As Ameli and I approached the training field, we heard the clash of weapons, gasps of surprise and pain, cheers, and a colorful variety of insults.

The place was a large open space, divided into several different zones, from an area with four arenas surrounded by a wooden fence; for those who wanted to engage in small friendly duels, to another with several straw dummies, wrapped in skins, for those who practiced with the bow.

There was even an area that looked like a small obstacle course, with ropes to climb very high walls, and deep pits that you had to cross while walking on ropes. Another was where you had to cross a long rope bridge where you had to dodge and avoid different objects that were thrown or swung, to get to the other side.

It was a hive of activity where you couldn't see anyone who wasn't doing something, and the few who were standing were those who were waiting their turn in the fighting arenas or who would run the obstacle course.

Some wore light leather armor, seemed to be the commanding officers, and would shout orders to the rest or fill them with those colorful insults, almost as if they wanted to imitate Sergeant Hartman, although they were not as good in their dialogue as the original. No one could top that legend.

At least they did a great job of motivating the various males and females who trained tirelessly.

Because, yes, there was a mix of sexes among the guards, although they were divided into three groups. Large males with equally large females, shorter males with females of equal size, and all those who did not have a humanoid form. Here there was no segregation by sex, but by weight, build, and shape. Something that seemed to me rather fairer and more logical.

Ever since I came to this world, I found it somewhat curious that there was an abundance of humanoids around, to the point where I thought that was the true norm among intelligent species no matter what planet or universe, they evolved on... until that day when I left home for the first time and realized that humanoids are not the majority. They are common, but not the rule.

I don't know why this is so, or if there is some religious or similar reason, but at least in my family I have an answer, and that is that it was out of convenience and tradition. My family seems to have a predilection for hiring humanoids as servants, but that changes a bit when it comes to guards. I figured the variety helps to better deal with the situations that arise.

We arrived at the edge of the training camp, in a high space similar to the bleachers of a small stadium, where we sat down to admire the various activities of the training camp. Several of the guards noticed our presence, but there was an order that unless it was an official inspection, or I approached them myself to talk, they were to ignore our presence. It required a lot of discipline not to be distracted when a member of the family they serve suddenly arrived. Curiosity is hard to ignore in many cases, but these guards were so well trained that, other than the fact that they seemed aware of my presence, nothing changed between them.

Not even the officers in charge let them give their orders, or change their way of speaking just because of my presence. Something that, in a way, was reassuring. It may not seem like it, but I'm not as used to it as others might think about being a noblewoman. I'm still not comfortable with the whole thing of having servants, guards, or even knights in my service.

I moved my attention to the four fighting arenas, trying to take my mind off the thought. I wanted to work on that bit by bit, but today was an unexpected day off, so I was going to enjoy it as much as I could.

The arena contained the most noise in the whole place, being cheers and shouts, many of which were of pain or insults from the officials themselves.

The fighting caught my attention. There were all sorts of people there, using a variety of flashy and familiar weapons.

The combatants were also quite striking. Males and females of different races, sizes, and shapes were sweating, grunting, and letting out cries full of courage and bravery, as their weapons clashed loudly and tenaciously.

One would expect that, in a fantasy world, there would be more... flashy moves. But in a realistic setting, many of those flashy, impressive moves in movies and anime, full of flips or quick movements that get your heart pumping adrenaline like a diesel engine, don't exist or are useless in real life.

They're still visually impressive, but you'll never see a Kirito out there somersaulting to deflect bullets with his sword. The fights looked more like the fights you're used to seeing at Renaissance fairs or between the more specialized groups, who are entirely devoted to historically correct medieval fights.

I could see some guardsmen having real clashes of brute force and technique, grinning fiercely and spilling their blood without hesitation. I would say the best example of this was a duel between two females in the ring closest to my position.

The first was a female with short, braided, dark brown hair. She was large, perhaps a head or two smaller than Dad, and had skin of a gray color similar to cool cement, with two black horns with white tips on the sides of her head, making her look like a raging bull. Let's call her Helga, because... well, for some reason, I feel the name fits her perfectly.

Because of the distance, I couldn't see her eyes well, but I did manage to see a determined and serious expression on her face. She was facing another girl of somewhat similar size, slightly shorter and less muscular, but no less impressive. She had dulled black hair, with skin similar to mine, but of a darker shade. I suppose from being exposed to the light of the sky sisters for so long. She didn't look like the same race as the bigger one, who I determined was a Friasan, thanks to what Kila had been teaching me so far.

I couldn't see her expression, as her back was turned to me, but I could sense from the seriousness of her opponent that she was just as focused on this fight. We'll call her Gert. Because she looks like a Gertrude.

