Before I could fully brace myself, he was on me again. No hesitation, no warning. His fist shot toward my ribs, forcing me to twist away at the last second, but even dodging wasn't enough. His other hand caught my shoulder, shoving me off balance. I hit the dirt hard, a sharp sting shooting up my arm.

"Too slow," he said, already stepping back. "Get up."

I bit down on a groan, pushing myself up again. My body ached, my breath ragged, but I refused to stay down. He didn't wait. The moment I was upright, he moved again—faster this time. A blur of motion, and I barely managed to throw my arms up before his strike landed. Even blocking, the force rattled through me, pushing me back.

"Pathetic," he muttered. "You're just blindly swinging. Do you even see what you're doing wrong?"

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder."

Then he kicked my legs out from under me. Again.

I hit the ground with a gasp, pain exploding through my back.

"You're getting real familiar with the dirt," he said dryly. "Maybe I should just leave you here."

I forced myself onto my elbows, chest heaving. "Not happening."

His expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes—something sharp and unreadable.

"Then prove it."

I pushed up, ignoring the way my body screamed at me to stop. He stood, arms crossed, not even bothering to go for another attack. Fine. Let's see if I do. I lunged, faster than before, and this time I didn't just throw a punch—I faked one. The second his weight shifted to dodge, I twisted, aiming a kick at his side. For the first time, he actually had to block. His forearm caught my leg, stopping it cold, but I saw the briefest flicker of something in his expression. Then his other hand grabbed my leg, and in one brutal motion, he ripped my balance away from me, slamming me back down onto the ground. I saw stars.

"Better," he muttered, stepping away. "Still useless, but better."

I groaned, rolling onto my side, coughing as I tried to catch my breath.

"You're done," he said. "Come back when you can actually last more than two minutes."

I clenched my jaw, ignoring the pain as I forced myself to my hands and knees. "I'm not….done," I sucked in a breath, shoving myself up onto shaky legs.

He exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "You really don't get it, do you?"

I glared at him. "Get what?"

He stepped closer, his voice low and sharp. "This isn't about proving something to me. You can stand up all you want, but until you learn to think, until you actually fight instead of just swinging like an idiot, you're just wasting my time."

I swallowed hard, my body screaming for me to sit down, but I kept my feet planted. He watched me for another second, then exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

"Fine. One more round."

I barely had time to react before he moved again. I barely had time to lift my arms before he was in front of me, fast and relentless. His fist shot toward my face, forcing me to duck, but the moment I moved, his knee slammed into my gut. I choked on a gasp, doubling over.

"Too obvious," he muttered. His hand shot out, grabbing my collar, and before I could react, he threw me back down. My back hit the dirt so hard I swore I felt the ground shake. Pain flared up my spine, and for a split second, I just lay there, blinking up at the sky, my chest heaving.

"That was your 'one more round'?" he scoffed. "Pathetic."

I gritted my teeth, rolling onto my side. My body screamed at me to stay down, to accept the loss and give in. But I couldn't.

Not yet.

With a sharp breath, I planted my hands against the ground and shoved myself up. My arms trembled, my legs unsteady, but I stood. Again.

His expression barely changed. "You're a slow learner."

"And you're an asshole," I shot back, wiping the sweat from my brow.

His lips twitched—not quite a smirk, but close. "That supposed to hurt my feelings, princess?"

I exhaled sharply, steadying my stance and ignoring his jab at not-so-princess language. "No. Just stating facts."

He tilted his head, watching me, and something in his expression shifted—barely noticeable, but there. A flicker of something colder, something that told me he was done playing around.

"Alright, then." His tone dropped, turning harder. "No more holding back."

Then he moved. This time, he didn't just knock me down, hitting fast and hard, giving me barely enough time to think before the next attack came. Every strike, every movement, was brutal and efficient, forcing me to react instead of just blindly swinging. And finally, I started to see.

