-Karen-The next week passed by quickly. I had been eating more and been allowed to walk around the halls twice a day. All three doctors were happy with my progress, but I was still a bit underweight. I no longer had to drink that awful green broth, but Bart was giving me chocolate strength building shakes twice a day in addition to a vitamin pill Robert sent with the morning shake. I had only gained eighteen pounds in the entire time. Eighteen out of thirty-nine… It’s about half. I was still really uncomfortable with the idea of Michael and Monica walking around and knowing that danger could be lurking around the next corner. I was released at the end of week despite the most recent attempt on my life. Conor and I walked back to his apartments hand in hand. He told me he had Joanne and Bart slowly move some of my things back into his apartments over the last week. We agreed that at this point, it was going to be safer if we stayed together despite what was written on the marriage co
-Karen-“Not really… Kind of pointless if you’re going to take it off again…” I replied slipping back into the lilac dress while he laughed. You can’t even lie. I know you prefer me to walk around naked. I pulled the blanket up to my chest and sleepily watched Bart and Joanne come in the room. They bowed to me and I glared coldly at them. “Shame on both of you!” I rolled over and hugged a pillow deciding that I would ignore them now.Conor laughed heartily. “Good to see I rubbed off on her like that.” He quipped happily. I felt him crawl on the bed and roll me over. “Wake up.” I shook my head and reached for the pillow I just had. “Come on, Kay. We have things to do today.”“Yes we do. Sleep is the first thing!” I retorted trying to crawl back to the middle. He scooped me up and set my feet down on the stone floor. I gave him an annoyed look when he held me still. Joanne and Bart snickered at us. “No, we have to continue your lessons on how to be a Royal.” Conor said seriously. When
-Karen-“I plan to make you beg for mercy, wife.” Conor whispered in my ear. “I want you to beg like your life really depends on it. And then I’m going to make you scream my name all night and day.” We chuckled together rubbing our cheeks together.“You’re going to make me beg, and then keep going as though nothing was said, aren’t you?” I asked him as a sly grin came on his face. I opened the door as we held hands.“I haven’t decided that yet.” He replied into my right ear. “But I would be willing to bet that you’re correct.” We laughed together as we walked into the main room and it was empty. “Where… Did they go?” I asked confused. “Did they give up on us?” I asked him with a pout. I hope like hell I’m wrong.We heard a door shut on the other side of the apartment and we both started snickering. “Well… Looks like we aren’t the only productive couple today.” Conor chuckled, pulling me over to the cart. He went and shut the door to the armoire room and rejoined me as we picked at th
-Karen-“Wow. I’ve never seen her so freaked out before… She’s shaking really badly. She’s as pale as snow.” Another familiar voice said to me. Arthur cupped my cheek as I just stared at him. I blinked and felt more tears drip down my cheeks. “Karen? What was it that you saw?” He waved his hand in my face trying to get my attention.I couldn’t reply at all. How? How did he come back?! He wasn’t a Mage! It should be impossible for him to come back. I stood there shaking from the sheer terror at having experienced Lewis’s voice and laugh after such a long time. “Hey! What happened to her?!” Bart asked from a few feet away. “Can you either of you tell me?”“A Zargan?” Arthur asked Aaron quietly. “An ugly one.”“We shouldn’t talk to them Arthur.” Aaron replied in a low voice. “He’s an enemy… In fact, we should kill him quickly!”“Damn… Two more just arrived.” Arthur whispered quietly as I was still reeling. He pushed his glasses up a bit and then looked back at me with a frown. “Kay jus
-Conor-“This was a deliberate attack on her, Nathan!” Arthur snapped angrily. “Who the hell did that?!”“Agreed! Someone is trying to take her out and whoever it is needs to pay!” Aaron added just as angrily.“That’s really ironic coming from you, you damn bastard!” Conor snapped hatefully at Aaron. I mean really! “You cruelly burned her robes and then tried to murder her in front of me! And then you had the nerve to taunt her throughout the whole fight.” Aaron looked down narrowing his eyes at Conor. Fight me. I dare you! I’ll snap your fucking neck so fast!“Calm down, you two. Yes, I completely agree Arthur. That demon was summoned here to inflict the worst level of fear on her… I don’t know how or who did it though and I’ve never seen one until today…” Nathan frowned at Conor. “Seeing that she had to be sedated I say that it completely worked.” Nathan walked over to Conor. Karen was curled up to him and was still visibly shaking even though she was now knocked out. Even as she sl
-Conor-Twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Clay carried in a large platter that was set on the table. Out of a sack, he pulled five bottles of whiskey and set them down on the platter. Clay walked to the door, bowed, and then left the room quietly.“No- I am not fine at all. Joanne, please bring me one of those. A big one.” Conor requested, sitting up and shaking his head. I should eat first, but I need this so much right now. Joanne uncapped the first large bottle and handed it to him quickly. Conor took the bottle, tipped it back and guzzled the contents until the bottle was empty. “Another one please.” He ordered handing her the empty bottle.“No, Conor. That’s not-” Bart stopped at the look on Conor’s face. Stop. No doctor input right now.“This has just been way too much lately… I feel like I’m going to snap from all the pressure I’m constantly fucking under. I know it’s bad for me Bart, but I really need to let go for a bit.” Conor explained as Joanne brought h
-Karen-I had no idea what time or day it was when I came to. I could only remember being frightened to the point of a panic I had never experienced before. I decided that I didn’t want to know and would not ask anyone about it. I sat up slowly and looked around the room. Bart and Joanne were asleep on the chaise and Conor was watching me half asleep. He sat up and gave me a hard look. What’s that look for I wonder?He pulled me on top of him, cupped my face while pulling me down to him as we kissed. He tasted like alcohol as he kissed me again. Whiskey? He looked drunk which made me wonder what happened that made him get drunk without me. “Do you still want me, Kay?” He asked with a slight slur. He’s kidding right? I started to answer him when he continued. “I couldn’t protect you against that demon… I couldn’t even see the stupid thing…” He thought for a moment and then on the verge of tears, asked, “Are you going to leave me, Kay?” He looked utterly destroyed. What? Why! “Of cour
-Karen-“Oh no! Getting drunk with an energy shot is a recipe for a disaster…I only made that mistake once in my life when I was seventeen... Bart told me not to and I told him to let me make my mistakes. Boy, I should have listened. I was sick for three days!” I gawked while he laughed. “Yeah! It was horrible… I have all this energy just because I want you. I desire the hell out of you! And I will have you.” He whispered pulling me close to him. “I hope you can keep up with me once we get married. I plan to have you a minimum of four times a day.” I laughed nervously. Four times a day? Like after each meal and then a snack?He took me again on the sofa. He held me down as he pounded into me without mercy as I tried desperately to stay quiet. “No, I want to hear you! Fuck that stupid contract!” He hissed in my ear. “Let me hear my wife!” I gave in and moaned his name repeatedly as he was kissing my neck. “Much better!” His lips crashed into mine and I was not able to reply. He finishe
-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