Cover Up

A new day had arrived and despite the aches and groans, Felicia wasn't going to give her body a break. She needed to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That was how all warriors thought. The grind and the sweat was a normal way of living.

Today, however, Alex was with her. And she was thrilled. Running alongside her on the track, he decided to join her in endurance training for an hour before resuming his archery lessons. Though he was very proficient with swords, knives, spears and scythes, his aim was quite poor once distance was involved.

Felicia smirked as she listened to him brag about skills he only just realized he had, since last night, when all of their memories came flooding back. How nice it must be for him to have returned to a time when he had long since been training as a warrior.

Me on the other hand, I return right when I was about to enter a coma from lack of proper food, water and sunlight. Not to mention heavy depression and suicidal thoughts. I feel so sorry for the old me. I also have to keep an eye on Hildegarde. I know Tyren is going to try some stupid shit.

Talking whilst running was impossible, so Felicia stopped to express her worries about the Hildegarde and Tyren situation to Alex. He hopped back a few steps to where she was and told her not to worry. 

"Tyren won't try anything stupid. She knows we'll rain hell down upon her if she does anything to Hildegarde. And there will be limited opportunities for the two of them to interact. Hildegarde is not here to work. I've told her already that she has no responsibilities. She can spend her time in her room sleeping, or take a walk in the gardens, or stay in the library. The physician has concocted a tonic for her to help with her bad back and knees. Apart from that, she is free to live a very comfortable and workfree life. At her age, all she should be doing is serving herself."

"That--"

Felicia's words broke off when Sir Rovar reprimanded her for her long break.

"If you two wish to talk then do it while running, it'll help increase endurance within your lungs! Stop loitering!"

Alex gave a mock salute. "Yes, sir!"

They resumed their run. Although Alex's words eased her fears a bit, Felicia knew that if Tyren was determined to hurt someone she would find a way to do it. After all, that bitch had a hand in killing their mother.

She won't do anything to Hildegarde directly. She'll assign one of her nasty ass maids to do her dirty work. I need to have a conversation with her, tell her to be cautious of anyone who approaches her. Maybe, I'll ask Alex to assign her a personal guard. 

"My lady, the turtles are rushing past you!"

Sir Rovar's sharp retort snapped her out of her thoughts and Felicia immediately sped up. But not before sticking her tongue out at her instructor.

"And straighten your back! You are not a hunch man!"

Alex burst into laughter. Felicia silently joined in. 

Two hours passed and Alex had already departed. After sharing a light meal with Sir Rovar, he took her to an area behind the stables that had built structures which resembled an obstacle course. Monkey bars and a wooden wall intended for climbing greeted her.

Sir Rovar told her to climb on top of the monkey bars and run the length of them to better her balance. Felicia was excited as this was one of her favorite things to do on the playground when she was in elementary school. Jumping up, she grabbed the bar with both hands before swinging one leg up and then the other. Using the support of the connecting wood beam, she twisted her body and pulled herself up. Holding her arms out to steady herself she stood with both feet together. The length of the monkey bar wasn't long, but the space between each bar was much further than the ones on a playground. These were clearly intended for training, not playing. The chances of missing your step and falling was much greater.

Sir Rovar gave her a smirk that was both evil and encouraging. "Well done, my lady. You appear quite steady. Now I know your legs are sore from all that running, but on a battlefield it does not matter how worn out you are. You have to handle everything that comes your way."

The air was quite chilly, but Felicia's body was so hot she barely felt it. Even as her breath was beginning to fog, she felt sticky and gross all over. Stepping onto the first metal bar, she felt herself wobbling slightly and glanced at Sir Rovar.

"Can I take my socks and shoes off before doing this?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," he replied. 

"My balance feels a bit shaky because of my shoes. They feel too heavy. I think I could do this better barefoot."

"Your feet unlike your boots will get sweaty. It will increase your chances of slipping."

