Fate had her remain with her father and youngest sister the day the debt collectors came.
It was fate that her father let her go.
It was fate that gave her a new husband, a new home.
It was fate that her younger sister disappeared.
It was fate that...
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A few minutes after Rhys left her room, Iyla got up and put on the clothing Mor had purchased for her training mornings. The blonde was nervous about what Cassian or Azriel had planned for her. Aside from her daily walks as a human, Iyla's only real exercise was a form of stretches that her lady's maid had shown her years ago.
Iyla had been at the Sieve Estate, Whitmore, for a week when she was introduced to Herma. Herma was beautiful and young, with dark hair, tanned skin, and dark eyes. She was new to the island, having just moved from the continent, and she was hired to be a lady's maid for Iyla for the duration of her stay. Iyla was rather indignant, thinking she didn't need someone to help her get dressed, do her hair, or draw her baths, but Sieve was insistent. The young blonde learned right away that questioning her new Lord would lead to some form of punishment, so she didn't argue with him about Herma.
A few days after Herma's arrival, before dawn, Iyla had awoken and walked to a bench she discovered and claimed as her own in the garden. While admiring the sunrise, Iyla spotted Herma sitting off the main pathway. The dark haired maid was in a grassy section of the lawn, slowly stretching her body and contorting it into odd poses and holding them for moments before moving onto another. The young girl was entranced by the movements of her maid, but she was too nervous to ask her maid what she was doing. Morning after morning, Iyla quietly watched the movements of her maid. After a few weeks of getting to know the maid while she did small tasks for the lady, Iyla finally worked up the courage to ask Herma what she was doing every morning.
"It is a form of exercise and meditation in my homeland," Herma told the young blonde with a faint accent.
"Does it hurt?" Iyla asked her, curiously.
"When you first start, it can," Herma replied honestly as she brushed Iyla's hair. "But with practice, it awakens your muscles and your soul."
"Can you teach me?" Iyla asked after a moment looking at her maid's dark eyes through the vanity mirror.
"In secret, you may learn," Herma told her. "I fear the Lord may not approve." Iyla nodded, eager to learn and promising to keep their meetings a secret. The very next morning, Iyla met Herma in the garden before sunrise and Herma started the girl's education in yoga and meditation. They met in the gardens, exercising nearly daily for years before Herma married and moved away from the estate. The lady continued alone in secret in her rooms after Herma's departure.
Iyla hadn't thought to attempt the stretches again since she became high fae. She was also intimidated by the fae that surrounded her. They were all seasoned warriors or had great physical strength. Iyla judged herself thinking that her stretches were nothing compared to the things her sister, Feyre, practiced. Feyre could run through the woods and climb trees like a panther. It had been more than a decade since the blonde ran in fields with her sisters or climbed a tree. Lord Sieve found that kind of behavior inappropriate for a young lady. He did not tolerate anything outside of propriety from his ward then wife.
