Surprise

Chapter 11

Lilly's POV

Crooked Sin definitely knew how to throw a party. For a week we celebrated bringing home the Magic Cup Trophy. There was a lot of dancing, fights, gambling that Mandy truly enjoyed, and drinking. Lots or drinking. I don't want to touch another drop of alcohol for as long as I live. I could barely even remember what happened during that week. When I woke up this morning, I wasn't alone in bed. Mandy was asleep beside me, both of us fully clothed.

I saw my phone on the nightstand and hit the power button. Thankfully it still had some power. I saw the camera had been left opened. I hit the gallery, curious to see what photos had been taken. There was a photo of Blake, Magnus, Nelson, and I at a table. There was a photo of Beck and I sticking our tongues out at the camera. There was a photo of Toya and Mandy arm wrestling. There was a picture of Toya sitting in my lap, kissing my cheek. After that in a few of the photos I had her black lipstick on my cheek. There were a ton of photos. There was also a photo taken by someone else with Mandy and I together, her arm around my shoulders, her other arm in the air with a drink in her hand. I was laughing and raising my own drink.

"Send that to me will you," Mandy said sleepily. I hadn't realized she had woken up. I sent it to her as she stretched. "What happened last night," I asked her curiously. "I don't fucking know," she said. "I only really remember the first two days of the party. Last time we partied that hard. I lost all my clothes in strip poker, and spent the rest of the party too drunk to get back to my room for more clothes." I laughed softly and shook my head.

She then yawned, "I'm not ready to get up yet." She then pulled me to her and cuddled and I wasn't complaining. My limbs felt like jelly after the last days of intense fun. I decided to read through articles as she drifted back to sleep. I was drifting to sleep until someone rang the obnoxiously loud doorbell, causing us to groan. "They've just signed their death warrant," Mandy said to me. I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't have the best of appearances. I threw on my robe and tossed my hair up before leaving my room. In the main hall many of the guild members were laying about, some fully clothed, some half naked, and others completely nude. The person on the other side of the door rang the bell again, causing many to groan and throw something at the door. Blake held up his sunglasses to me and I slipped them on right before I got to the door. I opened the door and saw a royal messenger on the other side. 

"I am looking for Master Marous," the messenger informed me. "He's not available at the current moment, can I take a message," I asked him, my temples pulsing in agony. The messenger sighed in annoyance and handed me a red envelope. He then turned on his heel and left. I went back in and shut the door softly. I sighed in relief at being in the safety of the dark guild hall. I gave black back his sunglasses as I made my way to the bar. I handed the envelope to Master Marous who was drinking a cup of coffee, looking like he just woke up. I grabbed some pain killers and took them before heading back to my room. Mandy was sitting up, looking around the room looking half asleep. I grabbed some clothes so I could shower off the questionable smells I was covered in. 

After a shower, I felt ten times better. I made my way to the main hall and saw that everyone was awake, trying to rid themselves of their hangovers. "You seen Mandy," Toya asked me. "She was slowly getting out of bed the last time I saw her," I answered while grabbing myself an apple. 

A few minutes later she came into the main hall freshly showered, wearing a pair of sweat pants, and a sports bra. She got herself a large cup of coffee and came to sit next to me. "You're a freak of nature Princess," she muttered softly. I smiled, "I could say the same about you. It shouldn't be possible for you to have such a high alcohol tolerance." "It shouldn't be possible for you to have such a low alcohol tolerance," she countered with a soft smirk before taking a big gulp of her coffee. 

When the door of the guild hall opened, we turned to see Nelson, Magnus, and Blake bringing in large sacks on wheel barrows. "The mail has finally started rolling in," Mandy muttered. I was rather shocked when Nelson brought me three large sacks. It was going to take me forever to go through it all. Mandy and I took our sacks to the library and sat on the floor. "Let the torture begin," Mandy muttered. 

She had only one bag and she finished it after a few hours while I had one and a half bags finished. I had the mail divided up into different piles. I had fan mail, hate mail, burn mail, job offers, and guild offers. Other guilds, both in and out of the kingdom were wanting me to join them, but I was going to turn them all down. Mandy laid on the couch behind me, watching me go through each one. I then pulled out a box that was as long as my forearm. It was wrapped in red satin, a silver dragon head pendant holding the satin around it. Mandy sat up abruptly as I looked down at it in shock. It was from the Dragon Alliance. 

The Dragon Alliance was a special task force, not controlled by any king or queen. They had members all over the world, protecting the world from the dark side of magic. The Dragon Alliance was above the law, doing whatever it takes to keep the balance. Some argue that the Dragon Alliance is a class all of it's own, above the Diamond Class. Dragon Alliance members were allowed to be in guilds, but when called upon, they must do their duties. No one has ever turned down a Dragon Alliance invitation. 

I opened the box and saw the scroll, my official invitation. As I read it over, I couldn't believe what I was reading. When I got to the bottom, I was shocked that I was allowed to have another join with me. Their purpose was to be my partner. Each Dragon Alliance member had a partner that they could count on. Their requirement though, they had to be S class or higher. 

"Who would you choose to be your partner," Mandy asked me. "You," I told her without hesitation. "I'm not S class," Mandy reminded me. "Not yet you're not," I told her. "I've been helping you study remember?" "And it's barely sticking," she said with a sigh. I sighed, knowing she had a point. She wasn't big on book learning. I then eyed the stack of job offers that I had. Many of the jobs, her magic wasn't a good fit for, however, I might be able to use them as learning experiences. She was a woman of action, so let's let action be her teacher. 

I saw their was a magic scroll with a pen for me to write out my reply on. I wrote out that I wanted to accept their invitation, however, my partner is still studying for their S Class test. They possessed the power, but just needed to pass the test. The scroll disappeared once I sealed it. 

"I'm not that surprised you were invited to join the Dragon Alliance," Mandy said with a soft smile. "You're amazing Lilly." "I'm not that amazing," I told her. "To be honest, I'm incredibly surprised. After all, it's the Dragon Alliance!" Everything they've ever done has ended up in the history books. Unfortunately they also have a reputation much like Crooked Sin, filled with people who don't have the best of personalities. I met one Dragon Alliance member once and he was one of the rudest people I have ever encountered. Signom Doncer, one of their more elite members. He was a brute and I never want to encounter him again. I wasn't going to let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch though.

Suddenly the scroll returned. I opened it up. It simply stated, 2 Months.

"Two months for what," Mandy asked me. "Two months to get you to S Class," I told her. I snatched up the missions, "And I know just how to do it." She looked at me as if I was delusional, "And how do you suppose I'm gonna do it in two months?" "Because I have faith in you," I told her. She burst into laughter, "We're gonna need a little more than faith." I rolled my eyes, before flicking her in the forehead, "Just trust me on this." She sighed as she rubbed the spot where I flicked her, "Fine, I'll trust you, but if this doesn't work then I'm kicking your ass." "I hope you're ready for a world of heck, because it's gonna be intense," I declared. She smiled softly, "I can't wait."