Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Original Archetypal Fiction

Prologue

Smoke. Is that fire? The three-year-old scrunched up her nose at the smell. Her eyes flutter open as she realizes the fire is real. Seconds later, a worried looking mother rushes in, grabbing her quickly and saying, “Come now, Risa, we have to get out of here!”
“Mommy, why?” The confused looking girl asked, “Are we going to die?” The anxious young woman only shook her head in reply as they ran out of the house, a strong, sturdy looking man following behind. They were right outside the house when Risa started crying. “What’s wrong?” her father asked.
“Sammy!” She cried.
“Honey, we can get you another cat.” Her mother said.
“No that’s alright, I’ll get it,” said the father heading towards the burning house.
“Charles, no!” But he was already gone. He rushed into the flaming house, into Risa’s bedroom, and snatched up the cowering animal. He was almost to the kitchen and out the door when a support beam covered in flames toppled over him, and crushed him as he breathed his last. When a half hour later he didn’t come back, the mother knew he was never coming back and broke down crying, watching their house burn to the ground. “Mommy, what’s wrong? Where’s Daddy?”
“Daddy’s not coming back.” She said through her tears.
“Mommy, where are we going to live?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know.” When the flames subsided Risa’s mother, Carla, salvaged what she could and took Risa to her grandfather’s house where they could live in peace. The grandfather welcomed them with open arms and took Risa so that Carla could have a long rest, being weary from the journey.



