"Chloe, wake up," a soft voice entered her ears. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The warmth made her want to sleep even more. It was comforting, protective and familiar.

A vision appeared before her. It was blurry, edges soft like a watercolour painting left out in the rain. All she could see was a blurred forest with towering trees and green grass. She could hear distant noises of leaves rustling and birds chirping. It was very peaceful. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in hazy golden shafts.

A figure stood before her, tall and unclear. She barely reached the knees of the blurred figure. The world around her felt enormous, as if she was very small again.

They bent down, their face moving closer to her. All she could see were their lips reaching her forehead in a gentle kiss.

They had long lavender hair, exactly like hers. Although she could not see the face clearly, through the blurry vision she saw their back. A pair of wings with countless feathers rested on them, contracted and still.

"It’s time to wake up, my princess," the figure whispered in a low, soothing tone that completely melted her heart. The words wrapped around her like a lullaby.

She parted her lips as the figure began retreating, trying to move her legs to follow them, but her legs felt like they had been paralysed. She could not move an inch from her place. The earth beneath her seemed to hold her captive.

She forced the words to her lips, her eyes trembling as the distance between her and the figure increased. "P-papa... wa-wait..."

She was about to break into tears, but then a hand placed on her head. It was big, warm and protective. The weight of it anchored her, chasing away the rising panic.

Her eyes slowly opened, the chirping of birds turning into the loud snap of wood striking wood.

The first thing she saw as the world formed before her was the wide chest of Vlad. She raised her head, her eyes meeting his face, which carried a warm but worry-filled gaze for her, his hand resting gently on her head. His thumb traced small, soothing circles against her hair.

"Was it another bad dream?" he asked, his hand moving from her head to her cheek, where he wiped the faint glisten from the corner of her eye.

She shook her head. "It was a sweet dream."

She wanted to lean closer to him, to stay in his protective warmth, however the loud striking sounds from the background took her attention. There were too many people.

On the platform of the hall, a student was fighting the professor with a wooden stick. A few stood on one side near the rack filled with weapons, while the majority of the students sat on the floor on the other side, their breath uneven and their faces covered in sweat.

"Chloe, if you aren’t feeling well, I will take you to your dormitory," Vlad offered, his hand placed protectively on her cheek.

She moved her hands up, grabbed his hand between both of hers and whispered, "I’m fine. You are with me."

"If you two are done with your romantic reunion, go and choose your weapons," a sharp voice cut through their conversation.

It belonged to Noah, who was sitting on the floor behind them, leaning against the wall. His silver hair fell across his face, and his expression was annoyed.

Chloe instantly removed Vlad’s hand, pivoted on her feet, and moved towards the rack with quick steps.

"What’s gotten into her so suddenly?" Vlad sighed as he began moving as well. He rubbed the back of his neck, bemused.

"You aren’t going?" he asked Noah.

"There is no need. He is already aware of my combat level," Noah replied, folding his arms as he closed his eyes.

The spars continued for a few more minutes as the line of students before Vlad and Chloe slowly decreased. Wood clacked against leather, feet scuffed the floor, and occasional grunts of effort punctuated the air. There were some more students that used elemental powers during their combat, forcing Victor to use his other hand or move his shoulder; however, none of them managed to displace him from his place like Aria had. Nonetheless, he rewarded credits to each student that managed to make any body part except the hand with which he held the sword move.

"Have you finished your nap?" Victor asked with a faint smile as Chloe reached the platform. In her hand she carried a long, thin and slightly curved blade: a katana, a weapon that knights rarely used because of its low durability.

She gave a slight nod, as if she had not done anything wrong. Her face was serene, untouched by embarrassment.

"You know sleeping in class is against the rules," Victor said, raising an eyebrow since she did not even try to offer an excuse.

She shook her head. She truly did not know it. Not that it would have made any difference if she had known.

Victor released a sigh. "I will not deduct your credits if you manage to make me move."

"I just need to move you?" Chloe asked, tilting her head.

Her question rippled a few mocking chuckles from the students, laughter at the absurdity of what she was asking. She was speaking as if moving him was like blowing on a dandelion. A few boys exchanged smirks.

Victor kept a neutral expression.

"That’s all you have to do."

The moment he finished those words, her body moved like a blur, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

Her katana swung low towards his knee in a horizontal motion, cutting sharply through the air.

"She is fast," Victor blinked, moving his scabbard down to block the attack. His arm dropped with practiced precision.

A sharp snapping sound echoed as the blade connected with the scabbard. At the same instant, Chloe planted her other hand firmly on the ground and used it as a pivot to flip her body. The blade stayed pinned against the scabbard while her hand rotated around its hilt, sending her legs high into the air.

She drove one leg down like an axe towards his head. The limb cut through the air with force.

He raised his other hand to block the strike.

The boot connected with his forearm in a loud clap, its sole pressing the skin down. The impact resonated through the hall.

As soon as the strike connected, Chloe’s other leg, which she had bent at the knee, keeping it close to her body, thrust forward like a spear.

It connected with him square on the chest, the fabric of his shirt moving inward from the impact, forcing him half a step backward. The leather of his boot scraped the platform.

All of this had happened within the time span of one second. Most of the students could not even register her movement after the sword strike. Some struggled to see her when she first bolted at Victor. Eyes blinked in confusion, trying to piece together what they had just witnessed.

"I made you move," Chloe said, rotating her hand on the ground, her whole body moving along with it as she placed her foot down without even bending her knees. Her back formed a semi-circular arc as she pushed herself elegantly onto her feet.