I managed to get myself to write this after all! Thank you for the many views and reviews! Enjoy!

I rose early from slumber just before the break of dawn, almost having little to no sleep but prepared the day's business. Fortunately, father taught me not to rely solely on sleep to restore me. He told me only the mark of honor, a warrior's creed, will provide rest during a war (what he neglected to say also was that Blood, your family, also comforted you to sleep). Before I went on my way, I meditated on the image of my father, his long-impacting words, and his journey as I watched the sun rise from the horizon. I did not expect sword sparring to happen the first day, but I decided to keep my hilts with me, as they are too much of value to leave behind when training or at war.

The sun still climbing the sky, I traveled to the place of training quarters within the Holy City of High Charity, sight-seeing the various landmarks within the city. Traveling the lift towards the training grounds, I debated whether or not to show my skull-like visor or my face to the instructor upon entry; I decided it was best to put on my helmet when we actually begun training. As I neared the end of the lift's descent, I forced within myself to tame the anticipation of this great opportunity given to me. At the end of the ride, the door swiped open as I boldly walked into the class.

I knew I was expected by classmate and teacher alike attributable to the susurrations that tossed silently like a low-tide. Things like-

"It's that crossbreed!", and,

"Look, here she comes!", as well as,

"What other race do you think she is?", and among other things.

The instructor frowned with a most dissatisfied scowl on his countenance. I approached the class and instructor with vehement pride and audacity.

"Good morning, instructor. I hope I haven't arrived late to the lesson. I am eager to learn if you are eager to teach, sir." I said with a respectful bow. He insolently huffed towards me.

"Just stay out of the way, female." He said, bumping into my shoulder. I was a little annoyed at such sexism, but I dismissed it for now.

"Yes sir." Was all that I replied.

"Assessment! Form a straight line, immediately!" He called out. Not surprisingly, I was first to settle in the spot designated to me on the floor (also not surprisingly, my placement among my classmates would be last in line, with the Lieutenant being fourth to last); however, this quick movement surprised my classmates, even Nikhal. The line was almost perfectly even - the second student next to me stepped ever so slightly away from me, as if I was cured or diseased. Whispers started up again but I did not adjust my eyes away from the front. "Enough chatter, whelps." Instructor called out. "I am Vaman 'Ontomee, your personal instructor. You are here today because of one of two reasons; you were stripped of your rank and this training could allow you to regain your honor or the Prophets or Council chose you to prove your worth to be called a warrior and set foot on the battlefield. Now, to begin, I will make this introduction quick and simple. You are to give me your name when I come to you. Once I have a record of each of your names, I will give further instructions." He said standing in front of the closest young male Sangheili to him, revealing a data pad full of Covenant letters what I assumed to be the list of names of us all. "Name?"

"Ygar 'Putumee." The male answered. Vaman inhaled calmly, narrowing his eyebrows.

"I know that most of you whelps are not accustomed to this way of life as of yet, so as to save you from the trouble of punishment, you will refer to me as Master or Sir. Understood?

"Yes, Master Vaman 'Ontomee!" The others, Ygar included, replied.

"Yes, Master Vaman 'Ontomee, sir!" My voice carried on momentarily from the rest. Even if he would show me none, I vowed to respect this warrior, keep my conduct under control, and not make the same mistake as I did when I approached Garr. Vaman glanced at me coldly, not caring how much respect I gave him, he continued on. I clenched my fist, I was ready to do anything drastic to show I wasn't just a whelp compared to the rest! But I knew I had to reserve all my anger and stamina for fighting.

"Next?" He said, moving down the line.

"Voro 'Kasamee, sir."

"And you?" He said, still moving forward, looking down, furiously fingering his data pad.

"Xygos 'Vrotalee, Master." Without emotion, he acknowledged the student and continued onto the line of twelve students, including myself and Nikhal.

"You, you're, Nikhal, yes? The one who foolishly sided with that eyesore, over there?" He said pointing towards my direction, not looking my way. I sighed softly with exasperation, I was growing indignant of this constant bigoted and xenophobic gossip against my being. Nikhal momentary silence seemed to couple my own annoyance.

