The Legend of Kathleen Everton

Over the next few days, Kathleen trained with the Spirit Warriors in body, mind and soul to prepare to take up her destiny as a Spirit Warrior. She grew much closer to Anna, who had taken up a sort of a spiritual aunt/guardian role over her. Eleanor was still wary of the girl, but she, too, grew closer to Kathleen. And Rayla began treating her less like a protege and more like one of them. They stayed on the outskirts of Relsin, coming into the fortress every so often to partake in a meal or for Kathleen to learn more of what her destiny entailed.

It was also then that she began to have these strange encounters, whether, in her dreams or her waking life, she wasn't sure. It was during one night that she couldn't sleep, tossing and turning in the circle where the other three warriors slept with ease. She sat up, cursing their ability to sleep so soundly when all was not right with the world. Standing up, she checked to make sure she had her knife on her, then walked away from the makeshift encampment into the copse of trees ahead of her. Kathleen walked for a while, it seemed, and she eventually came upon a stream, kneeling next to it to splash her face with cool water and take a drink. She sat back on her heels, thinking hard about the past few days. She should probably tell Rayla or Anna about the visions she's been having. They'd probably know what to do. Just then, she heard a voice behind her.

'I've found you, at last, Kathleen.' She stood and spun around to see a man lounging against a tree, using a knife to clean his fingernails. He couldn't be much older than her adoptive father, she thought. Certainly old enough to be a father or an uncle.

'Who are you?' she asked. 'You've been in my dreams the past few nights, why?'

'Silly girl. I'm your father.'

'What? You're not here, are you?'

'No, child. I'm not here. I use the aid of magic to reach you every night.'

'But magic's not real. What do you want with me?'

'Oh, dear Kathleen,' he said softly, clicking his tongue as if to make fun of her attempt to understand. 'There are forces that are higher and greater than us, my dear girl. You see, what I want with you, is to kill you. I kill you, I stop the prophecy, and I get to take back what is mine.'

'This realm will never be yours,' she snapped defiantly. He laughed, and it would have been a playful sound if he wasn't so evil.

'But you can't even accept who you are. And therefore, my dear child, I have the upper hand. You're still so desperate to hang on to your old life that you can't even see the truth staring you right in the face. Pretending is not the same as believing.' She began to say something, but he cut her off with another laugh that sent a chill through her bones this time. 'Do you think you could run and hide from me? Or that you could pretend to accept your destiny in the hopes that you would believe it?'

'You're not here. You're a coward, Father, using the aid of magic to face me. You can't see the truth: you will never win. Not against the higher powers, not against the Spirit Warriors. You are doomed to fail.'

'You underestimate my power, Kathleen. I will find you and I will face you.' He pulled out a blade and ran at her. Unprepared for the fight and only carrying a knife, he attacked her with his blade. She did the only thing that she could think of, and that was stepping to the side to avoid his blade. Her senses immediately switched on, and she blocked the blade with her knife, and for a while, the two began to fight endlessly, trading blows. 'Your father taught you well,' he hissed. At one point, she missed a block, and he took advantage of it. He sliced through her defence and the tip of his blade grazed her side. She recoiled with a cry of pain. Kathleen stumbled back, feeling the blood ooze through her fingers and wondering how a magical apparition could attack her in the physical world. She screamed in anger and ran towards him and in a matter of seconds, her blade was through his chest. He choked, coughing up blood, and then when she withdrew her knife, he collapsed to the forest floor and promptly disintegrated into mere ash. She fell to her knees, letting the knife fall away from her, and touched the ground where the magical apparition of her father had once stood.

She sat there, on her knees, for a while it seemed, before she heard a voice.

