This is a photo from Rannoch Moor in Scotland. This photo isn't the landscape described in this following chapter, but it does inspire me for some of the scenery in this story. It is a picture taken by me whilst doing the West Highland Way.

I wake early in the morning and make my way back to my room before anyone notices. I can tell a lot of the people in the palace are still sleeping, but some of the staff are awake. I navigate my way through the corridors using my senses to hear where the staff are so I can avoid them. Once back in my room, I get dressed. I had been told to wear clothing I could train in. Today, we are going to be properly introduced to the elite warriors. 

"Isla!" Toryn shouts.

"What?" I shout back, running down the spiral stairs toward his room.

"We've got to go," he tells me as he leaves his room fully armed and ready to train. I too have all my weapons. He frowns, looking at me.

"What?" I ask.

"I know something happened whilst you were out the other night," he tells me.

"What makes you say that?" I ask with narrowed eyes. He steps closer to me.

"Because I can sense it Isla, I know you are keeping something from me."

"Well if  I am keeping something, then it must be for a good reason," I snarl at him.

"Don't you trust me, Isla?" he seethes, his pupils changing to narrow slits.

"Of course I trust you," I snap, angered at the accusation.

"Then why are you lying to me?" He growls.

"I have my reasons." This is something I need to figure out my self. I need to keep the attack a secret and the weird black goo. If I were to tell anyone, there would be panic. I need to discover what is going on before I make a fuss. For all I know, it could be nothing.

"We don't keep secrets from each other, Isla." I snarl at him questioning my decisions.

"Don't like that?" he asks. "Do you think that because you are going to be a queen, that you are above me, that you are better than me? You're acting like Darcy. Like you're entitled to everything and that we all have to answer to your commands. You're such a..." He is about to continue but I slam my fist into his face as anger surges through me. He stumbles back into the wall, blood dripping from his nose.

"How dare you," I snarl. "I am not Darcy, how could you even think that? I keep one thing from you and you accuse me of that? I'm allowed to keep secrets!" I shout.

"Not when they endanger your life!" Toryn yells back, breathing heavily as the anger rages through him. I shake my head.

"Who said anything about my life being endangered?" I snap at him. "I am perfectly capable of both looking after myself and judging what is a risk and not." With a sigh, I turn away from him and begin to head to breakfast.

"Don't walk away from me Isla!"

"This conversation is over," I tell him. I let out a shriek as his body rams into mine and I go flying against the wall before falling to the ground. A vicious snarl rips its way out of my mouth. I can feel that my teeth have sharpened as I hiss at him. I know that my eyes will also be white with exception of the diamond shaped black pupil. In a blur, I race toward him, kicking him in the stomach. He flies down the corridor and is up before he can properly hit the ground.

"What is going on here?" A voice booms. Princess Kayleigh stands in the corridor with an angered look on her face.

"We were just having a little disagreement," I reply, glaring up at Toryn. He snarls back at me.

"That is enough! Both of you downstairs now and eat your breakfast!" she booms. I take a deep breath before walking past my brother and out of the Dragoheir wing and down to the dining hall. Breakfast isn't in the room that dinner was in last night which was the ball and throne room. It is in a smaller dining room, which is still spectacular.

I take a seat next to Serenity and Tanya who are booth eating fruits and pastries. 

"Are you okay?" Serenity asks.

"I'm fine," I mutter whilst shoving some cold meats on my plate as well as some strawberries and cheese. "Toryn and I just had a small fight," I sigh.

"Yeah, we heard." I raise my eyebrows.

"Did you hear us shouting?" I ask.

"No, we heard the walls breaking." Thinking back to our physical fight I remember the walls smashing.

Toryn appears and sits next to Tanya on the other side, not looking at me. Thankfully, the girls don't ask what the fight was about. Princess Kayleigh walks back into the room, not looking happy. She takes a seat and looks over at the four of us.

"Today, you will meet and train with the elite warriors. I suggest you hurry with your breakfasts, you meet them within the hour." The rest of breakfast is filled with quiet chatter from the others in the room whilst Toryn and I stay quiet, still annoyed with each other. Once finished, we are lead outside to a large training area. General Xavier stands in his armour, shouting at other shifters as they train. Iona and Daniel both train too, Iona looking fierce in her golden armour.

"We'll start off straight away. Today is competition day!" They all cheer. "Round One! We'll start off with Tanya and Lilly. Whoever wins will fight in the next round after everyone has competed in the first round!" He explains.

"Lilly Black, daughter of Lord Black who teaches at the academy," she introduces herself, a warm smile on her face.  I can see the similarities between her and the man who teaches us to fight at the Academy. This means she must be a bear shifter too. She is tall and I can see that she is strong. Her large eyes are dark as is her glossy hair. She is beautiful, but a fierce warrior.

"No shifting, no powers!" General Xavier shouts as Tanya uncoils her whip from her belt. She flicks it next to her, the small spiked ball on the end of the whip digging into the ground. We had been given golden armour and helmets to protect us some more. There's no holding back in these fights. Lilly pulls out a long, thick sword. It is heavy and powerful. One solid hit could be serious.

"The winner is declared when someone has their opponent in a position where they would have been killed. Begin!" I watch intently, examining their movements. Tanya and Lilly circle each other before one makes their move. Lilly is first to strike. Tanya is quick to jump out of the way whilst she swings her whip. They are fascinating to watch. Tanya is vicious with her whip, getting good hits. Lilly is also getting hits too. The two move quickly and with strength. My youngest sister is a very elegant fighter. Her movements are deadly yet graceful. I watch as her whip coils around Lilly's blade, stopping it from hitting her. As the sword is flicked out of her way, Tanya jumps, spinning in the air to smack her feet into Lilly's face. Lilly is quick to recover and free her sword from the whip. She also manages to get another good hit on Tanya. Tanya is beaten after a good match, however. There a cheers for both sides after the excellent fight.

