-Karen- "Lizette! Hold on!" I yelled after my closest friend. The sky, calm and clear moments ago as we walked through the quiet town of Mazifik, suddenly transformed. Humongous metal rocks fell from the sky, pelting everything from the palace to the town's buildings. The townsfolk's screams grew loud and sharp, leading to a crescendo as the rocks struck the ground and burst into smaller, jagged pieces, causing fires to erupt. I chased Lizette as quickly as I could, aiming to reach her before we got injured."Wait! I can't protect you if you run too fast!" I shouted as loudly as I could after her. Panic began to set in as the rocks continued to explode around me. All I wanted was to escape quickly and in one piece.She couldn't hear me over the loud crashing noises that echoed through the town. The jagged rock shards sprayed around each newly formed crater in the street, making navigation challenging while trying to avoid injury. I watched her fall to the rocky ground as she lost her
-Karen-"Hey! What's that blue thing?" a man suddenly asked. Oh no! Lizette was wearing a blue dress! "Stay away from me!" Lizette's terror-filled voice shouted from feet away. No! Leave her alone! The voice in my head shrieked shrilly."Look at this sexy treasure!" I heard a second man say gleefully."Yes, indeed!" Another chimed in just as gleefully. "She's pretty cute! What do you think, gentlemen?" Can I save her without risking my own life? I don't know what to do!"Please just leave me be!" I felt warm tears trickle down my face as she screamed for mercy. I did my best to stifle my tears and emotions, so I would not meet the same fate that I knew she was going to.The men cruelly laughed as I heard them assault her. I dropped my head into my hands as I could only listen to her take the beating they had dealt her. Poor Lizette. "Well, she can't fight back now, fellas," the first man proclaimed proudly. Lizette cried out again, but I could hear that she was extremely injured. She
-Karen-The prince set me down in front of the doors and glanced at where the soldiers were, only to find them gone. The atmosphere between us had shifted entirely. He shook his head, snickering once more as he put his hands on his hips. "You're quite the fiery girl! I'm rather impressed by your fighting spirit. I've never been attacked so many times by one woman in my life!" He exclaimed with a hint of awe in his voice. Wait-what? "As soon as I saw you around the corner, you looked very interesting. Then I saw you hiding in that tiny space—I saw my chance and knew I just had to take it. My goodness! I haven't been disappointed. Are you a warrior?" He asked curiously.I was taken aback by his sudden change in attitude. A warrior? "No. I'm just a servant of the palace," I replied wearily. Why do you care? I mean, you're a warrior, aren't you?" He nodded as he appraised me once more. "I am indeed! One of the top warriors in the Zargan Empire," he replied with a smirk. He gently tugged
-Karen-"So, son, what did you find as you ventured out? Did you find any weapons or anything of use to our cause?" The king asked flatly. I could hear the echo of boots approaching as I tried not to breathe, overwhelmed by a new sense of dread. The boots stopped before my face, sending shivers down my spine. Breathe, Kay. The cold anger in his following statement spoke volumes. "I sent you out for weapons and intelligence." A sharp yank of my hair brought me to my feet in an instant, and I whimpered in pain. "And you bring back a purple rat?! Conor! This is not what we came here for!" The man screamed angrily, then turned back to me, grabbing my jaw and glaring hatefully. In the background, I could hear the Queen and Head Mage talking, their voices hushed and unintelligible.I bit my bottom lip so hard that I could taste the blood on my tongue. "What wretched sewer did this nasty little rat come from, Conor?" The king released my hair and jaw, slowly circling me. I stood there tremb
-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 t
-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