So, so sorry its been so long, but life is beyond hectic!
Chap: the reason why is......
Herb walked down the hall at his own pace, watching his men train from the balconies. He would never say so, but he did truly love his home here in the training grounds. A sound from the second floor reached him and he called out, "Crisp! Slow down, or you will fall."
"Yes, Master Herb!" was the reply. Despite being so far away, the prince heard it as if the boy was there. He shook his head. Crisp ran pell-mell everywhere. He needed to learn to pace himself, or he'd never build his stamina. Herb resolved to include more endurance training for the rabbit.
The boy panted up the stairs a few minutes later. "(huff, huff) Master, the woman asks you to meet her in the inner courtyard. She says she wants to start your first lesson."
Herb inwardly smiled. He loved a puzzle, and he had been extremely curious as to what these lessons would hold. "Very good. Mint and Lime are escorting her?"
"Yes, Master." Crisp stopped a moment to catch his breath before racing to catch up with the older boy. "Master?"
He looked back at the boy, giving silent permission to speak.
"May I come watch?"
"Only if it is allowed," Herb replied. He glanced back at the rabbit. "Why are you out of breath?"
"I ran the whole way here from the kitchens, Master."
"You need to pace your breathing more evenly."
"Master?"
"You'll keep your speed longer and not tire your body if you can control your breathing while doing such exercise," Herb explained.
"Oh, (pant). I'll try, Master."
"We'll include that in your next lesson."
"Thank you, Master Herb," Crisp bowed.
()(()(()())()())(((()()()(
Cinnamon composed herself on the small bench to the side of the courtyard. 'Alright, this was no different than all the other times,' she told herself. 'Its just a higher ranking boy, that's all.'
'Yeah, the prince of all the empire,' a voice in the back of her head spoke up. 'Screw this up, and every girl could suffer.'
A sound made her turn. She rose in greeting, a great smile on her face. "Lord Sage! I'm so glad you could join us."
"Thank you for inviting me. I must say, I haven't seen a marriage training in quite some time. Has anything changed?"
"Not very much, my lord. Um, pardon my asking, but do you think there is a certain thing he'd like to learn first? I've tried asking everyone who knows him, but so few have ever seen marriage training they could barely begin to tell me where to start."
"I would suggest dancing first. That may very well be his most difficult challenge."
"Oh, man," she groaned. "I'm going to get snapped in half, aren't I?"
A voice spoke up from the entryway. "Why would that happen?"
Cinnamon whirled to face the prince, nervously bowing. "Good morning, Lor-- -I mean, Master Herb."
He gave her bare nod in reply before asking again. "Why would you be snapped in half? What is dancing?"
"Oh, dancing is—I suppose the best way to explain it is doing a graceful kata in time to music with a partner."
"A partner?"
"Yes, my lord. A female partner."
"And why would this be difficult?"
"Well, most males new to females tend to overestimate their partner's strength." She gave an embarrassed smile, "I've had nine fingers broken because of that."
"I assure you, I can control my own power," he said coldly.
"o-of course, my lord."
"Master herb?" lord Sage spoke up. "You should speak to the lady with greater respect than that."
Herb raised a brow in surprise. Sage never spoke to him like that. "What do you mean?"
"This lady, while she is very soft-spoken, does know what she is talking about. Even your father, while he was being trained, harmed his trainer by overestimating her strength." He paused before continuing. "Besides, while she is training you, she is immune to any order you give her."
Herb's eyes narrowed. "What?"
Cinnamon flushed as Sage continued. "When men and women were first separated in the Musk empire, both sexes still knew enough of the other to not need a teacher to smooth the way between them. But after so long apart from them, men began to forget how to act with women. Thus a trainer was used"---
"Really?!" Crisp called from beside the bench. Lime and Mint immediately covered the boy's mouth, trying to stay as unnoticed as possible. Cinnamon started in surprise but then smiled at the rabbit. Sage rolled his eyes at the boy, but continued on. "A trainer was used to prevent embarrassment. But when it came to training future kings, the trainers found a dilemma. Sometimes training involves situations that a man is uncomfortable with, and a prince would order his trainer to stop, leaving his training incomplete.
"The lords began to notice this, and asked the new king to change this custom. The emperor realized his mistake, and thus made a decree. So long as the male is in training by a female, he is forbidden to order her to stop any part of her training, to harm her in any way, or to impede her movements in any way. This made sure that all training could be properly carried out.
"Therefore, my lord prince, she is, for practical intents and purposes, higher in rank than you. But only for the endurance of your training. You must obey her, not the other way around."
