I know I know I know, its been FOREVER. I'm sorry. I've lost my muse on this story and let it rest for awhile so I could come back to it. I also promised myself I would finish all my stories before starting another. It's been a busy time, I kidna relocated my life to China, so thats been interesting and I super lost where I wanted to go, BUT here is a new chapter.

Sincerely, LOFTN

Calliope's brown eyes opened and sank into the blue of her life and tears immmediatly began to fill her eyes. Reaching out she felt the sting of the leopards claw wounds on her back and saw slight tears of blood trickling down her lovers back and tears began to fill her eyes.

"Arizona..."

Arizona's face lit up as she looked into her lovers eyes. Seeing the tears that filled her eyes Arizona wiped them away with the pad of her thumb and kissed her gently. Calliope moaned into the kiss as her wife, lover and woman of her dreams deepend the kiss, both women dealing with the after affects of battle lust. Calliope broke away from the kiss panting.

"Can we please take this to the bedroom? Sex in hot springs is very very overrated."

Arizona giggled and stood. Both women were let out of the chamber Etara handing both of them robes.

"Rest, you will need it. There are many diplomatic things to cover."

Calliope nodded and put her hand on the broad shoulders.

"Thank you Ara."

"Always Calliope always."

Arizona led Calliope to their chambers and gently, tenderly loved her with tender caresses, touching each scar, remembering in her mind each memory she had lived from her lovers past and closing her eyes as she entered her lover she felt the emotional connection she and her lover had deepend. The lavender flames began to dance into her eyes as she met Calliope's eyes. They held the gaze for a moment before she claimed her lovers lips in a searing kiss. Calliope's taut muscles flexed and locked as a strangled moan of pleasure echoed out of her mouth and her orgasm hit her, her body almost collapsing as she came down from her high. Arizona smiled and gently continued her ministrations until Calliope stilled and then gathered her in her arms.

The sunlight shone through the open window pane and Calliegently awoke to find her wife's hair strewn across her body and her amrs tightly clinging to Callie's waist. She smiled soflty and gently extracted herself from her lovers grasp. Getting up, she dressed and then headed to the rooftop training grounds. As she stepped out on the roof in the warm morning sun. Seeing the circle drawn on the ground she gently stepped into it, leaving her sword to the side she let her body relax and sitting in the middle of the circle she gently cleared her mind of the world and let peace still her.

"Daddy!"

Carlos reached down and scooped up his daughter.

"Hi baby."

"How are you daddy?"

"I'm good princess and you."

"Watcha doing daddy?"

Carlos took a deep breath.

"I'm traning baby."

"For what daddy."

Carlos pondered his answer carefully. While he knew one day his little girl would be exposed to the horrors of war and the life of the warrior he hesitated.

"I'm traning to protect the innocent baby."

"Why do you have to protect them daddy?"

"Someone has to baby. Someone has to. As their leader I opted to protect them from the things that can harm them. Thats what it means to be a leader, to protect the innocent, to guard the helpless. The day I am unfit to be their leader is the day I fail to try to be these things."

Callie had never forgotten that day. Five years later she stood before her father, it was time to begin her formal traning. Today she turned ten years old, of course she had been training informally for many years but now Carlos knew it was time. Take a deep breath he looked at his beautiful baby girl. Sitting down he motioned her to join him. Callie sat next to her father. She seemed to notice his hesitation.

"Daddy?"

Carlos chose his words carefully.

"Today Calliope you will enter the circle for the first time. You've been trainined diplomatically, athletically and decently fighting wise, but here, here baby I will train you to survive. Here you learn war, you learn life. This circle represents your battle field. When you enter it, your mind must be trained to be at rest, so that when you wield a sword you know exactly whom you strke down and how and why. Three types of people will enter this cirlce: Those willing to fight alongside you, those meant to harm you and those you must protect. When you enter Calliope before you ever draw your sword you must know know which of the three your opponent is. Here you will learn to be quiet and still your mind so that at te end of the day you know what choice you made. Here you will learn to listen to the sound of your opponents feet and feel his deepest emotions, here you will learn the lesson of pain." His voice shook as she spoke the next words. "Here Calliope for every time you get up, I will strike you down again, for every victory you will feel the loss, for every mistake you will bleed the blood. Here I strike you and harm you in hopes to save you, so that when you hear the sound of my feet on the mat and you mistcalculate and you feel the burning pain of my blow, you will not miss the deadly sword of your enemy when he goes to strike. For every blow I strike, you will be saved from the same mistakes."

