Silence engulfed the barely lit room where sunlight peeked through the small opening on the side of the wall. If listened to closely, light and repeated 'thuds' followed by heavy breathing could be heard. She stood there, clad in a training attire which exposed her abdomen and her slightly muscular arms. Her blonde hair was ties up with a single rubber band and sweat rolled down along the shape of her face and proceeded to run down her neck. Her hands, covered with a pair of black finger-less gloves, collided against the red punching bag with ferocity. The female, Xandra halted her actions to catch her breath. Boredom had reigned over her and left her with no choice but to train herself, which wasn't something she disliked. Grabbing a towel from the side rack, she wiped off the sweat and made her way towards the shower to let the fatigue wash off along with the sweat. For some reason, training herself had always made her feel more energetic and alive, perhaps because it takes her back to the past where she rather enjoyed training with the man known as her father. She recalled him saying that training and disciplining someone was a reward in itself hence she always wished to be able to get the chance to train someone.

If only she knew that fate had heard her and granted her wish. Escaping the running water, she wrapped her torso in a towel and sauntered over to the single bed that happened to be one of the only pieces of furniture that adorned the room. Flopping onto the bed, she let her lilac gaze remain fixated on the ceiling and let her mind journey on a train of thoughts which was soon disrupted by a rough knock on the door, "Miss.Queen, there's a letter delivered for you." She didn't flicker her gaze away and instead listened to the sounds of paper sliding against something followed by the noise of retreating footsteps that faded into silence. After a minute or so, she hauled herself off the bed and walked towards the door, bending down to pick up a an enveloped upon which, neat handwriting was written, 'To Xandra Queen, From Armin Bartholomew'

That name was one which was quite familiar, not to her only, but to almost everyone. She recalled her encounter with the brown haired knight a few days prior and couldn't help but wonder what the contents of the letter were. Letting her fingers hover over the envelop, she took her time extracting the white paper from within. She let her eyes scrutinize the black letters that explained the man's current situation and sighed. The letter contained his gratitude for her help during their previous encounter as well as a request from her. He wanted her to take his place and train a group of young children whom he had promised to train but unfortunately, couldn't keep it as he was caught down with sickness. He had written down an address, asking her to visit him there and had promised a reward through his writing. She studied the letter carefully and pondered upon whether to take it or not. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do. She could spend this time training young children. She might be a good instructor, or at least, that's what she thinks. Moreover, he was offering a reward. She was in no position to decline, mainly because he was her superior as a Rune Knight, but also because she had no reason to decline. She could use the money to buy herself lots of food, which happens to be one of her most favorite things in the world.

Letting the towel fall off her dried body, she quickly changed into a pair of black jeans and an white shirt, both which she finds rather comfortable. Putting on a pair of combat boots, she set out to go meet Mr.Bartholomew. It took her approximately ten minutes to reach the required place. Upon arrival, she was guided into a moderately large house by a man, dressed neatly in trousers and white button down, covered underneath a tailcoat. Her guess was that he was possibly a butler working for the young man. He guided her through the white and clean corridors until he reached a door. Knocking lightly upon it, he spoke, "Ms.Queen is here to see you, sir" A reply came from behind the door, "Let her in", followed by a fit of coughs. From what she had heard, he was in a pretty bad condition. She could understand why he would call for help just by hearing him talk. The door was opened for her and she strolled in, bowing in greeting towards the brown-haired man who was pale with illness and laid upon the bed. "I'm sorry, for-" cough "-calling you so-" cough "-suddenly."

Just like always, she stayed silent with her usual monotonous expression and let him talk. He told her of five young children who she had to train and offered her a reward, also warning her in the process about the children's sexist views and asked her to teach them to respect female soldiers as well. Of course the last bit stuck with her, being looked down upon because of stereotypical views about women being weak was rather annoying to her. She found her finger twitching a bit, which was a habit of hers when she felt anger or annoyance. Xandra decided to judge their attitude by herself and she had absolutely no plans of going easy on them. She was told to follow the butler towards the small park where the children were supposed to be waiting for Mr.Bartholomew.

Upon reaching there within a matter of minutes, she noticed five young boys standing there in excitement, smiles on their faces and a passionate look in their eyes. When she arrived there with the butler, their faces morphed into confusion. "Kids, this is Ms.Xandra Queen and she will be training you today." What she was warned of happened as their expressions changed into judgmental ones. "You expect us to learn from a woman? She's not even a soldier." One boy growled. She could feel a seed of annoyance sprouting within her. As the butler proceeded to open his mouth, she raised er hand to stop him, "Thank you, you can leave us. I'll be sure to train them properly." The man bowed and left the six individuals alone. If only those kids knew what was coming towards them.

"We don't want to learn from a woman who's not even a soldier. I bet you can't even punch properly!" Another remarked. She let her cold, lilac gaze meet there's and narrowed her eyes which hardened in anger. "It doesn't matter what you want or what you don't want. Right now, you have no choice but to listen to me." They appeared to be a little intimidated, but returned to their previous posture and displayed superiority through their stance despite being children. "You don't scare us. Someone like you couldn't possibly train us to become stronger." Alright, that was the limit. Although she was a quite person, Xandra had a short temper. Her gaze hardened as she strode towards the the brunet boy. Grabbing him by the collar, she yanked him towards her self quite roughly and bend down to meet him at eye level, "Do I need to repeat myself? You will listen to what I say, I'm not giving to a choice." Releasing him with a small shove she met everyone eyes, "For the next two hours, you will train under me. I won't accept anyone slacking off or letting this foolish, sexist mentality of yours resurface. Is that understood?" It was truly a surprise that despite being so annoyed, her voice had the same low and monotonous tone that it always had.

Her actions and words finally seemed to have drilled into their minds as they continued to listen to her. In a casual conversation, she wouldn't have spoken as much as she did when giving orders to these youngsters and much to her surprise, they obediently listened. Of course, that didn't mean that she would go easy on them, oh no, she planned to work them until their legs gave away, until they were dripping in sweat. And so began what would soon be the children's nightmare and their lesson for underestimating a female. She did go a bit overboard, making them run ten laps around the park followed by fifty push-ups. She proceeded to twenty-five sit ups without giving them a break. She continued on and on, often making them repeat the same exercise with more intensity. Ranging from squats to pull ups using tree branches, she made them do it all for she remembered how her 'father' had made her do all these when she was younger than them and he was right, it did bring a strange feeling of satisfaction. Within one day, she made those young five children do everything that she was made to do as fitness training, but over a longer period of time.

Three hours happened to be their limit as they stopped while they panted and sweat dropped onto the grass. They were evidently exhausted and this brought her joy, which was obviously not displayed on her face. "What's the matter? Is this the most you men can do? And you expect to become soldiers in the future? That's absolute bullshit. With people like you as soldiers, I wouldn't be surprised if this country burnt to ashes." They seemed to be silenced, "What happened to those bold words you said before? Couldn't handle being trained by a woman?"  It didn't take long for them to break down and see her as a proper trainer. She was satisfied with the results of this job hence she dismissed the children.

Picking up the mats that were provided to her by the butler for these exercises, she returned to Mr.Bartholomew's house. He once again showed his gratitude and rewarded her for her hard work. It was a mission successful. Maybe she should buy herself some food.  

[Word Count: 1695/1000]