“Good morning Elliot,” Bella smiled as I opened my bedroom door.

I have gotten used to Bella waking me up in her cheerfully excited way.

Her traits really were impressive. To allow her to be so energetic so early in the morning. I was jealous. Although I knew that the little energy I had was likely due to one of her traits as well. So, I couldn’t be too resentful.

“Good morning Bella,” I returned as she walked past me, breakfast in hand. “So what are you up to today?”

It was a sarcastic question I know, but one I had gotten in the habit of asking. After all, our days were incredibly structured. Same thing day in and day out.

Bella just smiled as she sat in my sitting area. “Today I’m actually going into town with the prince,” she said surprising me.

“Really?” I said surprised. “No training today? Or is your visit part of your etiquette training?”

“Bingo!” she answered. “Apparently I need to learn more about the Acone people and the city of Kaland.”

“That makes a lot of sense. A way to have the hero appreciate the place they are meant to save.”

“Don’t ruin my trip,” she warned.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” I replied.

“I’m looking forward to going to the market and meeting other people. Maybe even going to the beach and seeing the ocean.”

I would love to see the city some time. The market or ocean. But I doubt I would ever get permission to skip training…It’s not like I had a prince who could just get me out of my training.

“Just don’t go to far into the ocean,” I warned jokingly as I started on my breakfast.

“Yeah, I heard about that,” she said, beginning her own breakfast. “Do you think there are really enormous sea monsters out there?”

Normally I wouldn’t have believed such stories. Chalking missing ships up to the ravages of the ocean, but on a planet where monsters were a reality. “I have to believe there’s something out there,” I replied. “Maybe enormous leviathans or kraken. Why for all I know Jormungand itself might be out there.”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?” I asked.

“You just referenced three different mythologies in a single breath. And I bet you know the stories that go with each of them too,” she stated.

“Well Mrs. Hosterman had us study a little Greek mythology in fifth grade and…”

“I know. I know. She didn’t explain enough and you were curious so you decided to research mythologies on your own, right?”

I nodded my head. I guess my explanation of my researching hobby was a bit old-hat to Bella.

“It never ceases to amaze me just how much you know,” she said looking down at her bowl. “I can’t imagine Sir Belethier and Sir Aborisey could have a better person to describe Earth.”

I got the impression remembering Earth may have made her a bit sad. I hoped I didn’t put a damper on her trip into Kaland.

We discussed her upcoming trip in more detail. The prospect of a marketplace and the items she might find. Of jewelry and souvenirs. I forgot to mention the rumors about the two of us or my slip up with Perceval.

I did take more care to see if anyone noticed Bella leaving my room. Which, in hindsight, might have looked even more suspicious.

Making my way to the training yard, my mind was on Bella’s trip and my envying her trip. After all we had been in Praecantio for a week now and the palace grounds were the extent to which I had seen. Granted I had met various races through the peoples working in the palace. Cat Sidhe, Elves, dwarves and several of mixed heritage like Fiena and Sara.

“Good morning Elliot,” Alea greeted me as I arrived at the training grounds.

Somehow she always beat me to training. Despite my early wake-up call from Bella.

“Good morning Princess,” I responded formally, hand to my chest with a slight bow.

Her face contorted slightly as I gave my formal greeting. Just enough to indicate her dislike of the formal greeting Sir Aborisey taught me.

“Are you ready for today’s training?” she asked awkwardly. “We should be working on affinity and skills training this morning.”

Sure enough after our morning jog around the bailey, Adekin called for A group to work on affinity and skills training.

Of course, I could only work on affinity training as I had no affinity to perform skills.

“Are you sure you don’t want to work on skills training?” Alea asked. “I can teach you several skills for whatever affinities you actually have. I may not know all the hero skills, but I have been studying normal skills since I was a little girl.”

While it was tempting to learn the skills. I would never be able to reproduce them and that might bring a whole slew of questions. Since it appeared Alea didn’t know that I didn’t have any affinities, I would rather not open that door.

“No I would really like to continue practicing the physical affinity,” I responded. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Sure,” she said hesitantly. “I suppose it would be alright for a hero.”

What does she mean by that?

“Um Princess Alea,” I started. “What do you mean by that it might be alright for a hero.”

I started to question whether I had been doing something wrong training my affinities every day. No Perceval knew I was training them and they were different affinities so it wasn’t like I was absorbing too much of any one affinity…right?

