Chapter 4 A New Day, A New Disaster
1000 Words
The sun spilled through the windows, golden and warm, but for Lillian, it was unforgivingly bright.
Mia, on the other hand, had no such struggles. She barged into Lillian’s room without warning, ripping the curtains open.
"Rise and shine, witchy!" Mia announced dramatically, tossing a pillow at Lillian’s barely conscious form.
Lillian groaned, grabbing the pillow and hurling it back with all the force of someone who had been rudely awakened. "Get out before I hex you."
Mia dodged, laughing. "Hex me later. Right now, we have more important matters to discuss."
Lillian rolled onto her stomach. "Like what?"
Mia smirked. "Like the fact that you disappeared last night after the whole ‘almost-kissing-Jace’ situation and spent the rest of the night with Ryker."
Lillian froze. Then slowly, she lifted her head. "You were spying on me?"
Mia scoffed. "I am not a spy. I am a concerned best friend who just happened to be at the right place at the right time."
Lillian narrowed her eyes. "You are an absolute menace."
Mia flopped onto the bed beside her. "Oh, please. You love me."
Lillian grabbed another pillow and shoved it over Mia’s face. "I’ll love you more if you shut up."
Mia dramatically flailed under the pillow before shoving it off. "Fine, fine. I’ll let you off—for now." Then, her eyes glinted with mischief. "But since we’re talking about trouble…"
Lillian sat up, stretching. "What did you do?"
Mia grinned. "So, you know how we were banned from the training grounds after that ‘incident’ last time?"
Lillian smirked, remembering how they had accidentally caused an explosion during combat training. "Vaguely."
"Well," Mia said, "I may or may not have overheard a certain group of warriors talking about an ‘important challenge’ happening today. And I may or may not have signed us up."
Lillian’s smirk vanished. "You what?"
Mia jumped off the bed, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the door. "Come on, it’ll be fun! We’ll totally win, and if not, we’ll at least annoy some people."
Lillian groaned. "You are going to get us killed."
Mia winked. "Then we’ll die legendary."
As the two of them snuck through the halls, dodging guards and slipping past patrols, Lillian couldn’t help but smirk. Chaos followed Mia wherever she went—and Lillian wouldn’t have it any other way.
Lillian and Mia crouched behind a wooden crate near the training grounds, eyeing the warriors gathered in the center. They looked strong. Intimidating. Clearly trained for actual combat.
Lillian sighed. "Mia, this is suicide."
Mia smirked. "Only if we lose."
Lillian gave her a deadpan stare. "We are going to lose."
Mia grinned, nudging her. "Then at least we’ll do it in style."
Before Lillian could protest, a deep voice cut through the air.
"Are the new recruits ready?"
Lillian froze. Oh, they were so doomed.
Mia, however, boldly stood up and strode into the training area like she belonged there. "Of course we are!"
Lillian had no choice but to follow, muttering curses under her breath.
The warriors—**including Jace, Theo, and Ryker—**all turned to look at them. Jace looked amused. Theo looked irritated. Ryker just adjusted his glasses, clearly confused.
Jace smirked. "You two signed up for the challenge?"
Mia crossed her arms. "Obviously."
Theo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You do realize this is a combat drill, right?"
Lillian raised a brow. "What, scared we’ll win?"
Jace grinned, stepping closer. "I love this confidence."
Ryker, standing beside him, muttered, "This feels like a bad idea."
Mia clapped her hands together. "Enough talking! Let’s get to the part where we kick some ass!"
The instructor shook his head but motioned for the challenge to begin. The drill was simple: survive. The warriors would take turns attacking, and the challengers had to either dodge or counter without using weapons.
Lillian and Mia exchanged glances.
This was going to be a disaster.
The first opponent rushed forward—a bulky warrior with an overconfident smirk.
Mia moved first, darting to the side at the last second, causing the man to stumble forward. Lillian, thinking fast, stuck her foot out.
The warrior tripped and face-planted into the dirt.
There was silence.
Then Jace burst out laughing. "I take it back. This is going to be fun."
Theo groaned.
The next warrior charged at Lillian, but she was ready this time. She dodged, grabbed his arm, and twisted, using his own momentum to send him flying into the dirt.
Mia cheered. "Hell yeah!"
The drill continued, and somehow—through sheer luck, wit, and a lot of questionable tactics—Lillian and Mia were surviving.
Mia even threw a handful of dirt into one opponent’s face at one point.
Lillian elbowed another in the ribs.
Jace watched the chaos unfold, grinning like a lunatic. "I think I’m in love."
Theo was rubbing his temples.
Ryker, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke. "Should I… stop this?"
Theo sighed. "No. Let them suffer the consequences of their own decisions."
Unfortunately for Theo, the only consequence was that Lillian and Mia had somehow won.
Barely.
Covered in sweat and dirt, Lillian turned to Mia with a triumphant smirk. "Told you we wouldn’t die."
Mia grinned. "Never doubted us for a second."
Theo looked like he was reconsidering his entire existence.
Jace was still laughing. "That was the most entertaining thing I’ve seen all month."
Lillian and Mia high-fived.
Mission: Complete.
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- Writer
