Dios danced back through the trees, dodging the swings and thrusts of her opponent's blade. Sweat trickled down her temple. The footing down the slope of the hill was treacherous, roots and rocks threatened to make her fall, and through this, she was dodging and weaving backwards through trees and keeping the blade from striking her. If that happened, it would be over.

Her opponent's attacks were relentless and strong, and Dios' shirt began to cling to her body from the sweat. But then they swung too far and left a gaping hole in their defense. Too late did they realize their mistake as Dios lunged and felled her opponent. Dios watched her lay there, her breathing labored, wiping sweat from her brow.

She smiled and knelt down beside the body. "Satisfied?"

The blue haired girl lifted her head and grinned. "YES! You killed me! About time, too. I was beginning to wonder if Juri and your father had taught you anything."

Dios grinned and whapped her friend on the head, picking herself up and slinging her willow-switch sword over her shoulder. She helped Yuki, the daughter of Wakaba and Miki, to her feet.

"Come on, let's head back."

They walked a ways before Dios grabbed Yuki by the arm and pinned her against the tree, pressing her lips against her ear and murmuring, "Stay still...something's following us."

She sped away as quickly and silently as possible. She clamored up a tree, rustling only a few branches. She was right, she and Yuki were being followed. A person with their face wrapped in dark cloth and an iron helm came below her. They looked like an assassin, and they very well could have been, but all that registered in Dios' mind was that this person posed a threat.

Silently, Dios strung her bow and nocked an arrow that had a stunning poison coated on the arrowhead. She aimed for the back of their calf as they passed by. A non lethal target, but the arrow would stun them long enough to drag them back to the castle. She released the arrow and smiled as the targed cried out in pain and fell to their knees.

Dios dropped from the tree and stepped forward. Two long throwing knives thunked into the tree right by her head. She whipped aroun, another stun arrow already nocked and aimed for the shoulder. The new assailant was dressed exactly as the first, except this one was shorter, and he was juggling more knives. Dios couldn't see his hand move as he threw another set of knives at her. She rolled to the side, crouching and releasing the string a second time. The arrow went into his thigh and he dropped, going still as the poision took effect.

Then came a whistling in the air as an arrow sped towards her. In one swift motion, Dios drew her curved daggar and intercepted the arrow with her blade. More arrows rained towards her and Dios was forced to take cover by rolling behind a huge boulder with moss growing all over it. She took a peek around it and was livid to see a whole group of bandits converging on her. To make things worse, two of them held a struggling, Yuki, her curses muffled by a gag, and she was blinded by a blindfold. The others checked their companions before tying Yuki to a tree, leaving a guard to watch her as the others scouted for Dios.

She grabbed a large stone and used a spell that Shiori had taught her as a child to overcome her fear of the dark. She murmured the light spell and focused it into the stone, then tripled it so that it would have the same effect as a newly created flash bomb that their armory had in stock. She hefted the rock over the boulder and shut her eyes against the huge flash. Cries of pain came from the bandits and that was Dios' cue to roll from behind the rock and began to shoot arrows.

She got most of them, but by the time most of them were down, the light was beginning to fade from their eyes. Dios drew her sword and cut her way through the remaining guards. She looked around before she was caught from behind, an arm going around her throat. She pushed herself towards a tree and almost ran up it, flipping behind the person and thunking him on the head with the flat of her sword, knocking him unconcious.

When Dios was sure the clearing was still again, she checked the one that had thrown the daggers, since he was closest, and pulled the helm and mask from his face. Green eyes went wide at the sight of the blonde young man.

"Mitsuru!"

Dios began to frantically unmask people to find palace guards, along with Juri, Miki, Wakaba, Nanami, and Keiko. She went to another woman and ripped the mask from her face to reveal Anthy.

"MOTHER?"

The last one she unmasked was Utena. Dios ground her teeth as she went and untied Yuki, ungagged her, and then pulled the blindfold from her eyes. Curses spilled forth as she stood.

"Lousy stinking bastards! A curse on all of them! Where are they? I'll kill them all!"

Dios shook her head. "Would you really kill your own parents? Or mine, for that matter?"

Yuki raised her eyebrows. "What? What are you talking about?"

Dios nodded her head to Miki.

"...Why...did they do this?"

"I've no idea. We'll wait till they wake up to ask."

Dios and Yuki waited for the better part of an hour before Mitsuru began to groan. It was then that Shiori appeared and they waited in bitter patience as she healed them all. Dios shook Shiori off, not letting her heal her as she strode towards her parents, her dirty face quite angry.

"What is the meaning of this? Why did you and a whole cotingent of guards attack me?"

Dios didn't say "us" because she knew that the attack had been targeted at her.

Utena, though, to Dios' surprise, broke into a wide smile.

"Do you remember, Dios, when I said we might test you someday to see if you could handle wielding the Sword of Dios? This was that test. All the things that you have been taught, hunting, tracking, archery, fencing and swordplay, magic and stealth...they all helped you win this day.

We're sorry we had to test you like this, but it wsa necessary. And now you will be the wielder and caretaker of Dios' sword."

Dios stood in mute shock before flinging her arms around her father She was only fourteen, after all. She couldn't stay mad at them forever. Or for very long at all, actually. They rode back to the palace Utena and Anthy took their daughter to their chambers, With proud smiles they watched as Dios knelt before the chest, opening it with a touch of her finger and drawing out the scarlet cloth.

With shaking fingers, Dios unwrapped the gleaming hilt before sinching the white leather belt around her waist. Now she was the owner of the legendary Sword of Dios. She turned to her parents and she knew that in their eyes, she was no longer a child. As she pulled free the sword, testing it's feel, she felt the presence of the prince that she had met so long ago as a child. And now, holding the prince's sword, she felt like a prince herself.