《The Rifts》


 Chapter 1

    The dark tower of smoke was hanging above the small village near the shore, Arion didn''t want to request much of his horse. Because he didn''t know if there was a battle waiting for them, which was never the case. Ever since he was a little boy, not a weak by without a strange attack on one of their villages. Leaving almost to none survivors, and if there are... Well, let''s say that Arion believes that those poor souls, have lost their minds. They keep on raving, about monsters. He and his men entered the village, and it was as he thought. Dead corpses laying everywhere. He turned his horse around.


    "Look for survivors," not that he believed that there would be any. It was just like all those other villages inside his father''s estate. He himself has being investigating these attacks for the last five years, and his father has spent his adolescent years doing the same thing. With nothing to show for it, nothing but corpses and crazy people talking about monsters. He shock his head as he climbed from his horse. The village was not large, maybe 40 to 60 houses, with over 200 civilians, most of them were cotton farmers. The fields with the now black, fluffy balls were just down the road. A lot of the houses were burned down to the ground, but there was no real fire. A strange marking were in one of the mill''s walls. Arion placed his hand on it, it could be claws. With three long sharp nails, if he was going with the monster narrative, which probably not the smartest decision. But he sighed, all the houses needed to be rebuilt, the cotton needs to be replaced, as did the people who lived here. But who wanted to live in an area that was being attacked, from time to time. His father''s estate already has a bad reputation for this, his mother can''t even show her face inside court without facing ridicule.


    "Captain!" one of his men screamed. "We found one that is still breathing!" That was strange, normally there would be no one left alive. He rushed towards where the man was standing, on the ground there was a woman in armor, strange. Normally, farmers can''t afford that, they also couldn''t afford a sword. Which lay just in arm''s reach of the woman, and it wasn''t a normal sword either. It was made from some kind of white metal that seemed to glow. "I do not know how she is, captain, but she doesn''t look like one of the villagers. But she is still alive, although she is wounded." Arion was able to see that for himself, but he wasn''t going to point that out to soldier. The man was only doing his job, and a bit of good news was always welcome. He lowered himself, to examen the wounds a bit better. Three deep cuts, still bleeding, the flesh around the wounds was scorched black as the one conflicting them has burning hands. Or claws. Again, the idea of those monsters came back to his mind. These type of monsters do not exist, it was probably some charlatans who disguised themselves as creatures of nightmares. To attack innocent people, and then to disappear without a trace. And this woman was probably one of them, so maybe he finally will get some answers.


    "Bring her to the camp, treat her wounds, but lock her up as well. For all we know, she is the one responsible." He commanded. The soldier nodded and picked up the woman. "The rest of you, pick up some shovels. It is time to give the rest of them an appropriate burial." It was not something he needed to tell them twice, they have done it more times than he was willing to admit. A pained expression covered his face, as he placed the shovel inside the earth. Not willing to let his men do all the work. He trusted his men, but there were a few among them who wondered what kind of nobles the house of Snem?ne was. They were not even able to protect their own people, and even released criminals avoided this estate like the plague. Not that he could blame them, and he wanted to answer those questions too. Maybe,maybe,that woman was the key to all the answers,maybe.


    *****


    The military camp, which was set up near a cliff, was buzzing with activity. Every member as his own duty, and all of them knew what would happen if one thing was not done. The horses were fed, and groomed. Tents were set up, weapons sharpened or mended, food prepared and laundry was being taken care of. Arion was not above these tasks, he sat by a nearby river doing laundry when one of his men joined him.


    "Captain," he said, before sitting down with a wicker basket of his own. Only his was filled with the woman''s clothes. "She is still wearing her underwear, but I figured that she would want some clean clothes when she wakes up." Arion frowned, they undressed the woman. Who was in no state to give her consent. But then again, she was wounded and all those clothes would make it difficult to address them. It was a thin line, that he wasn''t willing to touch. He just focused on his chore. "By the Gods, this river has a strong current." What did he expect, this river led towards the salt fall? One large waterfall, that fall down from the cliff into the sea. It was a beautiful sight, filled with rainbows and the sound of the crashing water. The special kind of salty smell mixed with lavender. "Captain, are you alright?"


