The days went past strangely and quickly for me. Sometimes I'd be woken by Sam to be shown how things worked, or just to relax and talk. He never talked about his home, but he'd listen to me talk about my family and my old life. He introduced me to more of the humans, but most of them were lost in their own little worlds, or running errands and doing tasks for their masters, making it difficult to really know them.

We stared down Paula a few times, but she kept to her word and left me alone. That was fine by me. I never wanted to be her enemy in the first place. Still whenever I saw her, my hand would fall to Crier and the fire would rush through me. Sam got into the habit grabbing my shoulder and leading me away whenever she appeared. He claimed he could hear my teeth grinding from across the room whenever I looked at her.

Another thing Sam and I did ,was train. He said it was to make sure I didn't turn to Crier whenever there was a fight, killing people could make their owners very angry. But as we trained I noticed he was watching how I moved making me go through the motions of what Crier and Calandri taught me. I learned a lot from him as well, how to block, punch, and kick, but when I watched him training by himself he was preparing for fighting someone who moved and jumped a lot, like Paula, or me. By the fifth session I changed my style to something more direct and head on.

Calandri summoned me everyday, she would summon the flame and I would practice moving. At first there was no real rhyme or reason to the motions, if I was learning a dance it made no sense simply a series of movements that didn't match. One day I'd be spinning a baton or fan in an eye watering pattern so quickly my hands were a blur. The next it would be something easier like leaping and landing in a certain way.

As she watched me, the training did change, and so did my wardrobe. Instead of tights and short skirts, there were now loose flowing skirts and dresses that reached my ankles, with wide sleeved blouses that hid my hands. I hated them as much as I hated my body. I felt exposed, I didn't like the way my legs touched each other, it reminded me even when I wasn't looking in the mirror that I was a girl, that I was weak. After she saw me in my first dress, the tights and leotards vanished entirely from my wardrobe.

With the dresses I was taught how to kick, spin, and jump so that my legs weren't seen until the last second if at all. I learned to hold fans or ribbons hidden in my hands or sleeves waiting for the big reveal. Learning to react rather than think was the hardest part. That was where Crier came in.

It seemed every time I closed my eyes he was waiting. Each time there would be a new opponent and I would fight him or her until I won. Throughout it all Crier would call out lessons, sometimes on how to hold a sword, block a thrust, dodge a strike, disarm an enemy, and more. Other times it was tactics and strategies, ways to think, how to plan, always seeking the victory even if I was forced to retreat. Even a short nap would seem like a day of training, and it was brutal. They would break my arms, slash my eyes, stab me, gut me, kill me. It always hurt, and each time after that split second of pain, I'd be on my feet again whole and unharmed, determined to avoid the pain a second time.

I learned so much from all of them. How to fight, how to move, how watch and react without thought. I walked as quietly a snowflake falling through the sky, flickered like a candle flame in the breeze, never where someone was expecting me, I grew strong, learned to accept pain, and learned to handle fear by always knowing what was around me.

There was a single place were all of those lessons fell away.

“Amber, how are you doing today?” Mrs. Jones said, as I walked into her room.

“I'm ok. How are you Mom?” I asked. Over the endless days it was becoming natural to call her mom.

She wasn't looking at me, too busy digging through her dresser for some cookies. I didn't know where she got them from but she always had some. The newest ones turned out to be peanut butter. “I'm fine, Amber. I've been keeping myself busy helping out around the town. How about you? How is school going?”

“I'm learning lots of things,” sword fighting, dancing, martial arts, wrestling, killing. “My teachers are really good.”

She patted me on the head and started making some tea, with boiling hot water from the sink. “I know they are, and they haven't given me a single complaint this year. You're doing so much better than last year, when you were always leaving class. I think this new school is very good for you.”

“I miss my, our, old home, and my friends,” I said, letting the tears fill my eyes.

She cradled me in her arms, stroking my hair. “I know. I miss your father and Peter to. But they couldn't come here. Now it's just us against the world isn't it.”

I didn't say anything, I just let her hug me. That was really all I came to her for. Just a bit of time away from everything, feeling soft, loving arms around me.

“Oh I have some good news!” she said when I finally stopped crying. “There is going to be a town fair, everyone is going to be there. And Paula said you're going to dance for everyone. Aren't you so excited?!”

I stared into her far away eyes. Calandri had said I could go home if I impressed everyone, I started to smile, and for the first time I kissed the poor womans cheek.

**

I woke up the next morning to find Calandri in my bed. She was stroking my hair with one hand, holding me against her warm chest with the other. Her heart roared like a fire in my ear, her hot skin warmed me up making my blood flow in time with her heartbeat. “Wake up, my sweet, talented Anthony. Today you must prepare for your dance. In the morrow you dance for the Lord and Lady. Will you make me proud and show everyone what you are capable of?”

