"You should be happy right now." She sighed. "Nicolai probably thinks you spent the night with me and.. well you know." She shrugged before thinking about how to respond. "I think to prevent any future fights, maybe I should go alone today. But I would like to accompany you to see the new recruits, if you don't mind me going. I want to see my big, bad, Alister kick some recruit butt." She said laughing. "Also, my dad wants me to greet the foreigner because it would be 'respectful'." She said as she made a cut-throat gesture. "But yeah after I meet up with Nicolai you should meet me somewhere." She said, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

Alister chuckled, "Well, then I'm glad he's suffering with that thought." He shoved her playfully, "And if you really want to see the recruits, you'll have to cut your little date with blonde boy and meet me at the training grounds behind the castle around 2. We're just doing an introduction today and showing them to the barracks. After that, we'll go meet the foreigners." He stood up and stretched, "I should get going, I'm sure your dad will be on his way here to talk to you about our little performance last night. I'll see you later if he doesn't catch me in the hallways and slit my throat."

Kaida laughed at him. Alister had never been so open and carefree around her before. It felt nice. He was normally was quiet around her and always on edge. She liked this side of him. Suddenly a pang went off inside of her. She liked him. Her faced blushed brightly as she realized this and suddenly began embarrassed. "Oh.. um yeah. Okay." She said with a nervous giggle. "Um yeah I guess then I'll just ya know see ya at two." She said as she was backing up into her bathroom and quickly shut the door. She sank to the ground and panicked for a few seconds before controlling her breathing and opening the door. "Alister, I-" She started but he was already gone. She sighed and she became anxious, she wanted to be around someone right now. Whether it be Alister or Nicolai or her father. She just wanted company, someone to take her mind off things she didn't want to think about. Like who she'll have to pick in the end. "Alister or Nicolai... How could I ever choose?" she thought. Beginning to panic again.

Alister let out a sigh of relief as he walked down the hallway. Everything was still so weird. Especially that 'Nicolai' character. He didn't have much of a choice though, if Kaida called him a 'friend' then he had to try to get along with him. He knew that he was important to her, it was obvious. He had no right to ruin this for her, even if she WAS in love with him. "In love with him..." those words echoed in his head louder and louder, until he turned the corner and nearly ran into a rather large man. "Sorry I-" he looked up and felt fear shoot through his body. A rather angry looking king glared down at him.



"Well good morning Alister. Having a nice stroll around the castle? I sure hope you're on you're getting ready to meet the recruits and not wandering around on a 'break'." Crage growled. He was holding a large fluffy caramel colored teddy bear with a red ribbon tied around it's neck. The way he held it by the scruff of the neck made Alister nervous. It was almost like he was going to use it to beat him to death.



"G-Good morning your majesty." He bowed respectfully, "I was just on my way to get cleaned up really quick and head out. Er...What's with the-"



"The bear is for Kaida-Rei. I heard that fathers buy their daughters stuffed animals to make them happy. What do you think Alister? Is it cute enough?" He shoved the bear into his face violently.



"Y-Yes sir, I think she'll be more than happy!" Alister jumped. "How does he manage to ALWAYS be so terrifying?! It's like he doesn't even TRY." Alister thought.



"Excellent!" He laughed, "Alright, hurry up and get to the training grounds!" He grinned as he walked passed Alister towards Kaida's room. Once he got to her door, he knocked lightly, "Kaida? Are you in there?" His grin remained plastered on his face, as he tried his best to look like a nice and loving father. He had no idea what had happened at the Ball, other than Alister swung at Nicolai. But he didn't care enough to ask either of them. He'd ask his daughter first.

Quickly trying to wipe the tears off her face she answered. "Yeah, dad I'm in here." She needed someone. She was confused and torn and hurt and oh so very confused. How could this have happened? How could she have developed feelings for Alister right as her childhood romance walks into the picture? The timing was uncanny. She managed to compose herself for roughly five seconds but as soon as she looked at her father carrying a teddy bear she burst into tears again. She knew her father wouldn't know what to say but she had to let it out. She also knew he would probably shun Nicolai and try to kill Alister but she had to let this out. "Daddy, I don't know what to do!" She cried.

