Miranda stepped out of the pool, the waters dropping from her smooth skin, giving it a glow unlike any other. She sighed as some of the water evaporated from her skin, giving her that cooling effect that made her feel much better. The pool was scented with roses and so did her skin smell. She felt refreshed.As she walked towards the large silk clothing she was to wrap around herself, two young maids came into the chambers, bowing their heads as they approached. Behind them was Bianca who was not smiling. That was the expression she always wore on her face and that made her very unpredictable."I figured you'll need some clothes. We don't want those thrash you wore to this place staining your skin again." Bianca said as the girls dropped the clothes on the little table in the chamber."And, I selected an outfit based on the occasion. Hope you like it." Bianca added.Miranda walked towards the clothes and picked them up. It was a pair of trousers and a rather skimpy shirt. There was a
"What are you going to do about him?"Hela asked Miranda as they rode side by side. The air was heavy and the night was dark, reminding Miranda of that night when she and lord Henry set out to find that sorcerer Hama. "I do not know, Hela. I have no idea what to do. I cannot kill him because he is my brother, and I cannot let him live as well. I could keep him locked up in the dungeons forever but that's still keeping him alive.""Do you think you will even have the chance to set things straight tonight?" Hela asked her again and Miranda looked at her."What do you mean?""All I'm saying is this, what if you are trying to fight a battle that hasn't even come to you yet? We know tonight's all about a simple extraction. Prince Richmond is not an easy man to beat and even if you do manage to defeat him, the sorcerers will still attack us. We have a small group of fighters barely enough for an extraction. The army and the generals are all quiet. They do not believe you can lead them.""S
Kevin's ears suddenly became alert when he heard the first explosion. He slowly raised his head and paid attention, glancing at Lord Henry who was busy sleeping on the bed. He was tired and for someone who had never really struggled that much, it was reasonable for him to doze off.Kevin paid attention again. Maybe his mind was finally playing games on him. The first explosion was not so audible. It seemed to come from a distance. He sighed. Maybe the sorcerers were trying out new things regarding their magic. Were they desecrating the palace walls? Those walls had stood since the foundation of the Elderien Kingdom and that was a long time ago. He remembered how much value his father had placed on the walls. He even thrashed his children whenever he saw them painting strange things on it.His father was quite strict. And speaking of the old King, Kevin wondered where his body was buried. He had forgotten to ask Richmond earlier and he was dying to know. He wanted to know what had beco
More explosions were heard from the distance as Kevin and Lord Henry stepped into the corridor. Kevin's hand was on the hilt of his sword. They walked carefully and they could hear Battle cries from a distance as well as the sounds of sword clanking."We have to hurry. Let's go."Lord Henry said to Kevin and they doubled their steps. They kept on walking as the night seemed to get darker. Suddenly, one of the mintoval soldiers pulled up before them.The soldier charged at them and lord Henry quickly twisted his sword and slashed the legs of the soldier. Before the soldier could hit the ground, Kevin grabbed him and slammed him into the wall. Lord Henry wasted no time in digging his sword through the soldier's gut.More attacked them. Kevin met them in battle, unsheathing his sword in the process. He stabbed the first soldier that came at him and kicked off the sword of the second soldier from his hand. The soldier cried out as he did, and Kevin wasted no time in dragging his sword out
Miranda walked stealthily as she tried her best to avoid the fight. She thought it was senseless to have so little regard for human life. So she kept going, her sword in hand just in case the need arose. As she kept going, she could not help but notice the ruins the palace had become. The grounds were dirty, the walls were filled with vines and they had thorns in them. Miranda shuddered when she looked at the ceiling. The once glorious ceiling covered with paintings from the history of Elderien since its inception was covered with dirt and cobwebs.The palace was a mess, it was in a sickening state. Miranda wondered what had made Richmond so foolish that he had forgotten to clean. Fine, he wanted the throne. Was he not going to take care of the palace while he was at it? Or did the sorcerers tell him to thrive in the dirt? She could not understand."Hey, you!"Someone called to her from behind and she turned around. Two Mintoval soldiers were standing there. She sighed as she held th
Kevin pushed Richmond's sword off and twisted his with expert-level skills. Richmond Chuckled when he saw Miranda standing up as well, sword in hand. She was breathing heavily and her nose was still bleeding. Hela had helped Oregon to his feet and lord Henry stood beside Kevin.Kevin's eyes went to the bed and like Miranda, saw the atrocious State of their father's corpse. He did not waste any time. He charged at Richmond and attacked him. Richmond wasted no time fighting back. He blocked Kevin's attacks and struck a few of his own. He kicked Kevin in the gut with so much force that Kevin hit the wall. Kevin groaned and got his footing back. He attacked Richmond again, striking fast and hard. They fought while the others watched them.It seemed like Kevin did not want anyone else to join the fight. He fought with all that he had and Richmond returned the favor. The clanking of their swords leading to the release of Sparks was a sight to see. For Miranda, that was the first time she h
