"You hit like a boy, Alek! Try Harder!"
Alek huffed and glared at Deryn's "motivational insults", as she liked to put it, and took another swing at the punching bag.
" Why are we doing this anyway? I thought our training was going to be more tactical. Or at least less… aggressive.''
Alek had gotten a couple of lessons on fighting from Deryn back on the Leviathan but was still accustomed to the more elegant fighting techniques of fencing. And so although he was a bit out of practice in the art of fencing, and his muscles were no longer used to the strenuous positions as they had once been, he was still a fairly good swordsman. Deryn rolled her eyes in amusement, and Alek watched as she let go of the punching bag to reach over and throw Alek the sweaty face cloth he used to wipe off the day's work.
" Technically yes. And though we won't - or should I say "shouldn't" - necessarily be punching any blokes on our missions, it's a wee bit important that you should learn to defend yourself in the chance that you don't have a sword or any weapon for that matter. Other than these deadly, God-given weapons right here. " Alek laughed as Deryn threw her fists around, almost knocking him out in the process.
" well, then I do believe it's only fair if you start your fencing lessons again… just in case. "
Alek was exhausted and panting from the morning workout but did not nearly look as tired as Deryn when the words "fencing lessons'' came out of Alek's lips. Deryn was up for any challenge, of course, but the idea of adding yet another excruciating workout to her regimen left her feeling exhausted already.
But the memory of her first fencing lessons aboard the leviathan came rushing back, and she couldn't help but laugh. Oh, how things have changed. And what a mooney lass she had been! Back when Alek didn't know she was a girl before they had fallen in love, before the society, or Bovril. Those times were not simpler, that much is true, but those memories were all the same at making Deryn nostalgic.
After pinching Aleks' smiling and flushed cheeks, Deryn walked across the room to pick up a saber from a set that was hanging on the walls of the training room. The "zookeeper" that escorted them to the room said they had all the contents in it at their disposal. They hadn't gotten his name, but they both assumed that they wouldn't have been told the truth, even if they had asked. Secret identities and all.
" Come on, your princliness. Unless you feel like you're not up to the task"
wiggling her eyebrows, Deryn got into the starting position as best as she could remember it, allowing her muscles to tighten in response to the strenuous position. Alek shook his head and laughed, though he didn't say a word as he got up and picked up the remaining saber, positioning himself across from Deryn in the way Volger had always trained him. This is going to be a piece of cake. Both of them thought.
"Alright, Mr. Sharp. En-garde, pret, allez." (which means in fencing:" on guard" "ready" "go")
" I beat you fair and square, Deryn. You're just mad because you are incredibly competitive and you aren't used to losing."
Alek couldn't help but find anything other than amusement in Deryn's sore loose attitude, as much as she tried to hide it. And of course, in that attempt of hiding her jealousy of the win, Deryn stuck her tongue out at Alek - a gesture which Bovril, who was watching from the sidelines, had taken upon himself to mimic.
" Though next time I suggest we wear protective gear, I don't want to poke your eye out the next time I beat you."
Before Deryn could bring out her 'fighting soldier" words at a giggling Alek, a message lizard popped out of the little hole in the wall that no doubt concealed the intricate wiring of tubes that ran through the hidden little facility they had found themselves at today.
"Play message," Deryn said, looking expectantly at the little thing perched on the wall.
" Good morning, Mr. Sharp, and. I hope your physical training this morning is going productively, but now that it is reaching noon, I must remind you that your intellectual training on all sensitive matters begins at 1:00 sharp. I suggest that you don't be late. Tardiness is a sin you know." And with that, the posh little lizard scuttled back into the system of tubes behind the wall of the physical training room.
" sensitive matters? Do you really think it's anything that secretive?" Alek kept his eyes on the hole that the message lizard had come through, probably wondering what other little creatures could be crawling through the building.
" aye. Dr. Barlow is quite the prominent figure if you haven't figured that out already. She may just seem like the granddaughter of the beekeeper from the outside of this Zoo, but she's got her posh fingers in almost every jar of secrets in this country, that I do not doubt."
" I figured there was more to her than her lab and her boffin hat, but - and I mean nothing by this - how much power could she have, as a woman? I mean even for a Darwin, the government doesn't seem like the most progressive place for women like…" Deryn rolled her eyes but knew what he meant. And in a way, he was right.
" Aye, it's true that not even our nation has gotten their bloody heads out of their crevasses to see past skirts or trousers, but trust me, Dr. Barlow is plenty powerful. And besides, a woman doesn't have to be given power formally, she already has it - whether or not a man can recognize that. "
Alek gave a thoughtful nod to Deryn's statement, remembering all of the times where Deryn held the power on the leviathan, in Istanbul, or wherever, and nobody the wiser of her being a girl. He smiled, wondering their reaction if they had found out their fearless leader was the gritty, strong, and powerful girl standing across from him. Deryn always was good at surprising people.