"Yes, sir. But she is no eyesore. She is just as much a warrior as we are, Master." His words seemed to make my hearts beat faster, though I didn't know why. Vaman growled with fury.

"You listen to me, you food-for-brains! You may be the nephew of the Chancellor, but you have no authority to tell me such things! As far as I am concerned, she is an eyesore to the entire Covenant fleet!" He said, slightly raising his voice, then cleared his throat after a moment of silence. "Now, no more arguments of this matter, are we all clear?"

"Yes, Master!" I was the only student who didn't respond, as I was too busy fighting against my wrath that welled in my broken soul. And he knew it.

"Eyesore, I didn't hear you respond…" He said with a cheeky voice tone.

"Yes sir." I said muffled, hiding my irritableness.

"Hmm, a little weak. Perhaps you should practice that." He replied. "Let us carry on before my own voice bores me." After the student next to Nikhal called out, the individual next to me seemed very reserved for a male. He hadn't said a word. Not even when they all made fun of me. Like a statue, he was waiting patiently to be called upon.

"You?"

"I am Eelo 'Jhanakee." Trying to find the name on his data pad, he paused to no avail.

"You aren't on the list. I don't even think I recognize your file-"

"I have scars upon my face I'd rather wish not showing, sir. As far as to why I do not appear on the list? I was registered to train early this morning, my file clearly hasn't sent to your information." He cut him off. Vaman looked at Eelo with a vacant expression. I was expecting him to go on about how he rudely cut him off, but instead, he simply huffed with satisfactory, as if Eelo had outwit him quite easily. I think he couldn't argue nor did he want to.

As he wrote the name under the previous soldier, he did not stand in front of me, passing me by completely towards the readied training dummies. While the insult didn't surprise me, I assumed he'd at least check off my name, knowing I was the last to be called out. He didn't even do that; obviously stating that according to him, I was invisible. This set me off.

"Sir, weren't you going to call out my name?" The others patiently, or reluctantly, awaited his response and anticipated another dissension, I'm sure. Vaman, halting in his tracks, took a deep breath, as if trying to control inner anger. With composure, he turned around.

"No, I don't need to call out your name, Eyesore. As far as the next seven weeks concern, you do not exist. I do not care whether or not you are the shipmaster's daughter or whether the Prophets choose you to be here, you're an abomination to me all the same. If you cause one more interruption, I will not hesitate, in fact, I will even enjoy, throwing you out of this classroom. Are we implicitly clear?" He said with a monotone voice.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

My entire being shifted from the unmoved Jiralhanae nature to the bezerking kind.

"Master, personally, I don't give a damn whether or not you care I am his daughter of chosen by the Prophets. But as I recall, my father, N'tho Malamee, was more concerned with his entire crewmen more than his own life. And the fact that you even know I am his daughter suggests that you knew him personally, which furthermore suggests that you under his command. If he was still breathing, how do you think he'd react if I told him you were treating his daughter, Ruz 'Malamee, in this manner? Conclusively, to you and the rest of the class, I may be abominable and unsightly, but I am still an individual and because of the fact that the Hierarchs wanted me to be here standing before you, I expect that you treat me as ordered by the Holy Ones. They DID say they'd behead any who dared disobey their instruction on teaching me as any normal student…and sir, I am a force to be reckoned with. Do not trifle with the unknown or the unknown will consume you." I said calmly.

"By the Rings…" Nikhal uttered.

"What courage…" Eelo stated. Vaman, just as furious as Garr when I spat verbally to his face, looked towards the other students as if searching for an ally among them, having none, he then marched towards me, picking me up by the neck and put my back against the wall. I struggled but realized quickly that even with my strength in both mental and otherwise, I was still female in terms of physical brawn.

"Listen, you filthy insect! You may have been blessed by the Prophets, but they are not here to watch me destroy your honor and bravery!" He exhaled with such a great force with his anger, throwing me down to the ground. As I regained myself, he needed to catch his breath as well.

"I wouldn't want our Lords catching you say that, Sir." Eelo said.

"ENOUGH! No more discussion, your first task is to practice your fighting techniques! Pick a training dummy and begin! You have fifteen minutes!"