Chapter One

12 years later, we find a young girl with long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes walking to school with her best friend, Samson Mangey. His golden-brown hair tousled by the wind, midnight blue eyes laughing, while talking to his best friend, Risa Taske. They were just chatting about this and that until a gruff looking boy about the age of 16 came strolling down the path looking all high and mighty.
“Hey look, it’s the Mangy dog and his owner, little ‘Tasky’ herself. I never thought you’d have shown your face since what happened last time” said he while shoving Risa’s books on the ground.
“Hey! Those are mine!” Risa yelled.
“Whatcha gonna do about it? Huh?” the snide looking boy sneered. Samson almost punched him right there. How dare he do that to my Risa?
“I’m going to give you one chance to get away without a scratch before I beat you to a pulp.” An angry looking Samson seethed, while grabbing a fistful of the boy’s shirt.
“Ha! You don’t have enough strength to take on me!” The boy announced confidently, yet still having his feet almost off the ground.
“Alright, you asked for it,” said Samson leaning back to strike the boy.
“Samson, don’t do anything you’ll regret. Please, you could get in trouble,” said a worried looking Risa, grabbing his arm in an attempt to stop him.
“Listen to the girl will ya?” said the now frightened looking boy. “I, I could get my gang on you.”
“Fine, but if you ever mess with us again, don’t expect to be let off so easily,” said Samson, not looking very happy that Risa had ruined his fun.
“What?” Risa asked confusedly.
“Why’d you have to do that? I could’ve taken him. Now look, he’s gotten away,” he said pointing to the retreating figure down the road.
“Sam, he’s not worth it. He’s just a dumb boy trying to act tough and failing miserably,” said Risa, picking up her books from the ground and dusting them off. “We’d better hurry up, school should be starting soon.”
“Right. Let’s go.” Sam replied grabbing her arm and dragging her off down the road.
They arrived at the schoolhouse just in time. They took their seats while the teacher began writing assignments on the chalkboard.
“So, what do you think we’ll be doing today?” Sam questioned, leaning over to Risa.
“Not sure, but it looks like we’ll be doing some grammar assignments and algebra equations. I wish we could be doing geology like yesterday. Oh well, everyday is a new day.”
“Alright class, settle down. Today we are going to be starting with a grammar lesson, the breaking down of sentences. We will be learning a few new jingles today to help you with your grammar and then I will pass out two worksheets to finish before lunch. Open your Shurley Method Student English Workbooks to page 96, the Jingle section. I’ll tell you how it goes and then you will repeat after me. We will be starting with Jingle 8, Preposition Flow. ‘Preposition, Preposition Starting with and A. Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, at. Preposition, Preposition Starting with a B. Before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but, by. Preposition, Preposition Starting with a D. Despite, down, during. Preposition, Preposition, don’t go away. Go to the middle and see what we say. E-F-I and L-N-O. Except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, out, outside, over. Preposition, Preposition Almost through. Start with a P and end with a W. Past, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within, without. Preposition, Preposition Easy as can be. We’re all finished and aren’t you pleased? We’ve just recited all 49 of these.’
“Ok, do you guys know it?” The class nodded their heads. “Then, say it with me.” The class repeated it and the teacher went on to teach them ‘The 23 Helping Verbs Of the Mean, Lean Verb Machine Jingle’ and ‘The Eight Parts of Speech Jingle’ Then she passed out the assignment and the class got to work.
“Miss Haruna?” asked Risa raising her hand.
“Yes, Risa?”
“When we classify each sentence, we include the subject, verb, helping verb, adverbs, adjectives, article adjectives, prepositions, object of the prepositions, pronouns, and if the sentence is declarative, imperative, interrogative, or exclamatory right?”
“Yes,” Miss Haruna replied.
“Well, what about direct objects?”
“There shouldn’t be any, we haven’t learned those yet. Let me see your paper.” Risa handed her the paper. She scoured it for the said part of speech and made an exclamation of surprise.
“You’re right. Class, listen up,” she said, addressing the entire room, “If you come across a part of speech you don’t know, skip it and we’ll do it tomorrow. Now, it’s almost time for lunch, so put away your books and get out your lunches. We will now say a prayer. Which one shall we say today?”
“I know,” said Sam, raising his hand. She pointed to him and he said, “Johnny Appleseed.”
“Okay, why don’t you start?”
“Okay, For the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the apple seed. The Lord is good to me, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Aaaaaaaaahmen.” The class sang along with him, and then everyone grabbed their lunches and ran outside to enjoy their lunch.
As Risa and Sam ate their lunches, the bully from earlier and a couple new boys came strolling up to them.
“Well, would you look at what we have here? It’s little miss ‘Tasky’ and the Mangy Mutt. When are you ever going to change your name Mangey? I guess you’ll never learn. Your parents should have named you Paul or Peter, or something. Samson is what I call my dog,” said a different, 17-year-old bully.
“Hey, you shut up! What’s your problem anyway?” said Risa standing up and clenching her fists.
“My problem is that you’re sitting in our spot,” he said with his hands on his hips.
“Yea!” his followers chimed in, looking smug.
“Since when was this your spot?” Sam said getting up. It had just so happened that Sam and Risa had gotten outside first and had chosen one of the shadier places under a tree.
“Since I claimed it was. Now, move or be moved.”
“Never!” Risa shouted. “This is as much our spot as anyone else’s. Go find your own, preferably away from here.”
“But that’s my problem. I’d like my spot, preferably, right here. I’m not going to tell you again, leave and you won’t get hurt.”
“No way,” Samson replied standing his ground.
“Alright, you asked for it. Boys, take the girl and make sure she stays put and out of the way. As for you Mangey, you’re going to wish you’d never been born.”