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    "Yes, why do you ask?" he replied. But the man just shrugged, Arion had made it his mission to learn the names of all of his men. Which was an imposible task, his army was pretty big and the men changed from time to time. "I am just glad that there will be a shimmer of hope."


    "How come?" The soldier asked.


    "Because of that woman, she might know the answers to what ever attacks those villages. Maybe she is part of the gang who does it." Arion explained.


    "Captain, I do not want to rain upon your parade, but do you think she would share that type of information. If she is or was a member of such a gang?" The soldier asked. Arion''s head bumped, he had a good point. No, she wouldn''t share, not even when he threatens her. But still the shimmer of hope didn''t die down, no, it was still burning. "But it would be good if we knew something. We have being fighting this losing battle for decades now. Without the knowledge of what we are fighting."


    "I will not call it fighting," Arion said. "Burring our people, or treating their wounds. That is all we have being doing, there were no blades drawn." The soldier laughed.


    "That is true, that is so true. And I hate to admit that." the soldier said. "I hate it every time we are back at the city and I need to face my father in shame. Not that I have anything to be ashamed about, he knows how it is. He served his time under your father''s command." Then indeed his father knows what it was like. It is because of these strange attacks, that every man living inside the Snem?ne estate needed to serve five years inside the army. There are men that stay longer, but not a lot of them. Not that Arion could blame them after five years, he has seen enough dead people to last a lifetime. And the lack of answers doesn''t help either. "But still, I am proud to be able to offer my people some kind of service." Arion looked at him with a smile.


    "I am sorry that I need to ask you this, but what is your name, soldier?" He asked.


    "Tom, sir, Tom Ebbesen. And you do not have to apologize for not knowing my name." Tom said. Arion looked at him, bronze skin tone, gray eyes and sandy hair. He knew that over time all of his men were looking the same to him. But Tom seemed a decent block. Honest, but not disrespectful. "So I am done," Tom threw the last piece of the woman''s clothes back into his basket. "I will hang them inside the tent, just in case." Arion nodded. Yep, decent, he was also done with his portion of the laundry. He picked up his basket, and carried it back to camp. He went to the medical ward, after he hung out the clothing and sheets to dry. The weather was at least nice, and he hoped for his men that it stayed that way. The doctor stood up from his chair, when Arion entered. The woman lay on a bed inside a cage.


    "I examined her wounds, sir. They were deep, and the sides were burned." Something he already knew. "The strangest thing is that the wounds started to heal on their own, during my examination. Even the burned flesh changed back to its original color." That was indeed strange. "So I just bound them, and I will check them later." Arion nodded, this strange woman with her strange ability to heal burned flesh. Who was she, and where did she get that strange sword from. None of the blacksmiths inside his camp knew what kind of material the white glowing metal was. The doctor left and Arion sat down on the now empty chair. The woman''s strawberry blond hair lay next to her on the pillow in a simple braid. Her limestone skin tone was when he first saw her inside the village a bit pale. But like the doctor said, that slowly came back to her. She was beautiful, he wasn''t going to lie about that. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, before she opened them. Gray eyes were looking shocked at her surroundings.


    "Keep laying down, your wounds haven''t healed yet. At least not according to the doctor." Arion said, her gaze snapped towards him. "I am Arion Snem?ne, the oldest son of Lord Snem?ne and captain of the Snem?ne army. Now you know who I am, do me a favor, and please tell me your name."


    "Kiara, Kiara H?ber. I am a knight of The Core of Protection. A secret organization that defend these lands against Riftwalkers." She said. Who in the name of the Gods were The Core of Protection, he never heard of them. Well, she said that they were a secret organization, so that might be the main reason. And what were Riftwalkers, an image of a monstrous being jumped up in his mind. No, no, this couldn''t be happening. Those creatures do not exist. They couldn''t be, but how those he explain, those marking on the mill''s wall. The three cuts in her flesh, he didn''t know. He wanted to ask her so much more questions. But she has fallen back to sleep.

 Chapter 2

    "Uhm, captain." Arion opened slightly his eyes, what was so urgent? He just closed his eyes for a brief second, after guarding Kiara for the majority of the night.


