A/N: Guys, you're going to love this chapter. I can feel it :D *wink, wink*

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"Draw your swords, Knights!" Jericho commanded, arms crossed behind her back as she prowled before the line of Holy Knights, myself included in that uniformity. "Today you will be duelling each other, putting to good use all the bashing you've been doing against the wooden dummies. No magic allowed. The winners will move on to the next round and so on, so on. The ultimate winner gets a prize. Form pairs!"

I knew coming outside was a horrible choice. Jericho's insistent whiny voice was making my headache worse. Guila was standing on the outskirts, observing, which meant I couldn't escape for my place of solitude.

"Partners?" Leraj asked by my side, hand on sword hilt.

"No," I responded bluntly, turning my back on him. He brought me here; he could suffer too.

"What?!" Indignant, he tried to get my attention, but I brushed him off and slipped through the crowd of Holy Knights preparing for battle.

My eyes scanned the crowd of coloured clothing and armour but I already knew that everyone was a weakling when it came to fighting without their magic. They relied upon it too heavily.

At times, I hated how advanced I was with my skills. It left me feeling lonely because no one wanted to associate with an apprentice who's power rivalled that of an Emerald ranked Holy Knight.

"Estra, please," Leraj asked, exasperated, and looked pleadingly at me. I rolled my eyes. I changed my mind; I didn't feel lonely. Leraj was also super powerful, probably ranking Emerald as well, so I guess I had someone.

However...

"Leraj!" Her shrill voice had my ear drums shrivelling up with pain. "Since no one can match your skill, I guess you'll have to battle me," Jericho purred, sliding up and rubbing her scantily armoured body against him.

"Get off him," I snarled, jealousy rising like a coiled cobra.

Her black eyes narrowed on me before she gave a laugh. "And why should I listen to an apprentice like yourself? What, you'll run to Hendrickson if I don't?"

The training grounds went silent as the other Holy Knights watched on. I seethed with anger, my cheeks aflame. How dare she! It wasn't like I wanted to be the Grand Holy Knight's teacher's pet.

I drew my blade without a second thought. "You're still an apprentice too, Jericho." My thumb rubbed over the little fox carved into the amber jewel in the silver hilt. The dark blue blade of my sword glinted as I swung it in the air before me.

"Are you challenging me?" she asked incredulously and detached herself from Leraj. Leraj stepped, nodding slightly in my direction.

"Yeah, and I'll send you into the ground."

"Guila, permission to teach the apprentice a lesson?" Jericho had drawn her blade, calling to Guila without a glance behind.

For the first time, Guila shifted from her leaning position. "Permission granted. All of you, clear the training circle." The apprentices rushed out of the ring and soon a crowd watched as Jericho and I squared off.

It was soon forgotten that the point of this exercise was to determine winners. All I wanted to do was smash Jericho's stupid little face into the ground.

A minute of bated breath. Who would move first? Jericho's left foot twitched slightly, sliding backwards a bit. I launched forward and with a roar, swung my sword at her. Our blades collided in a shower of sparks.

She snarled in my face as I pressed my blade harder against her. "Don't think you have the upper hand!"

I sent a kick to her stomach, then rolled away when she retaliated with a slicing cut. Her sword stuck to the ground and I popped back to my feet, drawing my sword back.

We circled each other. The little test proved that Jericho's defence was not the best, while her speed was slightly slower than my own. If I kept her on the defence, I would be the winner.

My mouth parted in a grin. "Let's get this over with."

We both launched forward with a battle cry.

She fought with skill, grace and poise, each move calculated, each strike carefully placed. A prodigy Knight. Me, I fought like it was my end, as if death's embrace slowly crept towards me. For it was the only way I knew how to fight. To survive, to protect the ones I love, to destroy the evil that prowled the lands.

Disciplined training and continuously practised sword routines could only get a person so far.

~

"See, I told you that you're the best!" Leraj crowed, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

My cheeks heated up and I shied away from him. "Yeah, yeah. I already knew all that. And what are you doing talking to me? I'm still angry at you." I huffed and crossed my arms, looking away from him.

"Yeah, but me dragging you from your room did give you the chance to flog Jericho's butt."

Holding a frown was impossible when I thought back to Jericho lying face down on the ground. Leraj laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist. I squealed and many heads turned our way before quickly dropping their gazes.

It had always been this way. Holy Knights, whether they be seasoned veterans or fresh out of the academy recruits, seemed to know of my status and my standings with one of the Grand Holy Knights.

Leraj's breath tickled my arm and I was acutely aware of his strong arms holding my back to his chest. "Don't pay them any attention."

"I don't," I growled, escaping his arms before I'd become totally intoxicated and turned into a bumbling mess. He grabbed my hand and didn't let me escape.