Crage's almost creepy grin instantly dropped into a frown, "What? B-But I brought you a bear!" He held out the giant stuffed animal, "Why is my beautiful daughter crying!?" He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "What do I do?! She's...She's CRYING?! Oh god...Where's Mae when I need her?! Dammit!" He felt his stomach twist into a knot, that began to melt into rage. In a deep and serious (almost alarming) voice, he growled, "Who's responsible for your tears?"

Kaida buried her face into her father's chest. "I-I don't k-know what t-to do." She stammered between sobs. "Nicolai is m-my childhood l-love and hes s-so perfect. But A-alister is m-my closest friend. A-and I like t-them both. Why d-did this have t-to happen?!" She cried before rubbing her face against the bear and calming down a bit. "Do you remember Nicolai dad? We used to play together as kids. We were so close and things were so perfect. But then he left and a few years later I met Alister. And up until yesterday things had been rocky between us but he suddenly opened up and started being so nice and I realized I had feelings for him." She shook her head and sat up straight. "I was so sure I was meant to be with Nicolai but now I'm torn between them." She laughed slightly. "And I don't even know if Alister feels the same way about me." He paused and looked up into Crage's eyes. "What do I do dad?"

Crage froze. His whole world seemed to stop. It seemed almost unreal as her words started to process in his head. And then it hit him. Why the fight almost broke out at the ball. Why Kaida was so upset. And why Alister seemed even more likely to piss himself when he nearly ran into him in the hallway than usual. "There are two men, NO. Two DEAD boys, who have stolen my daughters heart. Don't you worry about a thing sweetheart daddy will take care of them. With them gone you won't have to worry about a thing." He said in a bit of a monotone. He patted her on the head.

Kaida flew out of his arms. "Dad no! You can't hurt them or send them away or even tell them we had this conversation!" Tears began to well up in her eyes again. "How could you even say that?" She sat back down on her bed and waited until she could speak without sobbing. "I feel so strongly for both of them. But I can only be with one. How am I to decide? I'm not ready to make that big of a decision. What if I pick wrong?" She began to panic again cried on Crage's shoulder. "Please, daddy, please promise you won't hurt them or anything." She said as she looked up and gave him puppy dog eyes, filled with tears. "Especially, Alister. He can not know we had this conversation at all." She added.

"But..But..I'm your father! Let me be your father and tear them apart!" He whined. Crage felt his heart ache seeing tears rolling down her face. He sighed and put an arm around her and pulled her into a bear hug, "..Alright. If you promise to not cry anymore, I'll figure...Something out. And I won't kill them. I won't tell anyone of this conversation either." He gritted his teeth, hating not being able to hurt the ones responsible for making his pride and joy sad, "Cheer up okay?" his voice seemed calmer now, as he took a deep breath, "And don't worry about choosing the wrong guy. If...If you love someone then..Then you'll know for sure. It's weird, ask your mom about this, I'm not good at it." Crage blushed and cleared his throat, "Now I don't like to see you cry. So don't." He wiped a tear from her eye and smiled, "I do remember Nicolai by the way. I'm good friends with his father, so it's somewhat...Of a relief knowing he's not some bum-creeper. He's a prince, so it's only natural that you two should fall in love. Even though I HATE IT with EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING and I want to CRUSH HIS SKULL, but I can't because YOU SAID NOT TO and your mother would MURDER ME and..And I'm going to stop talking now."

Kaida sniffled and smiled at her father. "You're so weird dad." She said giving him a playful shove and sniffling again. "And please be nicer to Alister. He tries really hard and hes a really good guard. Plus hes a good fighter. If you saw him fight I'm sure you'd approve of his skills." She said smiling at the thought of Alister, she had never seen him fight but she knew he was good. He had to be in order to be apart of the Elite Army. Only members of the Elite were aloud inside the upper levels of the castle. "Anyways, I have to go meet Nicolai soon so I should fix my hair and make sure it doesn't look like I've been crying." She smiled at him and stretched. Nothing was really solved but it felt better to let the tension out. She felt like she could handle it now. Besides no one was demanding her to choose right now. She just hoped that when they did she'd be ready and sure of her choice. "Thank you for the bear, dad. Its really cute." She said as she placed it in the middle of the bed and then hugged Crage. As she was walking to her bathroom she stopped and turned. "Oh and since you promised not to hurt them. I should tell you something." She paused. "Alister stayed the night in here with me last night. Nothing happened. Like I said, I don't think he returns my feelings. I just thought you should know." She said as she closed the the bathroom door and began fixing her hair.