As the others gathered to pick a training dummy, Vaman forcibly put his hand on my shoulder, to stop me from moving.

"I warn you, Eyesore, if you defy my order once more, I will make sure you will never see the Army again. Now, go and try to rise to the level of the best of these warriors. I doubt you will exceed above my son, Gharan. Speaking of him, since I do not have the time or the desire to babysit you like a Grunt, he will watch over you the next seven weeks. So, it would only be appropriate that as the best in this group, he would have charge over you." Walking away tending to the other Sangheili, what ambled in was the most handsome Sangheili my eyes had ever laid on. At first, I didn't know whether to respectively stand at where I was, frozen, or to bow and let my legs give out. I ended up doing a combination of both. I stood frozen, waiting for him to speak.

"So, you're the eyesore my father has been raving on about." He huffed. "You look even weaker than I expected. I predict you will give up by the end of the day-" My legs gave out as he spoke. "-Or…now, I suppose."

"Oh, no no, Gharan - I mean Gharan, sir. Um…I lost my balance for a moment because, eh…the journey here was long and I should've rested a few minutes on the way here." I said nervously. I couldn't helped but notice his beautiful lifeless black eyes. Normally, eyes like that wouldn't intrigue me so, but the endless voids that they are were like black holes, sucking me in. And to describe his overall build? "Broad" does not suffice as an adequate description.

"Very well, I would only expect a female to be weak and tired after a simple walk through High Charity. Rest if you must, but I am watching you, so you must practice."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course, sir." I couldn't believe my eyes, my ears! What a dazzling male I had stumbled upon. However, I couldn't help but notice peering eyes glaring my direction and an angry growl to match it. Though, it wasn't from Vaman…I recognized the gestures from the ever mysterious Nikhal. What a strange character he is. For what reason does he have to view this happening and react with animosity?

As I pondered this, I gave my all, practicing fervently against an inanimate object, for three things; the honor of my father's name, the glory of the Covenant, the Prophets and Great Journey, and most recently, the attraction to this Gharan individual. I have never felt such attraction to any male before…

A few minutes before the fifteen minute mark, Gharan told me to stop practicing.

"What? Did-did I do something wrong, sir?" I asked genuinely.

"No, surprisingly. You actually did very well. Your father was a true fighter, I can see that in you. You may just very well one day surpass me, Eyesore." My hearts completely bypassed the insult and began to beat faster.

"Thank you very much!" I said happily. He glared undeterred by the sudden outburst of emotion. "Er…I mean…" I bowed a deep respectful bow that I would have given my father. "I appreciate your compliments, Gharan, sir.

"My father is speaking, listen up." Lifting my head, I attuned my listening to Vaman more than I had before.

"Very good, whelps. You all impress me. Gharan, report from the eyesore?" My avid attention was once again broken - for the moment. Even as fuming as I was, Gharan spoke and I was curious as to what he had to say.

"She impressed me, also, father." Vaman was taken aback at the news he had heard.

"Really? Hmm…perhaps we need to…make the training exercises more difficult." He said, moving himself to the front of the room.

"Listen up, whelps! You have done well this training session so far, however, due to our consistent interruptions, you have now have less time to complete the entire day's worth of training. You have another fifteen minutes to complete your new task - practicing against motion detecting training dummies." I gave out a chuckle, which I thought I had kept to myself, but apparently I hadn't.

"What is so humorous, Eyesore?" Vaman had asked.

"Nothing, sir. It is just that prior to my father's passing, when he and I were not sparring, he made me practice on nothing but those training dummies." I replied with a fierce pride.

"Oh, did you now? Why don't you demonstrate your skills to the class about this subject, yes?"

"Gladly." Normally, I would have fallen away from such a request, due to the very fact that it was my lack of self-control that got me into this. Nevertheless, my outward vanity assured me that I was skilled with this type of practice.

"Refrain from using your preferred weapons - use your combat against this dummy." He said, pushing a dummy in front of me. He stood back, side by side to his son, the class watching with anticipation as to what I would do.