"Come on. Let's go."

"And skip the rest of the day now that you had managed to drag me from my bed this morning?"

"No easy feat, I must say." We slipped through the crowds, which wasn't so hard since everyone just flowed away from us as if by some invisible force field wedging its way between them. "Besides, I didn't take you as the studious one."

We left the training grounds, entering the boisterous markets of the village district. Colourful streamers fluttered in the breeze and the heady aroma of sizzling meat and roasted vegetables wafted in the clear sky. Children squealed and flitted between vibrant stalls with games or fancy trinkets on sale.

I drifted towards the food, hungry again, but Leraj tugged me hard enough to have me stumbling. My protest went unheard as he led me down several alleys, away from the food and festivities.

"There's perfectly good festivities over there and you've led us down dingy alleyways," I scoffed, taking in our surroundings when we stopped. I had a talent for overexaggeration - the alley was quite clean and clear of clutter. A few trash piles beside battered back doors, stray dogs sniffing around at the other end. "Why are we- what are you doing?"

Leraj's carefree expression had been replaced by something I couldn't describe. His amber eyes held mine steadily.Ever so slow, he walked towards me. My heart leapt in my chest and I stepped back. My back hit the wall with a thump and before I could escape, his arms caged me, body so close I could feel his body heat.

I was torn between two emotions then. Fear, and longing. I couldn't decide which one to focus on more.

He lowered his head, amber eyes shining in the dark planes of his face. My face tilted up to watch him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and willed my heart to calm down.

"What's wrong?" he whispered in a deep voice and I swore my toes curled at the sound. Stop it, body, stop it, stop it, stop it.

"You're too close," I confessed, my voice barely a whisper and I brought my hands up to shove against his chest. He didn't budge. "Move," I commanded but it sounded like a plea. "Move!" I repeated, louder this time, more in control of my voice.

"Don't go jumping to conclusions." A bolt of electricity went through me at the words. Why? I didn't know. Why did they resound so much in me? "I just want to give you something."

His face dropped lower and my lips parted slightly. An agonising second pause, his breath dancing on my lips, then his were against mine. The feeling was strange and I pulled back slightly; he followed me, capturing them again.

His lips moved against mine but I was so rigid. I had no idea what to do.

I'd never kissed a man like this before.

He nipped me. "Relax, Fox," he murmured. Again, his words tugged at me but soon evaporated when Leraj's hands dropped to my hips, dragging me closer. Pressed tight against his body, I could feel his heart beating steadily against my own chest.

His attention moved from my lips to my neck and tenderly, he left little fluttery kissed there. My ability to breath had escaped and any thoughts I had that weren't his lips on my neck, his breath on my skin, his hands burning through my clothes dissolved into puddles at my feet.

"You know how long I've been waiting to do that?" he mumbled against my neck and my knees shook. There was no way I could offer an answer to him at this moment.

Hell, I'd be surprised if I could even function properly after all this. I hated to admit it, but he made me weak, weaker than I had ever been in my life. I sagged against him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

We stayed like that for a few minutes longer before I drew away, relinquishing contact until only our hands touched.

"So...?"

"So what?" I questioned.

"Does that mean you like me back?"

Brashly, I pecked his lips. "Does that answer you?"

He smiled, teeth on display and went in for another kiss.

A cough interrupted us and I almost drew my sword to fight the intruder. But stopped short when I saw who it was.

Gilthunder leant against the wall of the alley. I pushed Leraj away. "Do you know how hard it is to find recruits when they're supposed to be within the academy grounds?"

"Apologies, Sir Gilthunder," I said, adopting a serious tone and bowing slightly. Leraj did the same with a smile still on his face.

"Aw, can't go anywhere without someone finding out around here," Leraj said; I jabbed an elbow into his side.

"There's enough free time for you two to cuddle after your training. Right now, Grand Holy Knight Hendrickson has summoned Estra regarding her sword skills.

I hesitated, looking at Leraj. He hooked his thumbs on his sword belt. "Now would be good, Estra. You only," Gilthunder insisted.

Brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I closed the gap between us and kissed Leraj on the cheek. My cheeks burning, I hurried after Gilthunder.

I couldn't stop my heart from hammering against my rib cage, nor could I stop the smile from spreading over my lips. So this is what love feels like.

A/N.2: *steeples fingers* Thoughts? Loving the ship? How was the 'scene'? I'm a bit inexperienced in matters of the heart. Most of what I write about kissing scenes comes from most YA novels I read.

However, I feel I hit the nail on the head. It made me feel swooning thinking of the beautiful demon Leraj kissing me. Here, I'll post the picture again just so you can imagine those amber eyes staring into your soul as he leans down for a kiss