Chapter Two

“Hey, you get away from her!” said Sam reaching for Risa.
“I don’t think so, mutt.” The bully replied, balling up his fist, swinging it back, and letting it fly, hitting Samson squarely in the jaw. Samson went flying backwards, slamming into the tree. He got up slowly, eyes narrowing towards the bully.
“You’re going to pay for that.” A great ball of energy began surrounding Sam. “Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” It burst from him straight towards the bully, sending him flying across the field. When the other bullies saw what had happened, they let go of Risa, and ran for it. Risa slowly approached him, confused about what had just happened.
“What did you just do?” she asked. Samson shook his head.
“I don’t know what came over me. I was just so angry at him and then, I don’t remember.”
“Hey, let’s just go inside and wait for class to start again and then we’ll go straight home. We can ask Grandfather about it tonight,” Risa said grabbing his arm, leading him into the schoolhouse. The teacher and the rest of the class filed in for their algebra lesson. When they were finished, Risa and Sam walked to her grandfather’s house. When they got there, Risa’s mother greeted them.
“Is Sam staying here for dinner tonight?” Carla asked. Sam nodded.
“If that’d be okay with you Miss Taske.”
“It’s always fine with me, but does your mother know?”
“Yes ma’am. She knows I’ll be here. Let’s go inside Risa.”
“Oh and Risa?” her mother asked.
“Yes?”
“Can you set the table after you see Dad?” Risa nodded. “Thanks hon.” Sam and Risa went inside the house to find Grandfather. They found him in his study, reading a book.
Risa spoke first, “Grandfather? We have something to ask you.”
“Can you close the door?” he asked. Risa shut the door. “Yes dear, what is it?”
“Well, today at school, Sam and I were eating lunch under our usual tree, when these bullies came up to us and started telling us to move. Of course, we said that we wouldn’t and they grabbed me, leaving their leader to hurt Sam. But all of a sudden when the bully punched his jaw, some sort of energy surrounded him and blasted the leader, making the other bullies let me go and run away. What does it mean?”
“Oh no, I was hoping you wouldn’t find out until you were a little older but I guess it matures faster in boys than in girls.”
“What do you mean? What matures faster in boys than girls?”
“Well, you see there’s one thing I haven’t told you Risa. Your father he was part of the Evil Lord Derrick’s Clan of Seven. His clan-name was Selrahc. Selrahc was one of the more powerful of the clan. His skills and knowledge of magical arts were passed down to you when he died and when you come of age; you will be able to use it. You are of age now, it seems, and you Samson need to learn to use yours for good because your magic is more powerful and untrained because you are Derrick’s forsaken son. Come here Risa.” She stepped forward. “Now turn around and let me see your hair.” Doing as she was told, she turned around, showing Grandfather her hair. He pulled something out of it letting her hair fall down her back.
“This,” he said, indicating the emerald gem he had taken from her hair, “is your father’s. I turned it into something to put in your hair so you’d always have it with you. It opens the trap door to the basement where I used to train your father before he went off to serve Derrick. Sam, I believe that what you need is also in the basement. Follow me. I will teach you how to use this gem.” Grandfather got up, and walked toward the door. He bent down, opened the door, and put the gem into another doorframe. Something clicked and the remaining door opened to reveal a dark, dusty, staircase.
“Come with me,” he said, grabbing his lantern off his desk and climbing down the stairs, Sam and Risa following behind him. They went down the stairs, down a hallway, to a room. This room was filled with weapons, potions, and armor. There were two things in the middle that stood out though, in a glass case, there stood two weapons. A double-bladed sword and a Forbidden Sword lay there. The Forbidden Sword was an oversized sword with just a pole for the handle. The double-bladed sword comes apart but you use the two swords as one. Grandfather went over to the case and opened it. He reached for the double-bladed sword and gently took it out of its sheath. He put the gem into the pommel of the sword and slipped it back into its sheath.
“What’s that?” asked Risa.
“It’s a double-bladed sword. The one that used to be your father’s. It is rightfully yours now,” he said, handing her the weapon. She took it, her knees slightly buckling under the weight. “You’ll get used to it,” he said indicating the sword. Then he picked up the Forbidden Sword, swung it about to see if it was in good shape and gave it to Sam saying, “This was one of your father’s weapons. Use it for good and show it respect for it will obey you if it has a strong and confident master.”
“Thank you, sir.” Sam replied, taking hold of the massive sword. “Why are all these weapons, powders, and potions here? Is this where you trained our fathers?”
“No, I only trained Selrahc. The head of the Clan of Seven trained your father. He was your grandfather. Selrahc, my son, had a lot to learn which lead to his downfall and he should not have been so careless. Nevertheless, I am here to train and teach you in the arts of magic, both of you. Once I deem you ready we will go to see Martha and from then on she will guide you.”
“What about you Grandfather?” Risa asked.
“I cannot accompany you the entire way. You must make this journey by yourself.”
“Wait a minute, what journey? Do you mean to say we have to fight this Derrick person, my father?” asked Samson indignantly.
“Yes! He killed my father. I have to defeat him; plus, have you heard that he wants to take over the world? He’s a tyrannical beast! I don’t care if he is your father! He is going down!” Risa practically screamed.
“I know, but isn’t there any way we can reason with him. I’m his son.”
“I don’t think he’d care. He’d rather have you killed than listen to any kind of reason.” Risa’s grandfather said.



