Lovers and Enemies (discontinued)

Training

Tw: language

Punz came in with my breakfast the next morning, giving me somewhat disappointing news. I was told to stay in my room all day so the wound would heal right. This got a sigh from me in reply.

"Do you have any books?" I asked, sitting up on my bed. The man actually laughed, making me frown.

"Why, Dream didn't take you up there? Probably since it's so close to the top floor. Come on, you get 5 minutes." I stood suddenly, following him out the door.

Now I took into account the directions, as I would have to add this to my map. We turned left at my door, then right, then left, and then into a doorway on the right. I quickly counted it as the fifth doorway.

"This is the staircase?" I asked as Punz pushed the door open. He nodded as it revealed a long stone staircase. Nothing as fancy as the others, but still standing. I eagerly made my way up it, hoping to see something I could use. Now I opened a heavy metal door with a grunt.

And suddenly I stepped into the most amazing library I've ever been in.

Books lined every shelf on every wall of the room. They stretched up at least 10 feet high, and there were even moving ladders that went from shelf to shelf. The books were organized by color, starting with red and ending with black. I stared in awe. I'm not much of a reader, but this is amazing.

A pang of hurt shot through me as I realized how much Will would love it.

So now I rushed, grabbing the first book that read, 'Wrinkle in Time'. I really wanted to get out of there, Punz standing in the doorway just made me uncomfortable for some reason. After the 5 minutes were finished, he led me back downstairs and into my room. I immediately sat on my bed and began to read.

The book was finished within 5 hours, making it about 3 o'clock. An interesting read, pretty good actually. I climbed in the shower, beginning to feel bored out of my mind. I had brought clothes in with me, a simple red shirt, light brown sweater, and black leggings. My hair is still soaked, so I tied it in a ponytail behind me. Then I opened the bedroom door.

I jumped backwards immediately in surprise. Dream stood there. My eyes went wide and my eyebrows went up.

God, I could've exited this room wearing only a towel.

"Jesus, does anyone understand privacy in this castle?" I snapped. Dream stared in shock, god I wish I could see his face.

"Sorry, I just needed to look at that." He pointed to my stomach. I let out a sigh as I approached my bed, sitting down on it like normal. I looked at my watch, which I wasn't wearing of course. Dammit, if Dream would've waited 2 more minutes...

"The maids are decorating for Christmas soon." He spoke, beginning to take the bandage off.

"Why didn't you take me to the library during the tour?" I asked, slightly annoyed at this. He shrugged.

"Just didn't think it was necessary, you found it on your own, didn't you?" I bit my lip. I mean, he's correct, but still. I know the real reason he didn't want me up there.

"Have you ever had a rain shower before?" His voice was deep, low, and soothing. I shook my head.

"Resources are low back in L'Manberg." I said. He nodded. "What's happened there? Have they got their independence?" Curiosity sparked up in me as I remembered my friends back in L'Manberg.

"We're having a meeting soon." He said plainly, his hands brushing my bra once again. I looked at the scar of a wound, staring at Fundy's stitch work.

"A meeting? Where, when?" I asked in alarm.

"In L'Manberg, on Christmas Eve." He began to apply some sort of cream.

"Can I go?" I asked. He froze, then kept working in silence. My question was left unanswered. I let out a breath. He put on a new band aid. I shut my mouth, not wanting to test my luck. Then he stood, about to leave.

"Punz and I are going to stop giving you meals. If you want food, go to the cafeteria and ask for it." A long pause as he stared, the basket of supplies in his arm. I scowled at the lifeless mask.

"And if you perform well in training, I'll let you tag along, angel."

A small smile spread across my face as the door shut, despite the usage of that nickname. Now I have a new goal:

To ace training.

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"We're starting with a run, be ready in five." The door opened revealing Punz, then it closed just as quickly. This made me jump, but I had bigger things to worry about. I dressed in one of those sports bras you wear when you work out, some black leggings, and a coat. I tied my hair pack in a ponytail and slid on my watch. Finally, I was satisfied with how I looked so I went out to join him.

Although I don't do it often, running and agility are definitely my strengths. Good strengths to have, definitely. My one weakness is strength itself, I have trouble lifting. Although Punz held out well, I could still tell I was in better shape then he. Surprising, considering I've spent days in bed.

He led me out of the track room and into the room full of weapons.

"Dream didn't want me to let you be in here yet, but I think you know better than to pull some great escape." I bit my lower lip. See, I won't try to, no matter how hard I want to get back. Dream would just take it out on others.

He started by setting me up with a punching bag, teaching me how to do some lower jabs. I know all of these techniques, but I stayed quiet. Dream had said if I did well I could see them again.

He wanted to assess my skills further with the weapons now. We went back into that room. He grabbed a netherite sword, and I reached for my daggers.

The cold handles felt amazing in my hands. I immediately began to feel comfortable and somewhat confident.

Then we began to fight.

He went on the offense first, swinging the sword at me. I stopped it with one dagger and gave him a hard kick in the arm, moving around In a circle. He grunted, then smirked.

"Where'd you learn that one?" Punz asked, smirk still plastered on his face.

"Around." A lie, that one is from Dante. Now I went on the offense, taking a jab at his neck. He suddenly twisted my arm around. I let out a grunt of pain, shoving him away from me.

Then I watched his movement.

One foot in front of the other. The way he stood. The way his body weight was distributed. The way his hands were situated, and finally, how he looked at my legs.

Then I saw my opening.

He dove forward, jabbing for a lethal hit. I instead blocked it, wrapped my leg around his, swung him down onto the ground, and dove on top of his body, having a hard smack to the hand with the sword in it. In less then a second, Punz was disarmed and on the ground. His eyes widened, surprised by this quick movement.

I held one dagger to his throat, the other to his heart, knowing I'd won. Then I got up off him.

"Good," he commented, very obviously stunned. This made me feel some amount of pride. "Very good." I offered my hand to help him up.

Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar smiley faced man leaving the room in satisfaction.

A/N

We are almost to 550 reads, this is so crazy!

Also, new read suggestion, "Inferno" by  cameronboamn - I'm still shaken up over it, and the writing deserves way more hype!

Besides that, I suggest watching Behind Her Eyes on Netflix!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)

Word count: 1372