Crage felt his heart drop yet again. He ran his fingers through his hair and gritted his teeth, "You're making it harder and harder for me to keep my promise Kaida. I'd rather you just not tell me about these things." He took another deep breath and stood up, "Well then I'm off!" He yelled, "To go and put Alister through hell and back with the recruits. There's a particular one I've got my eye on for a new member of the Elite! I'll try hard to not feed Alister to him." He walked over to the door and turned. In a merry tone, he said, "And let me know if Nicolai upsets you sweetheart, so I can tear off his arms and shove them down his throat!" With that he left, quickly making his way to the training grounds so he could drag not only the recruits, but Alister into his very own version of 'hell in Asteria'.

Kaida sighed and quickly fixed her hair she knew she'd have to tell Nicolai they'd have to reschedule so she could go make sure her father didn't try to make the recruits gang up on Alister. Kaida brushed her hair out again and braided a small strand of hair. She then put a little bit of make up her eyes so it wouldn't look like she had been crying for the past hour. Afterward she ran back into her room and changed into a light Spring dress. The weather looked permitting outside and she wanted to take advantage of it. She then ran down the hall way, some of the guards staring at her like she had lost her marbles. She stopped running once she reached the courtyard and the rose garden was in sight. She could see Nicolai waiting for her and she tried to hide her cheesy grin. She hugged him and spoke quickly so Nicolai charm couldn't attempt her into staying longer. "I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to reschedule. I have to go make sure my father doesn't try and get Alister killed. I really have to hurry over to the barracks, like now." She said and waited for his response.

Nicolai smiled, "Well that was fast. That's fine though, what ever would we do if Alister was brutally mutilated by that oh so charming father of yours?" He chuckled, "I'll be in town for a while, so whenever you're free." Nicolai winked. "I have to admit, I'm jealous that Alister is stealing you away from me for the day." He sighed dramatically, "But I won't keep you any longer my love. I hope you have uh...A good time at the barracks? Let me know how that goes." He laughed a bit before giving her another hug, and a kiss on the forehead.

Kaida caught his hand before he could turn to leave and pulled him close to her. She stood on her tip toes so she could bring her lips up to his again. Lasting a little longer than it has last night. She felt as if electricity was flowing through her body, but in a good way. Went she pulled away she smiled. "I hope that will keep me in your thoughts today." She said as she turned and hurried away. Her face bright red. She jogged quickly across the courtyard, pasted the stables and finally arrived at the training field were she saw Crage standing next to Alister and a line of recruits in front of them.

Nicolai felt his heart flutter a bit. He smiled as she ran off. Feeling absolutely lovestruck, he decided to wander into town and look for the perfect gift for his one true love. "You're always in my thoughts.."



Alister starred at the line of recruits as Crage continued to yell at them about the importance of not being an idiot and wandering off into the castle. And that if he caught any stray recruits, he would personally escort them to the graveyard. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kaida as she arrived. He couldn't help but smile, which resulted in a slap upside the head by Crage. He looked up at him to apologize, but was confused to see the King looking even scarier with his evil grin and demonic laugh.



"So glad you could join us sweetheart!" Crage boomed, "Recruits! This is my lovely daughter, Princess Kaida! As beautiful as she is, if I catch you staring at her for more than two seconds, I'll gouge your eyes out with a pitchfork!" He laughed again, and looked back at the men all lined up. "Now, this young man here is Alister, a member of the Elite. You will obey his commands as long as you are in training. Do I make myself clear?" All of the recruits responded with a "Yes sir."

She smiled and bowed her head to the recruits. She knew it wasn't custom but it was polite. She then nudged her father for being so over protective, before looping around and standing next to Alister, smiling up at him for a second.



