Chapter 11

ANDROPHOBIA: Fear of men

"We're done for today" Lux said and dropped the bottle of wine beside him "You can go back to sleep now"

I felt the axe slip off my fingers and hit the ground. I wiped off the sweat on my forehead with my palm, feeling sand on my palm as I did so. Apart from Ignis's constant rude remarks about how lazy I was, the only thing I could hear were my fast heartbeats and ragged breathing.

I couldn't feel my body.

I muscles were so sore, I wasn't sure I would be able to walk to my room. My skin was sticky from all the sweat and dirty from the dust and sand on the ground.

At first, I thought it was a joke but Lux was serious when he said I was going to cut every single one of the logs. He first taught me how to lift an axe without falling down. That took minutes of hard work and concentration. He carried it like it was a spoon and in my hands, it felt like I was carrying mount Everest.

I watched Axel go get a bottle of wine for Lux and a jog of tea for he and Ignis. It was then I found out he had telekinesis and could lift things with his mind. The teacups, jug and bottle we're floating behind him as he slowly walked towards us.

How kind was he to not get me anything?

Therefore, I had to watch Lux chug down a big bottle of wine as he sat down and commanded me on how small a piece should be. Ignis, on the other hand, was laughing his butt off on how lazy I was. I couldn't blame him though. In just one day, I already knew how playful and egotistical he was.

"You know princess" Ignis started, taking another sip of his tea "You spent an hour doing what I would've done in ten minutes"

"Let me guess, because you'll burn them"

"Exactly" He laughed. Lux and Axel made their way back inside and I was left there with Ignis. It seemed they didn't fancy wasting their time.

"I would've done the same if I had powers"

"Darling, do not say that again" He said, picking up his jug and walking closer to me "Ever"

"I was just saying, if I had powers, I wouldn't have to do all this"

He lifted his jug and spilled hot tea on me. I flinched at the impact of the hot liquid burning my skin. It landed on my hand, the same one Lux touched earlier today. "What was that for?"

"You see, take a look at your arm, it's completely fine. That doesn't happen to normal people"

For the first time, he was right. I'd stop feeling the pain and my hand wasn't red. It took seconds for me to scan the hand properly. The only thing on it was liquid. That indeed, wasn't normal. "I hate to admit it but you're right"

"Of course I am. I'm always right"

"Would you like to teach me?"

He gasped like I gave him an opportunity to win a million dollars. million dollars. I couldn't expect more, he was very dramatic. "You want me to teach you?"

"Yeah"

He squealed and started jumping like the child he was. After realizing I wasn't as joyful as he was, he regained his composure and cleared his throat "Yeah, whatever"

*~*~*~*~*~

"Lux! Caeli wants me to teach her how to use her powers!" Ignis yelled the moment we got back inside.

Lux and Axel we're busy eating breakfast at the counter. The amount of food on the counter was enough to feed a party but it didn't look like it was too much for them. Lux finished a slice of bread with four bites without getting crumbs on his body. If I didn't know what bread was, I could've assumed it was small and easy to eat. Axel, on the other hand was eating slowly but he had a lot on his plate. How much could they possibly be spending on food?

"That is a big no" Lux said immediately.

"Ask her yourself" Ignis folded his arms "You know, not everything would go your way"

"You can't teach her and that's final"

"Why?"

"Because you're too irresponsible. Everything's a joke to you"

"First, ouch. That was a very painful and rude thing to say and second, I can't remember when anyone kept you in charge of training her!"

"And I can't remember when anyone kept you in charge of training her either!"

They started arguing again.

Axel acted all normal like it was very usual for them to argue like that. As much as I'd like to stand and watch them argue about silly things, I was in need of a bath. My body was sticky and dusty from the training so I took steps backwards till I was in my room.

Once again, only Axel noticed my absence. The other two were too busy arguing about who was more responsible.

I took off the dirty pajamas. I still couldn't believe he let me chop logs of wood in pajamas. He could've at least told me so I could prepare for a day of suffering.

I showered with warm water, scrubbing my skin properly with soap and washing the sweat and sand off my hair. I could see the brown dirt move with the water as I rinsed my body.

I'd never been so dirty in my life.

When I was done bathing, I wrapped a towel around myself and walked towards to closet to find something suitable for a lazy day of rest.

After putting on underwear, I found a simple orange sweater dress with a V neckline. The material was soft against my palm, it felt like it was made of pure cotton. I didn't think twice before putting it on. It stopped right above my knees and was loosed around my body.

I wore a pair of fluffy bunny slippers. It wasn't until I starred closer that I saw 'Ignis is the best' on it. I wore it anyways.

With satisfaction, I waked out of the room and made my way to the kitchen.

"Oh please! I'm gonna die riding a cool motorcycle on an erupting volcano. You're gonna die choking on marshmallows!"

"And you're gonna die from slipping on a banana peel!"

For goodness sake, how did death get into the conversation?

I didn't bother asking any one of them because they wouldn't reply. I mean, they didn't notice my absence or presence, they might as well ignore my question. Apparently, the whole world was invisible when they started arguing.

I took my seat in front of Axel, served myself breakfast and poured myself a cup of tea. I'd been waiting to eat since when Axel brought a jug of tea for he and Ignis earlier. Besides, the training and all exhausted the little energy I had left in me. Breaking logs of wood was okay but doing it while watching three boys eat and a teenager throw rude remarks at you is on another level.

"That's enough!" I yelled and they both kept quiet immediately. "I'll be the one to chose who trains me" Ignis opened his mouth like he was about to say something "And it's not you!"

Ignis gasped and held his chest like I'd stabbed him with a knife "You chose weird alcoholic guy over me?"

"In your face_"

"It's not you either!" I pointed at Lux "Axel would be my trainer and that's final"

"I'm disappointed" Ignis said, taking a seat beside Axel "As much as I love you Caeli, I'm not impressed with your decision"

"Get over it"

"The only reason you chose Axel is because he makes great food" Ignis said, biting into his toast with anger. I must've pushed his buttons. Great.

"No" Lux replied him "It's probably because he's responsible and he keeps his mouth shut"

"I don't mean to break this to you in a wrong way but she didn't chose you either!"

"At least, I get to train her physically!"

"I'm changing that too" I turned to Lux "Both you and Ignis would teach me physically or whatever you call it."

"But why?"

"Because you're too bossy and sometimes harsh but Ignis is like a teddy bear. The mixture of you both would be the best"

"I'm not a teddy bear young lady. I'm a bad boy"

"Excuse you" He said "Have you seen us do things together before. We're like water and fire, we don't mix. Ignis has a problem for every damn thing"

"No, I don't"

"Yes, you do"

"No, I don't"

"Yes, you do"

"No, I don't"

"Yes, you do"

"No, I don't"

"Can we just eat breakfast without the both of you arguing?"

"No!" They both yelled.

Oh boy.

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