"Very well, I'll leave them on." Both of her feet were on the bar now and she swayed a bit. Only the arches of her shoes were on the bar as her toes and heels were playing seesaw with one another.

Ignoring her own thoughts which told her she looked a bit silly, Felicia leaped forward with one foot and landed it on the bar. Her other foot quickly came over, but sadly her balance was lost and she fell to the sanded ground. 

"Ouch..." Her voice trailed off as Sir Rover grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up.

"Try again."

And she did. And she fell three more times before she learned how to maintain balance. After that she felt a bit more confident and began hopping with both feet along the entire length of the bars. Then she fell again and this time, quite hard on her butt. She felt a sharp pain shoot up her spin, but quickly rose to her feet as she did not wish to appear weak.

After that, Sir Rovar told her that her legs could take a rest and they would work on her upper body strength as well as her core muscles. After trying and failing to do more than two pull ups on the bars, he ordered her to do sit ups. Sir Rovar was pleasantly surprised when he saw that she understood what he was asking her to do without needing to explain the meaning of his words. The lady may be a novice to training, but she was familiar with various forms of exercise and their terminology.

She pumped out 30 sit ups in one go and Sir Rovar was so impressed he told her that she could have the rest of the day off.

Heading back to her room, Felicia was so sore she could barely walk straight. She craved a hot bath and sleep. Sadly, the latter would have to wait.

After scrubbing her skin clean of sweat and dirt, she went back downstairs to see Hildegarde. Entering the servants quarters, she nodded her head at the bowing maids and male attendants. Hildegarde room was easily one of the most comfortable and cozy. She had a very soft mattress and thick blankets to tuck into every night. It made a stark change from the bed she had been using in her cottage which only hurt her back.

Knocking and entering, Felicia saw that Hildegarde was seated on her rocking chair and reading. She was about to stand up when her Lady entered, but Felicia told her to stay seated. Walking over, Felicia knelt before her nanny and took one of her hands into her own. Hildegarde was visibly flustered by the Lady Del Montague's humbling gesture. 

Smiling, Felicia immediately spoke to her nanny in hushed tones about her worries about her safety.

"Your concern is unnecessary, my lady. I already had an encounter with her and she tried to threaten me with the lives of my husband and sons again. I've explained my circumstances to her and she knows now that she has nothing to use against me. I will not do her bidding, nor will I be scared away as I was before." Hildegarde replied with a soothing tone.

Felicia was far from soothed, if anything she was enraged that the bitch actually dared to threaten her precious nanny. "She can still kill you, my dear. If she can't use anyone against you, she'll come for you directly. And she'll do it in an indirect way. That bitch is a coward, so be prepared to deal with something underhanded." 

Hildegarde patted Felicia's hand. "You do not need to tell me that, my lady. Nobody knows how insidious Tyren is better than me. It's such a shame that the Duke married her."

"I was thinking of having a personal guard assigned to you--"

"Oh no, my lady that will not be necessary. I do not wish to be a burden! And I am an old woman now, I doubt Tyren will send anyone to physically attack me. That would be very careless on her part with so many eyes and ears around us."

"Still, it may be prudent to have a set of eyes solely watching you and everyone who approaches you. As you said, you are an old woman so you may miss signs of sabotage." Felicia stood up and crossed her arms. "Remember, Tyren has an endless supply of maids at her disposal. Most of the women who work here are more loyal to her than Alex or even the Duke himself. That toad doesn't know it, of course. He has such little knowledge of what takes place within his own home."

Hildegarde was about to respond when Felicia heard hurried footsteps outside the door. Stepping in front of her nanny, she lowered her arms. The door flew open and slammed into the wall, causing both women to jolt at the noise.

Alex was standing there with his face flushed in anger, a large parchment held in his hands. It was the newspaper.

"Alex, what's wrong?"

"That demon monkey has successfully covered up for his crimes. The culprits who escaped my sword have turned themselves in by killing themselves."