Helga carried a wooden shield and a round-tipped mace, while Gert, used a two-handed axe, which had the edge of its blade dulled.

For a long time, they circled the ring, analyzing their opponent. Helga made some feints looking for some kind of response from her smaller opponent, raising her shield and throwing a few blows with her mace. But Gert would not fall for her provocations, and responded with her attacks towards Helga's legs, driving her back each time, and keeping her at a distance where she could easily attack and defend.

It seemed that they would be like that for a long time until Gert threw a blow with the handle of her axe, which was dodged very easily by Helga, who saw in that her opportunity to attack. Using her shield to hit the axe, she destabilized Gert and proceeded to throw a vertical blow with her mace, putting all her strength into that attack. It looked like Gert would take a direct hit to her head, but to everyone's surprise, and more to the surprise of the shield bearer, the smaller one threw herself to the ground to the side, more specifically the side where Helga was holding her mace, and as fast as possible, she got up and, taking advantage of her larger opponent's imbalance, swung her axe in an open arc that generated so much force that I could even hear the impact. From just the sound it made, I was almost certain that it had broken a couple of ribs.

Helga fell to the side, rolling about three times before struggling back to her feet. The pain was clear in her expression, but not a hint of her determination faded from her gaze. She managed to regain her posture with a struggle, facing Gert again, who seemed more confident than at the beginning of the fight.

They both walked around each other again, keeping their distance, but this time Helga was taking much slower and unsteady steps, as she was limited by the pain in her side. Gert wanted to take advantage of this, but every time she tried to approach and attack, she was met by her opponent's shield, followed by a blow from the mace.

Finally, Gert, who had seemed the wiser of the two, took advantage of a blow from Helga's mace to hook her axe against the tip of the mace, pulling it and drawing it towards herself, forcing her to fight in range and seeking to break her balance. Unfortunately for her, that had been a grave mistake.

She had forgotten one very important detail. Her opponent could release her weapon. Helga used her mace as bait, waiting for the smaller one to try to hook it, and as soon as she did, she immediately released her mace and charged at her. Catching Gert off guard, who looked confused, Helga put all her weight behind her shield and charged straight ahead. Instantly I could see Gert's face grimacing, realizing her mistake just before the shield slammed into her face and fell unconscious to the ground, leaving the unwavering Helga as the winner.

Cheers and laughter and a few jeers erupted in the arena, turning it into some sort of a festival. Helga raised her fists in victory, with a huge smile on her face, while the loser was quickly attended to by a person similar to the slimy lady, I met at the Nazzik house. She seemed to be of the same species, and somehow, I felt that whatever they were they were made to be doctors.

I thought things would end up like in street fights, with everyone going out on their own, but after a couple of seconds, Helga approached her defeated opponent, and after a few words with the doctor, she firmly but carefully lifted Gert, carrying her in her arms like a princess. Although I wasn't sure that was the most accurate way to describe what was going on.

When they finally left the arena, a couple of kids; maybe 10 or 11 years old, entered it, swept and cleaned up the place, and disappeared as soon as they arrived, allowing the next fighters to enter and carry out their confrontation.

I asked Ameli who they were and her response went like this:

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“They are orphans. The guards often call them in as cheap, efficient labor when they have this large-scale training. The children get easy and plentiful money and they avoid the hassle of having to do it.” Ameli replied quickly; and in a monotone that almost sounded a bit exasperated, it was informative enough that I didn't care much for the way she went about it. It was a little strange, though.

The kids swept the arena and picked up anything that might be a hindrance to the next fight. I spotted one of them picking up something small and white from the ground. I was sure it was Gert's tooth that had been knocked out in that last bash. I wasn't surprised that it happened, but that it was just one. That kind of hit looked like it would break your jaw at the very least.

Shortly after that, the next fight began, a male that looked like Atenosia, against a female that looked a bit like Delia, albeit with more defined muscles. The female seemed to have the advantage in strength, but the male was much more dexterous and precise with his attacks.

The fight lasted a little less than the previous one but ended with the victory of the male. Both left the arena laughing like good friends.

And so the fights in the place continued, each one being just as exciting and entertaining... until finally, I got bored, both because I was in one place for too long, and because Ameli paid almost no attention to me.

It was at that point that I decided it was time to go visit the chicks.

From my spot, I could see a path that led directly toward the Ekus' Nidary, and it was completely alone, so I could go completely unnoticed if I went that way. I turned to Ameli to make sure she wasn't looking at me and slowly stood up. Very carefully, I walked down from the bleachers to ground level, making sure every few steps that Ameli wasn't looking at me. Finally, I reached the road and hurried towards the Nidarys barely containing my smile.

