Chapter 34: Me Time or We Time

The second half of the school year offered several new supplemental courses, but none as interesting as the lecture series from the fall. I decided on two new math courses and one that focused on plant life in the Kingdom. The course board mentioned a camping trip, so I thought it could be fun.

I make my way to the building that sword instruction is commonly held behind, it’s actually my first time here. It’s a smaller building than my other courses have been held in, the ceilings are lower, and the main hall splits off into only four classrooms, but it's made of beautiful stone like the rest of the campus.

“Alfred! What class are you here for?” a girl’s voice calls from a ways behind me. I turn around and see Liara jogging over to me.

“Hey Liara, I’m here for the plant life course. Are you taking it as well?” I ask.

“Yes! We all are, Eric and Princess Sylvie were saying something about wanting to understand how to survive in the forest if they ever got stuck out there..” Liara says while deep in thought.

“Right.. I see, there is a camping trip involved, so that makes sense..” I reply quietly.

Balls. Balls balls balls. Eric is just following the Princess, but why is she so proactive? She did get kidnapped twice.. but that’s even more reason to stay inside the walls! We’re going to be camping with half the Kingdom’s military if she comes…

“Are you busy after classes for the spring term, Alfred? I want to do some more sparring! I’ve been working hard, I think I can hit you now!” Liara says with the excitement of a child trying to win a game against their parents. She does look more muscular, which says something because she’s built more like me than the Princess.

“Aha, I’m still getting some tutoring done, but I can make time on Fridays,” I answer with a chuckle, “I bet Eric’s going to want to as well..” I murmur.

“He does! Did you talk to him already?” Liara asks with a cocked head.

“Oh no, I just had a feeling,” I respond, “but let’s head in.”

We enter the classroom and sit near the back as the instructor walks in. In the front-most seats of the room sit Princess Sylvie and Eric.

“Good Afternoon class, I’m Professor Eurice,” a middle-aged woman with tied-back brown hair says, “this class will not operate like the rest you take at the academy. Completion of the course is done on a rolling basis when you have committed the vegetation of the continent and its properties to memory. Once done, we will spend a night outside the Kingdom’s wall, where you’ll prove to me you can identify any vegetation we come across.”

If I just hammer the books for two weeks, I wonder if I can take the camping trip early and have one less class to take? Jen and I could start earlier some days if so…

“There are two opportunities to make the trek into the forest and complete your practical final exam, the first at the midpoint of the term and the second at the end. It will be up to you which group you will join, but if you fail the first, you will not be allowed to test again,” the Professor continues with a scowl.

“pst Alfred, which one are you going to take?” Liara asks me.

“Depends on how much information we have to memorize, if it’s doable in half the term, I’ll go for the first one,” I answer.

“Aw man, you’re going to make me cram so I can take it with you?” Liara groans.

“You don’t have to take it with me, Liara, it’s just an outdoor test..” I answer with a hand obscuring my mouth.

“Yea but if I go with you, I can get some hunting tips!” she responds, much too loudly for having started the conversation with a ‘pst.’

“In the back, did you have a question?” Professor Eurice asks, hearing Liara’s excitement.

“Apologies ma’am! I was too excited about the trip for the final exam..” Liara yelps and straightens herself.

“I understand, Miss, study hard, and you’ll do just fine,” the Professor responds with a sweet smile, not understanding Liara in the slightest.

“If there are no questions, we’ll start today by going over the dangerous plant life in the area – these are to be avoided at all times. The Kingdom sees deaths due to these plants each year,” she continues.

Professor Eurice draws a number of plants on the chalkboard and lists their characteristics for the class to take note of.

“The most dangerous plant native to this continent is actually a flower; it has six white petals, a red center, and a very sweet scent,” she explains while drawing out a realistic image of a flower on the board.

I think I experimented with that flower when I was making soaps. It smelled really nice, but it made my skin feel itchy, so it never made it past preliminary testing.

“Ingesting the flower will cause paralysis, bleeding, and eventually death when you’re unable to breathe. If the red center touches your skin, you’re likely to experience permanent scarring and no longer be able to feel that portion of your body. Prolonged skin contact can also cause local paralysis,” the Professor says in a solemn tone.