Sera quickly walked up from the side at the sight of the Princess. She instantly began giving orders, even if the King hadn't addressed her yet. "I am Captain Seraphim Reed. You are all my personal punching bags from here on out! If you break a rule I will break your legs! Is that clear?!" She shouted, the recruits answered with was "Sir, yes sir." She hated being called sir but knew it was meant as a sign of respect. She then bowed her head in respect to Crage and then slightly bowed to Kaida, not really caring. "We're going to start with giving a good grasp on just how strong all you worthless maggots are!" She paused and eyed Alister. "Noble, Royal! Spar in hand-to-hand combat! Do not stop until someone is broken, bleeding, or immobile!" She commanded, her eyes following Alister into the sparing ring.



Her body tensed as Alister's last name was called. She watched him walk into the circle, followed by a muscular red headed man who's eyes landed on Kaida. She then nudged her dad again. "Who is that? Is she part of the Elite? I've never seen her around before." She asked, not liking the way her eyes were glued to Alister.

He laughed and smiled down at his daughter, "That's the recruit I mentioned earlier. Valentine Royal. He's got the speed and power of an Elite, so he might be promoted, depending on how this fight turns out." He nudged her playfully, "This should be interesting. I've been waiting to see if Royal can live up to his reputation."



Alister took a deep breath and took his fighting stance, awaiting the signal to start. His eyes shifted from Valentine's good eye, to the eye patch he wore, "I'm curious. After the fight you'll have to tell me about that patch." He grinned, just as eager as Crage to see Valentine's skills.



A wide grin spread across his face, oddly similar to Crage's. He had an almost wild look in his eye. He took a fighting stance as well. He felt adrenalin pumping through his body. He had been itching for a fight. And he was filled to the rim with happiness that his first opponent was none other than Alister Noble.

Crage:

"Seraphim, signal them when you're ready for them to start." Crage said.

Kaida pushed Crage. "No dad. I meant the girl. Who is that Seraphim girl? Is she new or something?" She said with a facial expression that said she was amused that her father and made the mistake. She then turned her attention to Alister, nervous and excited at the same time. But mostly nervous. Her eyes then brought her attention to Seraphim, her eyes were still on Alister. This did not make Kaida happy at all. She felt jealous and very protective over Alister. She could tell she already disliked the woman.



Sera smiled slightly at Alister. She knew the two would be prefect to fight each other. Both having a large amount of skill, stamina, and determination. Sera's mind wandered to thinking if the men could apply those traits in the bedroom. She shook her head slightly and gave the command for the fight to begin. A slow, almost cruel smile spread across her face. She loved the sight of a good fight. It made her heart race and she could feel her blood warming and racing threw her veins quicker and quicker. Violence seduced her.

"Hm? Oh, Seraphim is a Captain in the Elite." Crage replied, "She has authority over Alister and at this point, the recruits." He glanced over at Seraphim, and then back at Kaida, "For a human, she's pretty talented. She's also the only female Captain. She isn't new either, she's been crushing souls for quite a while."



Valentine didn't waste any time. He lunged at Alister and threw the first punch. Alister easily dodged the punch, and swung as well. To his surprise however, Valentine had grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him closer. Before he realized what had happened, a fist his collided with his jaw. "God that was fast..Crage didn't tell me he was this fast. I didn't even have time to dodge." Alister brought his leg up quickly and managed to his Valentine in the ribs. Hard enough for not only him, but for Crage to hear the crack. Alister smiled.



Everything had happened so fast, but Crage's eyes were quick enough to see every move. In a mere couple of seconds, Valentine had managed to land a punch on one of the Royal Guard's best. He had potential, that was certain. But a broken rib wasn't enough to stop any of the Elite, he knew that. And if this recruit was worth anything, he'd continue fighting. "Interesting."

Her heart was racing faster and faster. Her eyes darting back and forth between Alister and Valentine. "Enough." She yelled out. Butterflies were filling her stomach as she watched the fight come to an end. "Well Royal you actually managed to get a hit in on the Elite Guard's highest. Nicely done." She walked into the sparing ring. "Are you getting rusty, Alister? Too much time being the Princess's guard dog and not enough time getting a real workout." She said, her eyes wandered down his body and she made no attempt to hide where they were leading. "Royal you're going to spar me next." She said as waited for Alister to leave the ring before taking a sparing stance.