Chapter Three

Throughout much of the next few weeks Risa’s grandfather worked hard to teach Sam and Risa all he knew, but there was only so much he could do. Finally, he decided they were ready to meet Martha. When they came upon her house, she came running out of the house, screaming, with open arms, toward Grandfather. She hugged him and then looked at Risa and Sam.
“Oh my! It looks like you brought the little ones. Did you tell them?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes, and I brought them here so you could test their abilities.”
“Ooh, I haven’t done that in so long, not since you brought your little boy. I’m glad to be of service. Are they both yours?” she asked indicating Sam and Risa.
“No. Samson is Derrick’s and Risa is my granddaughter.”
“No. It can’t be. He’s the Dark Lord’s?”
“I’m afraid so, but he’s not like him in any way. However, he does possess the power to wield the Forbidden Sword. I’ve been watching him. He poses no threat to us, so far.”
“So, what is little Risa skilled in? Magical arts? Archery? Swordsmanship? Acrobatics?”
“I’m pretty good with magic and can defeat any enemy with my double-bladed sword.” Risa spoke up, taking out her sword and showing a few of her moves.
“We’ll see about that. Come in. You boys stay outside. We’re going to start our testing in two rounds, first, the test in magic, second, the test in weaponry. You may want to rest and eat. Feel free to wander a bit. It could take more than an hour. Follow me, Risa.” Martha went inside the house, Risa behind her, and shut the door. Inside, Risa saw many things that were like the room her grandfather had trained her and Sam in, but also some new things, like herbs, a hammer-like weapon, and candles, many candles. Martha led her to an almost empty room. There was a table and chairs off to the side, but there was nothing else.
“Here,” Martha said, “is where you will be tested. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever b e.” Risa replied.
“To pass, you must either disarm me or immobilize me. Even though you can combine your weapon and magic, you must work with them separately. I have to know if you can fight without your weapon. This is the magic skills part of the test. Can you handle that?”
“Yes.”
“Then begin.”
To begin with, Risa began shooting blasts of energy toward Martha, all which she blocked.
“You have to learn to not aim for the same place and block.” Martha said aiming a burst of her own energy at Risa, which hit her squarely in the stomach.
“I’m trying,” she said while getting back up. She began creating a huge ball of energy, which fended off most of the attacks Martha was aiming at her. Then she hurled it across the room toward Martha. She dodged it of course and threw one right back at Risa, knocking her over.
“You’ll have to learn not to lose control.” Martha said hands on her hips looking down at her. “You know you can guide your energy to your target if you focus hard enough.” Just then, Martha was knocked over, immobilized, because Risa had muttered an immobilizing spell under her breath.
“And you’ll have to learn not to let your guard down. You know, I’m smarter and stronger than I look,” said Risa getting up confidently. She released her spell and helped Martha up.
“Very good, I see your grandfather has taught you well. Go send in Samson and we’ll see how he does.”
Risa went outside and said, “Your turn. Good Luck. You’re going to need it.”
“Thanks,” he replied and entered the house. “Martha?”
“In here,” came a voice in another room. He opened the door to an almost empty room.
“Alright, this is where I will test you in magic. Don’t use your weapon. Magic only. Understand?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said.
“Okay, to pass the test you must either disarm or immobilize me. Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then, let us begin.” Martha started throwing fireballs at him, most of which, he avoided, and some he froze, sending them back at her with as much force, if not more. She managed to dodge them all. When it seemed he could not fend her off any longer, he took off his shoes and put them on his hands.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You’ll see.” She threw an extra huge energy blast, which he absorbed with his shoes. Inside the shoes, his hands were glowing. She seemed to understand why he had his hands in his shoes.
“You’re trying to absorb my attacks aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” he replied. He began walking towards her, amidst her attacks, which he kept absorbing. Then, right when he was in her face he threw off his shoes, showing balls of energy surrounding his hands and aimed them at her. She fell down, immobilized.
“I was hiding my next attack in my shoes so it’d be a surprise. Pretty good, huh? I used that on Risa’s grandfather once,” he said, leaning down to help her up when she recovered.
“You pass. Now tell Risa to come in for the second part of the test.”
Sam went outside and told Risa what happened. He found her practicing with her sword. She went inside, passed the test and sent him back in. He came back out an hour later, having passed with flying colors. They went home, having thanked her.
The next morning Sam and Risa met one last time at her grandfather’s house before they set off for Cogleon. From there, they would head into Barton Mountains.
“Bye Mother, Goodbye Grandfather. See you in a year, maybe. I’ll miss you,” Risa said, hugging her mother and grandfather.
“See you Mrs. Taske, thank you Mr. Taske, for everything,” said Sam, receiving a hug from Carla and a handshake from Grandfather. They left the house and traveled to Cogleon, where they stayed a night and then took a path that led straight into Barton Mountains. They encountered many thieves, but defeated them easily.
“Yes! Beat another one! Stupid thieves, they’ll think twice before they mess with anyone else again. Ha!” Risa yelled triumphantly.
“Don’t get so cocky, we just barely beat them. If they hadn’t been so distracted we could have been stuck there for weeks.”
“Oh stop being such a spoil sport. It’s not my fault they went after you because you looked strongest. Believe me, I wouldn’t have gone for you.”
“Shut up, I don’t care. We have to get out of here before our supply of food runs out.”
“Fine, you’re no fun.” Risa said, crossing her arms. They reached Othally and checked into an inn. Inside, was an old villager who asked where they were headed.
“We’re going to ‘Cathleen’ Forest.” Risa piped up, before Sam elbowed her in the ribs so she wouldn’t let everyone know where else they were going and what they were going to do.
“‘Cathleen’ Forest?” the villager asked, incredulous.
“Yea, why?” Risa asked.
“You mean, you don’t know?”
“Know what?” asked Sam.
“What happened in there?”
“No, what happened?”
“Well, there once was a girl named Cathleen. Her mother sent her from Morane to Othally through ‘Cathleen’ Forest, formerly known as the Topezan Wood, to her uncle’s house. No one quite knows what happened in the wood, but when she didn’t come back, people started looking for her. They found her body ripped to pieces. Then, they heard a woman’s scream. All of them were frightened and tried to run away, but only one survived. He vaguely remembered that he saw a panther biting at his comrades’ necks. So, whenever you hear a woman’s scream, you know that the panther is right behind you, so you take off your cloaks and overcoats, throw them in a bush or tree and run. The panther will rip them up instead of you.”
“Is that true?” Risa asked, unsure and skeptical.
“It’s as true as that innkeeper over there who’s had it happen to him. He went back to retrieve his cloak and found it ripped up. You can go ask him.”
“Come on Risa, we have no time to talk to strange people with strange tales. We came here to restock up on food and get a good night’s rest.”
“But what if it’s true, Sam? I’m scared,” said Risa pulling on his arm.
“Well, you know that I’ll be there to protect you; now let’s go to sleep.”



