Audrey was out in the fields all day with the men, Sword in hand and eyes flashing. She held her sword like the expert she was fast becoming and never for once pluck her eyes off the focus. She was training with the men, preparing fiercely for the rogues who visited them every now and then to steal and destroy .
When Audrey had first started her training as a little girl, her mother had been panicked and had tried to make her father, Alpha Austin to see reasons why Audrey should be kept away from the wildness of the battlefield but all her efforts had proven abortive. She had watched Audrey grow up, fighting and wielding the sword perfectly. As well as a warrior. A strong one.
Audrey loved the outside. The fields and the idea of bringing down enemies mortally appealed to her. For weeks, her pack, the Burning Mountain pack had been visited with unaware attacks by rogues of a distant pack and all those times, she had derived pleasure from bringing the enemies down and defeating them. They had retreated again and again but only returned again even when they were proving feeble and not any match for Audrey's men. She had fought all of those times to chase the rogues back against her mother's wish. Her mother, Victoria Simmons would rather not have her in the face of wars, trying to fend off stubborn enemies while she stayed inside and kept herself safe from the chaos until the soldiers did what she regarded as their jobs.
"The luna wants you to come into your rooms now and rest. She said I should tell you that you have trained hard enough for one day"
The maid who had suddenly appeared behind Audrey as she drank some water said. Audrey did not hear the girl walk up to her and she was startled by the voice. She gained her composure and cursed herself for not paying enough attention to her environments, the reason she did not hear the maid walk up to her.
"Tell her I will come when I am exhausted and ready to leave the fields",
She replied the young lady. The maid did not leave. She looked dismayed as she stood there. Perhaps, she had been told to try to convince Audrey to come in and she did not want to fail in her job.
"I am sorry, but the Luna insisted that you come inside and rest. Perhaps, you can come back and continue your work for the day after you have had enough rest. Don't you think that is a good idea, my lady?"
She asked. Audrey did not reply her as her hand moved to the hilt of her sword and she began to take quick strides to the field to continue her training.
"My lady, am I to return into the mansion without you? The luna will not like that",
She called after Audrey.
"Well, I am the one out here and I said I am not ready to leave the field yet.. go tell her to Stop worrying about me!"
Audrey called as she unsheathed her sword and ran the few steps to the other men. The maid stood there for what seemed like ages before storming off.
When the maid reached the study where the luna in the company of a few other maids where making embroidery, she gave the message in few words.
"My lady, Audrey will not come with me.. she said she will retire from the fields only when she is exhausted and done for the day",
"And you could not convince her to leave the fields? "
The Luna asked. She was not angry, but she was disappointed that the maid had returned without Audrey and she did not hide her disappointment even though it was none of the maid's fault, everyone knew how strong willed and stubborn Audrey could be and the luna knew that Audrey was hardly one to abandon her training and go for a leisurely rest. But she had hoped still.
" I did my very best to make her come with me but she would not. I am sorry, my Luna",
The maid said. The luna nodded and dismissed her.
*****
It warmed Audrey to know that they were having the upper hands with the rogues. It elated her and propelled her to train even more during the day. While the other women, including her mother made embroidery and cleaned the rooms and made nice pastry, she stayed out in the sun, training with the men and always ready to defend the Burning Mountain pack. She loved her people that much and would not take their safety for granted.
She was in the tub, in the warm bath that the maids had prepared for her and she felt strength seeping through her veins. Baths strengthened her and she saw baths as a therapy. She was still immersed in the bath, her red hair wet and heavy from the water when she heard the door of her bedroom creak open. She strained her neck to see if the maid that was supposed to wait on her had left. She did not see the maid. The door to the bathroom had been left ajar and she could only peep the figure in her bedroom. She sighed.
"Mother, I am in the bath. what is so urgent that you did not wait for me to finish bathing before you stormed into my room?"
She asked. Her lips were smiling even though she did not mean to smile. Seeing her mother look so stern and forbidding always made her laugh. The woman scolded her everytime and always told her it was for her good. She was friends with her mother and she told everything to her mother since she hardly had friends of her age too.
" Well, you stubborn little red head. Why did you refuse to come with the maid today when I asked her to come and fetch you? "
She asked as she examined the dress that had been laid out fot Audrey. She walked past it and stood by the bathroom door. Audrey rose from the tub and reached for her towel.. it seemed her mother had dismissed the maid.
"You do not want me to abandon my activities for the day and run back into the pack house because you think I am exhausted and needs some rest, do you?"
Audrey asked as she stepped out of the tub, dripping wet. She picked another towel and wrapped her hair in it. She heard her mother sigh .
"Audrey, I have been trying to let you know, you can not strain yourself beyond your capacity. When you go out to train, remember to always return when you are tired. You are a woman and you should not overwork yourself as much as the men do _"
She said. Audrey rolled her eyes. She knew what was to come next,. She was familiar with her mother's little lectures and she was not surprised when she heard her mother say,
"You are a woman and you must be conscious of the fact that you will give birth to children and you cannot afford to live like a man when you are yet to be married to your mate. You are Twenty and yet to find your mate, and I am beginning to worry_"
" Mother, can we not continue with this discussion? I know you mean well for me and want to see me happy and fulfilled, but please, trust me, I am not overworking myself. I am doing only as much as I can and you of all people know of the constant attack by rogues which is the reason why I spend extra time with the men in the fields. I will not lose my Femininity by fighting out there with our enemies or by training out there_"
Audrey said, she was exasperated. Everytime she had to listen to her mother's little sermons, she did so without asking questions and explaining anything but this time, she felt the need to speak and make her mother see things the way she did too. It worried her that her mother was worried about her not finding a mate when they were faced daily with attacks from rogues and their utmost focus should be on how to send the rogues away completely.
"We should be talking about more pressing things, mother. In due time, I will find my mate. I am only twenty_"
" I was married to your father at twenty, Audrey. We met and fell in love and we got married. I met him, my mate when I was nineteen",
The luna said. Audrey rolled her eyes as she walked past.
"Well, I am not you. I am Audrey and I will find my mate when the time is right. Or maybe, my mate will find me when the time is right.. whichever happens. For now, I'll focus on sending the rogues away".
