Five years earlier

Light had only begun to peak over the horizon. Little Tsugi pushed his bruised body off his straw bed and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He combed his little fingers through his messy tangled hair and winced when he felt a pain on the side of his head. A patch of hair was missing from a beating from the previous night, instead it was replaced with a rough swollen scab.

He slipped on his boots, proceeded down the dark empty hall and down the long winding stairs. He tried his best not to flinch but walking down each step was difficult, due to his bruised legs from the blows of kicks. He walked as quietly as he could through the castle and out the servants entrance in the back.

Dawn approached as the sun illuminated the spacious land. He could see his breath rise up into the cold chilly air. Tsugi walked around the castle toward the wooden storage shed looking at the glistening dew on the grassy hills.

"You're late."

Tsugi jumped to the booming voice in front of his path.

A giant robust woman looked down at him. Her light brown hair was braided and wound into a bun, she wore a gray tunic with brown trousers and leather armor. She held a giant ax with one hand as it rested on her wide shoulder, and her other hand was on her hip. Her face was stern with a strong jawline. She had a sort of beauty to her that was enveloped in a very intimidating aura.

"I-I'm sorry Maret-t-tuski."

"If Sir Gorou hears, it will end badly for you, Young Master Tsugi." She handed him a small ax. "Let's go." They walked over to a big pile of wood. "We must chop all of these before Winter arrives." He gazed at the enormous pile of wood with an open mouth, it was ten times the size of Maretuski. How were they going to chop all of that before winter?

Tsugi picked up a big piece of wood with both arms and placed it on the chopping block. With two hands he grasped the heavy ax and swung it as hard as he could with his weak bruised arms, but it barely impaled the wood.

He looked over at the brawny woman, with one powerful swing, the wood split and flew to the ground. She picked it up and tossed it to the side, grabbed another big chunk of wood and repeated.

He looked at his sad attempt, wiggled his ax out and tried again, but it was still no different from the first one. Either way, he repeated again and again. Never being able to hit the same spot, he just splintered the wood sending tiny pieces flying onto the ground around him.

"Stand up straight Master Tsugi." Maretuski was standing behind him. He straightened his posture. "Spread your hands apart on the handle. Spread your legs for balance. Now hold here, move here..." She continued to instruct and reposition him, teaching him how to swing the ax. "Now swing."

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He swung with all his might, the ax penetrated the wood a little further. "Now pull it out and do it again." She stood with her arms crossed on her chest. He swung again but missed the wood and landed on the chopping block instead. "Keep your eye on where you are aiming." She scolded.

Even with her instructions, although he did better, he still couldn't split the piece of wood. He still couldn't hit the exact same spot and was always off by a little.

"Keep practicing, it will come to you." She continued to her original spot and continued to chop wood.

Tsugi swung the ax 'til his hands were raw and blistered, and then continued to swing some more. His body was weak and exhausted, sweat drenched his tunic making it stick to his body.

"Here." Maretuski handed him a potato and a waterskin. "Eat before you continue Master Tsugi."

He slowly grabbed the food from her. "Wh-what about y-y-you Maretuski?"

"I've told you, just call me Mare." She corrected him. "I'm not hungry. You eat up."

"N-no I'm okay." His stomach let out a low grumble. He looked down at his feet, as blood rushed to his face. If his father allowed it, he only got fed at night, and it's usually just a very small portion. Mare gazed at him as if telling him to eat. "I'm only f-f-five and still very little, so this is way t-t-too much for me." He stared at the single fist size potato in his hand and broke it in half, "here."

"I'm okay Master Tsugi, you go ahead and eat it. Since you are still very young, you need all the energy you can get." Her voice was stern.

"It-it will t-taste better if you have s-s-someone to enjoy it with." He forced a weak smile on his bruised face and busted lip. Her eyes softened at the boy's demeanor and held out her hand. He placed the half potato in her hand. They sat on the stumps of wood and slowly ate. Tsugi's heart felt light, he couldn't help but swing his little legs back and forth as they dangled.

"We must get back to work. If Sir Gorou hears about this..." She trailed off and picked up her ax. "It's getting late and we still have a lot of work to do, Young Master Tsugi." She headed back to her spot and continued to chop wood.

Tsugi jumped off the stump and quickly followed behind her to his spot. He looked at his raw hands and carefully rubbed them together before picking his ax up off the ground.

When night came, although he made slight progress, he was still nowhere near being able to split the wood.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky and winds began to pick up speed.

"That's it for today Master Tsugi. You should head back." Mare wiped sweat from her forehead. A huge pile of split wood sat next to her.

"Okay." Tsugi handed the ax to Mare and started heading back.

"Oh and Young Master Tsugi." He turned to look at her. "Don't be late tomorrow." She said in a grim voice.

"I-I won't." He smiled at her.

He slowly made his way back through the castle grounds. He entered the castle and headed down the corridor. The smell of cooked meat, spices, herbs and fresh bread filled his nostrils. His stomach growled loudly. He placed his hand on his stomach in an attempt to silence it. Oh, how he wished he could just have a taste...just one taste.

He sighed in disappointment and continued down the hall. He turned the corner and stretched. His arms were sore; his hands bloody; his legs hurt; and his feet dragged on the floor.

He heard a clank of metal behind him. Fear rushed up his spine; his heart raced; and his eyes widened in panic. His feet took off to run, but it was too late. A huge hand grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him into the air, his feet dangled helplessly. Choking, he clawed the fingers that encircled his neck, and wriggled, struggling to get free. The grip tightened around his neck causing pressure to build up. His eyes felt like they were going to burst out of his head.

"What...did I say about your presence?"