A/N- Hey guys! I'm back, and remember last time, when I told you guys I was going on a hiatus because I was graduating? Yeahhh about that, because of covid-19 our place is under an enhanced community quarantine and all classes are suspended, and well, that means my graduation is postponed until further notice. I guess I'm free to write and update now, and I missed writing and, so, here it is! I hope all of you are safe and sound. Remember to always wash your hands, avoid crowded places, and when outside, wear a face mask. That is all, and happy reading! -Diwata
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"Speaking"
"Thoughts"
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece nor its characters, Eichiro Oda does.
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In the middle of the night, at about 11:30, Melody was still preoccupied with a lot on her hands as she shifted her attention from notebook to notebook.
She sat on an oak chair and constantly flipped the pages of her notebooks, underlining and marking essential words that prove to be crucial in her plan.
Her usual clean and tidy work table was no more, there was clutter everywhere, and in short her bedroom was a mess.
Papers were scattered everywhere some heavily underlined and encircled. Pens and pencils were uncharacteristically sprawled all over on both her table and on her bed, and a seemingly antique book stood out like a sore thumb against the newer-looking set of notebooks.
The light of the moon penetrated within the dark walls of her room, and with only a small lamp to allow light to shine through her work, Melody's eyes squinted.
It had been well over three hours since she started writing, and she was fairly tired from staying up so late, but she needed to, as it was all for her dearest daughter. She needed to create an effective pseudo-lesson plan for Brie.
She thought well and hard to produce the single most perfect teaching method to bring out her daughter's best qualities and allow her to absorb every bit of knowledge she would pour onto her.
"I'm gonna make sure she'll absorb our teachings like a sponge, to be both book and street smart when it comes to this kind of thing. Experience is key after all, but I'm sure she'll handle it, I know she can."
Melody muttered to herself, her eyes darted back and forth on her notebook, and the writings on a dusty, and obviously worn out book.
The pages browned over the years and yet its solid bind made it near impossible to fall apart.
A series of poems and free verse paragraphs were written within the contents of the book. On some parts, there were sheets of music embedded on the later pages.
There were also a handful of scribbles written all around the sides and edges of the paper, of what looked like important notes and rewritten versions of the original work.
It was a rather thick book, it spanned about an inch thick by the pages, with a copper-colored leather cover, and various pages sticking out the side of the book.
There was only absolute silence, aside from the skidding of a pen against the prim white pages of her pseudo lesson plan.
The mother was in deep thought, eminent from her furrowed brows, and downturned lips.
"Huh, if I teach her this, would there be drawbacks? I mean, it took me almost a month to perfect it! Can she even handle this one? It's a bit complicated, but with enough practice, she can do this in no time! But….can she? Ughh I need to analyze this further."
Melody murmured tiredly to herself, she stopped writing for a moment and massaged her temples. Her vision began to blur, and her eyes slowly blinked and closed against her will.
A lengthy yawn escaped from her pouty lips.
"No, not yet,- I still need to-" Melody uttered sleepily, before her body collapsed onto the cold hard desk and betrayed her.
Worn out from her work, her body simply gave up, and a little while later, faint snores were heard.
With her lamp left open, it would certainly spike up their electricity bill.
She fell asleep in an uncomfortable position, with her back hunched over, arms slid across the desk unnaturally, and her face limp on the side.
A sore and stiff neck was to be expected first thing tomorrow.
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The sun rose from the east to indicate another day. The morning breeze was cool and refreshing. The previous night was undeniably tiring for Melody, who woke up suddenly with a jolt.
"Urk! Huh? Who? Wha?"
The mother looked franticly around her, only to realize the events that occurred last night.
"Huh? Oh yeah….ugh, my neck….!"
She massaged her stiff neck with her fingers. She stood up and craned her head slowly to ease the throbbing of her head.
"I should have slept earlier, and on the bed…..wait, what time is it?"
She turned her head to where her wall clock was hung.
"Eight…E-Eight thirty?! It's already THAT late?!" The mother accidentally shouted out of shock.
"SHOOT! Brie must be hungry!" Melody exclaimed and she scurried quickly out of her room before nearly slipping because of the papers littered on the floor.
"Brie?"