Kaida frowned hard as she watched Seraphim so openly hit on Alister. She didn't like it. She hated it. Every fiber of her being wanted to go after her. She was half Celetos, one of the strongest races on the planet. She would probably have a good chance at taking her. She shook her head. If she did that she'd have to explain to Alister why and she couldn't do that. Once Alister walked back over to her and grabbed his arm and pulled her away from her father and the other recruits. "What the hell was that?" She asked in a harsh whisper. "Since when do you have to beat women off with a stick?" She said, slightly glaring at him.

Alister sighed, disappointed that Seraphim had ended the fight so soon. He glared at Seraphim as she passed him, but knew it wasn't his place to open his mouth. He left the ring without question, but glanced over at Valentine, who looked confused and disappointed as well. But he stood up straight and didn't show any sign of pain. Odd, Alister thought, since there was no doubt in his mind he had at least two cracked ribs now. He didn't stand a chance against Seraphim. After Kaida pulled him to the side, he starred at her, confused, "What's wrong? I can't do anything, she's higher up than me."



Valentine took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His side throbbed in pain, but he couldn't let it show. He'd appear weak and beaten. He had to at least give Seraphim a run for her money. He grinned and took a fighting stance once more, "Get a little bored watchin' huh? I'm honored to have the infamous Seraphim eager to spar with me." He couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. He'd only heard about her, never seen her in action. So he had no idea what she was capable of. He'd finally get a chance to give it his all. "It's been a while since I've had a challenge."

Sera laughed loudly at him, breaking her stance. "A challenge? I will wipe the floor with you. It's not a challenge if you don't even stand a chance." She then took her fighting stand again. "Begin." She growl before darting at him full speed. A cruel smile spread across her face when she landed a fist against his cracked ribs. She knew he'd feel that one. A split second after landing the punch she spun around him and planted her boot in the middle of his spin, making him fall face first to the ground. "Get up maggot!" She yelled. Valentine quickly got back on his feet and attempted a swing at Sera, missing by only a fraction of an inch. This both excited and shocked Sera. She then charged him again an bent his arm behind his back and lightly put her fist against his broken ribs. "I win." But she didn't let go, she felt powerful in this situation and it was very exciting to her. She kicked his knees out from underneath him but still held onto his arm, bending it so far that it was an inch away from breaking. After a few seconds she let go and pushed him to the ground. "Second in command. Under Noble." She called down to Valentine before turning to Alister. "Alister you'll train him to take your place as the guard dog. So you can get back to some real work." She knew it was improper to called Alister by his first name but she didn't care. Alister had always excited her the most.



She felt her temper about to reach its limit. Her back ached as she felt her wings wanted to burst and she was sure her skin was probably darkening. She tried to calm herself because she had never shown her demi-form to anyone but her parents. But then she felt her horns starting to break the skin and nearly everyone's eyes snapped to her as her black wings broke through her back, tearing a little of her dress. She had taken fighting lessons from the time she was eight to the time when she was fifteen. She stopped because Alister had become her guard and she no longer needed the training. But she still knew it. And now that she was in her demi-form she knew she would be stronger than any human. She completely ignored Alister but felt her heart sink a little when he moved away from her in her demi-form. He probably didn't even know she had a demi-form. Only a few people knew that her father was a full Celetos. She then glared hard at Seraphim and watched as an amused smiled spread across her face when she noticed Kaida's glare. Kaida walked into the sparing ring. "We will fight now." She said, as her wings and horns reached their full length.



Sera was completely thrilled with the Princess. Her Ravian blood was pulsing through her veins and she wanted to take on the demi-form so she could really put Kaida in her place but she knew if she lost control and allowed even a fraction of her demi-form to show her cover would be blown and she'd be killed by the Celetos King. Sera bowed her head deeply. "As you wish, your highness." She said with a soft tone but a hateful spread played large on her face.