Yikes.. glad I tested it on myself first, but it really just felt itchy.

“Touching this flower during your examination will be an automatic fail; commit it and the other dangerous plant life on the board to memory today, and you’ll avoid that.”

Fair enough, if there’s an auto-fail condition, it’s good to know it right away.

Professor Eurice glances over the board before turning to the class-

“That’s all for class today. I want to emphasize how dangerous the plants on the board can be, so we won’t be doing anything further,” she announces with a stern look.

I place my notebook in my bag before taking my leave with Liara in tow-

“Alfred, have you seen any of those plants before?” Liara asks.

I place my hand to my chin, thinking about the time I covered my body in the one.

“Oh, maybe, I don’t pay that much attention to plant life unless it relates to the habits of what I’m hunting,” I respond.

“That makes sense,” Liara says.

“Alfred!” I hear Eric’s voice behind me.

Liara and I turn to respond-

“”Hey Eric””

“Wow, you guys are in sync. Can you take the first practical final with us? Liara, can you do that too?” Eric asks, giving the two of us a serious look as the Princess strolls up behind him. She’s giving me an even more serious look.

“That’s fine by me, it’d be nice to be done with the class early,” I mutter, “isn’t Tim supposed to be in the class too? I didn’t see him,” I ask.

Liara chuckles at my question before Eric responds-

“Apparently, his little brother started beating him when they sparred, he switched all his supplemental courses to swordsmanship and only leaves him room to train..” Eric explains.

“Good for Roland,” I respond with a genuine smile, causing the whole group to chuckle at the sibling rivalry in the Kaine family.

“Alright, so we’re all aiming for the mid-point exam, Liara did you already ask about Alfred’s schedule?” Princess Sylvie chimes in.

Does she want sword training too? Magic isn’t stronger for men than women, so you’d think this world would be more egalitarian, but not many women pick up the sword. And those who do are muscleheads like Liara.

“Yes! He’s still being tutored, but will make time for us on Fridays!” Liara answers with an excited near scream.

“What about on the weekends? Alfred, do you need to hunt the forests every weekend?” Princess Sylvie asks while directing a glare into my soul.

She wants to cut down on my me time… all women are the same.

“Your Highness,” I address her with a light bow, “it’s important to keep up my fitness, and hunting the rugged terrain is best for that.”

It’s sorta true, I get to play the old man when I’m out there and cut loose.

“Hmm, for training..” she says. Princess Sylvie crosses her arms and looks at me like she hates that answer.

But she throws her arms open and uncrumples her face to reveal a smile-

“I know, we’ll just go and train in the forests with you!” she exclaims.

Wait what? Not only do I get less me time, but she also wants to turn my me time into we time? Sigh, it’s time to fake my death. And just when Jen and I were making so much progress..

“Princess, your Father wouldn’t give his permission for you to go past the wall without a significant number of knights, and even if he did, asking Alfred to keep all of us safe would be a huge burden,” Eric interjects.

One bottle of cider for Eric.

Princess Sylvie recrosses her arms and puffs her cheeks up to pout. But Liara is the first to speak-

“It would be a lot to ask, but what if he took one of us at a time?” she asks.

C’mon, Eric, shoot her down too.

“What do you think, could you take Liara or me with you? Then we can come back and teach the Princess while you’re busy!” he yells excitedly.

No cider for you, Eric. I can’t use my house with them around, and it’s fucking freezing at night.

“Fine, but I will also be asking for Father’s permission to accompany you at some point,” the Princess says with a huff before grabbing Eric’s arm and leading him away.

I didn’t even agree? I turn my puzzled face to Liara, who’s snickering at me.

“I don’t get a say in this, do I?” I ask, resigned to my fate.

“It’ll be fun! We can hunt for our food and cook over a fire! And if it’s how you got to be strong, we won’t have to ask for training as much,” Liara says with a beaming smile.

I’ll take them high in the mountains, where the air is thin, and the cold is bone-chilling. They’ll never want to come with me again. Hehehe, that’ll work.

