Chapter 220: Mother, are you okay?

Marianne pov

"My lady, lord James is calling you"  I raised a brow as the first thing I heard in the morning after waking up was Jamie calling me. It did not need further thinking of why he was calling me but I did not want to go.

"My lady"  she called again when I did not reply to her.

"Ah, yes. I am coming." I replied and she left.

I knew if i did not go it would only take him a few minutes to come here and i don't want my beautiful room to be turned into a mess.

Taking a sigh I left the bed and got dressed in a knight uniform that I had taken from Roselia.

Looking at myself for the last time in the mirror, I walked towards the training ground.

A group of ten knights were fencing there while my brother was standing and shouting at their mistakes.

His voice was strict, putting further pressure on the poor knights who were visibly afraid of him.

I shook my head as I walked towards them. His eyes felt on me and he finally turned towards me. All the knights took a sigh of relief as their expressions turned relaxed, though they were still sparring with each other.

"Took you long enough, sleeping till late again." 

Only god knew what was his definition of late. It was 6am and yet he was saying I slept till late.

"I sleep till 7 in the duchess palace, brother" I told him and he shook his head.

"So that is the reason, I am sure you did not train yourself for more than 2 hours then. You have turned weak Mari" he said and i gulped.

"Don't tell me you did not even practice this much" he ridiculed me and i sighed.

"I am not a knight brother, i am busy in other things too" i reasoned but he laughed it off

"You are just lazy and now making excuses for it. Come here, let's have a close combat today. You can decide whether you want to use weapons or not"

"What, why???!! I mean we can do fencing or what about target practice?" I bargained as I knew that close combat would break all my muscles and bones. It had been ages since I last practiced!

"Why, we have been doing sword practice for 3 days. This time i want to use daggers" he said as he took two daggers and threw one towards me.

"Brother i am not a knight" i reminded him for the umpteenth time and he just shook his head.

"You are a higher noble, Mari. You can be ambushed anytime or anything could happen, better be prepared. That is the reason every nobleman gets basic training. Even that kid is taking the training. Right"

"Yes, but he is thinking of participating in the annual knighthood competition. Killian is taking too much pressure brother as if he is running a race against time" i replied and he shook his head.

"I am just giving you an example, Mari. now come let's start." he said taking his stance. When i stood there stiffly, he sighed and instructed, 

" just spread your legs about shoulder's width apart and bend your knees slightly so you're not standing completely upright. You need to stay balanced so you don't get thrown to the ground. Stay loose. Bounce slightly as you adjust your position by taking small steps, and keep your hands up to shield your face" 

I did as he said but it had been years since I last had a close combat and I was weak in that from the start.

"Put the dagger down, you are not prepared for it. Come, try to attack me with your hands." he said i felt better as the dagger increased the chances of casualty.

"Come here I will guide you again, the first thing you have to do is make your fist the right way. To make an effective fist, fold your four fingers downward into your hand and place your thumb on the outside of your fingers, not on the inside, unless you want to break your thumb. Punch your opponent in their nose or stomach to cause some serious damage."

"Yes, that is better than a pinch." I did as he said and punched his gut with all my strength.

It felt like I had pushed the iron wall! How and why was he so hard and strong.

"Good, let's do it again." he said with a smile. My brother would be the only one in the whole empire who would praise someone for hitting him strongly. 

"Don't just stand there Mari, the enemy would kill you in a second if you will be lost now come on, Keep your elbow bent at a 30-45 degree angle in front of your face, and keep your hands up at all times. Put the fist along with your elbow and shoulder, straightening your arm. Push your weight through your shoulder and into your arm, connecting the punch at the peak of your extension to get the most force for your hit." I moved again as he said but this time before I could hit him he took my hand in his and held it tightly.

"I gave you the chance, and you lost it. Now it is my turn dear sister. So you left me alone in the tea house, right" he mumbled and then turned and flipped me and I landed on the ground straight on my back with the thump.

"Oww, that must have been a pretty bad one, right?" he asked with the same laugh. 

"You did that knowingly, you let me feel that you are teaching me and then attacked me" I grumbled and he shook his head.

"Never trust your enemy, Mari. We were in battle from the start" he added as he moved to give me his hand. I sighed and took it but he back flipped me again.

"You're not listening, are you?" he mocked and before I could say anything a voice surprised me.

"Mother, are you okay there?"