Villainess From the Stars

9. Training Among the Trees

Vienna and her father were fine on their own for a while.

It was lovely to have their little corner of the world, away from everyone. Sometimes she would even forget why she had been so intent on studying each day.

Vienna found she loved the days they would explore the estate lands together.

The best days were those spent in the trees. Her father would lift her onto his shoulders. He'd point out the natural notches in the wood, his calloused fingers almost caressing the bark tenderly.

"If you are unable to see up ahead, let your hands be your eyes. Always keep at least three places of contact upon the tree at all times."

Pop would stand at the base of the tree as Vienna made her first effort to climb.

Her fingers scraped against the rough bark at first. Her bare feet dug into the natural footholds as she lifted herself up. She'd reach a hand out, searching for the next notch, only to slip down the base of the tree. Her father would catch her before she could hurt herself too much.

Her father would look over her scrapes and once he'd wrapped a bigger scrape on her knees.

"Soon you won't easily get hurt." He would always kiss the wound and then her forehead. "Soon you won't even need me to catch you."

Her dark brown eyes that matched the forest would dip at the corners, unspoken words caught in her throat.

Pop would then place his forehead against hers. "I'll always be near if you need me."

He was right. It didn't take her long to start to be able to almost on instinct find the different grooves on a tree. Her upper body strength was still lacking. Pop would have her hang on a low-hanging branch and lift herself up.

Her young arms turned from weak noodles to more toned limbs as the days and weeks passed.

Her toes looked like strong little branches as they grew stronger. They learned how to grip the bark of the trees as she'd ascend up the trunks.

One day when she was eight, Vienna stood on one of the higher limbs with her father.

Pop looked at her with a smile. "Now that you've grown stronger, it's time to show you how to travel using the forest as your guide."

Her jaw dropped as she watched her father jump from the limb they stood on to a limb across the path on another tree.

His smile was the widest she'd ever seen. A deep bellowing laughter echoed from his chest as he saw her gobsmacked expression.

"You'll be able to do the same, Vienna."

She shook her head, looking at the distance between the two trees, at least six feet away from each other.

Her gaze lifted to see her father still with his teeth glinting in the sunlight. "First I will teach you the bo staff. It will help you, little flower, to cross the distance until your legs can make the jump unaided."

Vienna would look forward to each dawn's light, as it reflected off the estate's land. Her father and her would slide forward barefoot on the grass. Arms in the air as they went through a series of exercises and stretches that reminded her of her old world's tai chi.

As no more tutors came to the estate, Vienna also learned from her father how to maintain the estate during the day.

He taught her how he was assisting the tenants to cultivate their own lands. The royals had set a goal for their highest-ranking nobles - those who had fought or helped their fellow people directly during the war. The nobles were tasked to get the kingdom to get back on its feet. They needed to help commerce and trade between the other kingdoms of the Continent to become more prolific. Only then would the whole Continent be able to grow and be rebuilt.

"One day, I hope to leave this estate's main house to the people. Perhaps it could become a primary school for the youngest ones like you once suggested. So that they could head off to the Capital and pursue a trade at the schools there. If I can help them become self-sufficient, someday this could become its own little town."

Later, Vienna lay beneath the Old One. Her mind drifted back to what her father had said and her hand rubbed her chest, trying to ease the sudden sharp pang.

She didn't like the idea of leaving the place she had come to think of as her home.

Her eyes closed as she breathed deeply the fresh air. One of her hands fell upon the large roots that peeked out from the ground. Her other hand grasped onto the terra beneath her.

The grass almost seemed to tremble beneath her, as if responding to her anxiety.

She felt calm as a subtle hum echoed through her body, easing her tense muscles. Vienna's dark lashes fluttered. She peered up at the light filtering through the large tree's emerald adornments. Its limbs seemed to stretch up to the skies painted in corn silk blues and vibrant violets.

The idea of someday leaving behind her father and her Old One caused a whisper to escape her. "I don't want to leave you."

The Old One had sheltered their picnics. It had allowed them to climb its massive limbs when Vienna trained with her Pop.

The thrum had grown stronger and Vienna smiled up at the tree. "It's almost like you are trying to reassure me."

She shook her head with a small huff of laughter.

That night before bed, as she sat on her window seat, the soothing hum surrounded her once more. She glanced away from the hand that she'd been practicing her gift on. It returned to its normal fairness as the dark brown wood grain seemed to almost vanish. She leaned on the windowsill and looked over at the Old One with a smile on her lips as she hummed a tune back.