I made my defensive stance, arm below the other, as if I were wielding blades, I used my claws as such. I attacked quickly to the shoulder of the dummy and, by reflex, twirled in a spin, attacked the legs, and then the neck. I did this to every area my father taught were weak points. Usually, within a few minutes, the dummy would deactivate, letting me know have defeated it and completed my dummy training for the day. But this, clearly was no ordinary dummy. After what seemed like countless minutes and what would have been slashes resulted in sweat - with a hint of blood.

The dummy didn't do its usual motion that I quickly picked up on. It reversed its pattern - causing me to receive a mighty blow to the face. Before I could retaliate and fight back, I took another blow to the stomach, which sent me to the floor. The dummy immediately stopped moving as soon as I made contact with the floor. I took the advantage of catching my breath. I looked to Vaman, he was smug as ever. Gharan, I wasn't too sure about.

"So, skilled are you? Once again, you remind me of a Grunt pathetically trying to survive against a Demon crushing its skull with its hand." He chuckled. The others chuckled with a hush.

"She was doing well…perhaps my brilliance put her under pressure. Maybe she isn't suited for this class after all." As I took a beating to the hearts from that comment from Gharan, I took note of Nikhal's boiling anger.

"Your brilliance? Your brilliance, my wooden blade (1)! You aren't have the warrior she is trying to be."

I wanted to castrate Nikhal for that comment. I do not care how supportive of me he is. how dare he insult such a…a…talented student?! At that moment, I saw Nikhal move in such a swift way only I had ever seen happen with one other person in my life - me. He took his fists, ready to make a move on Gharan, while, as brilliant as Gharan truly is, avoided the assault and threw him across the room with one arm, where he had started from.

"Nice effort. Nikhal. However, it was futile. You cannot best me whelp. You're a runt compared the rest of them." As much as I am, eh…interested, in Gharan, that was harsh, even for Sangheili standards.

"On the contrary, son. Eyesore is the runt of the whelps." I didn't exactly need all this emotion surging through my body; anger and all. But somehow I managed to keep them in check.

"Students, let these two arrogant fools be a lesson to you. Firstly, know your place; whether you come out on top or whether you remain a whelp. And never attempt to best the best." With that, he ended the class after the fifteen minutes of the class to practice on the motion-detecting training dummies.

"Well, class, I believe that was a decent start to the beginning of your first week. The next six weeks will be difficult, I assure you. And with that, this next week will be virtually identical to today - with, what I hope, to be the exception for Eyesore. Or at least the exception of her behavior, if not her altogether." I would grow an age older with every comment he hissed my direction.

He then dismissed the class, and before anything could stop me, my only goal as of today was to fall into my bed. I pushed my way through the other students, not caring who bumped into and what they had to say about it, and marched towards my place of habitation. On my way, I heard a call to my name behind me.

"Ruz! Wait, please! I wish to speak with you!" Nikhal had managed to follow me this far, why not?

I turned around abruptly, causing him to be startled. "What is it, Nikhal?"

"I wish to speak with you, Ruz." He said, still trying to catch his breath, I sighed heavily.

"Well, then out with it."

"Ruz, I'm really sorry if I upset you in class today, I was really looking forward to sparring with you and-"

"Enough! I have seen how he handled you, and he clearly deserves to be the best! I can only wish to be as gifted."

He looked at me, puzzled and hurt, he sighed.

"I meant what I said, I apologize. I just…I just wish I was able to find more time with you, to get to know you." His very suggestion normally would have intrigued me, but yet it angered me. He wished the very thing I want with Gharan. And anything more didn't register within my enraged mind.

"Leave me. I have nothing more to say to you." As I walked away, I now more than ever desperately craved rest and time away from the males. I could almost feel the hurt Nikhal felt. That did not concern me, as of now.

The first week had happened exactly the first day had happened; apart from the distractions. My sense of haughtiness had caused me several emotional scars over the past week, but with meditation upon the teachings of my father, it would eventually stable me. The second week would include brawling with other classmates. The second week would sure be interesting.

(1) This phrase was meant to be the equivalent to, "Your brilliance? My ass!"

Hoo, man, was this a difficult chapter to write! Hoped you enjoyed it!

Next Time: Ruz deals with Vaman and Gharan once more. Fights a mysterious Eelo, Gharan wishes to speak with her, find out a secret or two.