'Kathleen!' She looked up for the source of the voice. 'Kathleen!' the voice called again. Footsteps sounded, but she didn't register the person coming towards her until they were just behind her. Standing up, she whirled to face the intruder, her knife to their chest. Anna threw her hands up. 'Hey, it's just me. You can relax.' Kathleen stayed still, glaring at her. Anna stepped forward and grabbed her wrist gently, pushing the blade down so Kathleen couldn't hurt anyone. 'Hey, just put the blade down. That's it.' She put the blade down slowly. Anna gently wrapped the girl in a hug as she began to sob. Kathleen's knees buckled, and the older Spirit Warrior came down to the forest floor with her, letting her cry. When she had calmed down, Anna kissed her forehead.

'What was that?' Kathleen gasped, tears still flowing down her face.

'You passed the final test,' Anna said with a soft smile.

'What final test?'

'To be a Spirit Warrior.' Kathleen looked at her side, the injured side that was supposed to be spilling blood. It wasn't, and she pulled her shirt up to look at what should be a scar, but there was no evidence at all that there was an injury in the first place. She frowned, looking at Anna.

'That was really magic?' she asked unsuredly, her voice still shaking.

'It seems you are not entirely safe from the reach of your father, even here. He has very high powers in his disposal, dark magic, even. More powerful than even the old powers of House Dragonfire.'

'So what do we do?' she asked.

'We fight to take back our kingdom.'

The three Spirit Warriors, plus Kathleen, walked into the room with the empty armour alcoves on the wall. The final sword and set of armour stood in front of Kathleen at the end of the room, seemingly beckoning her. The three of the Spirit Warriors stood at attention on four sunburst-shaped tiles around the room, and the final sunburst tile was directly in front of the alcove that held Kathleen's armour and sword. The old woman from last time was there, and she helped Kathleen put her armour on. It was a perfect fit, and when she picked the sword up, it was a perfect weight.

The hilt of the sword itself was gold, encrusted with a large, blood-red jewel in the pommel of the sword and heavily detailed with the sunburst, the symbol of the Spirit Warriors, on the cross-guard of the blade. The blade itself with a decorative silver with what seemed like ancient runes in it, and the steel seemed to have been folded over at least 200 times in order to achieve the polished look. She walked to where the Spirit Warriors were and stood on her tile, going down to one knee as the old woman walked over to stand in front of her.

'Kathleen Aquila Everton, do you swear to uphold the cause and mission of the Spirit Warriors without fail?'

'I swear.'

'Do you swear to be courageous, altruistic, and loyal in all your actions and words from this point forward?'

'I swear.'

'Do you believe in the cause and mission of the Spirit Warriors as agents of the High King's will?'

'Yes.'

'Are you prepared to lay down your old life and everything that you thought you knew in your past to step into your new one as a Spirit Warrior?' She paused at this, remembering her family. Wilson. Jade-Anne. Her friends. Training on the grounds of her home. All she could hear for a moment was the pounding of her heartbeat. With this oath, she'd be giving it all up. Still a part of her world, but separating from it to fulfill a calling higher than herself. She looked around at Rayla, Eleanor and Anna, standing tall and stoic, waiting for their next orders. This would be her new life. Her new family. Directing her eyes to the old woman standing in front of her, she let out a breath.

'I swear.' The woman unsheathed a blade that seemed infinitely more magnificent than the blade that she now possessed. It tapped lightly on her armour-covered shoulders as the woman began to speak.

'Then I knight and anoint thee, Kathleen Aquila Everton, the last Spirit Warrior of Arragonia. Rise, for you once were a simple girl, but now your destiny is coming into place. Rise a warrior of Arragonia, but not just any warrior. Rise, Spirit Warrior!' She stood, taking her place on the sunburst tile. The four of them withdrew their swords from their sheaths and raised the, touching the tips together. The swords seemed to glow with an otherworldly light, and for a second, it felt as though a strong wind had rushed through the place. Kathleen looked at all her comrades, seeing the momentary change in their eyes. They were glowing a strong golden colour. When the strong wind seemed to dissipate, the glow faded from their eyes. Sheathing their swords, Anna was the first to pull Kathleen in for a hug, and the other two followed suit.

Everything seemed to be falling into place... for now.