Irene had spent the entire prior day making sure to avoid the Duke's Tower after what had occurred after her idiotic, drunk mistake. She even ate months-old jerky in her room instead of going for meals and checked on apprentices in the stables to ensure they were on track, but that was where her duties began and ended as she recovered from her first hangover.

She thought she had drank with Felix and the others in the past and felt a little off the mornings after, but it seemed that they hadn't even scratched the surface despite consuming ale or wine of some kind with every single meal.

Now it was hard to even look at a glass of the golden, red, or yellow liquid without wanting to cringe and she hadn't even eaten breakfast yet where there was sure to be watered down wine or ale since it was common to have with every meal.

And yet, all her efforts to avoid that place and make herself better, here her Commander was, patting her on the shoulder and asking her a question that was no doubt pointed. This situation had likely not even been an afterthought for him, while it was all she could think about for an entire day.

She attempted a slight smile at the older man and nodded.

"Much better," she explained. "The day of rest was very helpful. Thank you, Commander."

Her response sounded so automatic, she silently cursed herself. She wanted to act natural, but it was hard to get a grasp on it once more.

"I'm glad," he responded, but then he turned towards the others who were slowly gathering in the practice yard. "Let us all get reorganized and show me just how sharp all my knights are despite the month of stagnation in Idona. I will be practicing with you. We will call the practice together just as most of us did as apprentices. Sir Alix will be walking around and ensuring that all of you are giving it your all."

The thin knight nodded at these words as he stood next to Commander Henry. There were unsaid words that Alix couldn't even lift his sword at this point. That he was doing everything he could to recover, but it was slow.

At best, he could offer insight right now. As long as he was able to keep participating, that was all that seemed to matter to him.

It was almost reinvigorating for the knights to line up as the apprentices did each morning and pull out their usual weapons as they began to warm up and call out the movements in unison.

Sir Alix adjusted a few of the men or reminded them when their movements were becoming sloppy. Considering the caliber of sword fighter he was, they trusted his words. He was trained by the best in Hydrogia, after all. Even if he was a second-born he still benefited from it at one point or another.

By the time the warmups were finished, their shoulders were burning but they still needed to spar.

Even in the distance they traveled a couple of days before, it felt far colder here in the northwest where the tallest mountains stood. It was almost as if being close to such massive rock made the overall chill of the place more severe.

Despite the temperature, most knights had their sleeves pushed up and sweat glistening on their foreheads as they went forth.

As they paired off for sparring with wooden practice swords, Irene was satisfied when Bren approached her considering they had grown quite close while she oversaw the apprentices and he was the oldest and most reliable.

But it seemed she couldn't rest yet.

The voice of her tormenter, who didn't even know that's what he was to her, spoke up.

"I would like to spar with my third in command," Henry expressed. "The last time we had a proper sword fight was the day I met you. We ought to fix that."

What Irene didn't know was that the words she had said about being treated more gently were stuck in Henry's mind. He wanted to show her that he still treated her as a knight, but when they weren't behaving as such, she deserved the gentleness she desired that her drunk tongue revealed.

The Commander wasn't even sure if the knight remembered what she had said, nor would he ask. He merely wanted to be whatever she needed to enjoy her time as a knight.

If he wasn't mistaken, she faced him with a bit of confusion, but she trained her expression so that she could offer a small smile instead.

"If that's what you would like," she responded. "Sorry, Bren. I suppose that I have a partner already and I didn't even know it."

"Let us begin," the Commander called to the others. "If there are draws, I want you to switch partners and find a different challenge."

It was all in good fun. There was no prize for winning and no punishment for losing, but knights were prideful creatures who merely liked to be on top. That in itself was enough to prove to themselves that they were capable of protecting the kingdom they had laid down their swords for upon accepting the oath of their knighthood.

Henry faced Irene and she offered her sword for a show of good sportsmanship. The tall man accepted it before walking backwards a few steps. The circles in which they were able to spar in had limitations considering there were so many others sparring in the same practice yard.

Irene swore in that moment not to allow the man to get the best of her. He already knew that he could irritate her enough for her guard to come down and she wouldn't allow him to have the upperhand like that twice.

She saw his leg set as if he was going to launch forward, so Irene decided that she wasn't going to allow him the opportunity of attacking first.

The redheaded knight took off with her sword raised and threw forward a jab that was meant to get through the way he braced his sword.

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