Melody peered over her daughter's room and found her still sound asleep. She sighed in relief as she quickly made breakfast in an outstanding speed of ten minutes. Her husband would've teased her for that 'insane new record' as her husband called it.
She whipped up some sandwiches and milk for her daughter, and a cup of freshly brewed coffee for herself, to get a nice shot of caffeine get her energized and ready for the day.
Slight footsteps were heard descending from the stairs. Brielle came down and rubbed her eyes with a yawn.
"G'morning Mommy"
"Morning Brie, are you hungry?"
"uh-huh"
"Alrighty then, let's go and eat breakfast"
The two ate their breakfast until they were satisfied. Melody then took care of the dishes and wiped her hands on their kitchen towel.
"Mommy?"
"Yes Brie?"
"What are you going to teach me again?"
Brielle's innocent eyes looked up at Melody.
"Well, I actually wanted to teach you a thing or two about a special family secret."
"Huh? What's that?"
The girl asked her mother whilst scratching her head, not knowing a clue.
"Before that, let me tell you a story about your great great great grandmother Agatha."
"I have a great great greaaaaat grandmother?"
"Of course you do! If not, then, you and I wouldn't be here."
"Ah! That's right! Oops hahaha"
Brielle gave a shy chuckle, and as a result, Melody chuckled as well. She carefully began retelling her ancestor's story. She tried her best to cover up the gory bits of her family's past, and managed to explain what she wanted her to know, for now.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! You guys have cool superpowers?! That's so coooool! How did you do that?! Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? No wait, just teach me mommy! Teach me!"
Brielle's flurry of questions went on like a sub-machine gun, throwing out questions at 50 mph before she inhaled deeply and almost screeching yelled:
"PLEAAAAAAAAAASE?"
Melody could only chuckle at her daughter's enthusiasm. At least now she was interested, there was now a better chance that she'd learn quicker because of this.
"Of course I will Brie, didn't I told you yesterday I would teach you how to deal with the baddies?"
"Oh yeaaaa, I forgot about it because I was so excited last night!"
Brielle replied bashfully
Melody was happy to see her daughter so eager to learn.
"Now then, we need to prepare ourselves first, before we can do anything yet. Brush your teeth, and after that we'll go and take a shower. After that, we'll go somewhere you've never been to before, okay?"
"Oookayy"
Brielle replied in a sing-song voice and went to brush her teeth. She told her daughter they would start as soon as the both of them showered and got ready.
While brushing her teeth, Brielle can't help but think as to where they were going.
"Hmmmm, It seems like Mom's planned so much ever since yesterday, I mean look at her eye bags, I don't see those guys everyday. She looks really tired, but she's doing all of this for me, so I better give my best too!"
Brielle continued to brush her teeth, and stared at the empty sink before her.
"Speaking of which, I have a pretty awesome lineage like, seriously? My great great great great- uhh how many greats was it again? Nevermind, they use their voices to attack and defend? That's honestly SUUUUUPER COOL. I'm not even doubting this at this point, one piece logic and all that jazz. I'm just hoping the 'training' won't be as harsh as Garp's training. That thing, is absolute hell."
That last thought sent shivers down the child's spine, she did not want to be on the receiving end of that fist of love.
She went with her mother, they took a bath, and got dressed. Brielle was told to pack a little backpack of her own, and to put in a notebook and a pencil, and maybe even a ball pen.
So the little girl went upstairs into her room, making sure that her mother was busy doing something else, she opened her closet, and hidden underneath her clothes and other personal things was her journal.
She had always been paranoid of getting found out, and although her mother probably won't know all the secrets it holds, she just couldn't help but feel anxious about it, there was no real place to hide it in her room, she's only stalling right now, but sooner or later, Melody would find it and question her about it.
She could play innocent and lie like a dog just to save her sorry bum for getting found out, but, she didn't like lying, especially towards her mother, nor anyone at all at that matter.
Call her a goody two shoes, but she just couldn't lie without good reason. Nevertheless, she could in fact lie, and no one would suspect her innocent face. And contrary to popular belief, she can lie flawlessly, and unquestionably, but it was because the unbearable guilt, and her morals that prevented her from even think of lying.
