Author's note: Okay, okay, so I admit, the first chapter was a bit corny, but forgive me, this is but my first attempt at romance.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD sliver lining…

Chapter 2

"On your mark," the corporal shouted.

Sarah crouched down low behind the line.

"Get set…"

She held her breath and tensed.

"GO!"

Sarah kicked off as she raced against four other cadets. Up ahead, she saw the first obstacle: a pit with beams forming a square. Three ropes we tied at equal distance in the middle.

Not slowing her pace, she reached the edge and jumped. She caught the middle most one and swung to the other side. Out in the corner of her eyes, she saw that Vincent and Mark and managed to grab hold of the ropes first, leaving Matthew and Patrick to wait for the second round.

Sarah made it across to and landed lightly on the other side. Immediately, she was off again. There was no time to enjoy or celebrate the minor victory as the second obstacle came into view: low barb wires.

She fell forwards and crawled through as fast as she could. She didn't wait to see how closely the other's behind followed.

Clearing the second element, she now faced a blank wall that stood at least ten feet high. This time, only two lengths of rope hung lifelessly in the middle. Vincent now ran neck and neck to each other and Mark was only a little ways off.

Sarah and Vincent swiftly scaled up the wall and they both reached the top at the same time but as Vincent started to climb down the other side of the wall, his eyes widened when he saw Sarah totally ignore the rope and jumped. Sarah tucked and rolled just as she hit the ground. Again, she was on her feet in no time.

Sarah sniggered inwardly. Every moment she could steal to get ahead was priceless and having Vincent temporarily stunned at her stunt brought her all the time she needed. Reflexes kicked in when Sarah dove to her right. A small object hit the spot where Sarah had occupied seconds ago. It was some sort of an arrow, except that instead of a sharpened point, it was a smooth surfaced rock the size of a man's fist. Hardly something to seriously injure someone but a well aimed hit on the shoulder guaranteed a dislocation.

In the blink of an eye, Sarah had her sword out of her scabbard and started hacking and dodging her way through the rain of arrows. Shouts and curses could be heard by those who weren't as fast as her in analyzing the situation.

She knew she was nearing the end of the course. Sword in hand, she advanced. As she ran, her eyes darted around endlessly, preparing for anything to come her way. Suddenly, her eyes shot upwards as they followed an object in its course. As it was about to fall back down again, Sarah leaped high into the air with as much strength as she could muster, and lashed out with her sword.

She knew she was expected to cut the log of wood into as many pieces as possible before moving on. Finding her feet were once again on the ground, she ran forwards without waiting to see the results.

Ignoring the satisfying clank of wood and gasps of astonishment from nearby spectators, Sarah slipped her sword back into its scabbard. There shouldn't be anymore obstacles.

The finish line was now only a few feet away but just as she was about to cross it, she saw a quick movement in the crowd at the edge of her vision. A glint of light reflecting off metal caused her body to fall back as she skidded under the blade intended for her neck.

Before she made contact with the soil, she flipped her body as her sword flew into her hand. She dug the tip of her shoes into the earth and used her free hand to balance her almost horizontal body. She shifted all her weight on her left hand and swung her legs around, taking the attacker off his feet.

The attacker fell to the ground and Sarah now stood above him. The familiarity struck her instantly and she lowered her sword point from the corporal's neck.

"Corporal?" she turned her gaze back to where the course started. True enough, there was nobody there.

"Nicely done," he said as he stood up and brushed himself clean.

Three figures stood away from the crowd that now surrounded the newcomer and the corporal.

"Who is that new cadet?" General Foster inquired. He was a tall man with solid features and a lean body. He wore a white coat and had a sword belted at his side.

"Sarah Howls, enlisted two months ago," supplied the captain.

Foster nodded and merely said, "Send her up to my office later." With that the general walked away.

The captain nodded to his sergeant and he too walked away from the training grounds. The sergeant acknowledge the order given and started shouting orders to the cadets.

Sarah knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice said a moment later.

Sarah swung the wooden door open and hesitantly sauntered in. General Foster's office was simple: a desk and shelves that dominated the room. Foster sat behind his desk with a quill in his hand. On the right corner of his desk was a brown box. He put down his quill and motioned for her to come closer.

There was an uneasy silence in the room then suddenly, the general leaned back against his chair and gave a throaty chuckle which only increased the apprehensiveness. "I thought my captain was mad when I heard he accepted you, a woman in the army…" Foster said. "But," he continued. "You came here two months ago, not even knowing how to hold a sword, to beating your superiors in combat."

Sarah wasn't sure where this conversation was headed. After landing in Simaron, she thought she would at least learn how to defend herself and get paid at the same time. Truth to tell, she was amazed that her dye held up this long. Wasn't her hair growing at all?!

"You could easily be one of the most gifted swordsmen I've seen," Foster said with a grin. "Makes me wonder if you have any ties with the Wellers."

Sarah tensed. Did that mean that they suspected her as a spy for the Mazoku? Her mind raced. If they did, this would be the end of her very short adventure which Shinou had so willfully put her on.

"But at least we know you're not of demon blood," Foster confirmed. Seeing Sarah raise an eyebrow, he pulled opened his top drawer and produced a red glowing gem stone. Hoseki? "Least you find it difficult to approach my desk."

Sly bastard. "Anyway," Foster said. "Testing whether you are of Demon blood is not the point of this conversation." He stood up in his seat. "Keeping you as a cadet would only be a waste of your talent." He slid the box over to Sarah. "You've been promoted to the rank of 'captain'," he said with another grin. "This is your new uniform, report tomorrow morning to be assigned a troop."

Filled with relieve mixed with surprise, Sarah picked up the box, saluted and left the room.

Once the door was closed, Sarah turned to walk back to her quarters only to bump into someone. They both fell to ground. Wincing slightly, Sarah looked up to see who she had knocked. The man looked around her age. He had orange hair and blue eyes. Somehow, he looked familiar.

He stood up and offered his hand to help Sarah get up. "Sorry," he said with a smile. "Wasn't looking."

Sarah took his hand. "No, it's okay," she said, still trying to remember who he was. But she just couldn't put her finger on it even as he rounded the bend of the corridor.

a/n:

Thank you so much to all who read my first chapter and a special thanks to Renaissance IX who reviewed.

Oh, and if anyone would be kind enough to help me think of nice surnames to attach to my OC(s), I'd be enternally (if I ever live an eternity, that is) grateful.

Please stay tuned for more chapters and until then,

Forever,

Val.