Callie felt the tears stream down her face as she was ripped back from her memory. He had been right. She had felt the great pain of the mitakes, had the bruises and cuts, and for every blow she's missed, she'd caught the enemy's blow and at least saved her life if not saved herself the pain of the blow. Thinking of the woman she had shared her life with she realized that in order to understand Ari, she had needed to understand pain. IN order to understand the light, she had needed to embrace her darkness. She knew her place. All of his lessons made sense now, she had to learn the depths of pain to understand the depths of love. Two dicotamies that deserved her attention. Closing her eyes she let the lessons flood back and let her muscle memory take over. Standing up, and closing her eyes she let her self discipline take over and began the dance of the circle.

Arizona awoke to find her wife gone, and pulling on some clothes went in search of her. Ten minutes into her search she found a small gathering of servans near the door to a stairwell. She heard the bang bang of someone punching a bag and going through training excercises. Looking at the servants she simply nodded and slipped upstairs. When she reached it she saw Callie going through training excercises. She knew Callie had felt her enter and she felt her wife's eyes snap open to find in them a peace she had never seen there before. Sitting gently down on the sidelines she waited until Calliope had finished her routine and then invited her to join the dance. Slowly Arizona got up and began to engage in the dance Taking a deep breath she began to hear the sound of her wife's footsteps on the mat, and as she felt each movement she rebuttled each blow. Closing her eyes in her mindseye she felt and saw each move her wife was going to make, almost as if they were one. Seeing one advantage she swung her fist up, and then feeling her wife block she was shoved hard across the mat. Opening her eyes and taking a deep breath and light flooded her eyeball, she got up and began the match again. Rebuttling each calculated blow, with each blow she was able to rebuttle and anticipate the next, almost as if she was breathing for Callie, she was Callie, and for a moment she felt as if they merged as one, their motions were so fluid.

As an outisde observer, you would see two women, eyes closed who did move as one, engaged in a training match that looked more like a dance, a dance of two lovers, a dance of one person. A dance of leaders willing to protect the innocent, guard the helpess, and lead the soldier into a battle to do so.

Callie felt her senses come to restas she blocked the last hit. Arizona had stopped on the outer edge of the circle and bowed to Callie. Callie bowed in respect back and then stood walking over and holding her wife close.

"Will it always be like this Calliope?"

Callie nodded.

"I think thats apart of the connection we share not only through the leopards but with one another."

"We have much to face."

"Indeed we do."

They were interuppted by the sound of a clearing throat. Callie turned and smiled.

"Hello baba."

"Mishka, I am afraid the news is grave, you are both needed."

Callie nodded and taking her wife's hand led her through the castle. When the reached the throneroom Callie smiled and immediately went to hug Meredith.

"Whats up?"

"The romans attacked the western border of both of our lands, and with your recent marriage that means we are an allied nation. We lost four towns Cal."

"How many enslaved."

"Unknown."

"Dead?"

"Unknown. We only got word by bird, no numbers. Raina would like you to lead the patrol. It's an act of war Cal."

"Indeed it is. Zona?"

Arizona weighed her options carefully. As an allied nation she knew the western border was close their lands, but the Romans had also launched a sea attack.

"i'd like to send patrols, before we jump into anything. We need to assess the damage so we aren't caught with our pants down."

Callie nodded.

"Sounds good."

Meredith winced.

"Callie, Eiraina figured that's what you'd say and she'd like you to lead a small patrol to the western border and assess the damage. "

Arizona winced, it was perfectly reasonable, Callie was the regent, and one of the best scouts, it was resonable, but everything within her rebuttled the idea, she wanted to protect her wife. Callie noticing the emotional scream no her wife was emitting, she nodded.

"For sure, they are on their way."

Callie nodded, her duty was to her nation, turning to her father he nodded.

"Daddy?"

"Today Mishka is another lesson in the circle."

Callie knowing his meaning nodded softly. Today was a lesson in responsibility, today was the day she followed her duty and tommorow she followed her heart.

"when will they get here Meredith?"

"Within the hour Callie. We leave at sunrise."

Callie shook her head.

"No we leave after a few hours rest, we will travel by moonlight and by hawk."

Meredith shook her head.

"Cal only half of us know how to ride."

"The orders were issued months ago that you were to train, you will now learn the hard way."

Meredith nodded.

"Yes regeant."

Callie turned and went back the way she came, knowing her father needed her. He folowed her silently to the top of the training circle. Gently taking the piece of chalk now covered in dust from the years Carlos shook it off and spoke softly.

"It is time my daughter."

