Raelia - from Kaiden's POV|| SLOW UPDATES ||

Chapter 1 - DC's Party

It was almost the end of the summer holidays. Kaiden was looking forward to getting back to school. He had been enjoying the relaxing summer days at home, but this was going to be his 5thyear at Akarnae. This was when he had the chance to prove himself worthy of an apprenticeship, the first step in fulfilling his lifelong dream, and the family tradition, and become a Warden.

He was in Epsilon Combat as well as Hunter's SAS class, and he thought he was doing quite well. If he continued to work hard and prove himself this year, he was fairly confident he would be able to get an apprenticeship with at least one of the teachers required.

Before he started to focus on his studies again, he had a party to go to. It was the Princess Delucia's birthday party. For Kaiden that meant he would get to spend the afternoon at the palace with Declan before heading to the celebrations. He was looking forward to a fun evening filled with good food and hopefully he'd find someone to have a dance with.

Kaiden was in the middle of saying something to Declan when he saw Alex walking across to the drinks table. He was so distracted that he forgot what he had been talking about. He couldn't help but start to walk over to her.

Girls had been interested in Kaiden over the years, but he hadn't ever met anyone who managed to pull his attention away from his studies. Then Alex had arrived out of nowhere, and from another world no less. He had expected her to be just like all the other girls he knew, but there was something different about her. She was strong and confident, but not a snob. And she didn't take everything so seriously, which was nice. But she really caught his attention when Kaiden couldn't read her any more. He couldn't just use his gift to figure her out, and that intrigued him. Well, to be honest it frustrated him. He had never encountered someone he couldn't figure out before. It wasn't until the combat exam at the end of last year that he started to appreciate her as a person, and not just as a puzzle to be solved.

He caught up with her at the drinks table where she was obviously overwhelmed by all the choices. Kaiden was surprised that he was actually nervous about speaking to her, but then he relaxed and couldn't help but tease her. He thought the conversation was going quite well, so he was surprised when she suddenly rushed away. But not nearly as surprised as he was when he saw Alex tackle the King and Queen to the ground in the middle of the dance floor, and then get dragged away to the dungeons by the guards.

Kaiden and Declan stared at each other in stunned silence for a moment, before making their way down to the dungeons. When they passed Bear and Jordan looking completely lost, they told them to follow, figuring Alex would appreciate having her friends around at a time like this.

They were standing out in the hallway, still in shock about the revelation that Alex had indeed been stabbed at the end of last year while protecting the princess, when Jeera walked past and motioned for them to move further along the hallway and into a small side room.

"Give me a good reason not to tell Nisha and Jaxon that you two just assisted in an attempted prison break" Jeera demanded sternly.

"Oh come on Sis, you know that Alex was never a real threat," replied Kaiden.

"That's not the point and you know it. You can't have develop a reputation for breaking serious rules if you still hope to complete Warden training when you finish school."

"Does that mean we can still break the not-so-serious rules?" asked Declan with a grin. "I'm pretty sure there are a few rules you have broken in your time as a Warden."

Jeera couldn't resist grinning back. "Yes, but I waited until I became a Warden before I started breaking them. You two should get out of here. Try to stay out of trouble for the rest of the night."

"Thanks sis" said Kaiden, giving Jeera a hug before making his way to the door. Declan followed him out of the room and back along the hallways to rejoin the party.

"I can't decide if she is incredibly brave or incredibly stupid." Declan said.

"Lets go with incredibly loyal. Though I certainly don't think anyone will ever call what Alex did tonight a smart move."

"You got that right. But she's obviously managed to get your attention"

Kaiden gave Declan a quick glance and said, "I don't know what you're talking about".

"Riiigghht" Declan laughed. "Its totally normal for you to walk away from me in the middle of telling me a story. And then break the rules by taking Jordan and Bear down to the dungeons. You're behaving totally normal today"

"Fine. There is something about Alex. Things are happening in Medora and somehow she's in the middle of it all. That she got stabbed while protecting the princess is just the start of it. I don't know what's happening, but I know it isn't over. I think it's a wise move for someone to keep an eye on her."

"Right. You're just doing your duty to the country. It has nothing to do with you being attracted to her at all." Declan said, obviously not believing it was the truth.

"Well, the fact that she is pretty isn't a bad thing," said Kaiden with a quick smile for his friend.

As they re-entered the ballroom Kaiden immediately scanned the crowd looking for Alex. She was probably embarrassed after everything that had just happened but since her friends were here, they would be looking after her. Only, Kaiden found Bear and Jordan chatting with D.C. and Alex wasn't with them. When he saw her on the dance floor with Marcus Sparker, he didn't need Jeera's intuition to know that this wasn't a good situation.

Kaiden made his way over to Alex as quickly as he could. He wanted to push Marcus away from Alex and protect her, but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to cause another scene. So he put on his polite face and used his manners to rescue Alex.

Kaiden had always enjoyed dancing. There was something satisfying in guiding someone through the steps, finding ways for the music and the movements to work together. And dancing with Alex was even more enjoyable than he had expected. She fit perfectly in his arms and followed his lead with ease. He enjoyed talking to her and moving with her so much that he didn't notice the music had stopped until they were interrupted by the princess. Kaiden was embarrassed that he had been so caught up in dancing with Alex that he had stopped paying attention to his surroundings.

Thankfully the others appeared to be so focused on Alex that they didn't notice Kaiden's reaction. Though when Declan joined the group a moment later he gave Kaiden a look that said he knew exactly what happened, and he wasn't going to let Kaiden live it down any time soon.

Jeera would join in the teasing, since she had now met the girl who Kaiden had talked to her about for the last few months. She had probably noticed their dancing as well. But Kaiden didn't mind. He knew they would tease him because they cared about him and wanted him to be happy. And when he remembered dancing with Alex, he couldn't be anything but happy.