    "What," his voice probably sounded a bit annoyed. The man that woke him up was no one other than the doctor, who didn''t look at him. Instead, he looked at the cage.


    "Where is my patient?" the doctor asked, this pulled Arion''s full attention towards the now empty cage. The door was slightly ajar.


    "Ohh, for the love of the Gods!" he screamed, while jumping up. He rushed out of the hospital ward, which was nothing more than a large tent. The woman couldn''t have gone far, she only had her underwear. This made him curse even more, before his attention was drawn towards the cliff. She was standing there, seagulls were swarming around her, screaming. The sea roared and crashed against the solid stone wall. The salty air was softly playing with her now loos strawberry blond hair. She was facing the sea, in her underdress. We rushed over towards her. "You aren''t going to jump, I hope?" She slowly turned her head.


    "Not if you are going to tell me what happened to my clothes." She replied.


    "They have being washed and are hanging in the room next to your ward to dry." He said. "There was a lot of blood and other types of dirt on it. So Tom, one of my men, thought it''s best to wash then while you were being treated." Which was the truth. She nodded and looked back, the fast and open sea in front of her. "Your sword is inside my tent." She nodded again.


    "I am not going to jump. I am here to watch the sunrise." She said in a somewhat dreamy voice. Arion looked at the horizon and there was indeed a small ray of sunlight peaking over the edge. He never did that, but he wondered what it was like to sit and watch. "No worries, I will go back into my cage after that."


    "Well, I think we can skip that. Since it was so easy for you to escape it the first time." He said with a slight chuckle in his voice, although there was nothing to laugh at. She simply shrugged.


    "I learned how to pick locks, from a very early age." she said, if it was the most normal thing in the world. And maybe for her, it was. And in his mind it was a useful skill to have, but why did she need to learn that from a very young age? This woman was shrouded in mystery, and on one hand he liked it. It was something that was keeping him on his toes, but on the other hand, he hated it at the same time. There were enough questions, and riddles he needed to answer already. He needed to know who attacked those villages, then there was that secret organization. The sun rose up, and the golden rays touched both their faces. His gaze went towards her, she had escaped her cage for this, and he wanted to see why. Then there was also the fact that he wasn''t able to keep his eyes from her. And then he saw it, her skin started to glow slightly. It wouldn''t be something he would have seen if he didn''t pay close attention to her. But her limestone skin glowed, making her more beautiful than before. The glow faded, and she opened her eyes to look at him. "Isn''t it beautiful?" he was lost for words, there was something indeed beautiful here, and it was not the sunrise. "Something so simple, and yet so powerful. With every sunrise there is the start of another day, another hope for a slightly better day." It was a nice concept, that was something he was willing to agree on. But he knew, that it wasn''t the only reason why she was out here. "I will go back and get dressed." she walked past him, and he just watched her go. Not sure what to do or say.


    "Did my eyes deceive me, or did her skin glow." Tom appeared next to him, so he had seen it as well.


    "Her skin glowed." Arion replied. "And she has learned how to pick locks from an early age." He looked at Tom. "Her name is Kiara H?ber, she is a member of a secret organization called The Core of Protection, who have being fighting against something called Riftwalkers."


    "And she probably has hit her head when she was being attacked by something." Tom snorted. Arion shook slowly his head.


    "Do not get me wrong, I pushed the notion of monsters aside for as long as I can remember." Arion said. "But in these five years I have seen things that I can''t explain. Markings on walls, burning cuts in people''s flesh. Now this woman, and her ability to not only heal very quickly. But her skin glowed just a few minutes ago."


    "Just a trick of the light, Captain." Tom said, he was not convinced of this all. And this made Arion doubt, as well.  "But the fact that is moving after those wounds, well, that is indeed strange."  Arion sighed deeply.


    "Come on, it is time for breakfast." he said, Tom nodded and rushed away. Minutes later, the sound of the trumpet woke up the entire camp, letting all the members of this army know that it was time to wake up. Have some breakfast and then there was sword fight training. Something Arion was looking forward to, something to get his mind off all the mysteries.


