The Legend of Kathleen Everton

Moorefield, Arragonia. 50 years after prologue.

Maxwell Everton hurried through the streets on foot, the sleeping baby girl in his arms. He had to get her to the place soon. He just hoped that they would be awake enough to recieve him.

The child had to be alive for the prophecy to pass. The Spirit Warriors would find her someday, he mused. He needed to see Rayla again. She'd have the answers. If only he could. He came to the edge of the grounds of the stately manor he was looking for. Then he crept up to the door silently and lifted the doorknocker with the lion's head on it and hit it once, then twice, against the door. A few seconds later, he was rewarded by the sound of the door gently creaking open. A servant poked her head out. She was a young girl of about average height, with ginger hair and pretty green eyes. She held a candle in her hand.

'I have to see the master of this house,' Maxwell said. 'It's urgent.' The girl's eyes narrowed, but she let him in anyway, with a small smile creasing her rosy lips.

'I'll tell Master Robert and Miss Jade-Anne directly, m'lord,' she replied, curtseying quickly and disappearing up the stairs with the candle. A few moments later, she came back down the stairs and beckoned for Maxwell to come. He walked with the girl into the drawing room to see his friend, Robert, standing by the fireplace. The two embraced, Maxwell being mindful of the baby in his arms. The little one squirmed in his arms, her face screwing up as she began to cry. Jade-Anne walked forwards and looked down at the baby, then up at Maxwell.

'May I?' she asked. He handed the baby girl to the woman and she collected the little one gently in her arms and began to rock it to sleep. The baby girl began to quieten down almost immediately and fell asleep again, snoring softly. Then she sat in a high-backed chair, and cuddled the baby close.

'How are you, my friend?' Robert asked. 'Is there a reason you come to us at this hour?'

'It's the girl. Her life is in danger.' Robert looked up at his friend.

'She is the last of the Spirit Warriors, then?'

'Rayla has cause to believe it. She says that the winds have changed, and with it brings news. She said that the winds changed the night the girl was born. Her father, Prince Brandon, is the one they've spoken about. The greatest evil that this world has ever seen; I am sure of it.'

'And Rayla told you all this?'

'She believes it to be so. Look, she's the leader of the Spirit Warriors. She told me to bring the girl here to you, to look after her, to care for her until she is of an age to carry the mantle of a Spirit Warrior. Until then, the Spirit Warriors will watch her from the shadows, protecting her from all her foes until she comes of age. She told me that on the eve of her 16th birthday, you must bring her to the fortress of Relsin to accept her destiny. Then, and only then, can she train with Rayla and the others to defeat this great evil.'

'And what of her father?' Jade-Anne asked. 'What if he should come for the child?'

'He doesn't know I'm here. Rayla said this would be the safest place to hide her. But her father wants her dead; says she's a threat to his kingdom, to his throne.' Robert ran a hand through his golden hair.

'If her father really is the greatest evil the world has ever seen, we'll defend the girl until our dying breath if possible. We'll protect her, Maxwell, by whatever means necessery, and prepare her for a life as a Spirit Warrior.'

'Thank you, Robert. You are truly an invaluable friend.' The two embraced and then he took Jade's hand and kissed it softly. 'M'lady,' he added. 'I can tell you'll be a great mother to that little girl.' Then, uncovering the shawl that the baby was wrapped up in, revealing the little girl's face, he kissed her forehead, stroking the baby's cheek with his thumb. 'Be well, princess.' He stood upright again.

'What is the child's name?' Jade-Anne asked.

'Her name is Kathleen Everton.'

Hours later...

Maxwell rode his horse through the dark, lonely woods just mere hours after leaving the infant Kathleen Everton at Master Robert's manor in Moorefield. The world was quiet. The moon was high overhead, and an owl or two hooted from somewhere in the forest. He would be lying if he said that the darkness didn't at least spark a little fear in him. He kept riding for miles. While riding through a clearing, the moon shining on the grass, making it seem like a grey sea, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye to his right. It was the orange-reddish glow of a fire. Turning his horse, and against his better judgement, he rode towards the fire. Dismounting some two hundred paces away, he tied his horse to a tree and made the rest of the way on foot. He crept towards the fire, and sitting on a log, with his, or her back to him, sat a stranger in a cloak. His mistake came when he stepped on a tree branch, and it snapped loudly, announcing his presence to the stranger.

'You're getting sloppy, Maxwell,' the stranger called out. The voice was clear and strong, but not a male's voice. 'I know you're there,' the voice added. 'You can come closer.' He stepped out into the light and the owner of the voice stood up to greet him, shedding the hood of the cloak at once. A woman with brunette hair and fierce, dark blue eyes, who stood perhaps an inch or two below him, but no less strong and imposing (perhaps even threatening to some) met his eyes.

'Rayla,' he remarked. 'It's good to see you again.' The female turned and walked towards the fire, turning the rabbit over on the makeshift cooking spit.

'Likewise, my lord.' Then the female, for a bit, seemed to mostly disregard his presence as she walked over to her horse, adjusting some straps on the saddle, then pulled out a small bag of dried figs. She took one and held it out to him. He took it, nodding a 'thank you' towards her wordlessly. She replied in kind, then sat, patting the log next to her, and he too, sat.

'Did you know where I was? This whole time?' Maxwell asked her. She nodded, biting into her fig.

'I heard a horse, and figured it might be you. You were coming from the Moorefield direction, yes?'

'Yes.'

'Is the girl safe?'

'She is. You weren't wrong about her father being evil and everything, you know.' Rayla looked over at him.

'Those weren't my words. Those were the High King's. I only tell you what the messengers tell me.'

'But why are you here?'

'Couldn't risk the exposure from your son's guards, my lord. They'll be scouring the kingdom any moment now for the girl. I'm on my way back to the highlands for a while until the kingdom next needs my aid as a Spirit Warrior.'

'How are your children and husband, Rayla?'

'They are well. Peter is busy these days, but he is well. He hopes that you might come around again so that we may entertain you in our house.'

'I would love that, but keeping up appearances for the meantime would probably be best. My daughter Bridget was devastated when I had to take her child, and I need to be there for her in her darkest hour of grief.'

'She will recover in time, and that recovery, once you return, will come speedily with the knowledge that Kathleen Everton is safe and sound. Her father will not think to look for her there. He thinks that she has perhaps gone to Relsin, or to some other place where the Spirit Warriors might be.' Rayla stood, pulling the cooked rabbit off of the fire and cutting it open with a hunting knife to reveal the meat. She took a bite and nibbled it, then placed a few small morsels on a large leaf, handing them to Maxwell. He took it, thanked her and ate it. After several more moments, the two farewelled each other, then went their own separate ways.