Halo sat very still. She had not expected this. A week ago, she would have even refused to go on this drive. She was now being formally asked to take a step into uncharted waters. She was terrified...but she was also tempted. Qinyang spoke softly.

"You do not need to make any sort of decision until you are ready. We just want you to know that this avenue is open, IF and only if you wish to take it."

Lan Zhan added. "Of course. This will always be open to you if you want it." 

He leaned forward to close the box but she surprised herself and reached out to stop him.As she passed her hand over Baohu Zhe, the sword, decorated with an intricate copper filigree, vibrated again.

"Why does he do that?"

"Swords are inhabited by spirits. He was built into the sword, in a spiritual communion of sorts, during a ceremony after your cultivation was completed. Baohu Zhe is devoted to only one person in this world and will leave his scabbard only when his master removes him. I have a kinship with him, as well as Qinyang. She, because she is your soulmate and I because we are twin souls. He responds to us if you are no longer able to communicate with him. Qinyang has kept him safe for you."

"For how long?"

'One hundred and thirty years. Since you two last reincarnated around us."

"He has been lonely for a long time."

"They yearn, as we do."

"May I pick him up?"

"He is yours. Of course you may."

She rose to her feet and then bent down to grasp the hilt, as naturally as if she had done it just an hour or two ago, She heard a singing sort of hum as he greeted her and the blade took on a coppery sheen, lighter than her eyes. She stepped a few feet away and swung him through the air once, knowing instantly that she was nowhere near ready to handle the blade. Her former strength had dissipated. She held it before her face and whispered almost soundlessly.

"I am sorry. I have been ill. I cannot handle you safely. Furthermore, I may not be ready in this lifetime. But I will decide soon. Please be patient with me."

The others watched, touched and surprised. They had not expected the kinship to be returned so quickly by Baohu Zhe's master. She laid him gently on the brocade lining and stood looking at the empty hand. It felt strange, as if an appendage had been severed from her body.

"Please. May I watch the four of you spar? First, Lan Qinyang and Wei Ying. Then Lan Zhan and Lan Xi Chen." They bowed and each took possession of their blades, somewhat amused at her request. It sounded a bit regimental.

Qinyang and Wei Ying reminded her of a deep mountain stream, He flowed like cascading water, and she flowed back to him, deceptively forced by his mass and strength, like delicate blades of flooded grass, until she swiftly parted revealed a sharp rock or a jagged branch, cleverly concealed by the light green tendrils. Natural, simple, deadly. She felt a small sense of pride as she watched Qinyang, her blond hair flying.Lan Xi Chen and Lan Zhan mastered the skies, a masculine display of power, balance and dexterity, weaving a dance from treetops to rock formations. Their blades sang as they sliced the air, legs propelled them, arms parried and defended.At first, she stood at a distance, shy and a little afraid. But as the battle displays continued, she drew closer, mesmerized, and her eyes grew sharp in concentration. Her spine seemed to straighten; she clasped her arms behind her back, and she began to walk the parameters of the field. Her gaze never left the combatants, and a small smile touched her generous mouth as she watched Qinyang evade a slash from Wei Ying and come up under his arm that clenched Subian. Her lips parted at the shout of triumph from the tiny warrior.They all noticed the slight changes, as if Yenay's soldier nature was trying to make itself known to her. Although the General was still a shadow, glimpses of her appeared as she judged and analyzed, even without knowing what she was doing. At times, the copper eyes would flare, and a deep flush rose under the dark skin. They practiced for as long as they could, before collapsing, laughing as they fell to the grass. And Yenay walked over to them.

"How often do you come here? May I begin training with you?"

Her eyes were soft, and veiled, as if expecting rejection, but underneath was a glint that almost dared them to say no. Lan Zhan stood and faced her.

"There are things I must ask you first. Do you know what you are committing to? Are you aware of the exhaustion and pain that goes with training this intense?"

She looked him in the eyes. "I remember now that I have watched."

Are you willing to move to the apartment complex? Special diets are to be eaten. And mental and spiritual training will be a part of it all."

"I will."

"And the last thing I need to know is why do you wish to undertake this journey?"

She bowed her head for a few minutes and when she raised her face it was firm and determined.

"I owe this to my brothers and the woman who loves me. I do not know if I can return this time and be what you would like me to be, but I will try. I owe it to myself and my sword."

Again a long pause.

"And I must be prepared. One day that person will walk the streets again, and he will seek me out. If I remain afraid, if I remain weak and unskilled, he will destroy me. But even worse, he will destroy you all for aiding me. And I must not let that happen. A Guardian must protect those to whom she has sworn allegiance, and I will not allow him, or my shortcomings, to fail you. "

Yenay walked up to Qinyang, who stood frozen. The men stepped back and gave the women space, and Lan Xi Chen settled a Quiet Spell over the two. Yenay bowed formally.

"I did not mean to say those words yet. They imply certain things I am still not sure if I can consider. But I know we have loved many times in the past, and the few memories I have of that are precious and deep. I want to heal for another reason that I can say only to you. I want it back, if possible. Can you wait? See if it is one more thing I can and must regain?"

Qinyang gathered herself, struggling to keep her composure. She had to clear her voice a couple of times and when she replied, there was no break there, only a measured calm.

"Of course. We will work together and see what happens. Only you can set the pace. Only you can make this decision. Mine was made back in Cloud Recesses. I will abide by your decision in this."