Chapter Four

The next morning, they set out for the forest, despite the warnings of the other villagers. Once inside, nothing could be heard but their footsteps and the morning birds twittering. Then suddenly, a woman’s scream could be heard along with some snarling.
“Sam! It’s the panther!” Risa said sounding scared.
“Risa, listen there’s also some snarling. It seems like it’s fighting something else. As long as it doesn’t come after us, we’ll be fine.” Sam said, reassuringly.
“But what if it kills whatever it’s fighting?”
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes,” said Sam, quickening his pace. They rounded a corner in the forest path and before them stood a lion and panther scratching and biting at each other’s throats.
“We have to help the poor lion. I don’t think it’s winning,” said Risa.
“There’s nothing we can do, just leave them alone.”
“No, I’m going in there!” said Risa running to help the lion.
“Oh no, you’re not!” Sam yelled running after her.
“Oh yes I am!” Risa said, readying her stance as close to the lion as she dared and started aiming attacks at the raging panther. When with one last spell she killed the panther, the lion, surprisingly enough, shrunk in size and turned into a golden-orange cat with yellow-green eyes.
“Thank you for helping me out.” said the cat, “If you hadn’t come when you did, I don’t know if I could’ve held him off for much longer. My name’s Leo. What’s yours?
“I’m Risa and this is Sam,” Risa said pointing to herself and Sam, “Pardon my asking, but are you a talking cat?”
“Yes, and a morphing one too. I am forever in your debt.”
“Risa, what are you doing? He could be the enemy!” said Sam.
“Enemy? I could hardly think that. You just saved my life,” said Leo.
“Regardless you could be working for Derrick.”
“Sam, he’s not, I can tell,” said Risa.
“Derrick? I hate the man. He’s the reason I’m the only one of my kind left. If anything, I’m the one who should be going after him, not you.”
“He killed my father and is Sam’s father. He disowned him and now we’re off to rid the whole world of him. Would you like to come? We could use the company and the help.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to. It looks like you need all the help you can get.”
“Alright. Now, we’ve got to keep moving,” said Sam impatiently.
“Stop being in such a hurry, Sam. It’s good we got here when we did and that we’re going to have him along with us.”
They kept on walking until they came upon a house in the middle of the wood. A long blonde-haired, brown-eyed woman was working outside in her garden. She looked like she lived alone.
“Look, there’s someone there.” Risa whispered.
“She’s beautiful,” said Sam, entranced, earning a slap from Risa, “Ow! What was that for? It hurt!” Risa just huffed, ignoring him. Suddenly, the woman looked up, noticing them.
“Hello! What brings you to this part of the wood?”
“We’re just passing through,” said Sam.
“Well, why don’t you come on in? You look like some weary travelers. My name’s Caroline, by the way.” She went inside, fed them, learned about their journey, and asked if she could join them. Sam heartily agreed, seeming taken with her, much to the disappointment of Risa.



