-Karen-I was in the drink cupboard and grabbed the largest basket I could find in the picnicking supplies. This will do nicely! I quietly slipped out of the cupboard and raced around the large room gathering two loaves of bread, a large brick of mixed cheese, and several types of fruits including strawberries and blackberries. I also grabbed a couple cucumbers, a small bag of turkey meat and smoked ham and a large handful of towels to be used as diapers for Alexander. I snacked on a roll while trying to gather my wits. I slipped back into the cupboard with the loaded basket and raced back to the picnic supplies looking for a folding knife. I found two knives and a small first aid kit which I hastily stuffed into the heavy basket. Opening another portal, I went back to the servant room and I closed that portal from the wine cupboard. I handed Bart the basket as Joanne was singing to Alexander. He had quieted down for the moment. I summoned another portal and watched the three of them
-Karen-“I’m glad to see you two alive and in one piece...” Bart commented, walking over to us. “Alexander is really fussy right now, Kay.” After a minute, my eyes adjusted to the slight light from Taurameras. I set the large comforter down quickly so I could nurse our poor little son. Ah… That sweet cry. I carefully walked over to Joanne’s outline and knelt down next to her. Geez… I’m so tired- I want to sleep for a week at the minimum.“Oh, my little pumpkin!” I softly murmured, taking him from Joanne. He stopped crying as soon as I picked him up. I lay down on my left side and started nursing him. I was feeling the fatigue and I just wanted to sleep for a while. Conor found a light switch and illuminated the inner room that we were in. I heard the door shut while I squinted from the sudden change. I anxiously looked down and saw that Alexander looked just like Conor which is what I had hoped for. Ah! He’s so precious… He peeked his tiny eyes up at me and I saw the same pretty viole
-Karen-“I will?” She seemed confused until he smiled sweetly at her again nodding. He’s looking at her like she’s the only thing in this room. A captivated and adoring look. “I am?” She asked almost breathless. Bart nodded seriously to her. “How far…?” Her hands immediately went to her belly. I’m so happy for you Joanne! You and Bart deserve to be happy together. “I thought I was gaining weight! I figured it was all the chocolate I was stress-eating… And long naps… And me just being lazy and lonely… And… And…” She looked like she was going to burst into tears.“You’re about three and a half Mazifikian months now…” Bart replied wrapping her into his embrace. “I’ve been so afraid to say anything because I didn’t want something to happen to you… I was afraid that Octavian would kill you.” He explained as she cried clinging to his chest. Conor and I exchanged sweet smiles as Joanne and Bart kissed repeatedly. “Now you don’t have to marry Justinian… You can marry me. We can have our famil
-Karen-I shook my head silently feeling even more nervous. “I have a son now, Nathan…” I replied as I watched Alexander eat like he was never going to eat again. Such a little pig! He was quite amusing to watch while he would drink his milk. “I came here to ask that you allow us to stay and fight with you.” Nathan looked absolutely furious with me. If looks could kill… I’d be deader than dead. He scoffed angrily and almost laughed. “You don’t have to say yes. We can go somewhere else!” I snapped sharply. “This isn’t the only hiding spot in the kingdom!” Taine’s Tower is an option though I’d rather not… Or Dareme even. I mean I’ll find somewhere. I hope! Nathan walked up to me and glared hatefully down his nose. “You have some nerve showing up here after everything that has happened since we were attacked last year.” He looked down at Alexander who was watching Nathan curiously. “I’m so very upset with you. You have made some extremely horrible life choices Karen… Especially when it
-Karen-I was awoken with a sharp slap to my left cheek. “Ugh! Damn that hurt.” Nathan stood over me glaring coldly. “Where’s my baby?” I asked weakly. I feel horrible… Almost as bad with that infection. “What did you do to my son?!”“He’s safe- With the other prisoners.” He replied sitting down on a chair in front of me. You’re being completely unfair! He’s not even a week old! He needs me!“Nathan, you need to give him to me! He needs to be fed!” I snapped angrily. “He’s too little to fend for himself. He’s not even a week old! I need to be able to take care of him!”“No. His father can figure out how to take care of him.” Nathan growled coldly. What?! “That little bastard has been crying for a full two days now. He needs to hurry up and shut that whiny little baby up. All that irritating crying is giving me a migraine!” I felt every drop of blood boil at his insensitive words.How dare you call him a bastard! “Are you serious right now Nathan!? You know as well as I do that Conor c
-Karen-Bart and Joanne surrounded me protectively as Arthur and Aaron exchanged frustrated glances. “You’re being very stupid about this Karen.” Aaron snapped angrily. “They aren’t worth protecting! Stop proving that you’re a traitor!”“To you they aren’t worth protecting!” I snapped back hatefully. “Just let us leave and this will all be over!” Alexander had stopped crying for the most part. I was working on getting him to settle back down but I could see he was wondering what all the yelling was about.“Aaron’s right, Kay. Besides, you’re only going to piss off Nathan and you really don’t want that right now.” Arthur warned crossing his arms over his chest. “You know how he gets when he is provoked-”“I really don’t want to have to go and get him. He’s already mad at you. You’re only going to make it worse on the prisoners tomorrow.” Aaron continued shaking his head at me. “You’ve changed so much since last year.” I narrowed my eyes at him as he kept talking. “The Karen I remember
-Karen-“Deal!” I agreed with a smirk. I’m going to slaughter you Nathan. They won’t be able to piece you together once I’ve finished. Before he could make a move, I had power punched him again and sent him flying further away from the tent where they were. “Whoa! Aaron-” I could hear Arthur say from my right. “Do you feel that? Is that real?” Ha. Ready for the show?“Yeah... Nathan is in for a really rough ride… C’mon.” Aaron added as they went to guard the tent. You have no idea!Nathan staggered to his feet as he sent a fleet of ground spears flying at me. I snapped my fingers and my jewel vanished. With just a thought, I set it in sword form right behind Nathan and attacked him with the simple swipe of my finger. Just to add to his misery, “Starfire Blitz!” I hissed as hundreds of drops surrounded him. I snapped my fingers and they exploded in a magnificent display.Nathan was quick to block that attack, and I continued striking at him as he dodged each swipe. “Thrashing vines.”