For her, lying was just wrong.
So in order to avoid suspicion and unwanted question, she formed a habit of constantly changing where she hid her journal.
Sometimes it was in her pillow, sometimes underneath her clothes, but that was a bit risky because she never can never know when her mother was going to do the laundry.
Sometimes, it was underneath her bed, or inside her toy box, way below the surface. She did the changes weekly, and for the last two years that plan actually worked.
Although the hiding attempts clearly worked, there was the saying that all secrets would eventually be uncovered, and that always left her uneasy.
Having the secret of the world and the burden of responsibility was too heavy for a kid like herself, even if she was now a twenty-one year old, mental age-wise.
"Since I am going to train, I guess I really do need to bring a notebook, to jot down notes and whatnot, now, where did I put my spare notebooks again?"
The girl rummaged through her things and finally found her needed notebook, and carefully, she took her journal out of her original hiding place, and put it under the mattress, knowing that her mother had only recently changed the sheets, and she wouldn't be snooping anywhere underneath the mattress any time soon.
Content with the safety of her journal, she went downstairs and met her mom, who was busy packing some food, a set of extra clothes all the other basic necessities needed for their "training"
Melody placed her most prized lesson plan she worked all night in her bag, and faced her daughter smiling.
"Ready to go Brie?"
"Let's go!"
The mother and daughter duo exited the house after locking the doors and windows, and the two were off to training.
Melody plans on making good and steady progress from here on out.
She planned on making her gain sufficient stamina first, as her teachings were very energy-consuming and very tiring, but with a proper routine, steady process of building her physical strength, and endurance, she was absolutely sure that her daughter can manage what she throws at her.
The most important thing of all to take care of was her vvoice, it is the bullet to the gun, without, there's no techniques to master.
It needs to always be in tip top shape. She needed to take care of it by avoiding complicated chants at first and to save it for later, when she's more experienced, and so on and so forth.
They were walking for a good five minutes now, and the path was certainly different from what Brielle was used to take.
Their common places were usually on a stone path that was connected to the entire village of Toroa, however this time, Melody lead her onto a different route, they went to a grassy meadow sprinkled with a variety of colored flowers specking the bright green grass as far as the eyes can see.
"Mommy? Where are we going?"
"Somewhere only we know, it's a surprise!"
That did nothing to ease the child's curiosity, she was undeniably overflowing with curiosity and she was itching to know what the surprise was all about.
"Are we there yet?"
"No Brie, but we're almost there."
This cycle went for about five times when finally, after what seemed like forever for Brielle, they arrived to a clearing far away from the village, about a whole 20 minutes away from their house.
It was quite a charming place, facing the ocean. The scent of saltwater was eminent and the gentle sounds of the waves were heard from the distance.
"Woahhh"
Brielle exclaimed in amazement. The place was absolutely stunning. The ocean, the calming atmosphere, everything was just wonderfully serene.
They were pretty much isolated, which was what Melody had intended. She can't afford to risk spilling her family secret to everyone in the village.
She actually found this place a little more than a month ago when she was exploring the village.
Melody made it her personal place, well, until now that is. This will be their new training ground.
"Pretty right? Now I know you're pretty tired, but you'll have to get used to this, because we'll be coming here during weekdays."
This didn't faze the child as she was more focused on the surroundings before her.
"Wow, this place really looks amazing,, but whew that was a reaaaaallyy long walk, and I have to do this every (week)day? Eh. Its good exercise anyways."
After a few minutes of resting, Melody stood straight and faced her daughter, and wore a serious expression.
She needed to make sure that what she was teaching her was serious business, and that she, in turn would also take her training seriously, hence the change of demeanor.
"Before we officially start, I need your full and undivided attention, as well as your cooperation. Can you do that for me Brie?"
"MA'AM YES MA'AM"
Brielle replied in a loud and serious voice, is what she thought it sounded, but in reality, it just sounded like a high pitched screech coming from a kid high on sugar.
Melody had to bite her tongue to not laugh at her daughter's response and keep a straight face. She needed to make the atmosphere serious and deadest on making them both feel like training.
"Very good, now, first things first, we need to stretch, and prepare the body for training, we can't just immediately jump into action, that would be very bad for both your muscles and bones."