Chapter Five

The next morning, they set off for Morane. Halfway there, Risa fell down, feeling weak. Leo offered to let her ride on his back, which she accepted. They arrived in Morane with no trouble at all. It appeared that Risa was just exhausted and needed more sleep than she let on. In Captical, Risa met a 17-year-old boy named Peter. He offered to find her and her companions a place to stay. He led them to an inn and when he departed, he gave Risa a kiss on the cheek. This made Samson furious, though he dared not show it. They went to sleep and in the morning set out once again for Ekleam, one of the first cities they would visit in the area where Derrick had his spies. They had to be extra careful. They checked into an inn and began discussing their plans of action from there. They had found that Caroline was quite skilled in magic and used that to their advantage.
“So tonight, we’re going to sneak up to the tower gates and go through a secret door that Caroline knows because she used to work there. Then, once inside, we’ll find Derrick, and surprise him and with our combined strengths defeat him. That it?” asked Risa.
“Sounds about right to me,” said Sam.
“Good, it’s settled then. Let’s wait for nightfall.” Caroline replied. They didn’t have to wait long. The sun set quickly.
“Alright, let’s go,” said Caroline, leading the way to Durem Tower. She found the servant’s side door and everyone filed in.
“Ssh! I hear voices,” Risa warned. The voices sounded like they were coming from above. They were in a small corridor with stairs leading to the main room.
“Come on, we have to go up the stairs to get to Derrick.” Caroline said pointing up the stairs. Leo hopped up first followed by Risa, Sam and then Caroline. Leo cracked the door and looked through.
“It appears that the coast is clear,” he whispered. Pushing the door open all the way, Risa, Sam, and Leo stepped out only to be surrounded by what was left of the Clan of Seven including Caroline. Seeing that Caroline was about to attack them, Risa said, “Caroline, I thought you were on our side. What happened?”
“I was never on your side. I just made it easier for Lord Derrick to defeat you, by bringing you straight to him so he wouldn’t have to hunt you down.”
“Thank you Miss Caroline and now that I have them, I can dispose of them for they pose no real threat to me.”
“What!” shrieked Risa, “No threat? I’ll show you no threat! That’s your son you’re talking about! That’s also your former clan-member’s daughter you’re talking about! I’ll have you know that we are very strong and will be able to defeat you!” Sam began trying to shut her up before they got in more trouble.
“What are you doing? Do you want us in more trouble than we already are? Are you trying to get us killed?”
“No, it’s just he’s being very rude and not giving us a fair chance.”
“I don’t think he plays fair, Risa.”
“Not fair am I? Well, I’ll give you five minutes to prepare, then you will meet me in the throne room, and maybe we will negotiate. I have a proposition for you. If we cannot come to an agreement, you will be escorted to the armory.”
“Fine,” Sam said, turning around as Derrick left the room, “Alright now, he could be up to anything, we have to be ready. Don’t give in. Whatever it is he offers, we don’t want it. Okay?” Leo and Risa nodded, “Let’s go.” They walked into the throne room, where there were three thrones, encrusted with gold and silver. There was also a long table between the doors and the thrones.
“Come, have a seat. Let us talk,” Derrick said, motioning for them to sit in the chairs at the table. Each of them sat down and Leo jumped on Risa’s lap. “Well, we all know that we all can use magic. Why don’t you join me? You could have wealth, power, and anything your heart desires. What do you say?”
“No! Never. Who do you think you are, that you can convince us to join forces with you?” Sam bellowed.
“You’re my son. I thought if anything you’d want to reunite with your father. Don’t you love me?”
“Did you? I wouldn’t join forces with you if you were the last person on earth. Same goes for Risa and Leo. They won’t bargain with you.”
“That’s right,” said Risa standing up, “besides, who’d want to join forces with you? Come on Sam let’s go.” And with that, she and Sam left him to go to the armory. Derrick arrived just after them.
“I’ll give you one more chance, what’ll it be?” Derrick asked.
“We will never ever serve you,” Leo hissed, changing into the lion he was when Risa and Sam met him. Risa got on his back and drew her sword. Sam drew his own sword as well. Derrick’s servants handed him his sword.
“Let’s fight. May the best win.”
“We plan to.” Risa narrowed her eyes and Leo charged him, with Risa’s sword blazing. She slashed at him right, left, blocked, and dodged until he knocked her over. This gave Sam the opportunity to strike. He was about to unleash upon Derrick the heavy blow when he froze in midair and dropped to the ground, motionless, and paralyzed.
“Sam!” Risa yelled. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing serious, he just won’t be able to get up.”
“You sick b*****d.” Risa seethed. She muttered a quick spell of healing towards Sam before, with all her strength, she charged at him, creating a ball of energy between her two blades. She aimed and released it. It went flying into his stomach, knocking him over. He coughed and wiped his mouth, covered in blood. She took this time to slash his right arm and almost got his neck when he stood up and blocked it. She kept slashing at him and he was matching her blow for blow. She began to feel tired. It seemed she could only pull off one more attack. When she backed him up against a wall it took all of her strength to go running at him blades flying straight through his chest. He fell forward on his knees and, finally, his lifeless body crumpled to the floor. Risa went over to Sam and turned him over to find him breathing.
“Thank God, Sam. You’re alive,” she said cradling him in her arms, rocking back and forth.
“I believe I am. Yes, I am alive. We did it, didn’t we?”
“Yes, we did.”