Valentine didn't even have time to react. His eyes widened as he lay there on the ground. His ribs were on fire and his arm throbbed in pain. He tried to stand, but fell instantly back down. "D-Dammit...I can't move my legs..." The pain in his side was too intense, and he tried hard to not focus on it. He tried to take a deep breath, but couldn't. He coughed and struggled to get up once more, this time managing to stand. He panted and laughed lightly, "Well..It appears you live up to your reputation. What a way to start-" he coughed again, and spit out a bit of blood, "Start the job.." He laughed lightly as he limped over to the side of the ring and plopped down with a sigh, holding his side. His knee throbbed where she had kicked, and he knew he'd be sore in the morning. He ran his fingers through his soft red hair as he continued to try and catch his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the commotion going on with the princess. His eyes widened to see her jet black wings. "Damn.."



Alister took a few more steps back from Kaida. His heart pounded hard in his chest, "Kaida..What are you doing?" He felt almost frozen to the spot, shocked to see her in her released demi-form. "You can't.." He looked over at Crage, as if begging him to stop her.



Crage watched his daughter like a hawk as she entered the ring. He crossed his arms and curiously studied her wings and horns. It had been a while since he'd seen his daughter's demi-form. But he wouldn't stop her. Even though she was a princess, she had to learn to control herself and how to defend herself. He didn't want her to fight, but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop her now. She was half Celetos. Rage was one thing even he couldn't completely control. It was in their blood. He was curious to see if she could handle that power. "Relax Alister. Just watch carefully and learn." He growled. His eyes locked on his daughter.

Kaida scoffed at Seraphim as her vision tinted red. She knew it was an effect from her demi-form. In seconds her eyes would probably begin to change to red as well. She had seen herself in demi-form before and she hated the way she looked, she didn't even look like the same person. She looked like a demon a from nightmare. Kaida exhaled and spread her wings as Seraphim gave the words to begin. She wasn't going to try to dodge her first attack but instead make impossible for her to maneuver. As Seraphim bolted told Kaida she used her wings to knocked her off balance, Seraphim slammed into Kaida's chest. Kaida then turned pushed away from Seraphim and kicked her to the ground. Kaida's heart was racing but her rage was off the charts she wanted to crush his woman.




Sera coughed and laughed loudly at the unexpected blow. She had thought to end this with the first strike but it would appear the Princess liked to use her precious wings to her advantage. She'd have to take care of that. "Well you are talented, Princess. Maybe even been than Alister." She winked at Alister, setting Kaida off again.



Kaida made the mistake of rushing Seraphim and quickly found herself trapped under Seraphim's boot with her threatening to snap her wing. The pain was intense but she kept her head clear as she lifted off the ground ever so slightly and spun, grabbing Seraphim's leg and twisting it sideways causing Sera to fall in the other direction. She then stood as fast as she could and threw herself on top of Seraphim, her fist connecting with Sera's nose.



Sera was enraged now. She felt as if she had been lit on fire. She would never be beaten by the likes of the prissy little Princess. Using a bit of her Ravian power she pushed herself up and on top of the Princess, hands pressed firmly against Kaida's throat, closing her air way. Her pupils were cat-like slits now and her eyes were flickering red. She knew the Princess could probably see the change but she didn't care. She wanted to cut her air supply off completely.



Kaida was surprised when Sera managed to push herself up and get on top of her, straddling her in a nearly sexual way. She felt open and embarrassed, especially since her dress was pushed up, exposing nearly all of her thighs. She then widen her eyes are Sera's hands landed on her throat. She tried to push her hands away but her strength was too strong. "Something is wrong.. she can't be stronger than me.." she gasped for air but couldn't get any into her lungs. She tried to push with her feet up couldn't get any leverage. She bucked her hips trying to push Seraphim off her but it felt awkward with Sera sitting on her the way she was. Kaida tried every way she could to wiggle a way but couldn't manage to escape and with her quickly losing air supply she was getting tired fast. Ten seconds had past now but it felt like ten minutes. She gave up and looked up into Seraphim's eyes. Her eyes had changed, fear spiked through her body. "She's not human..." The sentence ran through her head as she began to feel dizzy from not being able to inhale.