Melody walked around her daughter like a general inspecting a newly graduate applying for the army.
"It is essential that we do this first and foremost. Now! Stand up straight! Chest out! Stomach in! Chin up! And there is a ball the size of your fist placed in between your armpits!"
The mother/training coach ordered, to which Brie scrambled up to do what her mother ordered. Her form was a bit wonky, and by that her mother fixed her posture and showed her how to do it properly.
Standing straight and tall, Melody shouted her next command to her obedient daughter.
"Isolation of the head! Left, center, right! And then Up center down! 16 counts! Ready—Go!"
Melody showed her daughter how to do it, and did the routine with her daughter to encourage her, and to properly guide her with the best of her abilities.
She just taught her daughter how her mother Carolinne did, but boy was it SO much harsher than this.
Carolinne didn't do the training with her, like what she was doing with Brie. She was more like a trainer who only commanded what she wanted her to do.
When she first started, and couldn't get the warm up right the first time just by listening to her directions, she was given a generous flick on her forehead, and the more she complained, the more she would give her punishment.
Back in her day, she wasn't as patient and polite as she was now. She was a bit of a rascal in her childhood, and as a result, her mother thought of that method as a way to properly discipline her and mold her into a better person with the knowledge of their family secret.
As her own training progressed, the punishment become more pain inducing, which made training no room for making rookie mistakes. Goofing around and ditching training wasn't an option either. It simply wasn't worth it.
The punishments her mother could think of was ten times worse than what she could imagine it to be. Over time, her rebellious phased mellowed out and transformed into fierce determination, and she became the person that she is today.
Carolinne's method of teaching only forced her to become very attentive and always in focus by habit. And even if her road to mastering the techniques was painful and utterly miserable, her training paid off in the end.
By the age of 20, she had already managed to complete the whole book, and even discovered and added a new contribution to the book with her own songs.
All of which couldn't have happened if it wasn't for her dear mother, and because of that, she respects and owes her deeply for putting up with a brat like herself.
Thankfully, Brielle wasn't a brat at all, she was very obedient and over all a good child, so she didn't find the need to EXACTLY copy her mother's training method, well, it was the same thing, except the whole punishment thing.
That thought made her think of writing her a letter soon, or maybe even paying her a visit.
Back to reality.
"Good, next! Isolation of the shoulders! Up-up, down-down"
The mother demonstrated carefully, and little Brie dutifully followed what her mother commanded.
"Isolation of the shoulders! Inwards! And outwards! 16 counts! Go!"
"Isolation of the upper torso! Front, center, back! And left, center, right! 16 counts!"
"Now! Squatting position! Squat! Bend your knees! Straighten your back!"
"Isolation of the lower torso! Front, center, back! And left, center, right! 16 counts!"
"Isolation of the knees! Inwards and outwards! 16 counts!"
"Isolation of the ankles! Point and flex! Ready, Go!"
"Sideward position! Hold your arms out wide! Shoulder level!"
"Rotate your wrists for 16 counts! Inwards! And outwards!"
"Next rotate your arms in a steady and small circle for 16 counts!"
"Now make the circle larger! Rotate your arms fully! Inwards! And outwards!"
"Jumping jacks, now! Then jog in place! Now jump!"
Melody's warm up for training was now in full session. Her loud booming voiced echoed around the clearing.
Her commands only demanded what was asked of her to do, and although she was just a literal five year-old, she was sure she was treating her like a twenty-year year old soldier which she was extremely grateful for.
She couldn't take the training seriously if she kept babying her. So it was unexpected when she pulled a general out of her from nowhere, but she was not that surprised by her sudden authoritative approach.
She figured already that this was some serious business. Judging by the bags present on her eyes, which must be the result of the planning she made, this was in fact, to be taken seriously.
If she wanted to survive, she needed to master what her mother is teaching her now, if she can't even handle the basic warm-ups then she was sure she wouldn't last a day at sea.
After what seemed like an hour (it was only 15 minutes) the warm up was done and she was given a breather.
"Alright Brie, very good, now breathe in- breathe- out" Melody instructed.
"Whew—finally-done."