“I realize you have a score to settle but expend that much energy like that again and Monica will find the camp. Then everyone here will be dead without question.” Eldon snapped just as harshly. “Then what will your efforts have been for? Nothing!” He crouched down and met my icy gaze. I won't let her kill anyone, Eldon. “Rest up because after Nathan regains his strength that you so miraculously beat out of him, we are going to build you up to the next level.” I gave him a confused look. “You were irate and that opened your soul to allow the colossal increase in your power. Had you not been so upset; you would have easily lost. Lucky for you, by the time Nathan started to take you seriously, you’d already used the magic boosters. Then you mopped the floor with him and almost murdered him.”“It wasn’t going to be murder. It was going to be an example.” I growled coldly at Eldon. An example which I still want to set forth!“We are going to move you back to the other tent, Princess.” Art
-Conor-“I have a terrible feeling about this Nathan. We need to go to her. As soon as possible.” Conor said pacing back and forth in front of all the Mages. “After she lost consciousness, Eldon came and took her away. All he said was that she was being summoned by a tree. That's when a portal was made for me to come back here.”Nathan's eyes got wide and he lost the coloring in his face. “The Tree summoned her?” A serious yet terrified look remained on his face. Alexander started screaming making everyone jump. A portal opened and everyone stood up while Joanne worked to calm him down. “Karen?” Conor asked feeling hopeful. Eldon walked through carrying her, but he was stoic. “She’s going to be okay, right?”Eldon gently placed her into his arms. He didn’t answer right away. “Not exactly.” The portal shut as all the Mages gathered around. “As you know, she won the war against your father with your help. However, she lost the fight.” He said quietly. “Senescence, has deemed that she i
“Soul Release.” I whispered quietly. I watched as the souls compressed into different color orbs and floated away on the breeze. Bombs started falling around me while breathing became harder. “Healing Serenity.” I’ve used a flurry of spells and I still have a small chunk of magic left. I can easily get two or three more Master spells… I think. I decided to change positions so I could get a better aim at the last large ship flying around. I still have those small ships too… I took a deep breath and sent a Blazing Hypernova up to the middle area of the small ships. They all exploded in a bright flash and the wreckage fell to the destroyed town. I looked around for the large ship, but a bullet ricocheted very close to where I stood. Suddenly, more soldiers appeared charging at me.“Frostfire Surge!” I shouted angrily. All the soldiers shouted in pain and collapsed dead around us in heaps. I pointed up at the sky as the ship tried to leave again. “Blazing Hypernova!” Due to the high level
-Karen-A blow to the back of the head put me on the ground faster than I ever thought possible. Blow after blow was delivered as I squirmed to get away, but Zachary pinned me under him and continued to land a barrage of punches. He yelled and screamed about what I had done to his family. I grabbed his ankle and let him have a taste of ‘Lightning Surge’. It bought me enough precious time to weakly get to my knees.“Recovery Salvo.” I shakily got to my feet and leaned against the wall, but he was no where to be seen. I looked around nervously, but nothing moved. I heard the bullets before I felt them. Hot metal burrowed its way into my right thigh followed by my abdomen, left arm and chest. I collapsed in heap trying to fight the massive amounts of pain I felt. “Healing Serenity!” I whispered under my breath. Damn, another healing spell… I whispered for a portal and fled to the shadows of a building across town. There were still so many ships in the air, and I was starting to feel the
-Karen-“We don’t have a choice anymore!” I snapped back frustratedly. “This is it, Conor- We fight or we die- I’m not about to let him claim victory. There is going to have to be a risk in order to win this fight. I plan on coming back, you know.”“But what if you don’t, Kay? What if Eldon doesn’t revive you?” Conor asked firmly. He cupped my face and stared me in the eyes. “What if you’re gone forever?” What if… Such a big 'what if' and its running through my mind too.I didn’t answer him right away. “I’m going to die someday. I’d rather die fighting for my family and the people I care about than to run and live in fear wondering if today will be the day. As long as I don’t exhaust my magic and turn into a demon, I should be fine.” I’ve used a small bit of my magic, but I still have more than plenty. As long as I can take them out in fifteen to twenty Master level attacks, it should be okay. Permitting this doesn’t drag out for very long.I could see he was very much not accepting o
