"I was wondering how long it would take you to arrive," came a calm, deep voice when we opened the final door. An Elite with dark armour, almost black, and a beaked shaped helmet turned to face us. He gave what I presumed to be a smile, but it was hard to tell because of the split jaw.

The Grunt and Leghilorn gave him low bows, and I would have done the same had my leg not still been aching slightly from its injury. The Arbiter's eye turned its focus to me, raking up and down my figure quickly.

"And this must be the Human child the Prophets have been speaking of," he greeted with a nod.

"I am no child," I said before I could stop myself. Leghilorn shot me a glance before shooing the Grunt messenger out of the room. The Arbiter chuckled.

"How is her training going, Leghilorn?" he asked calmly. Leghilorn shifted.

"She has learned the dangers of exposure," he told the higher-ranked Elite simply. "Her leg was injured by one of my plasma bullets. She has quick reflexes, but not quick enough." I felt the heat creeping into my face in embarrassment. I really could have done without Leghilorn's comment. The Arbiter must have noticed my reddening face...I was sure of it. He spoke to Leghilorn in the language I could not understand, and a moment later, he left the room. I was confused and slightly nervous being alone with the Arbiter, and again, I am sure he noticed.

"Leghilorn seems to have taken a liking to you, young one," he spoke softly, approaching me. I took a step back, wary of him. "I won't harm you. It is the Brutes you must be wary of."

"I am wary of you all," I spat venomously.

Again, he chuckled.

"You fear us," he said softly, coming to stand not three feet in front of me. "Do not bother hiding it. I can see it in your posture, and I can hear it in your heartbeat." He paused, reaching out and lifting my face with his hand, which was surprisingly warm and gentle. "And...I can see it in your eyes." I took another backward step and he released me. "Why do you remain here child? Why have you done as we asked?" he inquired gently, making no move to touch me again.

I considered snapping back that I wasn't a child(for the second time), but decided against it. "I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I am told I will be killed if I attempt an escape."

"Leghilorn will not allow it."

"He gave permission for the Honor Guards to kill me if need be, therefore suggesting that he would indeed allow it."

"You have been cooperative, have you not?" He gazed at me, and I nodded cautiously. I didn't really want to reveal the fact that I had already attempted an escape, but I was unsure of lying to him. "So there is no reason for your life to be taken."

"Not yet." I turned my head away from him, uncomfortable under his gaze. I had grown used to the way the Elites turned their dinosaur-like heads sideways in order to look at something, but it was still an odd feeling when you were the something they were focusing on. His eye was still upon me; I could feel it like I felt the burning of the plasma.

"You will betray us," he said after a moment of silence. I didn't look up. "Even our most powerful leaders cannot change who you are and where you come from. You will betray us the first chance you get, because you do not wish to help your enemy."

"Would you help my kind?" I asked sharply, glaring at him.

He thought for a moment, before answering. "I did help your kind," he told me in his deep voice. I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. How could I have forgotten?

"Why did you help us?" I asked him after a pause, truly curious. The Arbiter turned his back, walked a few steps away, and then faced me once more.

"It took me a long time before I learned to trust your kind," he began, looking slightly sad. "After Halo was destroyed by your kind, my position as Arbiter was revoked...temporarily. The Prophets were kind however, and gave me another rare chance. If I was to fail, I would have been tortured, humiliated further than I had already been, and then disposed of. My mission was to retrieve the Icon before enemy hands befell it. I believe that you have heard the rest of the story from your kind." I nodded. "I helped them, only because I had no choice."

A single, loud knock came from the door behind me, making me jump yet again. My leg protested, and I stumbled in my place. The Arbiter growled something in the other language at the door, before turnind his head to examine me with the opposite eye.

"Leghilorn said that you were injured during training," he stated, sounding more as if he were asking a question. "May I see?" He made to reach out for my leg, but I instinctively shied away before he could reach it. I didn't want him touching me.

"No," I said stiffly, giving him a probably undeserved glare. After all, he was only asking out of concern. "It is already healed. Leghilorn healed it."

He made a funny noise in his throat, which I took to be a signal of annoyance or disbelief. I gave him another glare.

"What do you care if I'm hurt anyway?" I snapped acidly. "You're no different than the rest of your kind. If you had the chance you would kill me, whether there was a reason or not." Part of me was shocked that I was saying these things to him. He had been more than tolerant of my stupidity.

The Arbiter blinked.

"Your kind was always known for making illogical assumptions," he recovered easily, as if all would be explained in that single sentence. He backed away from me, sitting down in a chair and beckoning me to do the same. Though unsure of his intents, I did as he asked. The chair was less than comfortable, and I squirmed for a few minutes, until he began to speak.

"Your missions for the Covenant are of dire importance." He looked me briefly in the eye, making my squirming worse for a moment. "I completely understand your unwillingness to help us, and there is no doubt in my mind that you will betray us at one point. But your loyalties will change. Sit still!" I did. "You will be assigned to a team known as P-7. It is a team composed of five Jackals, one Elite, and yourself. Your leader; your Elite, will be Leghilorn." I narrowed my eyes at his pause, taking a moment to absorb this information. "You will do what he commands of you without question, whether or not you agree with him. Together, you will make your way to the Holding Chamber, which is many days away from where you will begin your journey."

"What exactly does the Holding Chamber contain?" I asked interestedly, forgetting I was talking to a Covenant leader; an enemy.

"Once you reach the chamber, you will be on your own to retrieve what you must," the Arbiter continued, completely ignoring my inquiry. "Neither Leghilorn, nor any of the others can help you. You must clear the last hurdle of your mission...alone."

I stared at him. They were planning on leaving me alone? How stupid could they possibly be? Apparently he was really confident my loyalties would change...which I was certain would not. Even so, I nodded, and rose from my seat when he did the same. He moved to stand close to my front yet again, but I could not step away because of the chair behind me. He griped my chin tightly in his hand, and forced me to look into his eye.

"Your loyalties will change," he said firmly. "You are needed, Arisa Delclair. The fate of our kind...as well as your own...lies in your confidence. You must do your best during your training sessions. Respect and obey your mentor in every way possible. Leghilorn is one of our best combat tacticians. He will teach you well. He has been through more than you can scarcely imagine, and he understands Human emotions rather well. Confide in him if you need to, as he will listen and he will offer advice better than many of your kind could. As for now, I bid you goodbye, and I am certain we will meet again soon." He released me, and I nodded shakily at him. He motioned me to the door, and with a simple twist of his open hand, the door opened, and I exited the room.

A/N: Yay! I am so proud of myself! I have updated yet again! I hope you liked the chapter, and just so you all know...NO LOVE IS IMPLIED IN THIS SCENE! I have had several school friends saying that the Arbiter appears to be a bit too 'fond' of Arisa, but he is NOT! Another thing: I didn't go through describing the whole past mission of the Arbiter for two reasons. One, I assume that most of you readers have played the game and know what his mission was, and two, I didn't entirely understand it myself, so some of it may be untrue or modified. So please, don't send me any reviews saying what I did wrong in describing his past. I hope this chapter came out to be the turning point I believe it to be, and I truly hope you like and review it! Remember, your reviews are my inspiration to continue!

Rusty and the Rubix Horse