The Princess who became King (ONC 2020）

Chapter 5

They had made plans to meet the next morning before dawn in the training center. Katrina had no idea what to expect, or why this man had decided to train her. He was taking a big risk. If the king found out, he could be exiled, or worse.

Katrina tossed and turned that night, a nervous excitement clouded her mind, making it hard to fall asleep. She went over the fight in her head multiple times, trying to prepare herself in the only way she could. She imagined Sir Dominic would be rather disappointed in her physical state. She had been bedridden for the past while, and her muscles and lung capacity likely atrophied after so much inactivity.

After some time, she managed to quiet her mind and fall blissfully asleep.

She awoke to her handmaid gently nudging her shoulder. "You requested I wake you at this ungodly hour?" Katrina smiled. She quickly dressed in her riding clothes, thankful she at least wasn't forced to wear a dress for that. Her handmaid looked at her curiously but decided not to ask questions. She seemed quite happy that Katrina was up and about.

It was still quite dark by the time Katrina arrived at the training center. Sir Dominic was already waiting, two swords in hand. She greeted him with a polite curtsy. He grunted in response, shoving the sword in her palm. He must not be a morning person.

She noticed that the sword he gave her was the one she took an interest in the day before. Although it had some sort of hard protective sleeve on the blade.

"When I train someone, I train them with the sword they are meant to use. I don't start off with wooden sticks like other trainers." He began gruffly. He looked at his own sword fondly before continuing. "Each sword has its own personality. Its own strengths and weaknesses. If you train with anything else, not only will you need to get used to the weight, but you'll have to take extra time getting accustomed to its characteristics."

Its own personality? Katrina wondered as she looked at her sword, remembering the feeling the went through her when she first picked it up. 

"You're not one of my soldiers, so I won't get down to the nitty-gritty and teach you the things that I test my soldiers on. I'm putting you on a more rigorous, fast-paced schedule." he paused, looking at her, "I heard you've been...ill for a while. That's quite alright, we'll get you back into shape in no time, but it'll require much dedication on your part."

He circled around her, examining her with a critical eye. "Women carry a lot of strength in their legs. So we'll use that. Of course, we'll need to get your overall strength, endurance and speed up, but I'll show you how to play to your strengths, in the event you find yourself in a tough situation."

Katrina clenched her jaw. Where was he before she started going out into town? She turned to look at him. "Sir Dominic, why are you doing this? You're putting your life in danger by letting me wield a sword. It is forbidden."

He had a grave look on his face. "My dear Princess, I have heard certain rumblings of late, rumours and whispers of an attack. The Queen is a dear old friend of mine." he looked at her pointedly, "She told me what happened. But that is not the only reason I would like to train you."

Katrina looked at him curiously. Why would a master swordsman give a princess a single thought? "No?"

"You a part of a very dangerous, cut-throat world. You may not see it yet, but there is a much bigger picture going on around you. And I suspect, you may even hold the biggest role in this story." She couldn't discern the look in his eye. Admiration? Respect?

"I've been meaning to approach you anyways. Your interest will make this much easier."

"Now, we will go through the basics of proper stance and how to wield the sword, then I will show you some of the simpler moves."

Her first lesson wasn't as exciting as she had hoped. He drilled proper form and footing into her, and by the time they got to actually using the sword, he could only show her a few moves before dawn broke. Before parting, he gave her a list of specific exercises that he expected her to do every day.

The next morning's lesson was a little more fruitful. She picked up on the stances and movements almost immediately and had no trouble remembering them. They even had a short, controlled sparring session. Once they finished, Sir Dominic gave her a wry smile, "You know, you pick this up faster than young men who've dreamt of training with me their whole lives."

They planned to meet every morning before dawn for practice. Soon enough the lessons had to start earlier and earlier in the morning as they became longer and more arduous. Her evening exercises became more difficult as well.

Katrina no longer had difficulties falling asleep. Between her morning training, her daily duties, and evening exercises, she was constantly busy, and often quite sore. Sir Dominic had given her a rare morning off, she enjoyed it by sipping hot tea by her window and looking at the garden. Guilt tugged at her heart. She felt like she had abandoned her people, she hadn't been out to see Jocelyn or other friends in many months.

Part of her was still scared. And she started getting complacent with her life in the castle, finally understanding the dangers that lurked beyond. She wanted to go out again, but how could she make any sort of difference when simply being a woman made her a target?

An idea began to form in the corners of her mind. She stood up and went to look at herself in the mirror. She had not yet applied face paint. She looked at herself with a critical eye as she pulled her hair back tightly. Katrina tried picturing herself wearing men's garb. Perhaps a young man's garb. She might just be able to pass as a boy, a feminine boy. She would need to do something about her chest, maybe a tight binding of some sort.

"I need to talk to Jocelyn." she realized. She might have an idea of how to dress Katrina to look like a man. Katrina smiled to herself, she might be able to make a difference after all.