As days turned into weeks, Devina made steady progress on all fronts. Her daily training felt a little less daunting every morning, and she could feel herself improving. She spent many hours reading in the library, getting to know the intricacies of her territory, today being no exception.
What she learned surprised her. Despite its size, the entire territory consisted of only five isolated villages that, aside from tax purposes, were left to their own devices. The more she learned, the more apparent it was that her family might hold a title and land, but they were rich in name only.
The library was barely recognizable ever since Elena had enlisted a few of her old friends among the maids to clean it up. Everything was organized and pristine, with not a speck of dust remaining.
“Are you even listening to me?” Elena asked, pulling Devina out of her reverie. “I’ve been talking to you for the better part of a minute.”
“Sorry,” Devina said sheepishly. “I was just thinking about today’s plans.”
Elena sighed. “No problem. As I was saying, I’ve been coordinating with Gregor, the head fisherman. You must’ve really left an impression on him—he didn’t even mind taking direction from the junior heiress or ask about your brother. The thing is, we’ve been catching about a hundred fish a day more than we can sell or preserve, so they’ve had to slow down the operation.” She paused and smiled. “You know, there’s a rumor going around that you’re the reason there’s been so much cheap fish lately. It’s really doing wonders for your reputation.”
“That’s good to hear,” Devina replied. “Try to find some use for them until we figure out a way to trade with other villages or a nearby city. For now, maybe we could give them away an incentive for those who work for us. No point in letting them rot.”
Elena turned serious, giving her an expectant look. “There’s one more thing. You still haven’t made amends with those people you promised to. I won’t hold it against you, and I’m not expecting you to do it right now- especially with how much we’ve got going on, but just know I’m still expecting it to happen eventually.”
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Devina shrugged. “I was planning on it. Just haven’t gotten around to it.”
“Well, you’ve still got time,” Elena said. “Now that that’s done, I found this book while we were cleaning out one of the chests in the back. I think it might be really old. Do you want to take a look?”
Devina’s eyes lit up with interest, but she shook her head reluctantly. “Not today. I’ve got plans, but please leave it on my desk once you’re done with it.”
With nothing more to be said, Devina got up and left, on her way to do her routine checkup with the gardeners. They had been making progress in reducing the potency of the poison, but usually it was measured in small decrements, so she wasn’t expecting much. However, today was different. Around halfway to the gardens, on the garden path, stood the head gardener, her discarded cane leaning against a tree.
She was almost jumping up and down at the sight of Devina, brimming with excitement. “You’ve got to come see this!” she beamed, grabbing Devina’s hand and pulling her toward the greenhouse where they had set up their experiments.
Usually, there were always one or two assistants working in shifts when she came to check up, but this time, all of them had gathered. As she came in, they stood around a single desk with a chair, which the old woman pushed her into.
Not long after, one of them came over with a wooden bowl filled with something that looked like green porridge with clumps in it and a wooden spoon. He placed it in front of a stunned Devina. The smell almost made her gag, but none of the others seemed perturbed.
“Well, try it,” the head gardener said, placing the spoon in Devina’s hand.
Devina hesitated, dipping the spoon into the bowl and inching it toward her face. She licked the green paste, shuddering at its bitterness. But, because of the expectant stares, she shoved the spoon into her mouth and managed to swallow. When she couldn’t keep a grimace from showing on her face, the old woman laughed heartily.
“I know it’s no delicacy, but everyone here had to try it. It’s sort of a rite of passage. I promise we’re working on fixing the taste as well.”
Recovering, Devina asked the important question, “So you managed to remove the poison?”
“That we did, child. That we did.”
That morning, Devina left the gardens with a spring in her step. She could feel her body growing stronger with each passing week, her muscles taut and brimming with newfound energy.
Her wound had finally healed completely, leaving only a faint scar. She was giddy with excitement; at last, she was ready to start the real training - combat training.