Jacob laid still on the ground, looking up at the ceiling. He was utterly crushed, even after all of his intense training. The gap between him and Maria seemed to be endless. She left herself completely open and his attack still did little to no damage. Jacob sighed to himself.
'I have a long way to go.'
Maria walked over to him and offered up her one good hand. Jacob smiled and grabbed it with his working arm.
"Geez. Just what did you do to get that strong so fast?"
Maria gave him an innocent smile.
"I helped the Rose Clan carry those food carts back to the kingdom."
"With a team?"
"...By myself."
Jacob remembered how she apparently carried one on her back all the way to the kingdom alone.
"That adds up. By the way, congratulations on becoming a noble. You're the first commoner I've known that has been offered the position. I saw you during the inauguration. I never thought I'd see you wear a dress before."
Maria started blushing and looked away.
"So... you were there?"
"I was a hidden in the back of the crowd. How could I miss such an important day for you?!"
"So, you probably heard what I said at the end then."
Jacob nodded and smiled.
"I did. I believe it was a brave thing to say. In front of an entire house of nobles too. You should have seen the looks on their faces!"
Jacob let out a small laugh.
"Let's continue our conversation on our way to the doctor to get fixed up. I want to treat you somewhere for sparing with me today."
As they started their walk, Jacob continued their talk.
"I don't think what you said was bad. In fact, it made me very grateful that I have such a good friend. It means a lot."
Maria smiled.
"I just didn't want to lie to my soon to be mother-in-law. It would have felt wrong. I don't regret telling the truth either."
"Good. You should never have to be afraid to be yourself. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't want to wear that dress, did you?"
"Ugh. I hated it. Why do dresses have to feel like they're trying to strangle you? I just sucked it up for the Rose Clan. I originally tried sneaking a suit of armor, but I got scolded."
"Now that sounds a lot more like you. Do you still have that armor I gave to you a little bit ago?"
"I do. It's currently on a wooden figure in my room."
"Do you still need a new gauntlet for it?"
"Maybe. But I have a feeling that one wouldn't last too long either."
Jacob chuckled to himself.
"Fair point."
"What about you? What have you been up to?"
"I've mostly spent my time trying to correct some past wrongs, but I ended up making some new friends because of it. They helped me train and pushed me to better myself. Their names are Joeseph and Eden. You may already know them as palace servants."
"Joseph is quite old to be helping you train. What did he help you with?"
"Well, originally Joseph beat me close to death with a wooden pole. But that wasn't fun enough for him, so he brought help the second time. I spent half my days defending for my life against two opponents at the same time. Their coordination was very impressive for being palace servants!"
"Even so, I feel like you would have put up a better fight than that."
"Oh yah, I forgot to mention that my dad was slowing down my blood flow by half during all of it."
Maria paled.
"By half?! How did you even survive that?!"
"By taking it one step at a time."
Maria and Jacob arrived at the same room they were both stuck in after the incident at the palace. An old man was still asleep in the corner on a small stool.
'What the hell? Has he ever been awake?'
Jacob walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Pardon me sir, but do you mind patching us up a bit?"
The old man kept snoring. Jacob grabbed hold of his shoulders and started shaking him.
"Hello? Mister? Are you okay?"
Maria started walking over.
"I'm going to send a knee into his chin if he doesn't wake up soon."
Almost as soon as Maria said that the man jerked awake.
"Don't do it!"
Maria stopped set her leg back down on the floor.
"Sorry about that young lord, how may I assist you today?"
"Do you mind healing our injuries a bit?"
"Yikes. What happened to you two? Another intruder?"
Jacob and Maria stared at each other for a moment.
"...Actually, we fought each other."
The man looked dumbfounded then burst out laughing.
"The young prince go beat up by a girl! This is priceless!"
Just then, Maria grabbed the man by his collar and lifted him off his seat.
"Hey, what are you- PUT ME DOWN!"
"You're going to heal us and you're going to apologize to the prince."
Jacob remained silent watching the altercation unfold.
"O-Of course! I was just about to, I promise!"
Maria gave him another glare.
"And I'm sorry, young lord."
Maria slowly put the man down back on his stool.
"Both of you, hold out your injuries."
Both of them listened, bringing their battered limbs close to him. Suddenly, the doctor's hands grasped their wounds. A sharp pain went through Jacob's body.
"Ah. What the hell?!"
"Please be quiet. It's only going to hurt for a few more moments."
Suddenly, Jacob's elbow felt like it was snapping back into place, his bones started magically growing back and he was filled with renewed strength. Maria seemed to be experiencing a similar sensation. Both of them looked at their healed injuries with awe.
"This feels... incredible. How are you able to do this with such little effort?"
"It takes a lot more effort than you think. I'm way too old for this job but the king won't let me retire!"
Jacob bowed his head to the old man.
"Thank you very much for healing us. I'll be forever grateful. What is your name so I can address you properly?"
The doctor looked completely shocked by this behavior.
"Who are you and what did you do with the real prince?"
Jacob scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry, I've changed a little bit since the events that transpired. I'm trying to make amends on those who I wronged in the past."
He looked at Jacob with a suspicious glare on last time.
"Just call me Doc. I've been in this line of work way too long to be called something else."
Maria thought to herself for a moment.
"You look more like a Sam than a Doc to me."
"What? Never! That would never be my name!"
Doc thought to himself for a moment.
'How the hell did she guess my name just from looking at me?! Who is this woman?!'
"Well, thanks again Doc. I appreciate the help!"
Jacob and Maria started walking back out of the room.
"Oh wait, I forgot to pay you for-"
By the time Jacob turned around Doc was already slumped over, sleeping in his stool again.
'Did my dad hire a narcoleptic?'