Brielle thought as her baby body was suddenly introduced to a newer routine. It would be a bit sore today, but once she got used to it, it would no longer hurt, and she'd successfully gained more stamina.
Brielle complied, breathing in slowly, and exhaling slowly she regained her breath, and wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand.
"Here Brie, I know it's a bit tough at first, but I know you can do it with a little push."
Melody handed her daughter a bottle of water that she immediately chugged down in relief.
"I know too Mommy, I'm gonna do my best! And make you proud!"
Brielle exclaimed with the determination that reflected her previous years. The mother could only smile in pride at her daughter's eagerness and training attitude.
"Haaahh my daughter is such a good student, hopefully, she'll master every single one of these songs. I'm sure of it."
Melody thought, and grabbed a water bottle of her own as well, meanwhile, Brielle took out her notebook and began jotting down notes.
She wrote down all the warm-up steps, those isolation movements, the child thought. She proceeded to scribble down what her mother's tips and commands were.
After the break, it was now the time to officially start, the REAL training.
Melody took her lesson plan out, and flipped it on the first page. She stood up and faced Brie, who was now listening attentively to what she was about to say.
"The songs that you are about to learn are a series of techniques that would help you fight and defend for yourself." Melody explained.
"I'll give you a short orientation so that you'll understand the techniques better. Understand?"
"An orientation is VERY much needed mom, I mean I kinda-sorta spaced out imagining what training it would be, selective hearing and what not, all I heard was that you practically know how to kick butt without even moving a finger and I was sold."
Brielle thought, and focused her attention to what her mother was going to say.
"Yes mommy"
Melody paced back and forth thinking of a way to properly get her daughter inclined with the family tradition. Honestly, Brielle wasn't as uninterested like she was when she was at her age.
So Melody was just guessing she didn't need to motivate her that much, she's already showed the initiative to learn.
"Alright, you know that what I'm going to teach you is our family's greatest pride, all of which started from your great great great grandmother Agatha, she is the foundress of the songs of a siren, a great and valiant woman. She taught our ancestors how to attack and defend themselves from the bad guys, and after her passing…. The songs were passed onto her eldest daughter, Illathya, who then practiced and mastered her mother's teachings, and also contributed to the contents of the book."
The child nodded, following every word that comes out of Melody's mouth. Her mother didn't suspect anything of her five year old daughter that has a longer attention span than most kids her age.
"What? So this siren thing has been going on from… how long ago? Didn't mom say great great great? So that means, my grandmother's grandmother's grandmother? That's like about a hundred years ago! Wow that's actually amazing for a family to continue that practice for such a long time now."
Brielle scratched her chin as she analyzed the information her mother was giving her.
"Well this is One Piece after all, danger is practically everywhere, and knowing how to stand your ground and fight is a necessity. Huh, this reminds me of the Shandians of Skypiea, years-long tradition of grudge and hatred, all because of that blasted knock up stream that shot them into the sky against their will. AND THAT NOLAND NEVER RETURNED TO SEE CALGARA EVER AGAIN –UWAAAAAA."
Her eyes watered at the thought and prevented a small sniff that dared indicate her thoughts.
"That cost Noland his life and reputation, with his shame reaching until his descendant Mont Blanc, well until it has been resolved and taken care of, they now live in peace with the skypieans and Noland's name was cleared, and Mont Blanc Cricket finally got his closure GAHHH—just thinking of it all makes me cry-"
She quickly wiped away her almost tears, and lightly slapped herself on the cheeks to get herself together, she was going out of focus, thankfully, Melody was narrating her orientation with her eyes closed and didn't catch her spacing out.
She then again put her attention to the task at hand. Melody now opened her eyes and stared back at her daughter, still continuing with her said orientation.
"So on and so forth, our ancestors passed the book to their eldest daughters, who in turn added their own songs and techniques for the newer generations to learn. Now, it had been well over a few decades after our ancestor's time, and the latest owner, is none other than me, your mother. It is my responsibility that you learn what you need to face off against the world or those that would do you harm in the future."
"Ohhh"
Melody observed Brielle and was relieved to see her still at focus, despite how boring she sounds right now. Then again, she was thankful that she didn't find the need to scold and reprimand her for having the normal qualities of a child.