"Nice match Ladies!" General Xavier shouts. "Next we'll have Serenity and Avon!" A man jumps forward with a big grin on his face.

"Avon Lenovell, a Lion shifter," he grins. His golden hair is cut neatly around his head and his eyes are a warm brown colour. He stands tall and muscular, like a lot of shifters. He swings a large golden axe in his hand whilst Serenity pulls out her sword.

"Nice to meet you, young dragon," Avon charms with a warm smile. Serenity chuckles before replying.

"You won't be saying that when I win." There is a chorus of chuckles as Serenity slices her blade through the air.

"All right you lot, calm down! Serenity, Avon, you may begin!" He shouts. Serenity attacks straight away. It is a bold move and it certainly takes everyone by surprise, especially Avon. Serenity is graceful, much like Tanya when she fights. However, Serenity is much more unpredictable and is much better at fooling her opponents into thinking she's going to do one thing, but doing something completely different instead. We all watch her and Avon battle it out. Serenity's sword clashes with Avon's axe. In a sudden move, she flicks her blade causing Avon's blade to fly out of his hands. She swings her legs, kicking him in the face. He collapses onto the ground and her sword is at his throat. Serenity wins. I jump up cheering along with the rest of the crowd.

Toryn fights next with a man called Emory, who is a crocodile shifter. The two are very similar in height and build and they both fight with their thick, heavy swords. It is a close match. Toryn isn't as agile as the girls, but he makes up for it in his strength. The two are very equally matched, but Emory wins eventually.

"Isla and Leanna," General Xavier calls and I stand quickly. I see that Leanna is using a long smooth blade, similar to the two I have. I decide, however, to use my favourite weapons which I don't use very much. I pull out my two daggers with their slightly curved gleaming silver blades gleaming in the sun.

"Leanna Fenwell. I'm an Eagle," she says with a soft smile. I lick my lips nervously as I prepare to fight in front of these great warriors.

"You may begin!" General Xavier calls. I take a deep breath as excitement replaces the nervousness as the predator side of me longs for the adrenaline to pump through my body. I examine her as she circles me. My blades spin in my hands as I  angle them so that the pointed end faces behind me. She strikes first. With my small daggers, I block her attack. She is quick to react, aiming to strike again. We move quickly. Her blades are a blur in front of me as we twist and spin around each other. My foot slams into her face as I jump and spin in the air. She's knocked back allowing me to slice her stomach and put my other dagger to her throat. I win.
"Isla wins!" General Xavier shouts. Leanna looks annoyed as she walks away and I smile happily at my victory.

I sit down and watch the rest of the first round until everyone has fought. Daniel and Iona also win their fights, making it to round two with Serenity and myself. We carry on the competition throughout the day. Serenity, Iona Daniel and I get knocked out before the final and we all watch to see who will win out of Lilly and a man called Omar. They are both magnificent to watch. Eventually, Omar wins.

"Omar is today's champion!" General Xavier calls and we all cheer. After the intense matches, we get a fun afternoon where we use our powers on each other. Everyone watches in awe as Tanya pulls out her whip and flicks it around in her hand, wondering what she is going to do to poor Avon. Avon stands opposite her, just out of range of her whip. He had volunteered to be the be the victim of her powers.
"Come on whip girl? What are you going to do?" He taunts with a cheeky grin. Tanya's eyes light up at the challenge. She pulls back her whip and gives a small smile before she snaps it at him faster than a blur. The whip doesn't hit him, but the blast of intensely strong wind that she carried with the whip slams into him. Avon flies across the field, turning up the ground as he lands with a heavy thud. Everyone laughs as he stands up in a daze.

Serenity awes everyone with her Earth power and Toryn with his balls of fire. When it's my turn, I walk toward the lake. My fingers run through the water. I take a deep breath before lifting my hands. Water follows, rising from the lake. I slam my arms up, causing a huge wall of water to form behind me. I cause the huge body of water I pulled from the lake to dance in the air. Everyone is drawn into the beautiful dancing water. That is when I strike. The water turns to ice as I suddenly slam it into the ground around them. She force causes some to fly back. Sharp icy spikes fly around. I return them back to water before they hurt anyone. Once it has calmed down, I sit on the ground. I have never moved so much water for such a length of time before and it has tired me.
"Very impressive, Isla," the General claps. "Relax and watch everyone else." I smile, grateful.

The variety of powers are incredible. Avon can make multiples of himself. I watch as there are ten copies of him, fighting each other. These other Avon's can all fight and touch others. If they are hit with a fatal shot, they just vanish and the real Avon is fine. Lilly has a shield which surrounds her and others. Nothing can penetrate the glowing ball around her. Omar has a really strong and scary power. He can make people see what he wants them to. I am amazed as my eyes see the academy but I know I am still at the palace.

Once training has finished, we freshen up and meet up for dinner. It is only us and the warriors including Iona and Daniel. Dinner is certainly loud and raucous. Everyone jokes and laughs. It's a great night. I can't help but frown as I look at Omar though. Something about him doesn't sit right with me. He seems familiar but I can't think. Suddenly, I gasp as memories rip their way through my mind.