()())(())(())()(
there you go! Please review!!!!
Chap: the reason why is......
Herb walked down the hall at his own pace, watching his men train from the balconies. He would never say so, but he did truly love his home here in the training grounds. A sound from the second floor reached him and he called out, "Crisp! Slow down, or you will fall."
"Yes, Master Herb!" was the reply. Despite being so far away, the prince heard it as if the boy was there. He shook his head. Crisp ran pell-mell everywhere. He needed to learn to pace himself, or he'd never build his stamina. Herb resolved to include more endurance training for the rabbit.
The boy panted up the stairs a few minutes later. "(huff, huff) Master, the woman asks you to meet her in the inner courtyard. She says she wants to start your first lesson."
Herb inwardly smiled. He loved a puzzle, and he had been extremely curious as to what these lessons would hold. "Very good. Mint and Lime are escorting her?"
"Yes, Master." Crisp stopped a moment to catch his breath before racing to catch up with the older boy. "Master?"
He looked back at the boy, giving silent permission to speak.
"May I come watch?"
"Only if it is allowed," Herb replied. He glanced back at the rabbit. "Why are you out of breath?"
"I ran the whole way here from the kitchens, Master."
"You need to pace your breathing more evenly."
"Master?"
"You'll keep your speed longer and not tire your body if you can control your breathing while doing such exercise," Herb explained.
"Oh, (pant). I'll try, Master."
"We'll include that in your next lesson."
"Thank you, Master Herb," Crisp bowed.
()(()(()())()())(((()()()(
Cinnamon composed herself on the small bench to the side of the courtyard. 'Alright, this was no different than all the other times,' she told herself. 'Its just a higher ranking boy, that's all.'
'Yeah, the prince of all the empire,' a voice in the back of her head spoke up. 'Screw this up, and every girl could suffer.'
A sound made her turn. She rose in greeting, a great smile on her face. "Lord Sage! I'm so glad you could join us."
"Thank you for inviting me. I must say, I haven't seen a marriage training in quite some time. Has anything changed?"
"Not very much, my lord. Um, pardon my asking, but do you think there is a certain thing he'd like to learn first? I've tried asking everyone who knows him, but so few have ever seen marriage training they could barely begin to tell me where to start."
"I would suggest dancing first. That may very well be his most difficult challenge."
"Oh, man," she groaned. "I'm going to get snapped in half, aren't I?"
A voice spoke up from the entryway. "Why would that happen?"
Cinnamon whirled to face the prince, nervously bowing. "Good morning, Lor-- -I mean, Master Herb."
He gave her bare nod in reply before asking again. "Why would you be snapped in half? What is dancing?"
"Oh, dancing is—I suppose the best way to explain it is doing a graceful kata in time to music with a partner."
"A partner?"
"Yes, my lord. A female partner."
"And why would this be difficult?"
"Well, most males new to females tend to overestimate their partner's strength." She gave an embarrassed smile, "I've had nine fingers broken because of that."
"I assure you, I can control my own power," he said coldly.
"o-of course, my lord."
"Master herb?" lord Sage spoke up. "You should speak to the lady with greater respect than that."
Herb raised a brow in surprise. Sage never spoke to him like that. "What do you mean?"
"This lady, while she is very soft-spoken, does know what she is talking about. Even your father, while he was being trained, harmed his trainer by overestimating her strength." He paused before continuing. "Besides, while she is training you, she is immune to any order you give her."
Herb's eyes narrowed. "What?"
Cinnamon flushed as Sage continued. "When men and women were first separated in the Musk empire, both sexes still knew enough of the other to not need a teacher to smooth the way between them. But after so long apart from them, men began to forget how to act with women. Thus a trainer was used"---
"Really?!" Crisp called from beside the bench. Lime and Mint immediately covered the boy's mouth, trying to stay as unnoticed as possible. Cinnamon started in surprise but then smiled at the rabbit. Sage rolled his eyes at the boy, but continued on. "A trainer was used to prevent embarrassment. But when it came to training future kings, the trainers found a dilemma. Sometimes training involves situations that a man is uncomfortable with, and a prince would order his trainer to stop, leaving his training incomplete.
"The lords began to notice this, and asked the new king to change this custom. The emperor realized his mistake, and thus made a decree. So long as the male is in training by a female, he is forbidden to order her to stop any part of her training, to harm her in any way, or to impede her movements in any way. This made sure that all training could be properly carried out.
"Therefore, my lord prince, she is, for practical intents and purposes, higher in rank than you. But only for the endurance of your training. You must obey her, not the other way around."
()())(())(())()(
there you go! Please review!!!!
