Odette rushed over to Derek, dropping to her knees beside him. Fiera was just about to join him, but stopped when she saw Angel standing as still as a statue.

"Wait," he instructed, his voice barely above a whisper.

The seconds ticked by. Odette had turned Derek on his back so that he was facing her. she cradled his head, kissing it once or twice, trying to fight the tears that bordered the corners of her eyes and threatened to flood her face.

Then, without warning, Derek stirred. His eyes fluttered open, as if he had just woken up from a pleasant dream. He almost looked surprised to see Odette holding him the way she was. However, his face took on the full expression of shock when he realized she'd been crying. Somewhere off in the distance, Odette could hear Fiera and Angel whispering.

"Thanks for the warning," she hissed sarcastically.

"I didn't know how his body would react, Fiera. Every case is different. But this must have been a lot of power going into his body. I've never seen that much energy manifest itself at once like that before."

Their side conversation became nothing but a dull murmuring in the background when Derek sat up and put his hands on her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes, holding her there. "It's okay, Odette." He reached up and wiped her tears away. "I'm okay, Odette, really I am." He smiled, his eyes so assuring that she believed him.

"It seems his body has taken the change very well," Angel noted. Derek and Odette stood up. As Odette looked him over, instinctively checking for any injuries – she found none – she saw that he didn't look any different.

"How can you tell?" she inquired, still looking, still not seeing any difference.

"Close your eyes, Odette. What do you feel?"

Odette did so, and immediately after, she could feel something warm and heavy coming from Derek. She opened her eyes in surprise. "What was that?"

"That's his strength," Fiera answered. "You can feel it now, and you can feel Angels, mine, or anyone else's. Now, how about your first round of training?"

Odette couldn't help but feel nervous as Fiera picked up the sword Angel had used to change Derek off the ground. She handed it to Derek, instructed them both not to unsheathe their swords until they were outside. She then grabbed another sword and handed it to Odette. Odette couldn't believe how light it felt, and yet she felt so very strong with it in her hand, unsheathed as it was. Fiera seemed to smile at Odette's shock.

She then left to retrieve hers and Angel's. As quickly as she left, she was back, holding two more blades in her hand. Handing one to Angel, she beckoned for everyone to follow her to the practice field.

As they walked outside, everyone seemed to stop practicing, mesmerized by Derek and Odette. Angel had said something about a lot of power going into Derek's body, making Odette wonder if he was stronger than an average Guardian. Maybe that was what was making everybody stare. She refused to let herself believe they were just staring at their new queen – the news had traveled very fast and everyone knew she was now the sole monarch.

The Guardians maintained their distance as Fiera began the 'lesson.' She started by telling Derek and Odette to unsheathe their swords. As they did so, they were surprised to see an almost completely white blade attached to the hilt.

"These swords are made of adamant, meaning, to you and me, they are indeed made of diamond. They will never – or almost never – break. Trust me; this comes in handy when a demon bites your sword. I've seen steel break clean in half when demons bite it."

Derek, out of habit, began to wave the sword around expertly in the air, acquainting himself with the way it resisted the air and its weight. It felt good – much better than the heavy steel he was used to. His mind flashed to an image of The Great Animal biting his claymore in half. Sure, it had only been an ornamental sword, not made for battle, but still, seeing it snapped in half like a twig was still pretty disturbing.

"Well, Derek, it seems you know a lot about swordplay," Angel commented.

"Only as much as I've been able to learn since that summer Odette was kidnapped," he replied modestly. The truth was, he was a much better archer, but Fiera, though impressed, immediately warned him of the danger of using a bow and arrow on a demon.

"Most of them would be able to catch the arrow," she advised. "And even those that couldn't catch it wouldn't be harmed. Their skin is much too hard for the arrow to pierce them. As much as I wish I could say fighting demons is no different from fighting anyone that uses the Forbidden Arts, I can't. It's simply not true. Demons make every one of them look like two-bit tricksters."

Angel nodded in agreement. "She's right. Anyway, Derek, you'll be training with me, and Odette you'll be with Fiera. She's an excellent teacher, so you're in good hands."

"Derek, Angel has studied swordplay more than any other Guardian, so you'll probably pick up a thing or two," Fiera assured him.

"Let's get started," Derek said eagerly. He was ready to start, ready to learn.

"Not yet." Angel held up his hand, a signal to wait. "We need to teach you the differences between a Guardian and a demon." A crowd drew up closer to watch as soon as the words left Angel's mouth. It occurred to Odette that they weren't just interested in her. They wanted to see Fiera and Angel train too.

