The great glaciers had begun to recede a few years before, and the area was beginning to repopulate. There was a society of gangrel who lived in the land at the base of volcano. This group had a strong training program for young vampires. James wanted only the best for Emma. He felt there was something special about her. She had a will to survive and the ability to push through even the darkest times. He was amazed that she was able to deal so well with the deaths of her husband and daughter. Even with the loss of raising her son. To ease her burden he had decided to bring her away from anything familiar in the new world and have her train in this beautiful area which was undergoing a rebirth.

It was here that Emma began to learn how to control her beast. She also began to learn how to communicate with animals and felt more connected to nature. Her training covered a wide breadth of knowledge, including feeding and fighting. The fight training was conducted by the best warriors, she was taught how to handle a sword and a dagger. Her claws and teeth aided her in hand to hand combat. And then she met him, the man who would change her unlife forever. He was tall and willowy and could move like the wind. He taught her the art of kung fu.

In her Kung Fu training, Emma learned mindfulness such as courage, patience, endurance, perseverance, and the use of will. She also learned such actions as loyalty, humility, sincerity, courtesy, and the hardest was trust. Trust was the hardest of all skills and she wasn’t sure she would ever master it. Emma learned that while she was of a savage race, she did not need to act like a savage in every day life.

These were lessons which were brought home in a most violent manner one night. There was a great feast and gathering due to a group of kindred stopped for a visit on their way back from Russia. Emma, always a social individual walked up to one of the visitors who was standing off to the side by himself. His beast was stronger than her own, but this was nothing new to her. “Hello, sir. Would you care to come join us at the feast? We have animal and human alike. There is a particularly tasty young man available.” Emma thought this greeting was perfectly fine and hospitable. She was quite mistaken. The words barely left her mouth when the man back handed her across the face and gripped both her arms in his other hand. He slapped her hard three more times bringing her within inches of losing consciousness. He then threw her down and raped her repeatedly. Never saying a word, but obviously taking no sexual pleasure from it. It was clear this was a power move on his part. When he was done he simply said, “Learn to properly address your betters by their titles.” With that he left her and joined the feast.

Emma sunk into the rich cool soil. When she came back out the group of visitors were gone. James found her and nursed her back to physical health. Emma never told him about the rape. That was hers alone to bear. It was a lesson she would not soon forget. And if she ever met him again, he would learn she was no longer a simple girl, but a woman and a warrior.