The start of the first mission

 “Daniel, are you ready to go yet?” Emily shouted through the bedroom door.

 “Just about,” Daniel replied. Emily quietly sat down in a nearby chair and waited for Daniel to finish getting his uniform ready. Looking around, she saw that the room was definitely one that belonged to two musicians—a keyboard on a stand across the room, guitars, amps, music books and CDs scattered around the room, walls covered with posters depicting various bands in various poses. There was no telling which equipment belonged to Daniel, and which to Adam, but Emily knew that they probably shared everything anyway. She spotted a violin case in the corner and knew immediately that it belonged to Daniel—Adam would never be caught dead with something like that in his hands.

 Daniel swaggered out of his room, tall and proud in his black uniform. Emily’s heart nearly burst when she saw him—her man in uniform! Of course, she had seen him in that uniform before, but now they were going on their first mission together, and she felt proud knowing that the tall, strong leader she was working with was also the man she was in love with.

 Emily stood up when Daniel came out of his room and walked up to greet him. Raising her hands to his chest, she said, “You look good in a uniform. I almost forgot.”

 “I know,” said Daniel. He bent down and kissed her, then said, “You ready to go, kid?”

 Emily nodded and followed Daniel out of the room. They went to the main entrance of the academy, where Mike was waiting with the headmatron.

 “What took you two so long?” asked Mike.

 Emily pointed at Daniel and exclaimed, “Pretty boy here’s as bad as a woman!”

 “Hey, now,” Daniel warned her. “You weren’t exactly quick on your feet yourself.”

 “Well, the important thing is that you’re both here,” said the headmatron. She knelt down, opened her suitcase and said, “I have all the instructions here for you on what you’re supposed to do and where you’re supposed to go. There’s a complete layout of the training camp, and the times when they train, eat, and do whatever else they do in that camp, based on what our scouts have told us. Now, we don’t know when or if Beothild will be there—so you have to be verycareful. Chances are, even if she does see you, she won’t put up a fight with you herself—she’ll send some of her forces after you. So be prepared for a fight, but don’t start anything. Got everything?”

 The trio nodded and saluted politely at the headmatron. Emily gathered up the papers that the headmatron was holding and put them in her backpack.

 “Good luck, you guys,” said the headmatron as the trio headed out. “This should be a piece of cake for top students like you.”
 

The celebration dance and a minor accident

Emily stepped out to the balcony, but only for a moment. She caught sight of Daniel and Clara, below her in the garden, sitting together on the stone bench, their heads close together. Emily's heart jumped in shock and dismay. She turned around and headed back into the hall, not wanting to bother the pair in the garden.

"Emily!" Brandon shouted as Emily walked by the table where he and Mike were sitting. Holding a beer in one hand, he quickly grabbed at the hem of Emily's skirt with the other hand, but quickly drew it back when he looked at her red face and her sharp, angry black eyes.

"Hey, what's with you?" asked Brandon. "You look like you just saw a ghost. Come, drink with us, dine with us! You're missing out on much feasting and celebration in honor of our hero, Daniel!"

"Your hero's out in the garden," Emily said seriously as she walked away.

"Hey, wait!" Brandon called after her as the deejay began playing a dance song and calling the guests to the dance floor. "This is a good song. Come dance with me."

"I'm not dancing with a drunk boy," Emily replied sternly.

"Aw, I've only had one beer," said Brandon. "Ask Mike here. Come on, Emily, lighten up a little. You've been nothing but a block of ice ever since that whole thing with Daniel and Clara. I want to dance with you."

"Well... I guess so...." Before Emily knew what was happening, Brandon grabbed her hand and pulled her out to the dance floor.

Brandon showed her a few steps, and then suddenly spun her around, brought her back close to him, and dipped her down. He then moved his lips in sync with the words of the song, pretending to serenade her in front of everyone.

"'Tell me, baby girl, 'cause I need to know!'" Brandon shouted, bringing Emily back up to his level. Emily giggled happily, feeling more light-hearted than ever. She forgot about Daniel for a moment as Brandon proceeded to tango with her, pressing his cheek against hers.

Brandon dipped her again and brought her back up quickly as the song ended. A small crowd had gathered around them while they were dancing, and they clapped and cheered as Brandon held Emily's hand high in the air and grinned at the crowd. Emily felt her face flush, but she couldn't help but flash the crowd her best smile.

The crowd dispersed, and Emily followed Brandon back to his table. Mike, who had seen the entire dance from the table, clapped his hands as Emily and Brandon approached.

"Aw, that was nothing," said Emily. She remained standing while Brandon sat back down.

"That was pretty slick," Mike said, more to Brandon than to Emily.

"Thanks," Brandon replied. "Emily, why don't you sit with us for a while?"

"Ehh... I'll pass for now," said Emily. "It's been a really, really weird night. I just feel like sleeping now."

"Do you need some sleep powder to help you?" asked Mike.

"Probably not," said Emily. "But I don't have any in my room... so I guess if I need some...."

"Here, take this," said Mike. He pulled a small pouch out of his pocket and, without thinking, tossed it at Emily.

"Mike, you're not supposed to....!" Emily exclaimed--but the packet burst in her hands, and she collapsed on the floor, asleep.

Brandon and Mike looked down at the sleeping girl on the floor. Brandon then looked over at Mike and said, "That must have been some pretty good shit, man."

"I forgot I wasn't supposed to throw it at her," Mike laughed. "Well, I guess we'd better get her upstairs."

"I can take her," said Brandon, crouching down and gathering Emily in his arms. "I know where her room's at. I'll see you in the morning, Mike."
 
 
 

The mission to rescue Daniel

Emily walked into the headmaster's office. He was standing at the window, his back turned to her.

"Headmaster," she began, "our mission was successful. We managed to retrieve the blueprints from the camp."

The headmaster turned around, faced Emily and said, "But you suffered one casualty. Daniel Wheeler."

"Sir, he's still alive. He's being held prisoner at Beothild's palace in Norinia."

"Prisoner? Everyone was saying he was killed in battle. A battle with the queen."

"Yes, sir... we did attack the queen. That's when Daniel was kidnapped."

"Under whose orders did you attack the queen?"

"No one's, sir. Daniel was the one that initiated the attack."

"You were under specific orders to retrieve the blueprints, and only the blueprints! Your team was much too inexperienced to take on a foe of her strength. You failed to defeat her, and also lost a comrade!"

"Sir, Daniel is still alive, and we have a chance to save him."

The headmaster turned away and faced the window again. Emily added on one last thought.

"Daniel wasn't captured because we attacked the queen, sir. She captured him because she mistook him to be General Weland. Everyone knows how much he and Daniel look alike. Beothild took Daniel to the castle... presumably to give him some sort of punishment for what Weland did to her."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

The headmaster looked thoughtful for a moment. Finally, he said, "I have a new mission for you. You and your team are to rescue Daniel from the castle--using any means necessary. I'm sending along a more experienced fighter to help you, and a magician as well. The magician isn't from the academy, but I believe you do have close connections with her."

Emily knew immediately that the headmaster was referring to Serena McCarthy, her childhood friend who was a renowned magician in Pallat. Despite her abilities, Serena insisted that she wasn't ready to become a full-fledged student at the academy, but she was occasionally called upon by the academy in times of need. Emily was thrilled that Serena could join her on a mission--not only would it help her team, but it would give her a chance to see her best friend again.