"My past?" Odette demanded. She was confused, and admittedly, a little angry. She had only just met this girl, and hero or not, she didn't know anything about who Odette was… did she? Fiera ignored Odette's fiery question, or at least, the anger in it.

"Your mother was a warrior unparalleled by anything or anyone this world has ever seen. She was queen of the Guardians."

"The Guardians?" Derek asked, his interest piqued. He ignored the annoyed glance Odette had just given him. She didn't want any part of whatever outlandish tale this girl was telling.

"The Guardians are a race of people who are trained to protect humans from demons like the ones from earlier," Fiera explained.

"So I assume you're a Guardian," Derek said.

"No, but that's another story for another time." She had the slightest bit of shame in her voice, but she was not questioned about it further. "Anyway," she went on, "Odette, your mother, Cassandra, was queen of the Guardians and close friends with my mother. It was her wish that you be left alone by other Guardians unless your life was threatened by demons, as it was this morning. But I need to tell you the truth now."

"You expect me to believe all this?" Odette asked in disbelief, not waiting to hear whatever 'truth' Fiera was planning to tell her. No, there was no way Fiera could know anything about her mother. But then again, what did Odette know?

"Do you have anything else to believe?" Fiera returned as if she had read Odette's mind.

"Not really, no," Odette admitted. It seemed all she could be sure of was her mother's name. Her father rarely talked about her mother, and when she asked, he would answer with one or two unhelpful words and drop the subject. She looked into Fiera's eyes, and somehow knew she was telling the truth. Odette began to believe the girl.

"Excuse me," another voice cut in. it was Rogers, who was making his way down the hall, and young man in tow behind him. "There's a young man here to see you, Odette."

"Angel," Fiera said in recognition. Odette watched a smile light up her face. Obviously, there was something between the two. In fact, Odette noticed for the first time a ring around Fiera's finger. She glanced over at Angel. He wasn't wearing one, so it must have been an engagement ring.

"Fiera," he answered, the same happy, yet controlled, tone in his voice.

He was handsome, to say the least. He had gorgeous white-blonde hair that was neatly combed and reached about an inch above his sturdy looking shoulders. He was lean, but not skinny, with well defined muscles. He had the lightest, ice-blue eyes that Odette had ever seen.

His clothes were similar in style, except his shirt sleeves didn't flare out or change color. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves and collar trimmed in gold. He also wore a cape, but it was white and fastened the same way as Fiera's. His black pants and gold boots finished off his wardrobe, making him look like not just an angel, but a saint.

"This is Angel Reed, Second Captain, Second in Command of the Guardian Army," Fiera introduced formally as he bowed.

"Who's first in command?" Derek asked out of curiosity. He received his answer when Fiera blushed a little when Angel grinned at her.

"You never introduce yourself formally, do you?" he commented.

"No," she replied. "I don't like showing off."

"Unless you get to fight in the process," he retorted, making her laugh. Odette smiled a little. So, they were engaged. Or they were at least seeing each other and the ring had been a gift. Remembering where they were, Fiera and Angel regained their control just as yet another person was walking up. Odette could see Fiera scowl, but the expression disappeared quickly.

"This is Leda," Fiera said simply when the new girl met up with them.

"Guardian Elder," Leda finished, looking at Fiera with contempt. If it was obvious Fiera and Angel were in love, it was even more obvious Leda and Fiera were at war, hypothetically speaking. Both of them looked at each other with disdain, never meeting each other's eyes. However, despite her rank, Leda didn't look like she could be an elder anything. She seemed to be about thirty years old, if that.

"Anyway," Fiera went on, "as I was saying, your mother was queen of the Guardians, making you princess, and by blood right, the heir to the throne. Meaning we need you to assume your position on the throne."

"But why now?" Odette asked, forgetting about Leda for the moment. She had never heard of any of this in her life. She was reluctant to believe it, and now that she did, she was being asked to take the throne of a group of people she only just then started to believe in. She was quite confused by it all.

Why wasn't she told any of this?

"Because you were discovered by the demons," Angel answered. "We were ordered to stay away from you unless you were attacked by Sabian's demons, and you were this morning. Fiera and I were charged with protecting you if such a situation took place, so we are able to sense when and if she is attacked by demons. Fiera, fortunately, is faster than me, and she arrived in time to save you."