He wasn't just overpowering me. He was teaching me without saying a word. Every hit had a pattern, a tell, a split-second moment where I could have countered if I had been faster, sharper. I grit my teeth, watching him more closely, _thinking_ instead of just moving. When he struck again, I dodged, not blindly, but deliberately. His fist skimmed past my cheek, and instead of stumbling, I used the momentum to pivot, twisting toward him. His eyes flickered—acknowledgment, maybe—but he didn't stop.

I blocked the next hit. Not well, not cleanly, but enough. A split second of silence passed between us. My chest heaved. My arms ached. But I was still standing.

He stepped back, exhaling through his nose. "Hmph."

I swallowed hard, bracing for another attack.

But it never came.

Instead, he rolled his shoulders and turned away. "Lesson's over."

I blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." He didn't even glance back as he started walking away. "Figure out what you did right. Fix what you did wrong. Then maybe—maybe—next time, you'll actually land a hit."

I clenched my fists, frustration burning in my chest, but I didn't argue.

Because I knew exactly what he was doing.

I clenched my fists, frustration burning in my chest, but I didn't argue.

Because I knew exactly what he was doing, and that lit a fire in me.

The next morning came around, and this time I was more sore than the day before.

"You slept weird again?" Doc asked the moment I walked in the kitchen. I gave an awkward chuckle before nodding my head yes. As I looked up, Grumpy was sitting right by him, and lifted a cup to drink off, except I had noticed a slight twitch of his lip. That jerk.

"You know, sleep is the best medicine, but if its causing you issues, maybe its something else. Maybe we need to take a look at your mattress," Sleepy said.

"That's a good idea. You've never had this much difficultly and pain, back in the castle," Mira joined in.

"I'll sure she's fine. Maybe she's just adjusting to life outside of royalty," Grumpy scoffed.

I shot him a glare, before plopping myself right next to him, making him glare right back at me. "I'm fine. I've been trying to get more exercise in throughout the day so I don't need up stiff."

"We can always check the mattress. It wouldn't hurt," Happy said, looking at me concerned.

"She'll get over it. She probably bit off more than she can chew," Grump exhaled, uninterested. I noticed the other brothers and Mira were now just staring at Grumpy.

"Let's just eat for now," Bashful said, as he slid my plate under me.

"Thanks," I said.

The rest of breakfast went a little more awkwardly, because I was just focusing on finishing my food. I wanted to go back to bed, so I am hoping that Mira did not have a lot of chores to do today. Mira and her brothers were finished before me, but oddly enough, they didn't leave for work. It sounded like they were in a meeting in one of the other rooms, but I was finally happy that I had finished my food. As I cleaned up my plate, I heard Mira moving shuffling a little away.

"Celina, I need a little help, cleaning this one portion of my room. Can you come in here and help?" Mira shouted.

"Be there in a minute!" I shouted, as I started to make my way towards her room.

As I walked into her room, she closed the door behind me and locked it.

"Mira, what's happening?"

"Don't lie to me. What have you been doing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Mira crossed her arms. "Celina, do you think I was born yesterday? Do you really think I wouldn't notice when you walk weird or when you're not devouring your food the moment you sit down? And do you think I wouldn't notice my own brother being in a better mood than ever?" Mira's eyes widened. "Oh heavens, don't tell me."

"Okay yes, I've been training, and Grumpy started helping me—" I confessed.

"Are you and Grumpy together now—" Mira finished as I confessed. I blinked my eyes, trying to process what Mira had just finished asking me.

"What?" we finally said at the same time.

"You thought we were getting together?" I asked, almost wanting to throw up my breakfast. Mira smiled innocently.

"Why would you think that?" I asked.

Mira released a a relieved sigh. "Honestly, I though he was acting so strange lately. And then those other idiots kept putting some stupid ideas in my head! I am so disappointed in myself!" Mira started a little rant, before coming to the realization that I didn't want her to.

"Wait! Training?! You've been training?! And you said Grumpy is helping you?! Are you out of your mind?"

I lowered my head, ready to listen or ignore Mira's lecture that had already started. Although, I could start to hear some yelling in the background, and remembering Mira saying that it was her brothers that had put that cursed idea in her mind, the corners of my lips twitched as I could faintly hear Grumpy going through a very similar torture that I was going through.