-Karen- "Father, you made a deal," Conor interrupted angrily. Why is he angry? He's just going to kill me anyway.
"I said I would let her scurry away, boy. I never said she wouldn't die later!" He snapped back coldly.
Queen Delia grabbed my arm tightly and whispered, "Get out of here, Karen. Winholt and I will meet up with you shortly, okay? You shouldn't die in this place at his hands."
"I would never abandon you, Majesty," I whispered back, keeping my eyes glued to Zachary. "Let me get a portal so you and the Head Mage can leave."
"Never! You need to leave as quickly as possible! We will be fine. We need you to get to Nathan as fast as possible," Head Mage Winholt hissed, grabbing my wrist. I looked at him as he squeezed my wrist tightly. "Get to the Sanctuary as fast as you can. I will take care of Delia."
"I'm not leaving either of you here to die," I retorted, defiantly returning my gaze to Zachary.
"Now is your chance to leave. Get out of here!" I commanded sternly. Why aren't they leaving? Why isn't he casting a portal to safety?
"Shut up, Conor! Don't make me kill you too. Remember, you do have a brother," Zachary snapped even more coldly than before. Would he kill his son? How disturbing. Zachary turned his attention back to us.
"Well, this has been fun, but I came here with one goal in mind, Delia. We both know what fate has in store for you and your pathetic husband." He motioned to the new soldiers as they quickly surrounded us, weapons drawn.
I shook my head at the king and rolled my eyes. There was no more time! "Barrier," I whispered, pointing at Queen Delia and Winholt.
"No! Please don't do this, Karen! Just get out while you can!" Delia yelled at me, pounding the inside of the bubble.
"Kay! Please listen to Delia! It's for your good!" Winholt shouted, trying to bash through the barrier.
I smiled ruefully at them. "But someone has to protect you, even if it's just a servant," I smirked, putting my necklace back on.
"No! Get out while you can, Karen!" she pleaded, still hammering on the barrier. "Karen, please!"
"What is the meaning of this, you vile rat?! You plan to fight us, knowing you are going to die?" Zachary boomed angrily. He turned to Conor and bellowed, "I thought she was a sewer rat, son!" Conor appeared a bit perplexed as he looked from me to his father. Delia and Winholt were trying to convince me to change my mind. That's not going to happen!
"I can't, Your Majesty. You took me in as a child. To flee knowing I left you here to die would be the same as committing treason." I replied calmly towards the bubble. I smiled genuinely at her and turned back to bravely face my adversaries. "I have to try at least. I know I'm likely to die, but I won't go down without a fight! It should allow you enough time to escape."
"You're going to sacrifice yourself for nothing, Karen! It's more vital than either of us!" Winholt shouted at me, his voice tinged with anger. "That's a damn order!"
"I'm not about to surrender and let these monsters prevail." I countered as the soldiers aimed their weapons at the bubble, primarily at me. Here we go! "Ground Spears!" I hissed, thrusting my arms into the air. Spikes of varying sizes and shapes, forged from dark brown earth, surged through the floor, taking out most soldiers in a single powerful assault.
"Damn! She's a Mage! We must stop her immediately! Neutralize her at all costs!" Zachary commanded, pointing at me.
"Exit now, Your Majesties!" A soldier shouted from the doorway, trying to usher the king and prince to safety.
As the earth spears disintegrated, I seized the moment. "Rock wall!" I shouted, turning and stomping toward the door, summoning a large pillar to obstruct the main exit.
I steeled myself as I advanced toward my prey. Zachary brandished a weapon, and its end detonated. A sharp, fiery pain spread across my left side. "We will take you down, Mage!" Several soldiers were battering the wall I had erected to block the door.
"Really? I'm right here!" I chuckled, briefly savoring their frustration before unleashing my next attack. "Wind Shards!" I growled, conjuring a swirling sphere of glittering shards. With a snap of my fingers, I propelled them toward King Zachary and his men. Several soldiers leaped before him, piling atop the king to shield him from the shards. I concentrated on maintaining the pillar and barrier despite the pain that flared with each movement.
"Where are you, Prince Conor?" I murmured, scanning for him. I saw him vaulting over some fallen soldiers, moving away from Zachary and the soldiers near the door. A dark smirk crossed my face. Spotting my chance, I targeted him, isolated and defenseless.
"Thrashing Vines! Tear him asunder!" I commanded venomously. Vines burst forth, ensnaring his limbs. Another snap of my fingers, a stray vine encircled his throat. I was intent on killing him; today would mark the end for one of us.
So engrossed was I in my attempt to slay Conor that I failed to notice the king had extricated himself. "Release my son, you fiend!" Zachary roared, tackling me to the ground, his blows raining down on me. The vines binding Conor. I snapped as I was overpowered. Hearing Conor thud to the ground, coughing and gasping for air, frustrated me. He was almost within my grasp!
I redirected my focus to the immediate threat as a piercing pain stabbed my right side. Clutching Zachary's leg, I unleashed a 'Lightning Shock.' He sprang away as hastily as he had assaulted me, swearing through gritted teeth.
Scrambling to my feet, I dashed toward the Queen and Winholt. I had to send them through a portal to safety before I met my end here.
