"Again."

I resisted the urge to turn around and punch him.

Seriously.

This was the fifth time he had told me to write the weird dragon alphabet. Every character was so complex that each individual one took me ages just to get it to look even remotely similar to the original. My hand was cramping, my concentration was dwindling and I was seriously beginning to regret my decision to accept him as my teacher. After another pain-staking hour, I rose from my chair and walked over to where he basked in the afternoon sun, reading a book brought in by the butler.

While I tried to mirror every word, he remained lounging in the chair by the window where a soft breeze would come in and make some of his long hair fan out around him.

His hair had always been a mystery to me.

His blood red eyes remained fixated on the book, with an elbow on the arm rest and his jaw resting on his fist. In the other hand, he held the book with one hand.

He could be an oil painting.

Apprehensively, I walked over and held out the long list to him.

I was quite proud of myself this time. I had managed to get the curved angles and fine strokes. What had once felt foreign to my hands, now felt more familiar and sure within my grasp. The quill had been difficult to master initially, but after Kael drilled the proper technique into me, I then had to face the challenge of working with ink.

Funnily enough, I had not had much exposure to writing before this. All the maids had replied to letters and written them for me.

Now I realised (perhaps) that hadn't worked in my favour.

As I held the list to him, his body remained still, then for a brief second his eyes flicked over to my paper before returning to his book. He was expressionless and I felt my stomach drop.

"Again."

I wanted to scream.

Nyx gave the mental image of examining her nails.

I was silent.

I scoffed mentally. Don't tempt me.

I brushed her off. Thank you but I still want to live another day.

She shrugged.

Biting back a nasty reply, I stomped over to the desk and brushed all the old paper to the side and picked up a fresh sheet.

This process repeated itself into the night. It got to the point that I refused to have dinner until Kael acknowledged my work.

Just as stubbornly as I refused to leave until I perfected it, Kael didn't once change positions throughout the whole day. It was inhuman.

He could have been a statue in the background.

With each repetition of the alphabet, I began to notice how the strokes of the original letters differed. Copying from these original letters that Kael had written, I noticed how some appeared to start at certain points. Keeping that in mind, I adjusted myself accordingly. Each time, I paid careful attention to the spacing and length of the strokes.

It felt as if I was writing detention letters.

Thousands of lines of 'I will not misbehave' until my brain would go numb. The only difference was, this time I was determined to make it absolutely perfect.

By the time I finished yet again, Kael was now basking in the moonlight and my stomach was growling.

This time as I held it out, my expectations had flatlined. I was already preparing to walk back to his desk and repeat those cursed letters until my fingers bled.

Just as I was considering using the sharp quill to stab myself in the jugular and end this miserable existence, I felt Kael take the sheet from my hands.

He stared at the paper and carefully examined the words.

I felt a sweat form on my brow.

"Good."

Nyx was shell-shocked.

I was too stunned to reply. Had I actually managed to get his approval?

Was I finally seeing the light?

Without a sound, Kael rose out of his ancient clawed fabric chair and folded the sheet of paper, tucking it away in the inside pocket of his coat.

"Time for dinner."

My stomach pretty much growled in response and I felt my face go aflame with the shame that I was starving. Showing him weakness didn't exactly sit well with me.

As we walked out into the hallway, I waited for him to start walking so I could follow behind. For some reason, he remained still.

"Are you coming or not?"

I stared at him for a moment, wondering what he was trying to say. Obviously yes?

Nyx rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh.

It was my turn to be shell-shocked.

Surely not–

"If you don't come now you can starve."

Without a second thought I sprinted forward, the power of my hunger propelling me. As I came to his side, Kael turned and continued walking.

With long strides, I struggled to keep up before he slowed his pace again. The very fact that he was taking me into consideration mystified me to no end.

A few months later, I got a letter from the brothers. In truth, I hadn't been expecting them to reply so quickly. Inside, they noted that one of the professors was keen to know the source of the characters, and in fact had requested to meet me. Although Lucius mentioned in the letter that neither him nor Rounen were too keen on the idea, they didn't outright refuse.

As it had just passed the new year, being a professor, his schedule was tight and I wasn't able to book an appointment until the end of the year. This meant I would have to wait and make another longer trip to the capital.

All together, the time it took from actually handing my brothers the letter, then getting back to me, then replying and finally consolidating an appointment, the time span was two years.

In those two years, upon discovering that I would be spending a considerable amount of time in the capital, Lettie had organised an etiquette tutor through Kael. Although her lessons were considerably more boring that my sword lessons, at least it was teaching me not make a fool of myself. No matter how fake it all was.

Despite the etiquette tutor not liking the fact that I was being taught under the sword, she couldn't say anything when Kael continued my lessons with Tirack.

Kael also continued to teach me on the side. Mastering the writing of the letters was only a small stone in a mountain of knowledge that needed to be learned. After covering history and the reading, Kael began teaching me how to speak the language. The worst part was that the language was partially tonal, which infuriated me to no end. It was like writing the alphabet all over again. I kept having to recite it aloud again and again until Kael liked the way it sounded. The alphabet was 126 letters long and I almost wanted to cry when Kael made me repeat the first word 'Ra' over a hundred times. I hadn't even reached the second word yet.

