This is chapter TWO of my brand new series on the AJA, Ready or Not, written by Cuteypie0518!

Chapter Two; Let Me Make You Proud

(Present time. Mariah’s POV)

“No, that can’t be right. Phantoms are supposed to have eight arms, not four!” I yelled, snapping the phantom I had created to dust. After twelve years, the Destroyer can’t even managed to make a phantom army for herself. I groaned and plopped myself onto the hard, wooden floor.

“Hello dear.” My mother called, strolling into the house with a bag of food.

“Hello, mother. How was the market?” I asked her, taking the bag of food to put away. She groaned, setting her things down by the door.

“Too packed for a Wednesday evening if you ask me.” She explained, rubbing her temples with her paws.

“Have you seen the article you brought home for me yesterday?” I asked, holding up the Jamaa Journal for her to read. Mother always wants me up to date on everything that happens in Jamaa. She stood up and took the paper from my paw. She read it silently:

King Lucas and Queen Harper are throwing an elegant ball in honor of their twin children, Princess Olivia and Prince Liam’s, birthday. The royal family will be welcoming guests from all over to take part in this celebration.

After she finished, she glared at me.

“What’s the point of this?” She snapped. I huffed.

“Don’t you see? This would be the perfect time to attack! We can go to the Phantom King and inform him of this! We could bring an entire army to attack and take the throne for the phantoms!” I exclaimed. This could be my chance to prove my worth.

“That is foolish! You have no plan, no army of your own, and no powers!” She laughed.

“I have powers!” I fought back. She snorted.

“What powers? A bit of destroying? That’s nothing! You still can’t even create a phantom! You’re a disgrace to your name.” Mother ordered. Her words struck me like an arrow, but I kept my guard up.

“I’m twelve! I still have a long road of training ahead of me! Just let me prove myself to you!” I yelled. She laughed.

“If you can do something to terrorize Jamaa, I will reconsider my words.” Mother explained, pouring herself a cup of tea. I nodded, rushing into my room.

“I’ll show her! I’ll show them all!” I exclaimed to myself, pulling out one of my books. I flipped through its contents, coming across the spell I was looking for: the freezing spell. I carefully read through the pages, reading everything I had already heard before countless times. Think about what you want to happen. Visualize! I took a deep breath and conjured up a little rat to practice on. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and flicked my wrist. When I opened them, the rat was still. I jumped up from my chair. I had actually done a spell correctly on the first try! I put the book back into my shelf. Freezing all of Jamaa would make the perfect opportunity to seize the throne for the phantoms! I ran out of my room to tell my mother of my plan that was sure to work.

“Mother!” I shrieked, running full speed to her. She laughed a bit. My mother wasn’t always as rude as she seems.

“What is wrong, child?” She asked, straightening her cape.

“I have a plan! And it’s going to work!” I exclaimed.

“Oh, really? Tell me this plan.” She snorted, putting her cup of tea onto the table.

“Alright! So basically, I am going to go to the castle, cast the freeing spell on Jamaa, and seize the throne easily!” I explained, giving my mother a big grin. She laughed.

“That plan isn’t awful, but you’ve never done something full scale before. And what if it fails, and you make everything a mess for me to clean up? I can’t be running around all the time fixing things for you.” Mother explained, picking her cup of tea back up.

“I get it! You don’t think I can handle it. But I can! And I’ll prove it to you!” I explained. I began to make my way to the door before mother spoke once more.

“Child, before you go off, take this.” I turned around to see my mother holding a black and purple bracelet. It had a black gem that sparkled in the light.

“This is the Destroyer Bracelet. It holds tremendous powers, including a disguise.” Mother explained.

“You really trust me?” I beamed. This was a first.

“Oh gosh no! I just don’t want you to be totally helpless.” Mother snorted. I groaned.

“The world is a harsh place, Mariah. That’s why I never aloud you out. But you seem pretty determined to mess everything up, so go ahead.” Mother walked away from me.

“I’ll show you.” I muttered before taking my first step into the outdoors.