Miranda dashed into the woods. The attack had taken another turn. The Mintoval soldiers and sorcerers that had been absent from the palace had suddenly shown up and Miranda's troops were scavenging for their lives.Hela dashed ahead of her and suddenly pulled up a shield that blocked a large spear that was being shot toward Miranda. Miranda gasped as she saw how close she was to being dead just a few moments ago. The night was still dark and she could barely see what was happening around her"The horses. We have to get to the horses." She said to Hela who quickly nodded and blocked another spear.Someone suddenly fired an arrow toward her and the arrow pierced Hela's shoulder. She cried out as she fell and then Miranda turned around. Behind her, she could see two Mintoval soldiers standing there. One of them still had the bow with which he had shot Miranda.The soldiers hurled towards her and she quickly twisted her sword and met them in the fight. She quickly dodged the first strike
Damek walked back to the palace, his eyes roaming from side to side as he observed the terrible thing that has happened to them. He saw sorcerers on the ground, some dead, some wounded. The same thing happened to the mintoval soldiers he had brought along.The Mintoval king would blame him for it. Of course, Damek expected the princess to rise and try to fight for the throne but one thing he had not expected was his falling in love with Kevin. That was the only part of the whole drama he had not expected, the only equation he did not write. And it was messing with his head. The very thing he felt whenever he thought of the prince was anger, knowing that prince Kevin would never love him back. There were some things perhaps, even he could not change. He could have used a potion or a spell to bound Kevin but there had to be a moment when Kevin would consider the possibility of them being together.When he saved Kevin's life, he could feel that within the prince's mind. He wanted to use
***Final Chapter***The monster hurled at the ship with a force so great that its punch pushed the ship backward. They were lucky not to have sustained a tear because Alastair and Blaize had formed a shield to block the punch. The shield, however, shattered immediately upon impact.The ship groaned and tilted from side to side, and what came next were screams from the crew as they fell into the sea. The captain struggled to find her balance, however, that was proving difficult. The ship groaned again and tilted to another side, shaking the captain's grip off her sword with which she had stabbed the deck.She screamed as she glided towards the sea, which at that time was already being occupied by monsters that looked like snakes. There was a multitude of them, and their hisses could be heard. They had killed the members of the crew that fell into the sea.As the captain was about to fall overboard, Blaize created a shield that blocked her path and pulled her back into the ship. She exch
"Set sail!"The captain's voice rang through the entire ship as men busied themselves with their jobs. The crew members ran Helter skelter as they tried to get the ship running, and in no time, they did. The ship roared as it sailed on the sea, a sight that sent shivers down Cara's body For Alastair, he just stood beside her and watched other members of the crew as they worked tirelessly. The captain was no longer with them. She was busy shouting orders, screaming at the men, and cursing them as they worked. Considering the fact that she was much smaller than most of the men on the ship, it was a funny sight to see.She soon sent Alastair a gaze and nodded to him. Alastair returned the gesture. As soon as the captain looked away, Alastair smiled softly. The time was finally approaching, and there was nothing to stop destiny from unfolding. He was still lost in thoughts when he suddenly began to feel like there was a pair of eyes looking at him.It was the same feeling he had gotten b
"Stand firm. Widen your stance and fix yourself to the ground. Strike with intent."Alastair instructed Cara as she sparred against him. Her moves had gotten better already but they still needed some more work. She groaned and struck Alastair, putting in so much of her energy that she tripped and fell down when Alastair made a false move."Predict where I will be. It will be what you need most of the time. You need to see the bigger picture when you are dealing with an opponent. Stand up and come at me again."Alastair instructed and Cara obeyed. She was past the stage of grumbling. She knew she needed to become stronger for what was coming.She charged and did her best to predict Alastair's moves. But they were too advanced for her. However, Alastair did not hold back. If she was to fulfill her destiny, she needed to become better than he was. Alastair decided to do a move to throw her off balance but Cara suddenly blocked it.Alastair was surprised. He pushed a bit further and intro