His amusement at my frustration made me want to throw a book at his ugly handsome face.

Still, there was so much satisfaction at being able to stare at the ancient characters and being able to understand the meaning behind them. Though my understanding was still like that of a young child's, Kael's ability to provide insight upon the various ways of interpreting a text—and the true meaning behind it, were pearls that I always treasured. It became almost a custom for the duke and his daughter to sometimes be up until one or two in the morning before a satisfactory result was achieved, before finally dining together. I felt bad for the servants that had to stay awake and keep the food fresh for us.

The hardest part about reciting the language, was that I had to stand in the centre of the room all day until my legs ached. There was a time, when he finally gave his approval after reciting words in the Draconian language all day, that my knees gave out underneath me. Standing was a different kind of exhaustion to fighting or exercising. It was a battle of fatigue that made you want to give up.

After falling on the floor, I hadn't even noticed Kael get up from his chair, take me into his arms in one smooth action and carry me all the way to dinner without so much as a flinch. The stares of the servants that day were enough to make me want to cry. But if Kael wasn't saying anything, then neither was I.

After finally booking the appointment with the professor, I was excited to head to the capital for a change of scenery.

Upon the discovery of my plans, Kael mentioned that I could skip lessons as long as I practiced. Although glad, the thought of returning to lessons without having practiced scared me. The only thing which scared me more than showing weakness, was disappointment.

I guess it was technically another form of weakness, so I was bound to dislike it.

After mentioning that I could skip lessons, he handed me a letter.

While taking it out of his hands, I glanced at it and noticed that it was addressed to someone I was unfamiliar with.

"Hand that to the butler in the capital. He'll know what to do."

My blank expression must've made its point.

"There is a DeVillanova mansion in the capital. Stay there so you can rest. The letter is addressed to the butler there."

There's was nothing else I could say.

"Thank you."

He brushed me off. "Make sure Lucius and Rounen give you a proper tour."

The gesture left me feeling somewhat appreciative. Kael didn't appear to be acting any different from normal, so the most I could do was treat this as nothing and leave the room before I ruined the moment.

After discovering my journey to the capital, Lettie opened my wardrobe and gave a dissatisfied sigh. "My Lady, you can't keep wearing the same dresses. You have only seven!"

Surely this was too much? I had only had four in my previous life. "I wear training outfits more than I wear dresses, you know that. Besides, I have a dress for each day of the week!"

Lettie turned on me, a scowl and her eyes becoming momentarily feline. "Things are different in the capital. If a daughter of a duke is discovered wearing the same dress twice, you'll become the subject of public gossip and ridicule."

I paused. "Seriously?"

Lettie pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is why we do etiquette lessons, My Lady. Knowledge like this is common sense in the capital. I will not have them talk about you like that. So–" Sweeping her arm through the closet, she placed all the dresses in one of my suitcases. "This will have to suffice until we go shopping in the capital. The jewellers come after that."

"But–"

Lettie held up a hand. "I know what you are going to say, but no. A lady must always have good jewellery. Especially the daughter of a duke. You may not have to wear any here, but this will change if you are to be spending more than a few days in the capital, and be under public scrutiny."

With a forceful sigh of resignation, I fell back onto my bed. Dressing up took so long.

Lettie pulled out a simple but elegant dress which she liked to layer with jewellery. "If you are to be spending time as the DeVillanova mansion in the capital, you shall arrive as the young lady of the house."

I sat up in a huff. "Fine."

Lettie gave a triumphant smile. "Rightly so."

Fortunately Kael held no reserve in the allowance of magic stones to speed up the journey. The four hour journey went surprisingly quick. As we travelled, I spent my time pouring over the Draconian language and reciting the words again to myself. It wasn't until the carriage stopped and Lettie opened the door announcing our arrival, that I looked up.

As always, I was blown away by the shear wealth of everything. This is hardly a mansion.

It took all my strength to not let my mouth hang open.

There were servants lined up all the way to the door, and the butler stood at the front with the head maid, welcoming smiles on their faces.

I had to strain my neck to look upwards. The ancient architecture and light reflections off the stone gave it a majestic feel. If this was earth, it would be heritage listed. The great doorway and all the maids bowed forward made me fee embarrassed. They were so welcoming that I was caught off guard.

What had Kael written in the letter?

I was curious. But not enough to ask the butler.

After being taken throughout the various corridors and galleries of the mansion, I was taken to my 'suite' and was about to collapse in exhaustion before Lettie stopped me.

"There's no time for that My Lady. We have more important things to do while the servants unpack for us."

I rolled my eyes. "Like what?"

I was itching to take off my dress, but judging by the excited gleam in Lettie's eyes, I had a feeling I wouldn't be taking the dress off for a long time.

Lettie smiled. "The most important thing for any lady."

I looked at her and felt my stomach drop in understanding.

"Shopping."