In the distance, I could see the fence that separated the barnyard where the Ekus were and the rest of the grounds. To the left was a huge wooden building with a thatched roof, where they slept and hatched their chicks. That was my goal.

I ran as fast as my little legs would let me... without falling, and soon I finally reached my destination.

There were dozens of giant birds in that barnyard. Many were running and squawking while others were walking and eating or huddling on the ground enjoying the warm afternoon light, cleaning their plumage, or just relaxing. I smiled happily at the sight of them. I hadn't seen many animals since I came into this world, and, coincidentally, the few I did see were birds. This reminds me, Kiki, the little bird that Sarka gave Zenya on her fifth birthday, sometimes used to fly around the mansion and come to the nidarys. He didn't seem to be around yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up any time this afternoon.

I stared at these majestic birds for a while longer until a sound caught my attention. It was the chirps of some chicks running and playing around and they were MY babies. As soon as I saw them, I ran towards them, happy to finally see them after so long.

Although the fence might seem like a hindrance because of how well constructed it was, it had a weak spot. Oh yes, they always had one. Near the Nidary, there was a large enough space that I could always enter through, obscured by some bushes, which hid that spot very well and, fortunately, also prevented the chicks from finding it. Suspicious? Yes, very. But it's very convenient so who am I to question it?

I went through the fence in the middle of those bushes, making sure my clothes didn't get caught in the leaves and branches, and entered the barnyard just as my babies were approaching. I immediately fell to the ground, surrounded by six feathered balls that “attacked” me as I burst out laughing. That was their greeting to me, knocking me to the ground as they chirped and pecked at me. Of course, they didn't hurt me, they were surprisingly careful.

“I miss you too,” I said as I stroked the head of each of my chicks. I rose from the floor, shaking off some of the dust that had accumulated on my dress, and started walking toward the Nidary, with the little ones behind me, in what could be seen as a mama duck and her ducklings, only I was smaller than they were.

It had only been a couple of months since the last time I managed to sneak out here, but it felt like it had been years.

The Nidary was a huge barn, much like the one used for horses and other similar animals, only it looked a little more like a huge chicken coop. Walking through the huge double doors, you could see a large number of cubicles at least 2 mts x 2 mts (6 ft x 6 ft), and in each one were large piles of straw, feathers, and animal fur that the Ekus used to form their nests. Many of those were empty, because the nesting season was every 3 years between mid-fall and early winter, and because most of the Ekus we had had not laid eggs last year. The six chicks behind me were the only ones that had hatched this time.

In this family barnyard we had about 40 adult ekus, of which 30 were mounts for the elite knights of our order, and the remaining 10 were the 6 chicks and the alpha and his 3 matriarchs. The rest of the birds used by the order were in the main building in a location that, at the moment, I do not know.

The main group was outside in the barnyard, about half of them, while the rest were inside the nidary, some sleeping or just sitting there.

Since there were no changes in here, at least nothing that I could see so far, I decided it was time to play. I turned around and met the curious gaze of the little chicks and, before they could react, I started to run outside. It took a second for the six of them to chase me, but when they did, I could hear them chirping happily as they flapped their wings loudly, as if flapping them gave them some kind of momentum to catch up with me.

You could say that being animals bred specifically as riding beasts, they should be fast, but in reality, they were relatively slow. At least slow enough that they couldn't catch up with me. It would seem strange, wouldn't it? In this body, I can't run as fast as I'd like to, especially since I tend to fall off from time to time if I don't watch where I'm going, but surprisingly, whenever we play chase, they fail to catch up most of the time. Sometimes I think they are just being considerate of me, which is very... smart behavior for such animals, let alone chicks. But I'm unable to say for sure.

Oddly enough, today was one of those days when they caught up with me. And when I say they caught up to me, I mean they pounced on me knocking me to the ground, again. Luckily, I didn't get hurt, as again, oddly enough, they were surprisingly nice to me. It's as if they knew I was too fragile to play with them seriously. And just like before, I got “affectionate” pecks from all of them while I was on the ground.

*GWAAAAAAAK*

While we were at it, a mighty squawk was heard a few feet away from us, along with loud stomps from an approaching group. The chicks stopped and in unison, raised their heads looking to the side, I gasped as I saw the main group approaching us at high speed, along with a small dust-up behind them. It was like a military charge approaching us, something not at all far from reality when you remember that these animals are used as cavalry...or aviary? birdery? I don't know what the hell to call that...

