Chương 17: Chapter 1.17: Filial Fates

Caliga stood firmly on the cold stone of the gymnasium, dressed in nothing but a loincloth and chest wraps. She looked up at the mighty cultivator, her eyes glittering with determination. Favius and Urania watched, curious and nervous respectively. When Caliga finally addressed Brutus, her voice was firm.

"You are going to train me in the martial arts." The man's roaring laughter answered her.

"Am I now?" he drawled, still chuckling.

"Yes," Caliga insisted. The muscles in her legs twitched. Is she about to stomp her foot? Brutus stroked his beard, then shrugged.

"Very well. If the young aristocrat demands it." He smiled, then raised a finger, and the relaxed muscles in her shoulders tensed again.

"However—before I start training you in earnest, you must complete two tasks." She nodded, and Brutus gestured for Favius to come closer. Then he pointed broadly toward the arena's sand pit.

"Impress me in a fight with Favius." Favius heard Urania take in a sharp breath behind him, and Caliga's eyes flicked to him, then widened.

"But you've trained him since he was four." Brutus's face remained expressionless.

"If I'm going to train you, you're going to follow my orders. Step into the pit, or do the calisthenics I showed you alongside Urania." Caliga pouted for a brief moment before glaring at Favius and stepping down into the sand pit. He followed. And studied her body. She's a year older than me, but only half a head taller. Reach is not going to matter, and in terms of strength—it would be different if she had hit puberty, but— He furrowed his brows and frowned at Brutus. There's no way she can take me.

Caliga stopped in the sand pit, leaving a trail of footprints in the perfectly raked sand. She turned around. Favius stopped. She stared at him for a long moment, then raised her fists. He shook his head and did likewise. So I can beat her, but should I? All the strange interactions—she really wants this training from Brutus, so if I let her win, I need to make it look convincing. How do I make losing convincing to someone like Brutus?

Before he could continue his thoughts, Caliga let out a hollering war cry and sprinted toward him. Her strikes were straight and simplistic, and he blocked them without difficulty. She tried to slam her knee into his legs, but he pivoted and evaded with ease. He stayed on the defensive, deliberately hesitating before blocks. Soon he began throwing a few punches—telegraphed well in advance—which she managed to stop surprisingly well. Suddenly, Brutus's voice thundered through the arena.

"Favius, if you don't fight her seriously, I'm going to relax next week and let Cassian take over all the tutoring duties. Understood?" Favius's mouth fell open in shock. He turned to Brutus.

"You wouldn't—" Before he could continue, Caliga slammed his head back, and he stumbled, tasting blood. What the— He brought up his hands, but the girl slammed into him and drove him to the ground. He grit his teeth, spat out blood, and shook off the confusion. My grappling isn't as good as my striking, but— The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Caliga sat on top of him and brought down her fists, but he blocked and retaliated with a vicious elbow to her stomach.

She gasped, and Favius grabbed her by the throat before twisting his hips. Suddenly he was on top and began hammering down with the flats of his fists. Caliga fought off the first few strikes, but then his blows began to land. He winced when she flinched. As he caught her on the temple, her resistance staggered, and he let up.

"Yield." She spat in his face, and Favius growled, twisting his hips and slamming his knee into the side of her stomach. She huffed as the air was forced out of her lungs, and Favius snarled, considering for a brief moment returning a few punches to her face. Then he pulled himself back. I'm not a kid. And I'm not going to beat up my sister unnecessarily. With a sigh, he quickly brought her arms under control, spun her, and pressed her into the sand in an armlock.

She winced and struggled, but he only increased the pressure and pressed her head down into the grit.

"Do you surrender?"

"Mmh." He let up the pressure on her head, allowing her to speak.

"Never," she hissed, trying to clear the sand from her mouth. Favius clicked his tongue and sharply increased the pressure in the armlock, making her yowl like a kicked dog. A tightness settled in his stomach, but after he asked three times, she finally relaxed and whispered, "I give up." Brutus jumped into the arena. As Favius stepped away from the grounded girl, Urania rushed into the sand and was suddenly beside her.

"Caliga, are you fine? Favius—" She glared at him. But when Urania tried to touch her, Caliga slapped her hand away. She stood up and brushed off the sand, ignoring Urania's attempt to comfort her. She looked first at Favius, and a tightness gripped his chest at the sight of her quivering lips. Then she looked at Brutus and began sniffling as the first tear glittered in her eye. She spun around and ran out of the gymnasium. Brutus walked over and slapped Favius on the shoulder.

"Well done, boy." Favius stiffened as he glared at the older man. This—this hadn't been fair. Forcing him to fight her seriously. Turning him into an obstacle between her and something she wanted. He glared up at Brutus, but shook his head, deciding not to say anything. The rest of the training and bathing proceeded in tense silence. Soon Urania left to find Caliga, leaving Favius and Brutus alone.

"Why?" he asked, turning to the man. Brutus sighed and shrugged.

"Why not? She needs to learn." Favius walked beside him in silence, frowning, as they moved through the gardens. They stopped near a bed of wild roses, and he turned to the man again. No one was close enough to overhear them.

"Explain something to me, Brutus. I don't understand Caliga." The warrior laughed.

"I thought you earned enough experience in your other life to learn that understanding women is a fool's errand." Favius chuckled despite himself, then looked out over the gardens as he gathered his thoughts.

"At the beginning, I thought she was just defiant and her father was indulging her. But for all her charm, she's a noblewoman, and—" He swallowed.

"I can see why Hesnia wants her to be less… feral. But I don't understand why Marcus is so accepting of her behavior. And now you offered to train her?" Brutus chuckled.

"Ah, that's simple. With her foundation and personality, I'd be very surprised if she doesn't reach the rank of Alticultor." Brutus sat down and sniffed one of the roses before turning back to Favius.

"You see, men of noble birth have to be talented and successful. But daughters—if they are talented, like her—they'll be trained. And who knows, maybe she even has the potential to become a Magus." He shrugged as Favius nodded along.

"A talentless daughter can still be trained in vacuous conversation and other womanly arts, so you can trade her off as a broodmare for a good price." Favius rolled his eyes.

"You have such an eloquent way of describing social dynamics." Brutus snorted.

"Your strange attitudes about women again." Favius was about to shoot back, but Brutus gestured for him to sit. His eyes drifted into the distance.

"Did you know I had two older brothers?" Favius shook his head.

"My mother was the matriarch of our household, ruling our branch of the familia. She realized early on that my elder brothers were talentless and arrogant. So she did what you do with any inadequate son—she threw them into ventures that would either make them or break them." Favius studied the man's face.

"And it broke them." Brutus nodded solemnly.

"My oldest brother was sent into the wildlands beyond the Rhexar Mountains. He just died. His entire party never returned." He paused, expressionless.

"My second brother made a name for himself. Lived quite well as a slave raider. Until four years ago. Some barbarian got him with a shit-stained arrow." Favius's face scrunched up. Of course he was a slave raider. Brutus shook his head.

"His wife told me it was far from a good death." Favius hesitated, but ultimately shook his head. His brothers… I am in the same situation. If I don't prove useful enough, I won't be able to make the choices I need to make. As the two girls approached—Caliga maintaining a visible distance, and the usually affectionate Urania shuffling uncomfortably—he sighed and studied the three people he was closest to in this world. Well, I guess teaching them mathematics without all the social drama would be too boring.