Another loud bang echoed, and a fresh surge of pain lacerated my body near the original wound. Collapsing to the ground, I panted, the pain mounting and breath becoming scarce. The end, it seemed, would come sooner than I had anticipated. Inches from the barrier, I began to cough up blood. I dragged myself the remaining distance, noting my stone now pulsing with a faint red glow. I believed I could sustain the barrier for five more minutes. I could hear Zachary ensuring Conor was unharmed for the most part as I reached the barrier's base. Queen Delia and Winholt pleaded with me to let the barrier fall and to allow fate to take its course. I sat down in front of the barrier, clutching my side. Coughing, I brought up more blood than before, feeling some of it trickle down my chin. I ignored them, concentrating instead on the sound of boots approaching me.
Wiping as much blood as possible from my face with my left sleeve, the pain in my chest intensified with the sight of more soldiers storming into the Throne Room, their weapons trained on me. Dizziness overcame me as I continued to spit up blood, my lungs searing with pain.
"Well! Who would have thought a little purple rat could nearly kill my eldest son and take down a full fifty men? And in about fifteen minutes, no less!" Zachary remarked, pressing against my right shoulder with his boot. I swayed from the force but managed to lean back against the barrier for support.
I was acutely aware of all the eyes on me as another coughing fit racked my body, the blood in my mouth beginning to clot. "I'm so impressed that I'm going to make you an extraordinary offer," Zachary announced, seizing my right arm and crouching beside me. I looked at him weakly as he continued, "Drop this barrier, and let me complete my plans. My doctor will attend to you, and you'll be Zargo's lead mage. I'll grant you titles and lands. It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime offer," he said, his enthusiasm unmistakable. "You have six seconds to decide." "Do it, Karen! This is your only chance to get out of here!" Delia yelled, pounding on the barrier behind me. "Please! I'm begging you!"
Are you really going to take the bait? I leaned my head toward the king's, and he foolishly mirrored the action. I headbutted him as hard as I could, but several soldiers used their rifles like bats, striking me in return. My body ached terribly from the blows, and I let out a muted groan.
"Vicious and clever for a little rat. I should have seen that coming," Zachary snapped, grabbing me by the hair and practically dangling me in front of him. I clenched my teeth against the escalating pain. "You're courageous but, like a rat, not very smart."
The pain intensified as I dangled by my hair, and I began to feel as if I were drowning. Breathing became extremely difficult, and the few breaths I managed were shallow. "Gun!" I heard the barrier shatter as my magic faded utterly. A soldier handed Zachary a small item, which he pressed to my right temple.
The moment the barrier dropped, Delia interjected, "Wait! The barrier is down, Zachary! Let her go! Please!" She grabbed his hand, trying to pull the gun away from my head.
He looked over at her coldly. "How dare you even touch me!" Zachary hissed, seething with rage.
"She was only doing what a loyal and devoted servant would do, and you know it as well as I do! So just let her go!" I struggled for breath. My vision was hazy, but my hearing was still sharp.
"Winholt and I will gladly lay down our lives to spare hers." No, please don't do this! "I love you, Delia," Winholt said, embracing her tightly. No! You have to escape while you can!
"Fine," Zachary growled. "I'll spare this rat her meager life. My son can keep her as a pet if she survives, as I initially declared." The ground seemed to give way beneath me as everything went dark.
"Good riddance to the Lucevkin Dynasty," I heard someone say. Two shots rang out in the distance; that was the last thing I remembered from that day.
-Conor-"Conor, since she's your pet now, get your doctor and fix her injuries or put her down. I don't care either way. As for the rest of you, get rid of these bodies, and someone brings me my damn whiskey! I need a fucking drink after dealing with that psychotic rat," Zachary ordered, walking back to the throne. I need a drink too!Conor walked over carefully, picked up the violet-haired mage, and started to leave quickly. She is messed up, but I want to keep her now!"Wait, Conor! Give me that purple crystal of hers. That's the source of her magic, so we need to take that away to ensure she doesn't go on a crazy rampage again," Zachary explained as a guard walked up and took the spherical crystal from her bloody hand. "That's how we were able to subdue Winholt. Shattered crystal means no magic."As the moments slowly ticked by, it was apparent that it was becoming harder for her to breathe. "Stupid crazy mage, but what an absolutely remarkable spirit!" Conor murmured to himself as
-Conor-Conor touched her right cheek gently as he spoke. She has some of the darkest dark circles under her eyes. She clearly does not get enough rest and is a bit gaunt. "She's small, Bart. She's about five foot three and light as a feather. She might weigh one hundred pounds soaking wet. I think that the Queen called her Corrine. It was something like that, and a lot of commotion was happening. I wasn't really paying attention to what was being said. I was just focused on her," Conor explained as he leaned down and looked her over closely.He lifted her right hand and examined it. This hand is a bit more calloused and rough than her left hand. They must've had her scrubbing floors or doing hard labor, but unquestionably, she is right-handed.“She really is cute. Do you think she would put up much of a fight?" I kind of hope she does. Just enough to make it fun!"Considering her reaction to you earlier, you should probably wear armor around her until she calms down—if she calms down