A couple more facts about the Ekus that you need to know that I learned throughout my time observing them. Ekus are led by an alpha male and a group of “matriarchs” of between 2 to 6 females, depending on the size of the family group. These are the ones who make the decisions for the flock, with the alpha male having the last word... or the last squawk for that matter, and the matriarchs maintaining the order of the whole group.

Normally their groups consist of a maximum of 10 individuals, but these ekus have been bred to form large groups for the simple fact of using them in large-scale battles, where they need to be all coordinated with each other.

On top of all that, they are extremely overprotective. And when I say it's extreme, I mean it is. I once saw one of the adults’ crushes with his powerful paws a small animal that approached one of the chicks. It wasn't pretty...

The group finally caught up with us, with the alpha male in front and his 3 matriarchs behind him, while the rest formed a circle around us. The alpha slowly approached me as I got up from the ground and pushed away the chicks who had huddled against each other next to me. The giant bird stared at me as it lowered its head, right in front of my face, and then immediately nudged me with its beak in greeting.

“Hi Mik! I’m glad t’see ya too!”

I patted Mik. He's a good boy. Remember Melar, the Eku who pulled the cart when I went to the Nazzik house? Mik is his older brother. Different lay, since Melar was born two lays after Mik, but he's his brother, all things considered. And they both behave the same when I pet them.

Behind him are Anta, Mir, and Vek, the matriarchs, who also approached with the same intention as Mik.

After the greetings, the group, including me, moved towards the center of the barnyard, where they had been before. Of course, the little ones and I took the opportunity to resume our game and continued chasing each other all the way... until I simply couldn't take it anymore and ended up leaning my back on Anta who had curled up on the ground.

Those chicks have more energy than Labrador puppies.

I allowed myself to relax in Anta's soft feathers as I watched the chicks continue to frolic all over the place. The eku herself rested her head next to me, begging for cuddles, something I didn't hesitate in the least to give her. It was amazing how adorable these giant birds were. But even more so how much we had become attached.

I remember Kila once told me that earning the affection of an eku is not difficult, but earning the trust of a flock is. I wonder, what would Makila, or Mom think if they saw me right now? I was surrounded by a flock of Ekus bred to be on the battlefield, trained to be fearless in front of any army, behaving like spoiled children with me. I was sure they would definitely frea-

“ORINTHYA NITA BAELIAN!”

My name was uttered loudly and with a lot of anger, sending a shiver down my spine that made me cringe in fear. I moved my gaze to the corral fence that was only a few feet away from me, fear in my heart.

There she was...my mother...with her eyes wide open and... I think I saw a vein throbbing in her forehead. Next to her was one of our knights, whom I didn't know, but which I knew was one of ours by his uniform and the family crest on his chest. On the other side, Ameli, looking at the ground and trying to look as small as possible.

“What do you think you're doing there? Get over here this instant!” she ordered, glaring at me and stomping her feet on the ground, furious.

Even Anta was intimidated by my mother's voice, enough so that she stood up, causing me to almost fall backward, and squawking as if she sensed I was in danger, which caught the attention of the rest of the ekus who immediately went on the defensive, surrounding me as if they were protecting me.

I was too scared, as well as confused, to do anything. The ekus were preparing to defend me as they would with their young, and every second I didn't move was another second that Mom became much more furious.

Suddenly, Mik squawked loudly, just as he did before when he mobilized the flock to greet me. All the ekus backed away as he walked toward me, snorting directly in my face. I could almost swear that it had been a sigh of annoyance. It was as if Mik himself knew I escaped to come here and was reproaching me for having done so. I had to look away from the alpha, knowing full well he was right.

Mik squawked at me and nudged me with his beak, urging me to get up, then slowly, like an executioner sending a criminal to the execution block, escorted me to the fence where the knight helped me over to the other side. Mik gave me one last squawk, as a final farewell, before turning and heading back with his flock on his way to the nidary.

“Can you tell, what were you doing in there?” my mother asked with a calmness that I could only describe as restrained anger.

“Playing,” I replied, in a whisper, keeping my gaze away from her.

“Playing? I see. And tell me, who permitted you to come all this way, alone? Because when I ran into your maid, she was desperately looking for you all over the training grounds.”

I looked at Ameli in surprise. I hadn't thought about what would happen to Ameli once she realized I was missing. The girl flinched when Mom mentioned her. I felt terrible to think what might happen to Ameli because of me.

“Shit...”

I swore, feeling guilty for what I did. I expected her to get nothing more than a small scolding, after all, I was the one who sneaked out.

“...What did you just say?” I heard a gasp and then that question, uttered in a voice as icy as the tundra. And in that instant, I covered my mouth with both hands, realizing I said that out loud.

If I had already screwed up, now I had practically sunk into the abyss.