a useful skill, especially if I decide to seek my revenge on the lord and lady. Perhaps I can rappel out of a window and disappear into the night without being caught. I like the idea. I’m still holding out for learning weaponry, as that will be my best advantage though.
My fingers ache to wield steel like Viv.
“Aren’t you warm?” I ask, gesturing to her outfit.
With the slivers of sunshine, it’s much warmer today than usual.
“Enchanted fabric baby, it’s cooling,” Ken says.
Viv chuckles. “The gear is spelled to reappear when we shift back into fae form, too. Otherwise, we’d be stuck nude.”
“I wouldn’t complain.” Ken purrs at Viv.
“You goon.” She pushes his shoulder, rolling her eyes.