“Then I can go home?” I asked

I felt her chin dip touching my head. “If you do well, I will personally send you home. But today you must learn. Come now I have prepared a lovely breakfast for you.”

My nose twitched at the smell of french toast covered in maple syrup, bacon and eggs with ketchup. I sat up and saw a table loaded down all of it. “Eat your fill, and I will send you an escort soon. I believe in you, Anthony, don't disappoint me,” she said leaning down to kiss my forehead.

Watching her go, I wished she'd stay a little longer. When the door closed I started eating loving every bite. I tried to imagine what I would have to do, but my mind was blank, there were too many things they could do or demand. I placed Crier on the lap while I ate, I needed the strength or I was going to panic. The fire built up inside of me,

I put on the golden dress Calandri had chosen for me. It dazzled in the light. I jumped and the skirt seemed to float around me like a cloud, the sleeves completely covered my hands, but a flick of my wrist pushed them back. Two golden brushes came from the bathroom held by invisible hands, they combed my hair and braided it into long thin strands, laced with the silvery bells Calandri had given me, and kept out of my eyes by diamond hairpins topped with silvery birds that sang as I moved.

The door lit up, my sign to go. Keeping my eyes low I followed the wisp.

**

I arrived at the training room. As I stepped through the boiling pool of water to enter it my mouth dropped. Even with all the things I'd seen this was beyond extraordinary.

I was standing on a cloud, it shook and raged lightening flashed within it's charcoal grey mist. Rain drops fell, some as large as dinner plates. The sun shone above me, creating dozens of rainbows some that stretched across the horizon and looked like ceiling of heaven, others faded and disappeared only to reappear so bright the light felt like a physical presence, still more were shorter bending and curving creating shapes and forms that contorted and writhed in the air.

Far below was a pink sea, creatures as large as skyscrapers, leapt out of the water, arching high into the sky until their fins, as large as an airplane, touched the clouds around me. Their diamond skin glittered, reflecting my astonished face a thousand million times over.

Calandri walked across the mist to my side. “You will be dancing here tomorrow morning. You must practice hard today for a single misstep could mean death. Are you ready, my brave Anthony?”

No, I wasn't. But I looked in her eyes and saw that they were so full of pride, while her hands squeezed my shoulders encouraging me. I didn't want to let her down. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing deeply and tried to calm myself. I'd been training for this, I could do it.

“What do I do?” I asked.

She handed me two fans, they looked like ordinary wooden Chinese fans, which I'd used in the practice sessions before. With a flick of the wrist I opened them.

A burst of blue light erupted from the fans. When I could see I was holding two billowing wings of blue, crackling, fire. They waved gently in the wind behind me. Lifting one in shocked wonder, it didn't seem to weigh anything. I rose my arms and the powerful wings beat the air lifting me into the sky. With a laugh I jumped of the cloud holding my wings out to catch the wind.

My braided hair flew behind me like a mane, the hair pieces whistled as the wind rushed through them, their music echoing throughout the sky. I spun and twisted in the air, learning how to control the wings. Leaning to the side I soared through a cloud, the watery mist beaded against my face and dress, sizzling when it touched the fiery wings.

I saw a fiery doppelganger before me. It waved its arms in strong confident thrusts, flying upwards towards the sun. I followed it reveling in the heat of the wings that washed over my legs, and turning my golden dress electric blue.

We circled the rainbows, landing on them to run and jump on the icy surface, each step made them ring with a beautiful clear note. Leaping off caused them to shatter into a shower of colours tinkling and singing out as they fell.

One of the diamond creatures rose up with a cry of a thousand violins playing at once. The doppelganger and I flew inches away from it's impossible bulk. Our lights shone through the creatures body lighting it up brighter than any star.

For hours I flew, I was a fire bird, and for a brief time it made me forget everything that had happened. For a while I simply marvelled at the unbelievable and felt what it must be like to be an angel.

**

Two imps, with greasy red fur, long noses and cat like ears carried me to my room. By the time I'd finished practising, I could barely move. While I was flying, I'd been weightless, when I landed and folded the wings away I'd fallen into Calandri's waiting arms. Still the pain and exhaustion had been worth it, to see the look of pride in her eyes. She'd kissed my forehead and summoned the imps to help me. I'd made it five steps and they'd been forced to pick me up.

They placed me in my bed and left without a word.

I was barely able to take off my dress and put on my nightgown before I laid down, even my eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. Sleep came to me, and for once Crier wasn't waiting for me. Instead I dreamed of flying home on wings of fire.