Blitzed(143)

I chuckled and shook my head. “I would allow that, Maria. I only wish to serve her as best I can.”

Maria sighed and took the pot of porridge off of the heat, replacing it with a large cast-iron griddle that she arranged her slices of kolbasa on. As I started to drink, the fat from the sausage melted and began to sputter and crackle underneath the sausage, adding a festive spark to our conversation and a delicious smell to the air. “Spartak, you are an intelligent man, despite what others think of you. And yes, I’m aware that you know what they say, for the most part. You understand more of the Ukrainian than many others realize, and you've applied yourself with equal fervor to learning what’s asked of you. For this I congratulate you, but I also ask that, once you are familiar with your duties with her, that you strive to expand your topics of conversation with me beyond that of the Mistress. I know you and her discuss other things. I overheard you two talking in, what was it, French, the other day?”

“Yes, I speak French,” I said, taking a deep drink of my shake. I could taste the extra thickness that the third scoop of protein powder and the full fat milk added. I was to be in perfect health, so instead of the normal porridge and fatty sausage, I ate like an Olympic athlete, with foods prepared for me by the kitchen staff. My breakfast shake was made with the finest imported protein powder and high-quality organic milk, along with flavorings, vitamins, and other ingredients that Maria hadn't told me. “What else would you like to talk about?”

“We will see what happens,” Maria said with a chuckle. She flipped the first dozen kolbasa patties, then waved with her spatula. “But if you want to know, I like ice skating.”

As I finished my shake, I reflected on the strange position I held. Some of the staff envied my luxuries, such as the better clothing I was given and the finer foods. In fact, I would eat lunch and dinner with Mistress if she wished, and not in the staff kitchen. But what they didn't understand was that with great luxury came great expectation and the weight of living up to the faith and the investment that was placed in me. I had to earn not only Mistress' trust, but all that she had given me as well.

I finished my morning meal with a long drink and wiped my lips with the back of my hand. “Thank you, Maria. I'll be back by nine thirty to eat my second meal. Until then, I must get on with my preparations. And I will think about the ice skating.”

“Of course. I will see you later. Enjoy your training, Spartak.”

I left the kitchen and went out to my container, even though I didn't like the place. It was a converted cargo container after all, but it did have the few items that I'd been allowed to call my own, including my exercise clothes. Stripping down, I shivered in the sub-freezing temperature, but accepted it. Mistress told me that the cold helped me stay lean, and it increased my testosterone production, which she valued. As such, I wore nothing but a form-fitting tank top and compression leggings along with my running shoes as I started off on the morning run.

First, a two-kilometer jog to warm up my body before reaching the river bank, which dipped sharply for nearly fifty meters to the water. Walking down to where the toes of my shoes touched the river, I turned, sprinting up the twenty-degree incline as hard as I could until I reached the top before walking back down and repeating the process again and again. After the last one, my heart was pounding in my chest and my mouth tasted of electric spit, but I pushed myself to run as hard as I could back to the house, stripping off my shoes when I got inside as I was instructed, and going to the house's fitness center where I found another pair of shoes and socks inside my bag which had been hung on a hook on the wall. Quickly changing, I followed my program for the day which had been written out on the bulletin board for me, leaving my upper body as exhausted as my lower. I glanced at the clock and pushed myself, cursing my laziness during my sprints as I only had seven minutes now to shower and bathe myself before having to see Maria in the kitchen again.

Jumping in the shower, I couldn't help but shiver as the cold water splashed against my upper back and down my body. Working quickly, I lathered my face with the provided soap before shaving, using precious minutes to make sure I didn't nick or cut myself in any way.

With one minute and fifteen seconds minutes to spare, I got out of the shower and dried myself off, wishing I had a few seconds to enjoy the rich Egyptian cotton of the towel. Instead, I quickly changed into the briefs and pants that had been laid out for me before applying the cologne that Mistress wanted me to wear, then pulled on my undershirt. I could wait on putting on the rest of my clothing until after my second meal.

I got to the kitchen again just as Maria set my second meal on the staff table. She glanced at the clock and tutted, shaking her head reprovingly. “You are pushing your time, Spartak. It’s nine thirty three. Can you make it in time?”

I nodded, sitting down and setting my other items over the back of the chair next to me. “Mistress wants me in twenty-seven minutes. I can finish this in ten, and still have time to finish my morning preparations.”

“You are going to eat a three-hundred-gram steak and the sides in less than ten minutes, and still be ready to put the rest of your suit on? I have to watch this.” Maria wiped her hands on the dishtowel that was hanging off her apron strings and sat down at the table across from me.

I got to work, not taking the time to savor each bite as I began chewing mechanically, cutting and forking the next bite even as I swallowed the one before it. I wished that Maria had prepared ground meat for me instead of a steak, it would have been easier, but was content. “This is good.”