-Karen-I woke up, falling off the bed and smacking my head on the cold, hard ground. Ugh… Damn that hurt. I slowly got to my knees and looked around the tent. What day is it? It was empty save for me and our bed. I stumbled out of the tent and looked for Conor and Alexander. I want snuggle time from my two favorite men. Or at least one of them…“Duel!” Aaron shouted at me. I raised an eyebrow. “I want to duel!” He walked up to me and handed me a bowl of soup. “After you eat though.” I chuckled taking the bowl and eating quickly. Mm! So yummy! I can taste so many flavors. I have to learn to cook like this!“I want to duel too, Karen!” Arthur said walking over to us. “Two on one. I think you can totally do it.”“You really want to challenge me?” I asked mid-bite. They nodded eagerly as Nathan and Conor walked over to us. Nathan was holding Alexander. Alex squealed happily as soon as he saw me. Awe… My mini hunk. I walked over and kissed his soft cheek as he cooed. “My sweet baby… Stop
-Karen-I woke up back in the tent feeling extremely exhausted and weak. Arthur was next to me holding my hand. “I don’t feel well Arthur.” I whispered wearily. “I feel terrible…” Worse than I can remember in a long time.“You’ve been unconscious for a few days. Aaron and I have been taking turns trying to get you back to where you need to be… You depleted your energy reserves entirely with your last try.” He replied giving me a small hug. “I know this is hard Kay and I know this is only making you depressed, but you’ll get it. You’re going to bust that barrier soon. It took me a couple weeks to finally bust that damn barrier… You can do this. I know you can!” Arthur let go of my hand after a few minutes. “Are you hungry?” I nodded twice as I tried to stay awake. I wanna eat but I really wanna sleep more… “I’ll get you some ham and beans that Joanne made this morning.”He left in a portal as someone came through the tent flap. I was too tired to even look over to see who it was. “Hey!
-Karen-When I woke again I was alone with several blankets on top of me. What is wrong with me? I felt angry with myself for being this tired still. As soon as I stood up, I felt fine. That’s… unusual. I left the tent quickly. I walked out and saw the camp was completely empty. “Where is everyone? And what is that terrible odor?” As I walked to the cooking pit, the smell got worse. I lifted the lid and saw Alexander cut up into pieces. I felt the lid drop and my heart stop at horrific sight. After a second, I let out with a shrill scream.I jumped out of bed and fell on my face covered in a cold sweat. Alexander! Was it- Was it just a nightmare?? I heard Conor get up quickly and pull me to my feet as I burst into tears. “Karen, what’s wrong baby?” He asked sleepily as I clung to him sobbing. “Did you have a nightmare?” I couldn’t answer but I nodded as he tried to soothe me. “It’s okay, honey. Everything’s okay.” No! I have to be certain! I need to hold my baby! I have to! I broke aw
-Karen-“Demon!” Eldon called from in front of me. I looked up nervously as the now demon-Zachary wrapped its arms around me and bit my neck as hard as he could. Ugh… I felt a fire-like pain wind its way through me and I stood there trying not to scream from the pain. This pain is in my veins… So much worse than regular demon poison… “Who sent you here?”I felt a soul crushing chill descend over me as it spoke. “Who do think, Soul Guardian? You shut us up in that damn box for almost a thousand years! Only one Mage has dared to contract us- Which we are so grateful for… Been a while since I’ve been able to touch a woman. Never had the honor of a royal one though.” Zachary hissed in my ear as I could only watch Eldon. It was her… The demon licked my neck and laughed coldly in my ear. “Does it hurt?” I couldn’t answer him from a combination of pain and fear. “Impressive fight in you… That poison needs to steep a bit longer while it destroys you.”“I need to know how she did it. She is no
-Karen-At that moment Joanne came in the tent with a squalling Alexander. “I need help- He won’t calm down at all!” Joanne said trying to calm Alexander down. He cried louder and harder. I reached over and pulled the pillowcase from around the pillow and set it on my chest to cover the large sticky blood stain. I reached out to her for my wailing baby. As soon as he was on my chest for two minutes, he stopped and sniffled for a while.“Poor thing… He’s double breathing.” Bart explained as he patted Alexander’s back. “Try to soothe him, Kay. He’s breathing will fix itself after a while, but he needs to know you’re okay.”I nuzzled his face and kissed him sweetly. “Alexander!” I whispered in his tiny ear. I saw him peek at me with his left eye and then cuddled down. After ten minutes, he passed out clutching my right finger. “My poor baby…” I murmured sadly. I heard him sniffle after a few more minutes of rubbing his back.“He certainly loves his Mama!” Bart said warmly. “Bertha told m
-Karen-Is that water? The sound of the water lapping and the sensation of warm water surrounding my cold skin woke me up slowly. A bath? It feels so good. It took me a few minutes, but I looked around myself. I was in a bathtub with a large candle burning on the counter. I slowly looked over to the left and saw Conor writing something down in a small book. “Conor…?” I whispered trying to sit up. “Where are we?”“Oh! I wasn’t expecting you to wake up yet… How’re you feeling honey?” He replied setting the book and pen on the counter. He got up on his knees and started washing the dried blood and dirt off of me.“I feel better… But not a whole lot… It’s starting to piss me off honestly.” I grumbled to him. “I want to go break this damn barrier so I can get to the next part. I can’t if I can barely keep my eyes open.” I hate been so lethargic!“I understand. Nathan and Aaron say your extreme fatigue has a lot to do with you having Alexander not so long ago… You shouldn’t be doing anythin
-Karen-I tried to figure out how I could explain it. “It’s not that it’s painful per se. He did unspeakable things to me… From starvation to many beatings and isolation periods and other cruel things. I had hoped I would find an outlet in the Mage Clan, but I was treated the same way by everyone after a while. It was so hard to deal with all the isolation. I thought a lot about running away… But where would I go when the palace was all I’d known? Novo tried to protect me and tried to take care of me despite being punished harshly by Lewis.” I shook my head again with a sigh.“Between the constant isolation and things that happened between Lewis and other men he would rope in; it was so much to bear alone. Even after I’d been captured by Conor, Lewis still attacked me and then flaunted it in front of Conor. Conor- He went out of his way to defend me when he could have easily tossed me into a ditch. All the abuses went on for at least six years until Conor killed him in a rage for atta
-Karen-“Aaron!” Robert’s voice shouted from the right.“Papa…” Aaron croaked. We watched as Robert’s soul slipped pass all the others who crowded around us. As soon as he reached us, he changed from a ball into a mostly human form and hugged Aaron tightly while he started crying again. “I’m so sorry Papa! I- I-” Robert… You were always such a great man and a devoted father. Even after death, you’re still amazing.“It’s not your fault, Aaron. I chose to come back knowing I could be killed.” Robert explained, hugging Aaron tightly. “My son, I’m so proud of you and I know Olivia would be too. You’ve grown into a fine young man. I’m sorry we are seeing each other under these circumstances.” Robert smiled ruefully. “It’s good to see you again even if it’s the last time.”Aaron sobbed harder as Arthur and I watched sadly. The last time… I bit my lip trying not to cry again. “Papa… I couldn’t protect you… I’m so sorry! I failed…” Aaron croaked through his sobs. He sobbed so hard I could hea