"Why don't you put down the crossbow and we can talk this through like adults?" Alastair said to the captain who scoffed at his guts. Her eyes were blaring with anger, and the only thing in her eyes other than anger was turmoil, pain, and regret.She steadied the crossbow in her hand and fixed her gaze upon Cara. Her eyes never left her. It seemed like she could remember what happened that day, the fire that suddenly blasted them all apart. She could remember the smell of burnt flesh which filled the air, saturating every part of the house. She could remember the smell of her own flesh and the moment that hit her, her face twitched a little. She took a deep breath and pointed the crossbow at Cara. Alastair did not want to use his magic against her for he knew they would be needing her help if they were to get to the isle of mists. But how the captain survived was still a mystery. He was certain she had died."You! You did this to me!", The captain said and pointed to the scarred part
"You didn't even ask for her name." Cara said to Alastair as they walked down the busy road. Their short time at the pub had not turned out the way Alastair hoped. He just kept walking in silence, and the silence was what made Cara uncomfortable."I did not need to," Alastair replied and she scoffed."Why not? She was clearly into you and you liked her as well. What is stopping you?" Cara asked, but then she realized how insensitive her statement was. She should not say such things about Alastair's relationship."Is it because of Miranda?" She asked but he was silent."How do you know she is still waiting for you?" Cara asked again but Alastair still said nothing. She was right. He did not know. But the thing bothering him was that he might not live to find out. "I... I do not want to forget her. I want to cherish our memories together until there is nothing left of me. That is why I cannot look at another woman. But what do you know? You are just a child.".Alastair said and scoff
The night still ravaged on as Alastair and Cara kept walking down the streets. Alastair got the chance to see more of the town, like he had secretly desired. The town was a beautiful place, quite exotic as well.He did not know if it were the decorations, or the thrill in the air but he was certain that that town had seen alot of bad days in the past and they were trying to make out the future as best as they can. He could see a young woman and two kids which looked like they were hers.The woman glanced at him and smiled, a smile which melted Alastair's heart. He saw that she had twin boys, and the imagination of the kind of life he would have been living if he grew up with his mother and brother was vivid.One of the twin boys ran towards him and gave him a popsicle. Alastair smiled as he took the popsicle from the boy, and giving their mother a nod, she quickly led her eager boys toward a candy shop. Alastair sighed as he watched them. He did not even hear Cara stepping up before h
The journey was quiet, and although the moonlight shone upon them like the ever glowing beam of light that it is, Cara was not feeling it. She just kept walking, a step behind Alastair. Her head was bowed, her fists were clenched. Her nails were digging into her palms, although not enough to give her an injury, it still hurt.Maybe she wanted it to hurt. Maybe she just wanted to feel something at the end of the day. She had been so hollow ever since the fight. She could feel Asmodeus crawling around in her mind. She could feel the Phoenix slowly regressing. She could feel the terror that was coming, very one that she was destined to bring upon the world."Are you alright?" Alastair asked her, snapping her out of it. She nodded quickly and looked at him for a moment. "You look disturbed. Is there anything you would like to talk about?" Alastair asked her again but she shook her head. He decided not to press her. If she was ready to talk, she would."Do you miss it? Everything else bef
An energy blast escaped from cara's body and hit all those that were in close proximity to her, James and Denise included. The force of the blast was so powerful that it took them off their feet and crashed them onto the ground. Cara let out a guttural growl as energy began to radiate from her body. The red, hot, energy began to gush out even more as her powers levitated her slowly. The growls continued, and so did the fear on lord Karl's face. He has never seen anything like that. He and his followers were not sure of what to do at that point. They slowly stood to their feet and watched as she stretched out her hand toward them. Her yellow eyes fell on them and with a sudden spark, her energy surged again. This time, it did not hit James and Denise. Both were surprised that the energy phased right through them to hit a sorcerer standing behind them and when they turned around, their eyes beheld a horror unlike what they knew before.The sorcerer's body froze. His eyes stretched out
"Cara... Cara, are you alright?"Cara could hear Fristborn's voice call out to her. She opened her eyes slowly and what she saw was someone she never knew she could see any more. Was she dead, or was she dreaming? She gazed at Fristborn's face and in that split second, she reached out to touch him.But someone else quickly grabbed her hand and she turned and saw Denise standing there. Her eyes roamed back to 'fristborn' but was actually James that was kneeling beside her. She blushed in embarrassment as she quickly say up. They were no longer in the house. From what Cara could see, they were some distance away from the house and it was not too quiet. She could still hear the sounds of guards running around, trying to look for them. The three of them remained silent for a while."What happened?" Cara asked as she rubbed her eyes. It felt like she slept for a long time."You fainted," Denise replied to her. Cara tried to recall what had happened after she felt the surge in her magic b