CHAPTER 9

Night had fallen already, but work seems to be on going outside the castle.

Lucy and the other girls were told to clean up the bloody stains of those demon bats killed.

And they have been doing it for hours.

Lucy was tired of cleaning,and dropped the rag she was using.

"I'm tired.I can't do this any more",she cried,sitting on the ground.

Suddenly,she heard a voice,aguring at the entrance of the castle gate.

The voice seemed familiar.

She stood up and walked close to the gate,and became enthusiasts on seeing her mother,Agnes.

"Mother! ",she shouted,rushing to the gate.

Agnes saw her and began to beg the monsters at the gate to let her see Lucy for some minutes.

They didn't want to allow her, but soon agreed.

She entered inside and rushed to hug Lucy," Are you alright my dear?.How's everything going?

Are you getting anywhere closer to him?".

"No mother!",she cried out and grumbled.

"Nothing is going well mum.

He's not even looking at me.

And...and they're making me to work so much",she cried again.

Agnes comforted her and said,drawing herself close to her,"Listen dear,this is what you'll do.

You'll have to do something that he likes very well.

Act as if you too know how to do it,and you're serious, then he will pay attention to you".

Lucy thought about it,and knew what she would do.

"Mum!,you're a genius.

There's one thing that I know he likes very well...Fighting, with swords.

He likes when his armies train with swords.

But.....",she looks round then whispers to her mother, "....but he would be shocked,when he sees a girl,holding a sword to fight".

Agnes gasped and smiled, patting Lucy on the arm," You're just like my mother,smart girl.

Everyone believes that women can't fight,talk more less of holding a sword.But if he sees you holding one and training, he would be marveled ".

Excited, they both decided and concluded.

The monsters at the gate soon came to take Agnes away,and she left.

Lucy was glad.

Now she has a plan to get Reed for herself.

Meanwhile, inside the dungeon,Deborah was chatting with her new friends,the skeletons.

They were all joking around,talking about their worst day ever

Just as they were having fun,a giant slug,came slithering to the dungeon.

It banged on the protector,dragging their attention and said,dropping down a tray," Here's your food prisoners ",he pushed it inside.

The skeletons were given bones to chew on,while Deborah was given something disgusting.

It looked like something raw and stinky,and it made her to shut her eyes and push it away.

" I can't eat this".

"Suit yourself your majesty,Haha",it laughed and slithered away.

Deborah was not happy at all.

The way it was behaving towards her,wasn't good at all.

"It's because of this behavior of yours that people don't like him.

Instead,they see him as an enemy",she thought to herself, facing the ground sadly.

The giant slug was leaving the dungeon.

He opened the entrance and left,without locking it back.

That's when Blue,came in with a sack on his mouth.

He walked inside,looking for Deborah.

He finally came to the side where she was,and saw her facing the ground.

He made a little growling noise,that attracted her attention immediately.

She rose her head up and saw Blue.

"Blue?!",she said,standing up from where she was and walking towards him.

"So you came to see your friend huh?",she stroked his mane.

Blue nodded,and he slowly dropped the sack down,pushing it to Deborah.

She wondered what was inside the sack.

Curiously, she opened it.

Behold,it was food,fresh food.

Her face began to lighten up with a smile,as she looked at Blue and thanked him.

"I've been starving since morning and my friend has brought me food".

She began to eat.

Blue had a happy smile on his face,because Deborah was eating.

She looked at him again,and said,with food inside her mouth,"I promise you,that when I come out from this smelling dungeon, the both of us will play all day".

On hearing that,Blue began to jump up and down in excited, making Deborah to laugh.

Once she was done,Blue took the sack and left.

Deborah sat close to the protector, watching him leave.

That's when something came to her mind.

"If I was able to make friend with Blue,who's closer to Reed than any other person,I can be able to gain Reed's trust.

Now that's a plan",she smiled.

The next day,Reed's army were training at the arena,inside the castle.

All the monsters and the people they captured,like the prince where there,training together.

Reed was watching them,from a high place.

He was impressed.

Most especially, by the prince,who fought like a mighty warrior indeed.

"He's good.

Never knew that he possessed so much skills in fighting ",he said to Blue,who was staring at them.

Later,Lucy and some girls,came in with a big tray, filled with water,and food to give them.

They began to give the water and food to the people training.

Lucy,who was supposed to be helping,began to use her eyes to look for Reed.

Finally,she spotted him.

Her heart glowed on seeing him,and she blushed.

" I'll do anything to get your love Reed",she thought to herself, with determination. She turned to the direction,where all the armies had dropped their weapons.

She walked over,and picked a sword.

Surprisingly, everyone saw her with the sword,swooshing here and there,as if she was fighting.

"What's this Witch doing now?,She'll get us all into trouble", Esther,who was giving the prince food,said.

Reed also saw her,and became Marvelled.

" What do we have here?",he said,folding his arms and watching.

Lucy was feeling proud,as she continued to show off herself,like a tomato displayed in the market.

Out of annoyance, Esther shouted at her,"What do you think you're doing?".

"Training? ",she replied,swooshing the sword again.

Esther then said,holding the sword," We came to serve,not to train.

Did you see any girl training here?

Only the men do the training ".

" Oh pls!",she said out loud,looking at Esther wickedly.

"Is it now a crime for a girl to hold a sword and train with it?

No!.

I'm training because I want to show all of you that am...", she looked at the others, "...going to join the warriors in fighting any demon that comes our way.

And....no one can stop me,because its my right,and its what I love".

" Really?!",a voice from behind.

Shocked,Lucy knew who it was.

Her face lightened up,as she turned back to look.

It was Reed.

He came close to her,making her to shiver and blush,twisting her hair like a fool.

He observed her from head to toe and shooked His head disappointedly.

"You don't look like a warrior,or act like one.You're just a servant".

" Yes I do look like a warrior,and I can even prove it to you",she frowned,acting smart.

Then she said,"You don't even have the guts to accept the truth,that's why you're thinking that women are weak",she acted serious.

Instead,she was praising herself within.

Reed looked into her daring eyes and scoffed,"Fine then.We'll have a battle today at the arena.

And you'll prove yourself to me,right in front of everyone.

And if you do....",he looks at the remaining girls,"....I'll let you girls join me".

"Deal!",she agreed.

Lucy turned and walked away majestically, while the others feared for their lives.

Reed had an evil smile on,as he called the cyclops,and sent him to invite the entire people for a show.

"Yes master?!",the cyclops rushed.

The prince studied Reed's face expression,and suspected that he has planned something bad.

Two hours later,everyone had arrived at the arena.

The king was given a place to stay,close to Reed.

Agnes was at the front row,as she was excited to hear that Lucy challenged Reed.

Lucy was preparing herself.

She began to plan with her friends,on how they would fight.

"When I raise my sword,you'll fall down flat immediately.

You,when I pull your hair,you'll fall down flat too.

So that Reed would see how strong I am".

"Wait!,who's fighting? ",a voice said.

They turned and saw Deborah, looking confused.

Lucy hissed and said," Hello queen of dungeon,how may I help you? ".

" Someone said something about a fight.

Is there a fight going on today?".

Frustrated, Lucy answered, "Yes!!,am fighting with my friends here,to prove to Reed that we can fight too".

Deborah was astonished.

" What?!,do you know what you're doing?".

"Yes I do know,and please, stop interfering in my matters.

As you can see,i'm preparing ".

She shoved her,continuing with her so call preparation.

Deborah had a bad feeling that Reed had planned something evil,and Lucy can't escape it at all.