Epilogue

When news of Lord Derrick’s defeat was spread, there was joyful celebration all throughout Leatomia. Sam and Risa had returned home with Leo, Sam’s mother with tears in her eyes and Risa’s mother and grandfather. Each embraced the young adults. It had been a long time. They had dinner and when it was time for Sam to go home, Sam’s mother left him to say his goodbyes.
“Goodnight Risa. See you, tomorrow.”
“Yeah, see you, tomorrow. You know, when you said Caroline was beautiful, I was somewhat jealous. I wished you would call me beautiful. Kind of silly, huh?” said Risa, looking down at her hands and flushing a nice pink color.
“Not at all, in fact I was jealous about that Peter guy in Captical. I can’t believe you let him kiss you on the cheek,” he said, forcing her to look up at him.
“I couldn’t stop him, but, believe me, I was just as uncomfortable as you were. I couldn’t really stand the guy, but you, jealous? I never would have thought.”
“Trust me when I say you’re the only girl for me,” Sam said, lessening the gap between their heads.
“Trust me when I say you’re the only guy for me,” Risa replied.
“Okay,” he said, closing the gap all the way. As their lips crashed together, Risa’s mother came into the room to say goodbye and they broke apart like they had been burned, both flushing bright red.
“Well, um, see you tomorrow then, Risa. Goodnight Ms. Taske.”
“Right, Sam, see you tomorrow, definitely.” As Sam left, Risa’s mother went up and gave Risa a big hug, glad that she came home.
“So, you two, I could see you having children,” her mother said, nudging her.
“Mother, stop it. I’m going to bed.” She went to her room and slept. She dreamed about ‘Happily Ever After’, or not. It seemed that her future children might not grow up as expected. To be continued…

Finished (Possible Sequel)