-Karen-“Your sudden jerking movements re-opened a wound I repaired.” Bart explained as I lay still looking up at the ceiling of the empty crypt bed. “I stitched it closed but you can't be doing those type of movements yet.” I sighed feeling useless as another bomb shook the ground.“Let me put some salve on her stitches, doctor.” Valerie murmured rubbing in a sweet smelling cream. “This should help numb the stitches so they won't hurt if you do have to move.”“Thank you both.” I replied, slowly sitting up. “Those bombs have been falling for the last three days now. How much more punishment can the main floor of the Crypts take?” I asked Nathan, feeling uneasy about our situation.I could see that Nathan was very reluctant to answer. “It probably won't be much longer, honestly. We have to make some hard choices now. The only other place we can go is the Forest and that has its own set of challenges and hazards as you know.” He heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing his face from the growing pre
-Karen-At the snap of my fingers, my brother’s arms were torn from his body. Screams of agony echoed around me while the soldiers took aim at me. A soldier was yelling, but I paid him no mind. I heard the same soldier call my brother’s name, Marcus, telling him to hold on. I giggled softly enjoying this scary side of myself and met Marcus’s now terrified yet agonized gaze. “Marcus… I’m going to annihilate you and as I do, I will make sure that your soul quivers in unimaginable terror.” He some how lost more coloring in is face at my calm words“Ground Spears!” I shouted angrily punching up into the air. The soldiers that surrounded us were now high up on the points of the spears with blood gushing and dripping down the jagged rocks, more groans and moans of pain filling the air which was tainted with the scent of blood. “Soul Snatch!” I ripped the wispy soul out of the body, and he looked terrified. “Soul’s Doom!” Just like before, a white demon charged right at him and shredded his
-Karen-I woke up enveloped in warmth, but I was extremely sore. I really felt like I hit every tree branch coming down from that fall. So sweet- He changed my dress. The orchid under dress. I looked over to my right and saw Conor and Alexander cuddled up next to me both sleeping with their mouths open. Ha- My loves. “Conor!” I whispered softly. I tried to roll over and found out that was a mistake. Ah! I’m still busted up pretty badly… I grabbed his hand that was cupping my left cheek and gently squeezed it. Wake up!Without opening his eyes, “You’re the most recklessly insane person I know, Karen Anne Elizabeth. That was awe-inspiring, terrifying and thrilling all at once, but I don’t want to repeat that any time soon.” Conor said rubbing my cheek with his index finger. Mm. So warm… “We’ve only lost two ships in two separate incidents before but that was insane!” He opened an eye and leaned into me. “You have a lot of injuries still. You broke lots of bones. Bet you’re sore?”“Very!
-Karen-Conor groaned while rubbing his face and then looked up at me. He rubbed his eyes again. “Is that really you, Kay? You’re not an illusion, right?” He whispered sitting up quickly and grabbing my left hand pressing my palm to his lips. “You know I’m not upset with you- Don’t you?” I dropped my gaze feeling so much shame as I stood before him. “I-”“You may not be upset but I am.” I interrupted quietly. “I just see myself punching you and then charging at Joanne and then the nightmares I had. I may not be cursed anymore but the weight of my guilt is so heavy. I feel like I should just die and end everything once and for all. But that wouldn’t be fair to you or to Alex.” I closed the gap between us and hugged him tightly. “I love you Conor. I love you and I hate that I only hurt you… I feel like I do nothing but that.”He was silent but he held me tightly to him after he pulled me onto his lap. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to get this again.” Conor kissed my cheek and nuzzled my
-Karen-Sweet kisses on my lips woke me up though it took me several minutes to realize I was in bed next to Conor. As soon as I did, I tried to move away from him. “Ah ah ah!” He captured me quickly and pulled me back to him. No. Please don’t!I completely avoided his gazes and wouldn’t let him kiss me at all. “Karen- You won’t even look at me.” I could hear the disappointment in his voice. “Alexander cried all night after you left. Will you at least hug him?” I shook my head. “He says Mama now.” I don’t care. I can’t be here anymore! I only hurt you. I can’t continue to be a danger to you and everyone else here.I took advantage of the situation and pulled away from him. “Karen! Wait!” I left the tent as quickly as I could hearing him following me. “Please just listen to me!”All eyes were on me and it shot me right back to the memory of charging at Joanne. I dashed to the clearing and left the camp as fast as I could. I raced back to the Royal Crypt, crying the whole way. The guilt