"When the time comes, that you've matured and mastered everything, I will be passing this book to you,"
Melody showed an old and battered looking book in front of her.
"Oh! So that must be the songs of a siren, seems legit, I mean look at those brown edges, that definitely looks like a hundred year old book."
Brielle thought and observed the book her mother showed her.
"-and soon, you'll develop a new technique to add to the book just like me and those that came before you. But for now, you are my student and you will be training hard to master its contents and be worthy of being the successor of our ancestors. I'm sure you'll go far, further than I could ever be, and I believe in you, so you better believe in yourself, okay?"
"Okay Mommy! I won't let you down!"
Brielle replied fiercely. She knew the risks, and she was definitely going to master these techniques, whatever those were.
If it meant getting a better shot at life here in this crazy world, then the only option for her was to accept the challenge. As a woman of her caliber and as a descendant of her second life's ancestor.
"Right, since we are at square one, we'll start with the basics. Simple vocal strengthening, and endurance would be our first goal."
Melody began scribbling something on her other notebook, and made small notes on how their progress was going.
"By the end of this week, your normal vocal range, and how long you hold your breath must be twice as much as it is today. Meaning, we'll chart down your initial performance, and compare it by Friday. Is that clear?"
"MA'AM YES MA'AM"
Brielle responded with a mock salute and listened diligently for her first lesson.
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The rest of the day consisted of staccato for volume. It is an activity where one's discipline and capability of manipulating one's vocal volume was put to the test.
Starting off, Brielle learned how to control her voice in its raw state. She was asked to relay a tune her mother demonstrated and mimic it as softly and as whisper-like as she could.
Melody sang a very quiet tune, if the place wasn't dead quiet in their training ground, she wouldn't be able catch the slow and swift melody.
It was a weird experience for Brielle, she knew that her mother was singing very quietly, yet, she could hear her voice echoing inside her head, like bouncing back and forth in her eardrums.
It was so confusing, because visibly, her lips and mouth had little to no movement, but the sound she was hearing was telling her brain otherwise.
She had no idea how that worked, but she was supposed to try and do that as well. It was awkward at first, but Melody was patient and expectant. Slow and steady, her mother said, and she let her figure it out on her own, whilst watching her.
The lesson Melody was trying to teach her was to learn how to be discreet and consistent. That technique would get her a long way if she knew how to direct and safely perform a song without anybody else hearing it except for her target. That way, it would avoid suspicion and unwanted attention to oneself.
The tune was supposed to flow into a steady path, and it needed to be delivered where it was aimed at. Melody taught her how to create that path, by adding more breath to the tune, resulting in a more cold and breathy voice quality.
This went on for about two hours. It was a slow and tedious process, but the little girl was determined to continue practicing, even if it did become overly repetitive.
The two took small breaks in between, but Brielle was adamant in learning, so her mother only complied with a proud smile.
Time flew by and it was already lunch time, and the little girl was exhausted. After Melody declared her morning practice to be over, and it was time to eat, Brielle sat on her butt after the whole training.
The song—er tune that she was learning was unexpectedly tiring. It was like the more she practiced, the more her body ached. There was some sort of a connection between the physical and vocal energy needed to do it.
"So that's the reason why we did those warm ups earlier, why is this so energy-consuming? I was just literally trying to make my voice deliberately softer, yet it feels like I've just run a marathon! My baby legs are shaking! And why do I feel so tired already?"
Brielle thought as she was catching her breath.
"It's really tiring isn't it Brie?"
Melody asked her daughter as she beckoned her to sit down with her on the blanket she laid down on the grass.
"Yeah mommy, why does it make me all tired and sleepy? I was only trying to hum like you It wasn't like I was doing something tiring."
Brielle followed and sat down with a small thud. She was tired and reached for her water bottle inside her mini backpack.
"Well you see, these lessons are powerful, and with great power comes a great deal of energy to back it up. Try to imagine the song or tune you're learning as a cannonball, you can't fire it or use it efficiently without a strong and sturdy cannon, right?"
Her mother asked as she started preparing eating utensils and small cups for them to use while eating lunch.
"Oh! I get it now! So uhm- my body needs to be strong to be able to do it?"