" You may be right Deryn, but just to prove your modern views I challenge you… to a race!" and with that, Alek took off before Deryn could utter another sentence, but she was quickly behind him, her smile beaming and both of their laughers filling the hall leading to the lady Boffins office.
The grand fabricated doors were closed but Deryn and Alek could hear a distinct rustling from behind them, followed by a small and cheerful bark from Taza.
Alek knocked twice, and he noticed how it wasn't like knocking on regular wood - it was somehow quieter from where he stood - although it felt and looked like real wood.
"Yes, do let yourself in. I am quite predisposed at the moment."
After looking at each other curiously, Alek and Deryn continued to open the doors and walk in to find one Doctor Nora Barlow, whose head was buried like an ostrich in one of the deep drawers of her desk.
" good day, Dr. Barlow."
" so what dastardly mission are you sending us on today?
Alek and Deryn's words mushed together as they spoke at the same time, nevertheless, Dr. Barlow was able to decipher the jumble quickly enough.
" Good day to you too, Mr. Hohenburg. And no, Mr. Sharp, there will be no more dastardly missions for you two in the near future. That is not until you have completed the training required. "
This only left Deryn groaning in frustration. Alek could see how restless she was growing as the days of training themselves mentally and physically got more arduous. But all the same, Alek couldn't help but smirk in amusement at Deryn's flair for the dramatics as he watched her flare out like a child upon one of the chairs in front of Dr. Barlow's desk, giving Taza full access to her face, as he began to lick it in a flurry of Tazmanian kisses.
" I need to go where the action is! I'm no good just sitting around here. You're wasting our best and brightest. Plus, I've aced all the tests and excelled in all my training. Alex too!"
Dr. Barlow finally lifted her head from her drawer, the look of patience that may have once been there, slowly fading into the famous Dr. Nora Barlow stare - a brow high up, and two eyes which glazed over with annoyance.
" I am not wasting my best and brightest, Mr. Sharp, but rather I am shaping them to be better, and brighter. These are serious conditions which we are dealing with in the world, it is best to take the utmost care into how we prepare ourselves for those conditions." Taking a deep breath, Dr. Barlow smoothed down her skirt, before continuing. " Now, let us get started with your lessons for the day."
Alek, Deryn, and Dr. Barlow all sat together for the better half of two hours, discussing the current political relationships between the central and allied powers of the war, and how their ever-changing circumstances could disrupt, or help to prompt the official end of the disastrous war which continued on. Dr. Barlow shared her personal thoughts on it all, her predictions waning towards the end of the war coming sooner than many anticipated. Deryn and Alek only hoped that her predictions would soon turn out to be right. It was difficult, for Alek, as he wondered about his place in all of this, as a former prince of Austria. Alek continued every day, worrying about a lot of things, his mind becoming susceptible to anxious thoughts as he got less frequent letters from both Vulgar and Otto. With Vulgar in Siberia, and Otto in the U.S, Alek knew that wherever they were, the tension of the war must have been infringing on their lives, especially as Austrians in lands where those from the central powers were less welcome.
Alek figured that at the end of the meeting, he would ask Dr. Barlow about her thoughts on the Count, and his stay in Siberia.
" Ah, yes." Dr. Barlow clicked her tongue, her eyes moving down to the map upon her desk. " Count Vulgar told me of his travels to Siberia. Although the Count does not exactly favor the Allied powers, I do believe he is making himself quite useful to our cause in Siberia. You see Alek, Siberia is what many consider to be an ally of our war by association. Although in these trying times, Russia has been going through a revolution of its own, as you may know. And this Revolution is causing some … changes within the Siberian borders. He did not want to worry you, but he did allow me the information to share, that he is helping our American allies to help subdue the Bolsheviks which have become a prominent force within those regions."
Alek took in this specific yet all the same vague information but did not know how to elaborate his confusion and worry about it all. Bovril, who had made its way onto Alek's shoulder, mumbled the new words quietly to himself.
"Bolshevik "
Before he could continue to ask more questions about the Count, Dr. Barlow got up from her desk, quickly returning her maps and documents into specifics drawers within her elaborate fabricated desk.
" Well, I believe that this lesson has been quite productive, and I expect that next time we meet it shall be even more so. Look over the folders you have both received, and we shall discuss them by the weekend. Good day. "
And before either of them got to say a proper goodbye, she was off to what both of them assumed was some important meeting, with Tazza not far behind her. As soon as the boffin lady was out of the office, Alek could feel a hand cover his own.
Deryn could sense Alek's distress from across the Atlantic, so as she sat next to the poor prince, she could not only see but feel the tension that caused his shoulders to bunch up, and his hands to ball into fists whenever he talked about Vulgar. His hands were more calloused after almost a year of training, but the feeling of his hand in hers never changed.
" He'll be okay, Alek. Besides the Lady boffin, Your count is the sneakiest clever boots I think I have ever met. "
This made Alek laugh, and deep down he knew she was right. If there was anybody who could handle the cold of not only the north but the war as well, it was Count Vulgar.