Fiera waited patiently while Angel called forth his wings. As soon as they appeared, she dropped her knees into an offensive stance. Angel followed suit. After a short inclination of their heads, Fiera yelled the ignition. "Go!"

And like two bolts of lightning, they rushed at each other. Angel pulled up into the air just before colliding with Fiera. From the air, he called down to Odette.

"Demons cannot fly. At all. But most of them can jump." Fiera leaped high into the air, illustrating his point. She seemed just about sure of a blow to Angel's shoulder, but he nimbly dodged out of the way. "Demons are not agile in the air, either. They can't control themselves when their feet are off the ground, which gives me the advantage while I'm up here. But since I'm fairly sure no demon is going to skewer himself on my sword by sheer luck, I have to meet her on the ground."

Angel flew higher into the air, gaining more altitude. Then, just as he was about to be but a speck on the clouds, he dropped. Down he went, like a falcon in full stoop. He held out his sword, aimed perfectly at Fiera, who quickly spoke to Odette and Derek as she waited for the strike.

"I know I can dodge him at any time, and most demons could. However, it's better that I wait, as he can just pull up into the air again if he misses." She continued to wait for a half second. When his extended arm was in reach, she grabbed it and made a motion as if she was going to jerk him down onto the ground. Instead, she merely let go and he landed safely.

"Fiera is fast, as fast as any demon. She's also extremely strong. If she wanted, she could have easily slammed me into the ground, and that would have damaged my wings, which might not have mattered, as it could have killed me as well. So a 'dive attack' as it's called is not a good way to start a fight. It works better when your opponent doesn't know where you are. What's better is out-thinking your enemy." At that, they began to spar just as the others had been.

It was interesting even to Odette to watch as the two moved back and forth. They were two blurs of motion. What was amazing, more so than the actual speed, was how close Angel came to winning. However, every time he got close, Fiera would find her way out. It was obvious he was the better swordsman, but she could outmaneuver him even when he was just close enough to perform the winning strike. Finally, they stopped, and Angel began to speak again.

"Fiera is probably the most difficult opponent anyone, Guardian or otherwise, could ever have to fight. She is smart like a Guardian, meaning she has excellent judgment before and during a battle, so long as it's fairly slow. But she is also like a demon in that she is very strong and fast. Even if a Guardian is in flight, she is unparalleled in speed.

"Lastly, she is like a human. When her survival instinct kicks in, her power grows exponentially. The trouble is, with humans, there's not enough power to begin with, meaning they would be killed so fast that there would be no chance for any kind of instinct to kick in. There's not enough power to grow on. Fiera's biggest flaw is that when she is in danger of losing, she doesn't think as clearly, and this makes her clumsy. But overall, she is a good fighter, and anyone who beats her, even in practice, has the chance to be among the greatest fighters in history."

There was a short round of applause when their demonstration finished. Odette was surprised to see how much of a crowd gathered. Some of them were even talking about how they'd lost to Fiera when they challenged her to a duel. Needless to say, she was more than a little nervous. However, Fiera's smile remained relaxed and down to earth.

"Don't worry, Odette. I don't expect you to be anywhere near that good on the first time. Trust me, there's a lot of basic moves we need to work out."

Sure enough, Fiera didn't even ask Odette to even try sparring with her. They worked instead on basic movements and fundamentals. Fiera was patient, working with Odette until her form was perfect on every new thing they tried. It was almost fun to work with her, Odette had to admit. It was hard work, but fun.

While she was learning the first lessons, she could see Derek struggling to fight Angel. It was obvious he was the best swordsman there. Derek didn't stand a chance, which Odette, despite owing her life to his skill, found amusing. Seeing Angel win time and time again was amazing. But Derek was learning. Every time they started sparring, he would get closer and closer.

Finally, Fiera called to Angel that it was nearly sunset. All the fighting stopped and they all met up where they had started and began to walk back inside.

"I've never learned so much in one day," Derek commented breathlessly.

"It's another Guardian's gift," Angel replied, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. "All Guardians are very fast learners."

"Thank you, Fiera," Odette said in gratitude while they walked back.

"No problem," Fiera replied. "I have one last lesson. Keep your sword clean and in your room. We'll be out here again tomorrow. Even for a Guardian, you're an excellent student."

"Thanks."

"Again, no problem. Get yourself cleaned up. We're going to have dinner in the dining hall, if that's alright."

"Perfectly alright," Odette replied unthinkingly. Despite her carefree words, why was there a slight pang of nervousness?