"If you were supposed to protect her, why weren't you closer?" Derek demanded, confused and feeling a little like they weren't doing their job. He knew he had no right to chastise them, but the way they handled it made no sense whatsoever. Had they been around to protect her, he wondered if Rothbart would have been able to capture her. Still, It seemed to him that if they were ordered to keep Odette safe, they should have been nearby.

"Because, until today, we didn't even know where she was," Fiera replied. "Had we known all along, you would have been in even more danger. The demons would have been able to steal our knowledge one way or another, and they would have found you. In some cases, not only is ignorance bliss, but it's also safe."

"Where am I supposed to go?" Odette asked. While Derek had been questioning them, she had been thinking hard about what Fiera was saying. If her mother had anything to do with it, she wanted to be there. She wanted the answers she'd been searching for since she was a child. Now that her father was dead, Fiera and the others seemed to be her only chance at finding the truth.

"Elmswell," Fiera replied, gladdened that Odette seemed to be leaning toward going.

"Well, that's in Chamburg," Derek said in surprise.

"The Guardians don't have a kingdom, per say," Leda explained, speaking for the first time since she was introduced. "But we do have a fairly large city with a castle of white stone and marble…" Fiera and Angel rolled their eyes as Leda launched into details about Elmswell.

"More importantly," Fiera cut in," it's a two day's ride from here, and if we can make it in good time, we can prevent this place from being stormed by demons, and I'm talking about demons far stronger than the ones that you saw this morning. Trust me, until we beat Lord Sabian, the king of demons, it's not safe here."

Odette could see the earnest in Fiera's voice. She was telling nothing but the cold, hard truth. Despite the morbidity of it all, Odette was glad Fiera didn't sugarcoat it. It seemed far more useful for her to know the full extent of the danger that was now lurking about. "Alright," she agreed. "I'll go to Elmswell,"

"We'll go to Elmswell," Derek amended for her, not wanting to let Odette travel alone. Fiera and Angel seemed trustworthy enough, but, for some reason, it was Leda who wasn't quite right.

"But I'm not promising that I'm going to take over the throne," Odette continued.

"All we can ask is that you at least go to Elmswell," Angel assured her. "As for the rest, the decision is yours and should only be made after careful consideration."

Fiera nodded in agreement. "It's too late to leave today. So, if it's alright with you, we'll leave tomorrow."

"It's only alright with me if you all stay here for the night," Odette replied, smiling, extending a friendship offering.

Leda, Angel, and Fiera gladly accepted Odette and Derek's hospitality. They dined together, talking – except for Leda, who seemed to be excommunicated from Fiera and Angel – of happier things. After a while, they seemed to be like any other guests at Swan Lake. Odette found she quite liked Fiera. The girl seemed to be powerful among her peers, and yet she was gracious. Angel was very polite, and spoke with Derek most of the time. He also enjoyed hunting, so the two had much to talk about. Only Leda seemed to be out of place, and she was soon forgotten.

That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Odette lay awake, staring at the stone ceiling. She thought about how she'd miss her room, should she not return soon. She forbade herself from adding 'if at all' to that sentence. Derek, who had been changing clothes when she got in bed, slid in next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. He knew what was bothering her, but he wanted to hear it from her and let her get it off her chest.
"It's just so much!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "I mean, I'm a queen to be, but I thought I would be queen of one kingdom."

"Well, the Guardians don't have a kingdom, per say," Derek joked, quoting Leda. His impression had the desired effect. Odette began to chuckle a little.

"I want to go," she resolved. "I want to know about my mother, and I think this is the chance I've been waiting for."

Derek kissed her on the cheek. "I hope you find everything you're looking for."

"Thank you. Oh!" she gasped, remembering something. "Your surprise! I'm so sorry we didn't get to see it."

"You come first," he said. "It can wait. It'll be here when we get back, don't worry."

"Thank you, Derek," she whispered, glad that he was willing to go with her to help her find the answers she always wanted.

"It's why I'm here," he said, wrapping his arm around her as she laid her head on his chest. Soon, they were both asleep, giddy as they were about the next day.

However, their wake up call in the morning was normal enough, but they could both hear a different side of Fiera, the side that was contemptuous of Leda.

Coming from the guest bedroom down the hall from the dining room where breakfast was due to be served was an argument.