Chapter 4 caught

Just as I finished making it to my room I heard my father start talking. Maybe if I just pretend to sleep I won't get into trouble. With that thought in mind, I changed into my nightwear and lay down pretending to sleep.

As I drifted to sleep, I heard my father yell my name "Amadea get out here right now!" I flinched at the sound of his voice. I think I really made a big mistake this time. I slowly dragged my feet and poked my head into the dining room and saw 3 guards sitting at the table and my father sitting at the head position his eyes a vibrant red showing his anger.

Trying to diffuse the situation and soothe his anger, I acted coquettishly, trying to show more innocence. "Y-yes, Daddy? I am sleepy and want to get some rest.." I stammered not realizing how scared I was when my father got angry. "Amadea Hellswallow, what do you have to say for yourself?" I gulped my father was truly pissed even using my last name to scold me.

"I-i-i thought it was a free sample?" I kept trying to think of ways to de-escalate the situation so the first step was to deny everything and never waver! It should be just fine. He started to growl at me and stared straight into my eyes. "I did not raise a liar you can deceive anyone you want but you do not betray your family or their trust do you understand? Now are you going to admit to your mistake and accept your punishment?"

My eyes started to get misty. "I wanted some candy but I also wanted to get a pretty hairpin and I did not have enough so I took the candy. I'm sorry Daddy and mister guards" He sighed and looked at the guards handing over a gold coin even though what I took only cost a couple of copper.

"Why are you giving tha.." "SILENCE" my father interrupted me with a shout. "If I don't give them this much, they will take you to jail since this is not your first offense. Starting tomorrow you are going to start some community service. You will be helping clean the barracks and tend to the community for a month. Maybe then you will start thinking before you act."

The guards were shaking at the aura my father was putting off and stayed silent during most of the conversation softly agreeing with his decision so they could quickly leave. I sniffled and opened my arms, asking for a hug and seeking my father's forgiveness. He let out a sigh and his eyes turned back to blue before hugging me gently. "I have been spoiling you too much lately. I love you but you need some discipline. I will not force you to train or do things you do not like but you need to be punished".

I nodded and we talked for a bit longer before I slowly fell asleep in his embrace. The next thing I knew he was shaking me awake in the morning. "Come on princess time to get up. You need to eat and go to the barracks." I stretched groggily before turning to look out the window. Seeing it was still dark I glared at my father. "Why did you wake me up so early" I pouted. It is not like the barracks will leave anywhere.

"They start their drills at 5 in the morning so it will give you enough time to start cleaning before helping prepare meals for lunch" My father helped me brush my hair and tie it up as he spoke. "Can I just start later just for today please?" I pleaded still very sleepy. He shook his head before patting mine. "Get dressed. I got breakfast ready for you."

I finished getting ready going with a simple outfit a loose shirt with a sword sewn into it and a pair of pants since I will be doing a lot of chores today. I went and ate quickly before heading off to the barracks to start my punishment. This month is going to suck.

As I approached the barracks I heard the shots of the guards training. As I got closer I could finally see them running drills and wooden swords clashing. Some of them even had heavy wooden shields to work out their fighting style. My eyes lit up. "Woah this is so cool. Maybe I should get a sword to play with" "Swords are not toys Amadea they are made to defend and uphold people's honor and code" The guard captain spoke to me scaring me.

I let out a shriek. "C-c-captain Jeff I am here to report for duty" He chuckled and ruffled my hair. "You are not a bad child so I talked with Sir Baaos we're going to have you work on some chores and start giving you lessons since he is kind of a blockhead with more of the academic stuff" I nodded "I will do my best with the chores but can I please skip classes it sounds so boring.."

Jeff shook his head. "You need to learn more about the Zaroth kingdom and more about cultivation. You do not need to cultivate but you should still have more of an understanding of the world around you" With that Jeff took my hand and took me to the bedrooms and gave me a broom so I could start my cleaning duties.

I started cleaning up the bedrooms starting with picking up some trash and making beds. I swear it seems they intentionally left a big mess to exhaust me. After a few hours I managed to get the bedroom cleaned up and started making my way to where they served the food. It was only about 9 but I still had to clean and help with the prep work for lunch.

I whipped off the tables with a cloth and swept up most of the dirt. Once I finished with that I began mopping the floors. My body was aching and I just wanted to rest. I sat at the table to relax. I don't know how I'm going to make it a whole month. I let out a sigh and made my way into the back of the kitchen.

I clumsily pulled out the ingredients the cook needed and washed them all. I was not allowed to do the actual cooking or cutting. They did not want me to get hurt. After everything was done I watched the guard in charge of cooking prepare the meal.

Once it was all done I caught a glimpse of Jeff walking over. "Hey Amadea let's eat. Once we are done we will begin with your lessons" I nodded and walked to the table to sit while Jeff went and grabbed 2 plates of food and brought it over. As we ate we talked and I got another lecture about my stealing. Finally, he relented and let me go so we could begin the lessons. He took me to a study room filled with books. Guess it is time to face my biggest enemy! Learning boring information.