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first.  Dani scanned the room out of the corner of her eyes to see if they were alone, most of her focus remaining on Joe.  Joe’s two friends, Nadia, and Alex were fellow teachers and sat against the wall watching the session, each yelling out pointers and moves to Dani.  There were a couple students lifting weights not paying any attention to what was going on at the mats.  A few heckler’s lined the perimeter of the gym waiting in silence until Dani gave them a reason.  No way was Dani going to let that happen.  And there he was; Blue Eyes, as she had started referring to him.  She still didn’t know who he was only that he wasn’t a teacher nor was he a student.  Though, she has noticed he helped out in some of the training.  From her observation it seemed the students gave him a wide berth, either in awe or fear she didn’t know.  Probably both.  And most importantly, he never missed the opportunity watch one of her sessions with Joe.
    "Come on Dani! Take a swing," Nadia called.
    "If anyone can best him, I do believe it will be Miss Dani one day," Alex said.
    Joe snorted at that and kicked out. Dani jumped, just barely clearing his kick. With her feet planted she took a swing to his mid-section. Bull’s-eye! She smiled. They circled a few moments more. His next kick hit home on her side and she took a quick second to get her breath back as the pain bent her double.
    "Want to quit yet?" Joe asked. He was goading her as he always did. It was a technique that always seemed to make her work harder. She shook her head and took a swing. "Come on Dani. What are you trying to prove? Why do you want this so bad?"
    "I want to make you and dad proud," Dani said.
    "Wrong answer," he kicked out, and the blow landed in her midsection. The force of it knocking her back, the momentum forcing her to roll backwards landing on her knees. Without a second thought, she was back on her feet.
    "Why are you doing this Dani?" Joe asked again.
    "Because I want this," she said with a kick and missed. "I want this for me and be damned if you care,” she said sarcastically and hit again. That got a couple laughs from Nadia and Alex. She saw Blue eyes smirk out of the corner of her eye.
    "But really because it feels right," she said seriously. While they continued fighting, Dani told him about the dream she had just before she was marked. She told him about how right it felt to hold that sword and that she wanted that feeling again.
    When she was finished with her story, her uncle stood there staring at here with a shocked expression on his face. She took advantage of his momentary lapse in focus and charged. The force of her attack carrying him to the ground. As she sat on his chest she smiled down at him. The force of their decent seemed to clear his head and he gave her a rueful smile. "That didn't count you little cheat."
    "Not my fault that you stopped dead in the middle of a fight, you ought to know better. You know what would happen if you did that on the outside?" she asked in her best Joe imitation.
    He shook her off and stood. "Shut up," he said to his two dearest friends who were laughing maniacally.
    "I told you she would best you," Alex said.
    "Come on Alex, I'll take you next buddy," Dani replied.
    "Now don't go getting overconfident just because you cheated. Come on, I want to show you something," he said suddenly.
    Dani looked from Joe to the others in confusion. "But we still have another thirty minutes of training left," quietly she added. "Am I in trouble?"
    "No," he said on a laugh. "You deserve a break, come on," he said trying to lead her out of the gym.
    "No, I can't. Uncle Joe I can't afford to be taking any breaks."
    “Dani,” his tone changed to one he used when dealing with her more insubordinate classmates.  She released an aggravated breath knowing there was no point in arguing with him about it.  But Lordy, how she hated that voice!
    She looked at him through narrowed eyes but acquiesced all the