    *******


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    The men were paired up, going to the simplest of drills. Arion was paired up with Tom, blocking and attacking. Simple, no mysteries, no wondering what would happen next. Just keeping their minds at the match. Some of the men fall upon the ground, they were being defeated by their partners. But they got up, took their stance and tried it once again. Arion made contact with Tom''s hand, which resulted him to let his sword drop.


    "Good one, Captain." he said, he bowed down to pick up his sword. But he stayed on the ground, his gaze was locked onto something. Arion followed his gaze and saw Kiara on the sight of the training field. Attacking a dummy with a sword, not her own sword, probably one she borrowed from one of the soldiers. Some of the other men stopped with their training as well. Looking at the woman, whose stance and attacks were flawless. She was a trained warrior, that much was clear to him. "I wonder what she is like fighting a real opponent?" Tom muttered under his breath. Arion nodded, in agreement. He was wondering that as well.


    "Kiara!" he screamed over the training field. The girl stopped and looked at him. He motioned to her to come to him. She did just that. "Do I want to know how you got that sword?" He asked. The girl shrugged.


    "It was standing in one of the stands, by one of the tents with a movable smithy in it. You have my sword in your tent, and I do not know which one is yours. So I borrowed this one." She said.


    "Borrowed, without asking. In my book, that is called stealing." Tom said. "But we have your sword, so fair is fair." Kiara looked at him and Arion smiled.


    "This is Tom, the man that washed your clothes." Arion said.


    "Nice one, Captain." Tom said. "Just when I was beginning to believe that we could be friends." Arion shrugged and raised his hands in surrender. "But your clothes would have being in the doctor''s way to treat your wounds, and they were dirty." As if that makes it alright, again it was a thin line, and he was not going to touch it. Arion reminded himself, this was for Kiara to decide if this was agreeable or not. Kiara didn''t say anything, she just looked at Tom with a glare that could have killed him. So that made things pretty clear.


    "Your fighting skills were flawless," Arion said, to break the tension. "At least on the dummy. We were wondering if this is also the case on something that fights back. And I think that Tom is the perfect volunteer." Tom glared at him. Yes, he did it again. Throwing him in front of the wolves, only this was just one wolf. But Kiara nodded.


    "Fine," she replied. Tom growled at Arion who stepped out of the way. And the rest of the army, who in the main time had stopped, started to circle around them. The fight didn''t take long, which surprised Arion. Kiara had unarmed Tom with so much ease, that it was almost comical. Only it was nothing to laugh at, there was nothing wrong with Tom''s technic. He was a skilled with the sword, Arion could attest to that. And it wasn''t the matter of Tom holding back, either. Kiara was simply that good. Arion looked around and all of him looked at Kiara with their mouths slightly ajar.


    "Again," Tom said, while picking up his sword. Kiara obliged, but the result was the same over and over again. Was this magic? Arion had heard that some people inside the Sharax Empire and in the Sodora Kingdom have magical abilities. The nephew of the current Empress and Emperor was a so called seeer, and was able to see someone''s past, present and future. But those people all had the same features, night sky blue hair and red eyes. Children of Segeus that is how they were called, but Kiara didn''t have red eyes or night sky blue hair. Arion shook his head when Tom was unarmed for the tenth time.


    "Give it up, Tom. You are not going to win from her." He said, Tom looked at him.


    "I had the same thought, five tries back. But I am not one who easily gives up." Tom said. "You are something else, miss Kiara." Arion agreed with that, so did the rest of his men, audibly. "But I wonder," Arion lowered his head knowing where this was going, he had thrown Tom for the wolves, and now it was Tom''s turn to do the same. "I want to see how our Captain hold his own against you. If you do not mind, miss Kiara." His statement was met with screams of enjoyment from the older soldiers. They wanted to see his ass royally kicked, and this might be so. But he was able to study her moves, while she was kicking Tom''s behind. Kiara looked around the crowed, a sly smile appeared on her face.