“The affinity training,” Alea explained, “is generally done sparingly. Remember most guards practice on a three-day rotation.”

Right and the training regime seems to rotate on a four-day schedule. So then affinity training usually only takes place once every two weeks or so.

“Then is it not safe for us to be doing affinity training now?” I asked.

“No, I suppose with supervision and given Ulla’s blessing…you should be alright.”

But that wasn’t exactly true. I had been blessed by Ulla, but not as a hero. Even if I were. “What about you?” I asked. “Will you be alright training so regularly.”

If it wasn’t safe for Alea then it certainly wouldn’t be safe for me. And I could use that as an excuse to why I decided to stop. Moreover she had mentioned something about mana depletion. If she was more sensitive to mana fluctuations, then there may be detrimental effects to her training so often.

Alea looked slightly downward. “Thank you for thinking of me,” she smiled. “Under Sir Buckhold’s supervision I should be alright. I will be fine.”

I could have sworn I heard her say “I will be sure to keep up with you,” under her breath.

I wasn’t sure how to take that. Was she pushing herself to practice every day? No, I must have been reading too much into what she was saying. After all I was also practicing with Perceval and Fiena every day too.

Still it probably wasn’t right to be practicing every day. I know that back on Earth training usually involved a rest day. Although back on Earth I didn’t have Bella’s healing aura to revive me every night.

“Can I ask you something?” I said shifting stances. “Do you think we should be training every day? I mean back on Earth rest days were built into most training regimes to encourage muscle recuperation and growth. Is that not the case here because of magical energies?”

“No, rest days are absolutely necessary,” Adekin answered, overhearing my question. “At least for most people. Honestly I’m impressed you haven’t taken a day of rest yet. I figured you must have more stamina than I initially expected to keep going like this.”

That’s not true at all. I’ve barely been keeping up with the everyday regimented training.

“Well you are a hero after all,” Alea added.

That wasn’t true. My recovery was thanks to Bella being a hero with exceptional skills. Certainly Adekin knew that, but what about Alea? The prince and the rest of the council knew I wasn’t a hero, but what about the rest of the royal family? At the very least the king must have known, but what about Queen Holone, Princess Alea and Prince George?

I wanted to know if Alea was being genuine or sarcastic. Especially about mana affinity training. Was she intentionally pushing me or sincerely concerned.

In any case. Does this mean I could have taken a day at any point? Then it was my own misunderstanding which was leading to my torturous schedule? Did that apply to all of my training or just Adekin’s?

“Then could I take tomorrow off?” I asked Adekin.

“Of course,” Adekin smiled. “It’s been what, seven days? I think you’ve earned a small respite.”

I got the feeling he has just been waiting for me to break down and ask. Probably relishing my ignorant self-imposed training schedule.

“Seven days?” Alea repeated under her breath.

I wondered how often she usually attended training. Perhaps she was due for a rest too. She didn’t have Bella’s trait supporting her rest after all.

“Will you be taking tomorrow off as well, then?” Adekin asked Alea.

After giving it some thought, Alea nodded her head. “If the hero is taking the day off then yes.”

I didn’t understand why my taking the day would dictate her schedule, but I figured that might be her answer. So, I’m glad she’ll take the day off as well.

“Then may I make a request?”

With confusion in her eyes, Alea nodded again.

“I would very much like to see Kaland. Perhaps your highness would like to join me?”

I figured it would be a good idea to have someone to show me around the city and seeing as the prince escorted Bella, there shouldn’t be any problem with Alea escorting me, right?

“Me? Y…you want me to go with you?” she stammered. “Like …like a … I mean I really shouldn’t. After all I’m…then the rumors…”

I immediately regretted asking in such an ambiguous manner. It seems I created a slight misunderstanding. It was likely the rumors going around about me.

“I was hoping that your highness would be able to show me around Kaland,” I said, trying to ease the misunderstanding. “I still know so little about your world. That’s all, I was just hoping for a guide. That’s all I swear.”

“Just a…” she said regaining her composure. “You just want a guide? That’s all?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“Then …I suppose I could. Just as a guide. Honestly, it’s more of a duty really for a princess to escort a hero through her land. Yes, it’s just duty.”

The remainder of practice I quietly trained with a still flustered Alea. I kind of regretted asking her to join me, but at the same time I didn’t really have many options. I supposed that since the Prince was taking Bella it would only be natural to ask the Princess.

Maybe I should have asked Fiena instead. Still I did enjoy the flustered expression Alea made.