Brielle turned to her mother in realization, she finally understood the reason why she was so beat already, even though it seemed like she was doing little to no work at all.
"That's right Brie, that's why it is also very important to do warm-ups before training. You must give both your greatest effort in learning and strengthening your body at the same time, that way, your body won't fall behind, because the more complicated songs you learn, the more energy is required to do it."
"Ohhhhhh okay!"
She pulled out from her basket that she brought with her a hearty meal for the two of them. The delicious smell of the food was enough to make Brielle exited to have their lunch already.
The mother packed some butter baked salmon, perfect for building her little girl's lean muscle, soft brown rice, yogurt for protein, and some greens for other nutrients.
"This, this looks delicious Mommy!"
The girl's eyes sparkled at the beautiful, golden brown color of the salmon, the fresh greens, and her mother's special homemade yogurt was such a sight that it was blinding.
It was important that they ate healthy and filling foods to keep them energized the whole day. Melody prided herself in being a pretty good meal planner and trainor herself.
The two enjoyed their lunch and was pleasantly full. Melody allowed a one hour break starting from when they ate lunch to allow her daughter to take a much needed rest.
Her body was after all, not used to this kind of routine, and she needed to approach her growth carefully, to ensure a quick and steady transition.
In the meantime, Brielle was once again jotting down notes regarding the earlier training, and wrote a few key words of her ancestor's story in Filipino at the back of said notebook, because it seemed like a very important thing to remember the girl thought, and she was sure that there was more to that story that meets the eye.
Call it her personal intuition or something, but to her, it feels like her mother is leaving bits and pieces of the full story. Yes, she was thankful that she was giving all her time and effort so that she could learn the songs as best as she can, but there was an itching feeling at the back of her head that a huge chunk of the whole story was left out of it.
"I mean, I can understand that a person needs to know how to properly defend themselves in this world, but something seems fishy, but I just can't put my finger on it. Well, I guess there's a reason, even if Mom's hiding it from me. Maybe it's something I'm better off not knowing. Who knows? I am just a child after all."
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An hour passed, and the two were back to training. They continued training until five in the afternoon. It was a long and hard day for the both of them, but it was a productive day nevertheless.
Melody was proud to say that her first ever training was a success, she had been able to mimic the tune she instructed, albeit unsteady and obviously inexperienced, it was still amazing progress for one day, and her daughter deserved a good slice of strawberry shortcake she made the other day as a reward.
The sun was almost setting, and Melody decided to finally go back home and take a good night's rest. They returned home, and as expected, Brielle was tired and immediately fell asleep the moment she landed on her bed.
Melody tucked her to bed, and decided she'll give the shortcake tomorrow instead and went into her room.
"Ugh, I forgot I left such a mess before we left."
Melody muttered to herself as she looked distastefully at her messy room. She went ahead and organized the papers, put away the unused notebooks, and gathered all the scattered writing materials.
She dusted her dress, and sat on her chair and opened her lamp. The mother decided to write a letter to her husband, to tell him about her daughter's training. She was sure that he would support the idea of having a strong and independent girl.
"Ah, but not so independent that she won't need him anymore, he would sulk for weeks if he hears that."
A small chuckle escaped her lips as she thought of a scenario where Brielle was old enough to go out to the world without them, and Alex would be begging to join her because he can't let his 'precious baby' out into the dangerous world yet, not until she's thirty.
She proceeded to pull out a clean sheet of paper and began writing down today's event, Brielle's progress, and asked how he was doing back in Marineford.
She hasn't been receiving calls from him as of late, the rings of the den-den mushi was a rare occurrence these last few days, and it's apparent that work has made him extremely busy nowadays, that made her worry about him sometimes.
Yes her husband was very capable and strong, but she just really can't help but worry.
"I hope he's doing well, and if he's been getting enough rest, he can be too stubborn sometimes when it comes to work, that dork."
She missed him dearly, and she couldn't wait for him to return back home after a few months.
After writing the letter, she put it in envelope, placed a seal, and left her letter atop her desk.
Melody she laid down on her bed and decided she'll go and send her letter to the postman tomorrow.
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Word Count: 6,222
Date of Publication: March 20, 2020