Thanks for all the lovely reviews!

I'm sorry I couldn't update last night, but I got a little stuck, and could only get it out today.

Enjoy!

Chapter 25

The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

Anna was still feeling rather maudlin on the Monday morning, but she tried desperately not to dwell on her feelings. She couldn't really blame Nuada for wishing to be with someone like Cass. She was confident and very assertive, and clearly very attractive to the opposite sex. Everything Anna felt she wasn't.

She managed to have another quiet breakfast, before going back to her room to change into her new gym clothes. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Nuada since Saturday and the kiss, but she didn't want him to think anything was wrong, so she grudgingly went to the library to warm up.

She'd been warming up for over an hour when Nuada entered the library. She didn't notice him straight away, and he was able to come up behind her and surprise her with one of the staffs; waving it in front of her face.

Anna spun round in shock, to find Nuada smiling at her. She had to fight the images of him and Cass from overwhelming her.

"Are you ready to train?" he asked.

Anna nodded, keeping her eyes averted.

"You changed your hair," he said, tilting his head to look at her new haircut.

"Oh, yes. It was Liz's idea. She thought it might be good to make a change, to move away from the way I used to be. I'm still getting used to it," Anna said, brushing her hands over her hair.

"It is different," Nuada replied.

Anna wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing, but the fact that he had noticed lightened her mood slightly.

He started her off with some spinning exercises with the staff. He was still impressed with how quickly she'd managed to become comfortable with the staff, and he felt confident that she would learn to defend and maybe even attack with it just as quickly.

Nuada trained her hard, attacking her repeatedly so she could learn how to block his lunges. She was secretly grateful for it though. It meant she didn't have to think about what had happened. He wasn't using his full capabilities on her of course, but he had managed to land several blows to her arms that smarted more than she had expected. They wouldn't leave any bruises, but it would help to keep her focused on blocking his every attack.

They trained for several hours, and at the end, Anna was exhausted. It had been so difficult trying to block all of Nuada's attacks, despite the fact that he was only using partial force. He was still very fast and flexible, and she couldn't imagine ever being able to attack him adequately enough when the time came for her to learn how.

"You did very well. You managed to block most of my attacks," Nuada said.

"But not all of them," Anna groused, stroking her arms.

"Are you in pain?" he asked.

"No, they don't hurt, just a little warm."

"It would be best if we continued these exercises for the next week, possibly two, then I could perhaps begin teaching you how to attack effectively. Once you have adequately mastered that, we could move on to other weapons," Nuada said.

"I'd like that," replied Anna, smiling brightly at him.

"Now I must bathe," Nuada said, collecting both staffs.

"Of course. You'll want to see Cass," Anna said, trying to keep her tone casual.

"Cass? Why would I wish to see her?"

"Oh, well, I thought you would want to."

"I would rather not see her at all," Nuada said, rather sharply.

Anna frowned at his reaction. Had they had a fight?

"Is… something wrong?" Anna asked.

Nuada took a deep, calming breath. He didn't see why he shouldn't tell her about his altercation with Cass. Perhaps it would do him good to get it off his chest. The only other person who knew was his sister, and that was only because she had felt his anger and disgust, and had sought him out to find out why.

"We… were training on Saturday. She seemed more determined to beat me than ever. She managed to… knock my staff out of my hands, and I was willing to concede a defeat, as was right. I expected her to step back and… gloat, but she did the opposite, and forced a kiss upon me," he said, gritting his teeth at the memory.

"Forced?" Anna said.

It didn't make any sense. She saw them kissing. Granted, Cass had instigated the kiss, but they were still kissing.

"Yes. I gave her no indication that I wished for her to invade my person," Nuada said, feeling angry all over again.

"I… I think she liked you," Anna said quietly.

"Perhaps, but that did not give her the right to force her attentions upon me. I do not see her as someone I would wish to become involved with. I enjoyed sparring with her, but that is all I wished from her. When she kissed me, I pushed her away. She had no right!" Nuada said, trying not to raise his voice.

Anna stood shocked for a moment. He didn't want Cass. They weren't involved. He hadn't kissed her back. It seemed she had fled the library before she could really see what had happened. She felt stupid for reacting the way she did.

"Did… did you tell her you didn't want that?" Anna asked.

"I told her she had no right! She insinuated that I must be… impotent… because I did not respond the way she obviously intended for me to," Nuada said.

Anna tried not to blush at the word 'impotent'. She couldn't imagine him having any trouble when it came to intimacy. As inexperienced as she was, she still knew of the mechanics, and couldn't imagine that Nuada would be unable to 'perform'. Cass had obviously been annoyed that her flirting and methods of seduction hadn't worked on him.

"I must bathe now. Until tomorrow?" Nuada said.

"Okay. Thanks," Anna replied.

Nuada inclined his head and left. Anna let the smile that had threatened to break out earlier, spread across her lips. He didn't like Cass. He'd rejected her, and hadn't even considered becoming intimate with her. Of course, she knew that this didn't necessarily mean that he liked Anna either, but she felt better about the situation. And he had noticed her hair. She just didn't know what she should do now. She did not intend to pursue him; she didn't even know how, even if she could. She was still uncertain about the nature of her feelings for him, and still thought that they stemmed from the fact that he was kind to her and spent a lot of time with her.

She went back to her rooms to shower and change. She was just finishing getting dressed, when she heard a quiet knock. When she opened the door, Liz was stood, looking anxious.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked, letting her in.

"I meant to tell you yesterday, but I didn't get the chance to," Liz said.

"Tell me what?"

"We were wrong about Nuada and Cass. They…"

"Didn't kiss, I know," Anna said, interrupting Liz.

"You know?"

"Yes. Nuada told me about what happened. He said she tried to force her attentions on him," Anna said.

"So? Did he say anything?" Liz asked.

"About what?"

"About your hair!"

"Oh, yes he noticed. He said it was different," Anna said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, that's not too bad. What are you going to do now?" Liz asked.

"Do? In what sense?"

"About getting him to notice you more, find out if he likes you!" Liz exclaimed.

"Oh, nothing. I don't think I could do anything. Besides, he's just being kind to me. It's not out of any feelings for me. He enjoys teaching me," Anna said.

"You won't know until you do something about it," Liz said.

"It really doesn't matter. I like things the way they are," Anna said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's fine, really," Anna said, smiling.

"Okay. If you need to do any other shopping, let me know," Liz said, turning to leave.

"I will. Thanks."

Liz left, and Anna picked up her sketchpad for the first time in weeks. She done a few rough sketches in her notepad, but it had been a while since she'd had the time to sit down and draw. She felt strangely content as she drew out her sketches in full. She knew she was happy that Nuada had reject Cass, but she thought her light mood must be more than that. She just couldn't think what else it could be.

A/N: Just a chappie to get things back on track! What did you think?