Callie nodded. Carlos stood and took his position first and then letting his senses meditate on one thing he began his routine. Drawing his sword and throwing the chalk into the air; he stepped to the left in the dance of the circle, his sword swishing outwards.

Parry.

Breath.

Disengage.

Slash.

Parry.

Block.

Breath.

Rebuttle.

Slowly his footsteps continued and he each movement he took took portion to one smooth movement, his heartbeat pouding in his ears as each memory flashed before his eyes. Each memory of his family. Tears began to stream down his face, the pain of what his daughter would face in the next phase of the circle before his eyes. He know the journey would be hard and that he would be unable to catch his little girl this time. His sword continuing to hit the piece of chalk until his task was complete and with a roar it was done. He stilled his movements and sheathed his sword and looked gently at his daughter as he walked past. Callie looked at the ground in shock it was still burning red in the second circle his movements had created. Carlos stopped long enough his back to his daughter knowing this would cost both of them a great deal. The blood dripped from both of his hands as the tradition was cast.

"Today your lesson in the second circle begins; today Calliope is the day that you will no longer have me behind you showing you how to move, today you must step into the circle and learn its many parts with your wife. Today my beautiful daughter is the day that you must add your own flourish to the circle. I am so proud of you. Today your lot is cast, and so my daughter the tradition of the second circle begins, a journey that will be lonely and hard, buta journey every warrior must take."

With that he turned and left and for the first time in her life Callie felt the weight of all of her fathers training. Seeing the blood trail when she heard the door close and turned around she sighed gently. Stepping into the circle she let her mind take over and began slowly to dance in the circle as she could. It surprised Callie when at certain points her movements were staggered and frusterated, because the cirlce was just to damn big.

Arizona had stepped in at the moment that Carlos had left he simply met her eyes seeming to say with a thousand words what he could not say verbally. Arizona stood in the doorway and watched her wife, watched as she stepped ithe circle her movements fumbled due to the size. Arizona smiled gently as she watched one of the most graceful warriors she had ever known fumble a bit. After a few more minutes she mastered a way to move, but it was still incomplete. Arizona moved and joined her in the circle. Together they began to move, each movement a give and a take. It taking both of them moving as one to complete the rhythm of the circle. As they came to the end of the training Callie 's sword clashed into her wife's and their eyes opened to one anothers.

"Shit wife."

callie nodded.

"Indeed."

They both sheethed their weapons and headed towards their room to pack.

"Wife how do you think we deal with this?"

Arizona met her eyes.

"One day at a time Calliope. One day at a time. We know the important things, I love you wife, I will always love you. I will always find you at the end of the day. Today we go together. Be safe on this mission."

Callie nodded and taking her wife into her arms she led her to the bathing chamber. Together they took a bath and then Callie gently picked up her wife and deposited her on their bed, gently making love to her. As Arizona's blue eyes turned lavender and she was almost to the point of no return Callie captured her lips one more time gently whispering 'come for me beautiful'. Arizona's back went rigid as she came hard against her wife's hands, Callie above her memorizing every sound every movement and gathering her wife in her arms one more time as she came down from her high. Arizona snuggled into her embrace.

Callie lifted her chin and kissed her one more time.

"I love you my wife."

"I love you to Calliope."

"I need to go."

Arizona nodded.

"I know. Just remember Calliope that no matter where you are, when you are I will always find you."

"Same to you my beautiful wife."

Callie gathered her things and together they headed to the rooftop. Grabbing her headdres out of her bag she stood on the edge of the rooftop and sounded a horn.

Several minutes later several large hawk like birds landed on the rooftop. Callie went to her mount and spoke softly to the bird.

It bobbed its head and nuzzled her hand. Callie laughed. Arizona standing a bit farther away watched as her wife slipped the harness over the birds head. It was an incredibly beautiful sight. Arizona felt herself swoon then berate herself for swooning as she watched her incredibly sexy wife. She was wearing her amazon dress, the wind slightly blowing behind her, she turned and smiled and arizona smiled back. Callie finished loading up her bird and then walked over towards her wife she kissed her softly once more.

"Be safe wife."

"You too Calliope."

Callie Smirked and then with a command to her bird she began running towards the edge of the roof. The large bird took off and Callie jumped off the roof free falling until about ten seconds later she felt the bird underneath her. Callie chuckled as the bird spoke in its l anguage.

"I know shes your wife and you love impressing her but was that necessary."

Callie chuckled.

"Come on Shava it was fun."

The bird chuckled and nodded. The rest of the patrol joined Callie in the sky and with one last glance at her beautiful wife Callie motioned the group to their destination.