-Conor-A week had passed, but Karen was still sleeping soundly when Conor and Bart decided to move her to a different room out of the way from regular palace traffic on the third floor directly above Bart and Joanne's tiny apartments. Perfect! They found a suitable room with a view of the partially destroyed town below. I want her to have a window to look at something other than stone walls. The room had a full-sized bed with small side tables on either side of the bed. Conor and Bart each brought in a chair in addition to the plush chair already in the room in the corner by the door. There was a small four-drawer dresser on the wall opposite the bed.As soon as Karen was settled in the new room, Bart and Joanne left to continue organizing their medical ward while Conor stayed with her. Karen was in a new patient gown as they had not been able to find any clothes that would fit her from all the clothes that had been seized. What should I have made for you? I better not overthink abou
-Conor-A while later, there was a knock at the door, and Joanne came in. "Hey! Is she still sleeping?" Joanne asked, walking over next to Conor. She watched Karen sleep soundly for a few moments. Joanne frowned at her, wanting to meet her finally. "I was hoping she would be up by now. How disappointing.""Yeah, Bart thinks it has to do with the skirmish with me and then the major fight she went through last week. It was her versus like sixty or seventy men," Conor explained with a slight frown. "That's an incredible amount to take on by yourself." She said those words, and it was like the ground exploded. That was unbelievable!"That's what he told me, too. I think we should try to wake her up anyway. I want to meet her already!" Joanne whined eagerly."She's going to hate us all, Joanne. I'm willing to bet on it," Conor replied with a shrug. "But I don't care if she hates me. I really only want her for sex. I bet it's going to be mind-blowing!" I just want her lips around my dick. A
-Karen-I slowly opened my eyes and waited for them to adjust to the slight brightness of the room. I looked down at my hands and saw I was in shackles. Am- Am I alive? I could hear yelling out in the hall beyond the door. I tried to stretch a little bit and felt several sharp pains radiate from different spots on me. I slumped against the pillows and tried to piece together how it could even be possible that I was alive right now. There's no way that I should be alive right now. I was bleeding to death. How is this even possible? And what about the Queen and Head Mage? What happened to them?! I groaned from the pricks of pain that came and went."Lizette, I let you down. I let you die because I'm a coward." I sat silently for what felt like forever as I thought about Lizette and her final moments. "I could have probably summoned my soul jewel to save you, but I was Too afraid to try to do the right thing." I thought about the prince and his lunatic of a father, cold and calculating.
-Karen-"Tsk tsk, Karen. Do you want to fight us? You will lose in any case. You don't have enough energy to fight," Bart said sternly. I threw him a hateful look. "You shouldn't waste the gift that they give you. You certainly won't get a second chance with our king-""Go kill yourselves!" I snapped coldly as I scowled disdainfully. "Just leave me alone!" Conor laughed softly while Bart shook his head and approached the bed."Go on the other side, Conor." Bart approached from the right and Conor from the left. Go ahead. See what happens! They lunged at the same time. I raised the shackles at their faces, and they both hit the metal, yelling in pain."Damn this fucking woman!" Conor shouted as I snickered with glee. That was perfect! He gave me a dirty look as Bart felt his cheek to ensure he wasn't injured."Well, Karen, looks like round one goes to you," Bart advised, pursing his lips. "Remind me again why this was a smart idea to give the fighter a damn weapon, Conor?!""That was m
-Karen-"We aren't leaving," Conor firmly stated after a long silence. I slowly raised my head to look over at him. He looked frustrated. I shook my head as I started to doze off sitting up. I woke up a bit when he grabbed my right hand tightly. I didn't bother to pull away. I gave him a weary look as he moved to sit beside me. He slipped his left arm around me and pulled me to him. I was too tired to fight back as he positioned me to lean against him. You're lucky I'm so damn tired. "You're the most stubborn woman I have ever met," he whispered."Remind me to let you know when I give a damn about what you think," I quipped back with a laugh.He snorted as he laughed at my snarky reply. "You're so amusing- But I bet that's why you have all those scars on your back." I flinched at his words. "You don't listen to anything you're told. You've fought us since the moment you woke up. I'm starting to wonder if this was a mistake to keep you."My mind instantly went to the thoughts of the wh
-Karen-He looked like he was going to destroy me with his eyes. I slowly felt the fear seep in as he quietly watched me with a smirk. "Weren't expecting that answer, were you?" I shook my head silently as he pursed his lips at me. "Truce?""What is a truce?" I asked him nervously. It's probably a code word for rape."It means we agree to stop fighting for a while." He leaned towards me until he was only an inch away from me. "I apologize for losing my temper earlier. I don't want to hurt you, okay? So, please, stop fighting me, even if it's just for a little while."I didn't trust him at all. I felt like he was trying to play with me. "Go away," I murmured softly. I just want to be alone.""No," he said firmly. "I'm not leaving until you agree to a truce with me."I thought about it for a moment. "If it will get you to leave, I will agree to your truce. But don't come back." I ordered just as firmly, pulling back from him. Stop getting so close to me, too."You can't tell me what to
-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