15 Dirt

Heavy footsteps plodded the ground.

Drops of sweat rained on the dry dirt, and brief, desperate breaths warmed the cold training grounds. All of a sudden, the body of a thin boy collapsed on the ground, sending dust particles up in the air, "Huff... huff..."

"What the hell are you doing? Get up!" barked a burly man, "Shit, it's not that god damned difficult! It's not like I asked you to eat a bushel of apples and shit a fruit salad! I just told you to run three laps around this tiny little area. Are you actually so weak?"

Yuna couldn't respond, as she was already struggling to breathe.

Callahan aggressively stabbed through the ground with his sword, "Really, is that all you've got? Am I going to be training such a pathetic worm?! C'mon, get up! Get moving! Show me your determination!"

It was unknown what compelled her, but although she was on the verge of passing out, Yuna pulled herself off the ground and finished running around the track.

Now done with the laps, she fell to her knees, unable to feel her legs.

Callahan's grumbled complaints didn't reach her ears, "This is why I don't train children… where the hell did this kid come from, anyways? His stamina is fucking awful…" He stared at the boy who was heaving on the floor and shook his head in disapproval, 'With those weak bones, I doubt he'll get very far. Prince Winston had the perfect constitution, it's such a shame he died. He was such a good kid, too…'

Rubbing his eyes, he sighed, "Get up, boy."

Yuna got up with great difficulty, persevering through the pain in her legs. She ignored the soreness and stood straight at attention, waiting for his next order.

'Yes, it's too soon to lose all hope… I might be able to work with this,' Callahan harrumphed, "Too slow. Go back down, and the next time you come up, I want you to say "Yes, sir." You got that, boy?"

Yuna inhaled and squeezed out a "Yes, sir!" before kneeling down.

"Good, you're a fast learner. Now, get up, boy!"

"Yes, sir!" she shouted, shooting up into a straight posture.

"That's more like it. Now, tell me boy, do you know what you lack?"

Yuna thought for a second, and replied hesitantly, "…Everything?"

Callahan nodded, "Yes, that's right. You lack all of the above-- That's why you're going to have to train many times harder in order to fill Prince Winston's role. But that's not all. Because he was widely known as a genius, you'll have to work even harder."

Yuna could feel the blood draining from her face, already feeling faint from his words, "Yes sir."

Callahan knelt down and grabbed Yuna's shoulders. Staring into her eyes, he told her, "Listen to me, you're not doing this for yourself, you're doing this for the kingdom. If people find out their only prince has died, there's no telling what will happen. You understand me, right? I'm not making you work this hard because I enjoy seeing you in pain."

Yuna straightened her back, quickly calming down, and replied firmly, "Yes, sir."

"That's a good Winston," he pat her back, "This should be a lot easier since you seem to understand most of what I'm saying. Right now, we're going to focus more on your stamina. Tell me, boy. Do you know what stamina is?"

Yuna decided to pretend not to know, "No, sir."

Callahan pulled his sword out of the ground, "Stamina determines how long one lasts in a fight. The more you have, the better. Until I decide you have enough to pick up the sword, that thing you were holding earlier, you will be working on increasing your stamina. In the meantime, we'll be strengthening those weak bones of yours," he pointed the sword at her, "You got that, kid?"

"Yes, sir!" Yuna nodded.

Callahan chuckled, "I hope you do… Now go out there and give me another six laps!"

'Fuck…' Yuna cursed everything and gave Callahan another "Yes, sir!" before running off, remembering to keep a steadier pace than last time.

A sigh escaped Callahan's mouth as he watched as the pale, skinny boy run circles around the track. An indescribable expression rested on his face.

…

The butler walked into the training grounds with a stern expression and a notebook in hand. He looked on the ground to find Yuna huffing and panting, sprawled out on the floor. She had just finished learning a few exercises of this world. Callahan was standing beside with her water container in hand, looking pleased.

Writing something in the notebook, the butler spoke, "Your highness, it is time we head to your next assignment."

Yuna got up feeling dizzy and terribly fatigued. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, between breaths, she replied, "Yes."

As she took her time getting up, Callahan walked over to the butler and exhanged a few words with him. His serious face and the butler's speedy note-taking left much to be afraid of.

Yuna couldn't hear a word of what they were saying, which was a little bothering, so she just kept a distance in case she got in trouble for eavesdropping. As the two men conversed, she dusted the dirt off her messy clothes to look more presentable in front of the butler.

Soon enough, she noticed they had finished their conversation, and joined the butler as he walked off of the grounds. Just as they were about to exit the area, Yuna felt a hard pull on her arm, almost falling backwards. She was taken by surprise, but didn't resist his grip. The butler turned her around to make her bid farewell with him to Callahan with a courteous bow.

Callahan waved them off and returned to the open room on the side of the training grounds.

Seeing Callahan's back as he nonchalantly walked off, Yuna sighed, realizing that from now on, it was very likely that she'd have to go through what she did today every single day.

As Yuna and the butler left the training grounds, his polite and dignified face made a complete 180 as his face morphed into something ugly. "What a disappointment to the royal family's name," he spat while clicked his tongue and hit the back of Yuna's head, "Go clean yourself before we head over to your next lesson. You look and smell like garbage."

Already adapted to the verbal and physical abuse, Yuna immediately bowed her head and responded obediently, "Understood." It was hard to tell who was the servant and who was the master.

…

Now in fresh clothes, Yuna walked swiftly and silently beside the butler. No one spoke a word as they arrived at their next destination. The whole way, Yuna was looking at the floor. She believed that at this point, appearing as docile and lowly as possible behind the butler would earn her the least amount of beatings.

This is why Yuna almost bumped into him when he stopped in front of a large, wooden door. Nervous at what was soon to come, she braced herself as she watched the butler open yet another door. And so it continued like that for the rest of day as the white-haired boy, accompanied by a strict butler, was introduced to the rest of her countless instructors.

...