PEEK-A-BOO AL!

The training ground was spacious— almost larger than a football field. When she arrived, she immediately spotted the Grand Duke sparring with one of the Knights. The page boys and squires were standing at the sidelines and watching while some of the other knights were sparring with each other.

The knight was obviously struggling to keep up with the Duke as he was sweating like a waterfall and panting. Poor guy. The Duke didn't even seem like he was sparring. He was just as relaxed and languid as when he was drinking tea, the exception being that he had a stoic expression on his face which wasn't present when he was with his family.

Aristia sat on one of the benches placed by the side of the training ground under a shade for the spectators and tired knights to rest on, and observed with bored eyes.

Realizing something, she turned to face Adeline, "Have a seat Linny. Your legs are probably tired." She spoke out of consideration for the maid who she was sure hadn't gotten any rest since she came to her room in the morning.

"Oh no, Young Miss. How could I do such a thing?" Adeline refused, even though she knew that if Aristia insisted, she would have to sit with her as it was an order from her lady.

Aristia didn't force her to sit with her. She knew that it was considered wrong and disrespectful for people of low social standing, in other words servants and commoners to sit together with nobles so she didn't insist on Adeline sitting with her. Especially since Adeline was standing under the shade too, away from the sun's rays.

Her father on spotting her, said something to the knight who immediately looked relieved, before making his way to her while sporting a wide smile. His face devoid of its earlier cold look.

"Hello Papa." Aristia waved at the Grand Duke.

Was she supposed to bow or curtsey? She was sure the Grand Duke wouldn't appreciate that.

"Are your lessons over Tia?" He questioned even though he knew the answer.

"Yes Papa. Or I wouldn't be here." She replied in a matter of fact tone. The Grand Duke just chuckled while holding his hands out for her.

"Come on, let's go." He said.

"Go where?" She asked while stretching out her hand to hold his instead of letting him carry her.

[How could I? Wouldn't it be embarrassing for him to carry me like a child? I'm an adult inside even though I'm in the body of a child, even though he doesn't know that.]

"Inside the mansion, of course." He replied, sighing when he saw that she refused to let him carry her. Was she still angry? "Unless you want to stay under the sun."

[Hell, no way would I want to stay under this harsh sun. This frail body is gonna get sunburned if I stay out too long.] She thought as they made their way back into the mansion.

"Have you had your snacks?" Wilson asked.

"Yes Papa, I have. Linny got them for me." She replied. To Aristia, it was stressful to talk a lot to people she wasn't close to, but she had to prepare Wilson and Catherine for the change in character little by little.

That was why her answer wasn't short but wasn't long either. It was detailed but not lengthy. If it were their real daughter Aristia, she would have gone on to say the type of snacks she ate and how delicious it was.

Wilson noticed the difference in her reply but shrugged it off, thinking that it was because she was still throwing a tantrum at him.

Wilson continued the conversation. "How do you feel about your teachers?"

Aristia thought about it a little before she replied, "They're okay. I haven't met the rest of them, yet. That will be tomorrow, but you already know that."

Wilson looked at her with amusement swimming in his eyes at her reply. Just then a maid walked up to them and bowed.

"Your Grace, the young Lord Alaric has just awoken from his nap." She informed.

Nodding his head, Wilson dismissed her.

He then turned to Aristia, "Tia, I will need to take a bath—" He needed to go take a bath himself and thus was about to ask Aristia if she'd like to go see her brother when she beat him to it.

"Very well Papa. I will be in Al's room." She interrupted and waved, and before Wilson could utter another word, she was gone.

Wilson just chuckled softly and went in the direction of his room.

***

"Tia!" A dressed up Alaric yelled the moment he saw Aristia come into his room. It was said that children could tell who truly liked them and who didn't. It was true in this case, and Alaric could tell that this big sister of his liked him a lot even though he was just three years old.

"Hello Al," Aristia scooped him into her arms, or tried to since the body she was occupying was small and chubby. She sat on his bed and settled for holding his hand instead.

[When you're in the body of a child.] She wailed mentally. She couldn't do the things she was used to doing as an adult.

"Are you hungry Al?" She asked Alaric. Alaric nodded his head in reply.

Aristia smiled and turned to his personal maid, Cassandra. She was the same maid who came into the dining room earlier with Alaric. She was a brunette with amber eyes and was twenty five years old.

"Cassandra, please make us some snacks. Linny, assist her in preparing them." She addressed Cassandra and Adeline.

The both of them bowed and then they exited the room to carry out her orders.

As they waited for the snacks to be brought, the siblings laughed together, mostly Aristia making funny faces in order to get Alaric to laugh. Aristia thought of the children games her parents and brother played with her when she was little and decided to play it with Alaric.

"Hey Al." She said to catch his attention. When he looked at her, she picked up his pillow, covered her face and then dramatically pulled it off her face, yelling 'Peek-a-boo'. She did this a few times and Alaric smiled widely.

She switched to saying, "Now you see me, now you don't", while showing him her face and then covering it with the pillow. Then after she did that, she again dramatically pulled the pillow off her face again only to yell 'Peek-a-boo'. This got Alaric giggling happily.

That was the sight Adeline and Cassandra witnessed upon entering the room. They smiled at the harmonious relationship the siblings shared while placing the tea and snacks on the table. Aristia could tell what they were thinking.

The majority of the children in nobility did not share a good relationship with their siblings. If the children were boys, they would be busy competing for the family title, and if they were mixed genders, the boy would not want to associate with the girl with the thought that she was just a girl and chose to focus solely on training to receive the title, while the girl on the other hand would not want to associate with the boy with the thought that she was a girl and for that reason, should not interfere in the matters of the boys.

In a nutshell, it was just a case of sexism, where the males had severe superiority complex and the females, a widely accepted inferiority complex. It wasn't the females' fault though. That was what they were born into and told was the rightful thing. It was the norm. They didn't know anything outside of that.

Aristia knew how backward they were in their thinking and sighed inwardly when she thought about it, while taking a bite out of the snack.