Chapter 18

  Hektor didn’t sleep well. Perhaps it was the different surroundings or that it was the eve before he stepped forth into the fray, Hektor wasn’t exactly spoilt for choice.

  Nonetheless, he was up and awake well before dawn and more than ready to make the small trek to the barracks. It took quarter of an hour from his cottage to barracks on foot, and Hektor enjoyed the walk in the company of birdsong and the canvas of the resplendent sky. Few things could match the serenity of early mornings. Even at his sedate pace, he arrived ten minutes before his allotted time of six.

  The barracks were located in a separate miniature fort towards the north of the castle proper. The surrounding area was left to wild growth and terrain, with segmented sections of land that had been flattened for training and marching drills. There was plenty of space dedicated to equipment along with a few obstacle courses.

  Even so early in the morning, the training yard was occupied with diligent men and women who took to their rigors.

  The women were a relatively recent addition to Ithican armed forces. It was only about twenty years ago that women were allowed to be inducted en masse for such professions for the first time in Ithican history. Two decades later, they held around one-fifth of the positions in Ithican infantry and found steady work, their services popular amongst the niche and elite.

  Born into such a contemporary age, Hektor could not imagine a time when women were barred from joining combative occupations. A modern upbringing in the progressive society of Faymoren had dissuaded Hektor to the prejudice of singling out jobs and roles dependent on the sexes.

  How could Hektor believe in the folly of male superiority in front of the paragon that was Duchess Sabina?

  As Hektor reached the boundary of the closest field, he could spot groups running, people lifting weights and fighters sparring with partners in marked areas. Spearmen and swordsmen conduced their drills in another section with training dummies while further away archers took to target practice.

  The noise and commotion jarred Hektor a little so early in the morning.

  Lost in people watching, Hektor did not spot the two people approaching until they were upon him.

  The older of the two, a man in his forties, saluted and introduced, “Young Master Hektor, I am Captain Cyril Ferdinand and this here is Squire Peter Willis,” he gestured to the younger twenty-year-old beside him.

  They both donned similar training clothes of thick and sturdy cotton that were padded at the joints, but Ferdinand’s shoulders bore chevrons indicating his seniority.

  Hektor himself had sensibly compromised between wearing his most sturdy and loose-fitting attire. He shook hands with the men and exchanged polite greetings.

  “Please follow,” Captain Ferdinand commanded more than requested and led Hektor to a secluded area at the edge of the field.

  Reaching his designated area, he spun round and faced Hektor with the no nonsense discipline of a military man.

  “For our interactions in the training fields you will call me Instructor Ferdinand and I will call you Hektor,” he laid the law. “The Duchess has tasked me with overseeing your physical training in the allotted time. You will follow my instructions diligently and answer my questions truthfully. Am I understood?”

  The imposing stranger sternly throwing orders at him triggered a relapse for poor Hektor. It set off the bubbling panic that quickly erupted without fair warning. The small panic attack had him shaking, flustered and breathing heavy. He clenched and unclenched his fists, fighting to recover his confidence.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  His struggle was clearly evident as Peter shared an uncertain look to with his mentor.

  Eventually, Hektor gathered his composure to stutter, “Yes, Instructor Ferdinand.”

  Ferdinand would have stopped right then and there, but he had been appraised by the Duchess of such an eventuality and that best course of action was to be patient and let Hektor work his way through his impediment. After making sure that Hektor was responsive, Ferdinand cleared his throat and spoke in a softer tone, “We will start off slow with stretches and jogging. Then move on to body weight exercises. Our purpose for the first few days is to activate and limber you up before doing anything stronger.

  “You will copy Peter as I relay my instructions. Understood?”

  This time Hektor was ready, “Yes, Instructor Ferdinand.”

  Ferdinand directed his subordinate. “Peter, start with the stretches. Take it slow and show him the proper forms.” He then turned to Hektor. “Try to copy Peter and pay attention to his breathing. Remember, take things slow. Form is key.”

  The next half an hour had Hektor copying Peter as he went through some basic stretches with Ferdinand giving him corrections in his posture.

  “That’s enough,” deemed Ferdinand. “Rest a minute and then take to jogging. Find a comfortable pace and maintain it for four laps if you can manage,” Ferdinand traced the oval track with his hand. “Peter, keep pace with him. Hektor, do not overdo it. There is more after and we do not want you spent,” he demanded.

  “Yes, Instructor Ferdinand.”

  By this time, the grounds had become more crowded and louder, though Hektor’s portion of the field remained relatively ignored. Hektor quickly found a comfortable pace with Peter matching him by his side. One lap of the track was around five hundred meters and Hektor easily managed the first two laps.

  At the ease of with which Hektor was covering ground, Peter indicated towards Hektor to follow and increased their pace.

  Hektor stopped at the end of the fourth lap, breathing heavy, but in no way out of shape. Peter had barely broken a sweat.

  Ferdinand approached the pair of boys. “Do you exercise daily?” he asked of Hektor.

  “No, Instructor. But I do walk a lot.”

  Ferdinand hummed noncommittally. “How many more laps could you have completed?”

  Hektor thought it over. “Ten more, but I would be a puddle on the ground.”

  Behind Hektor, Peter’s eyes widened, but Ferdinand stared him down not to say anything.

  “All right. Now we will begin body weight exercises. You will do three sets of five repetitions of each exercise Peter will show you. Again, form is key, so we will take this slowly.”

  The next hour passed away with Hektor doing squats, crunches, planks, pull ups, pushups, skip rope, and numerous other aerobic exercises. Hektor found them easy enough, but he was regularly stopped and corrected by Ferdinand. So much so that Hektor suspected that he had ended up doing double the number of repetitions that Ferdinand had demanded at the start.

  After which was a slow jog to keep the muscles limber.

  At the end of it all, Hektor’s muscles were burning and his limbs felt wobbly.

  “Return at eight in the evening and we’ll see the state of you. See if we need to push you more or less,” Ferdinand ordered.

  “Yes, Instructor Ferdinand,” Hektor acquiesced and limped off towards his cottage.

  Watching Hektor’s disappearing figure, Peter spoke up, “That is not normal.”

  Ferdinand agreed. “Yes. He shouldn’t have been able to last half as long without prior conditioning.”

  “It took me a week to get to five good pushups,” Peter confessed. “He did fifteen on his first day. Then there’s the other stuff,” he trailed off. “If I did what he did on my first day, I would have to be carried home.”

  “Not extraordinary, but impressive, I agree. Keep this to yourself,” Ferdinand warned.

  “I will, Captain,” Peter agreed. “I can’t help but wonder,”

  “Those are dangerous thoughts,” Ferdinand cut off Peter. “Best keep them to yourself.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “Come along now,” Ferdinand led Peter away.

  Hektor ached, but the burn of his muscles wasn’t the most unpleasant sensation. He was impressed by Captain Ferdinand’s restraint and discipline. For even though Hektor was tired and sore, he reckoned that he would be able to go through the day without much discomfort.

  To his great surprise, Hektor had enjoyed his workout. The pursuit of discipline and command over one’s body, Hektor found it enticing.

  His first session had been very agreeable. Just about the right balance of exercise without the agony that the hulking weight lifters masochistically went through, grunting and shouting. And that is not to mention the ferocious fights that had been going on in pairs. From full on sparring with blunted steel to unarmed wrestling with throws and grapples.

  Blood and injuries had been drawn on regular occasions.

  “No thanks,” Hektor mumbled, all the more pleased with Instructor Ferdinand’s routine of stretching, running and calisthenics.