    "Why not," Kiara replied, all his men started to shout loudly. Gladly awaiting for a good show. He stepped on the field, his sword already in hand. Tom gave him a nice pat on the shoulder. He nodded, took his stance and waited for her to come to him. She was smaller then him, and much quicker to. Tom in his fights attacked her first, and that led to his ten defeats. He was going to see what she would do, if she needed to start this confrontation. And she didn''t let him wait for long, her sword fowling her, it was probably a bit more on the heavy side. But it didn''t stop her, he blocked her first attack, and her second. He kept on blocking her. He knew that she was quick, but this was crazy. There was no sign of one single mistake, there was no opening for him to place a counter attack. So all he could do was blocking her attacks, and his men were not helping either. Their were cheering Kiara on, glad to see him struggling. And he couldn''t blame them for that, his family and he put them through the ringer. And this in their eyes was the perfect revenge. He took a small step back, and strangely enough she followed him, giving him the perfect opening to strick back. And he did, and because of this he was able to get a couple more blows in. But she didn''t let that stop here, they were now intertwined in some kind of dance. The magical dance of sword fighting, were none of them wanted to come out as the loser. Which in his mind, both of them wouldn''t face ridicule after this. Both of them were fighting for their lives, without the fear of losing it. Kiara''s forehead was cover in pearls of sweat, so was his. They were getting tired, and it showed. Not that his men noticed it, they were cheering even louder now that he was fighting back.


    "We for sure giving them a very good show." he said, his voice came out a bit forced. He was clearly out of breath, but there was no change of him slowing down. Apparently neither did she, she took another swing to him. But she left herself slightly open, he duck out of her swords way. He charged forward and pushed her towards the ground.

 Chapter 3

    The air was knocked out of her lungs, she kept her chin against her chest. Like her uncle had taught her to do, to avoid head injury. Captain Arion Snem?ne was still laying above her, clearly busy catching his own breath. But it was so uncomfortable, she has never been this close to a man before, that wasn''t a member of her family. It seemed to take forever before he pushed himself up.


    "I am so sorry about that, but I really couldn''t move." he said, she was able to see in his deep brown eyes that he was speaking the truth. He kept looking her straight in the eyes, didn''t look away or anything. He crawled back and sat down, still breathing heavily. Now she was able to push herself up, the magic that kept her alive for this long was rushing through her body looking for any kind of injury. Like it always did. The sword lay a couple of inches from her, no surprise there. She had left a too big of an opening, tears were stinging behind her eyes. There was no wonder that her father had left for dead, yesterday. She was useless, not even able to defeat a Lord-ling. She couldn''t deny that he had some skills, more than her former opponent. But still, she was trained to do better. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked. She jumped up, not even grabbing the sword she borrowed, and run away to the cliff. Tears were now streaming freely over her face, how could she be so stupid. She was so useless, her father was right, her father was so right. "Kiara?" of course now this Lordling followed her to do what, comfort her. He just beat her in a fair fight. He said nothing to he, he just sat down and let the roaring sound of the sea overtake everything.


    "Yesterday, I told you that I was part of a secret organization, the Core of protection, all members of this organization are blessed by Segeus with special gifts. We are not Children of Segeus, but we call ourselves, Beskyttelseskerne. My family, the H?ber family, got the gift to close rifts."  She said. He might not believe her, but she wanted to tell him all of it anyway. She saw it as some kind of reward for beating her. "My brother, Benjamin, is the last member of my family to have this gift. My father was so filled with hope when I was born, but I became in his mind the biggest failure. There was a bit of the magic inside of me, but not enough to close even the smallest rift. So I became my big brothers'' protector, from the age of five. I was taught by my uncle to pick locks, and fight with various weapons, not only the sword. And I was sent out with my brother when I was ten. I have being fighting Riftwalkers ever since then, but a couple of months ago, Benjamin went off out of nowhere, and I followed him. As that was my job, he closed the rift, as that is his job. But I needed to face the first wave of Riftwalkers all by myself, and I ended up hurt. To say that my father wasn''t happy about it, would be an understatement. I needed to heal, and that meant that his precious boy was on his own." She shock her head. "He threatened that when I ever got hurt again, he would leave me for dead. And that is what he did." She looked at him, and there was something in his eyes. Anger? Was he angry at her? Was he angry for her? She didn''t know, but she had told him bits and pieces of her story.


    "So, what do you mean, by rifts?" he asked. So, he wanted to know more about rifts and Riftwalkers. Which was fair.


