The first few days, Xarakas had been annoyed by the interruption to his normal schedule, even if it meant the High Priestess called on him less so that he could devote more attention to attending to the princess.
But Asha was committed, and while it was clear she needed a lot of work, he was sure that she was determined to improve, and that made her an excellent student.
He assumed that the reason she'd been a bit distracted during their sessions the past week was due to her getting used to his strict expectation for her exercise routine, but when she'd suddenly collapsed after the first ten minutes of their session, he'd realized she must have been pushing herself too far.
Xarakas quickly called for her stepmother, the queen, for help. At her direction, he carried the princess to her room, where she was changed into her usual sleeping clothes so that she would be more comfortable while Katze healed her and Xarakas waiting patiently outside of the room for them to finish.
Once he was given permission to enter, he spoke quietly with Katze about what had happened to her, but as he noticed the princess stumbling from her bed toward her closet, he was quick to move.
He carefully wrapped an arm around her to keep her from falling while he held onto her hand and guided her back to bed.
"No no, Princess. Your training task for today is to stay in bed, rest, eat, and recover," he ordered, looking to Katze for help with getting the princess to listen.
While Xarakas was quick to catch Asha before she got too far, he was perhaps a bit too gentle, Katze noted as Asha tried to fight his direction.
Stepping in, Katze firmly put her hands on the hybrid's shoulders and pushed her back down onto the bed. "You have to be firm with this one. Her stubborn streak is as wide as her father's," she commented to Xarakas before giving Asha a disapproving look.
"And you. I'm going to leave to do damage control and have Nana make something for you to eat, but you're going to stay in this bed while I'm gone and do everything Xarakas says. If you don't, I'll make sure your father finds out about this, and then you won't have these lessons anymore."
That said, Katze stood straight. "I'll be back," she said and headed out of the room.
Asha's attempts to get ready for training were over as soon as they began, and as both Xarakas and Katze insisted she stay in bed, Kat even going so far as to threaten her, Asha frowned in confusion, though she also knew her step-mother didn't make idle threats and so stayed in bed where she'd been put even as the angel leave.
"What's going on?" she asked Xarakas. "I must have slept in a lot, but you don't let me rest, and Kat doesn't threaten me for sleeping."