“What are you laughing about?” Liara asks with a confused expression.

Guess I let that slip out.

“No, nothing, just thinking about how much fun we’ll have,” I respond with an evil grin, “we’ll practice after classes on Friday, then you and I will trek in. Pack lots of layers. Felt temperature varies greatly based on elevation and activity level,” I explain.

“Yes, sir!” Liara yells with a salute. She’s enjoying this too much.

***

Friday comes in a flash, and the group minus Tim is behind my dorm for training.

“So you and Liara are heading into the forests tonight then..” Eric says awkwardly, “Remember your manners, the two of you are noblemen of Sante.”

“Aww, so I don’t get to sleep in the same bed as Alfred?” Liara protests in a teasing tone.

“It depends on the temperature, if it’s cold enough, we may need to,” I reply flatly.

“Huh-wha! It can’t be that cold, I was joking, Alfred!” Liara yelps as her cheeks turn vermilion. It’s rare to see her act so girly.

“Fine, but if your fingers turn black from the cold, don’t blame me..” I reply.

“B-but you’re out there all the time, and that never happens!” Liara yelps again.

“True, but I grew up in the southern part of this country where it’s significantly colder. I’ve adapted,” I add with a shrug.

“It’s true,” Princess Sylvie says, “knights from the southern region excel at winter field exercises. Father thinks that growing up in a cold environment makes your body more resilient.”

I’m not sure how true that is, but the cold can’t kill me. The magic lining in my body doesn’t let the cold permeate any deeper than the skin. That said, my skin still tells me to get next to a fire and warm up. I could walk around with fire magic or light magic activated for warmth normally, so not having that is seriously going to suck.

“Ugh.. nothing weird, ok Alfred?” Liara’s shoulders sink, there’s no dignity when it comes to the cold.

“Nothing weird,” I repeat, “the goal is to train and not die,” I add with a smile.

The look on everyone’s faces tells me they hadn’t thought about the specifics of going into the forests and mountains in the winter. This is good. Liara will come back with a horror story, and then everyone will leave me alone. Sorry, Liara, I’m going to put you through hell.

“It’s settled then, Liara spar with Eric. Alfred, I’ll need your full attention to work on my training,” Princess Sylvie says.

“Wha- Your Highness, I set up a table and a chair for you, there’s even a bottle of cider and snacks..” I reply in shock.

Please, Princess, don’t start a training arc.

“The Kingdom is trying to increase the size of its military, I told Father I would train as well to prove our commitment to strengthening the country,” she says with steely eyes and a stomp of her foot.

Argh, I didn’t get around to tossing that Prince off his balcony yet. I could cause a tsunami to hit the Alarian port, or maybe an earthquake that sinks their whole capital. I’ve been meaning to practice wide area magic.. The collateral damage would be pretty high, but it could be worth it to get the Princess off my back.

“Right..” I mumble.

Resigned to my fate yet again, I start giving the Princess instructions on basic sword forms. I run through my own training forms to give her an example before having her copy my movements. Once they look reasonable, I ask her to continue moving through them while Liara bullies Eric behind us.

“You’ll want to drill these movements as often as you can. The sword probably feels weird in your hands. It’s important to get past that as quickly as possible so you can learn beyond the basics,” I explain.

“Haa yea ok.. hee.. so every day I’ll just do this..” the Princess replies through her panting.

Looking at her, it’s clear that exercise isn’t part of her routine.

“You should also start running, hills are best, but morning laps around the royal castle or academy campus would be a good start,” I continue, hoping she’ll quit.

“Yea yea, I get it, I’m not in sword-fighting shape.. I’ve never seen someone struggle just to swing a sword around..” she says dejectedly. I’d feel bad if it were anyone else.

Eric breaks the tense moment by running from Liara and hiding behind me.

“HAAA I’m done! I need a break!” he screams.

“C’mon, I’m barely warmed up! Alfred, are you and Princess Sylvie done yet? I need a workout!” Liara yells back.

I turn my head from Eric’s pitiful state to Liara’s excited one-

“Liara, we have a full weekend of hard training ahead. Take it easy, please, I don’t want to carry you down a mountain..”