    "Alright, for some reason unknown to me. The barrier between two planes of existence, is very weak inside Snem?ne estate. And from time to time the barrier breaks, that break is what we call a rift."


    "And does monsters, are called Riftwalkers." he finished, she nodded. He got it, at least the bigger picture. "Why didn''t your organization warned the King, my family?"


    "We did, at least that is what I was told. According to history, we have shared this information on multiple occasions, with the higher ups of this country and your family member. But they all said that this was some sort of bad joke, that we were crazy. And that was even after we showed them a dead Riftwalker." She said, and he looked shocked. "Again, that is according to our history." She wanted to make that much clear, she herself has put some question marks on that part. But she at least wanted to share with him all that she knows. She gave him a smile. "I am so sorry about," she pointed towards her cheeks. "Even after a sparring match like ours, my father would call me useless for losing like that."


    "What!" He said loudly, "that is crazy, you were amazing out there. You made me work, like you, my father, taught me how to fight from a very early age." This shocked her slightly, he wasn''t the lazy Lord-ling at all. Her father had lied about that. "My father believed that I needed to be ready for anything, while figuring out what is going on in those villages. He also taught me to study my future opponent. I studied you, while you were kicking Tom''s ass. But that didn''t make things easier, believe me. Remember that I wasn''t able to get off you, after I tackled you." She nodded, it was hard to forget that. She looked down at the sea, the calm emptiness of the fast open blue space. Kiara often wondered if there was some other island or place beyond it, where she would be able to start a new life. Away from her family, the duty that was placed on her.  "Are you feeling better now?"  Better might not be the right word to describe how she was feeling, lighter. Yes, she was feeling lighter. "Good, and your father is dead wrong about one thing." She wondered what that might be. "You are not useless." She smiled at him, she was glad that he thought so. She herself was not so sure about it, at least not yet.


    *******


    They have being sitting on the ground for quite some time, Kiara had lost track of time and not even notice the placing of the sun. It was nice sitting there, let her mind go everywhere and at the same time nowhere at all. She couldn''t remember the last time that she had time for that, she rolled with her eyes. She never got the time doing stuff like that, her father wouldn''t have allowed it to happen. Her days were cramped together with multiple training session, with various weapons, simple but at the same time not so simple cardio and strategy. A training session she shared with her brother, not that he has paid a lot of attention to what was said, otherwise he never had put her in a position where she could get hurt. She wanted to shake her head, he was not to blame for her situation. He was doing his job, it was once again her father who placed her into the job of protecting her older brother.


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    "Kiara, I think it is time to sort out your sleeping arrangements." Arion said, she looked over her shoulder towards him. He looked somewhat different, relaxed, at ease. Maybe, just like her, he has no time to do this kind of thing often.


    "My sleeping arrangements?" she asked, he nodded.


    "I prefer to keep the hospital ward, free and a small bird told me that she has learned to pick locks from a very early age. So..." he said with a sly smile on his face, she herself was the small bird. She wanted to chuckle, but at the same time, she thought that he was pretty smart for keeping the large tent for medical stuff open. She looked at the rows upon rows of tents. In her short stay here, she had seen that all those tents served a purpose. Some were for housing, others were used as temporary smiths, some were reserved for storing and prepare food. It looked more like a village than a camp. A village filled with men, and she was the only woman in here. That was probably one of the major differences with her home situation. Women were not excluded from the fighting force, no, they were forcefully included. "You can have my tent, it is the only one with some privacy. I can probably bunk with some of the other men. We also need to sort out clothing, and a chore schedule that includes you. Every one inside this camp has them, even me."


    "You, what are your job?" she asked, not believing a single word. He was a Lordling, yes he could fight well. But doing ordinary chores, like laundry and cooking, seemed to her a bit of a stretch.


    "Today, I am on guard duty. Meaning I will have zero sleep tonight, tomorrow I need to mock out the make shift stables and groom the horses." he said, and her mouth opened slightly. He was doing ordinary chores, just like everybody else. "I believe that you can help the firewood collectors for today. You either collect the firewood or distribute it to those who need it. The smithies, or the kitchen." She nodded, that sounded simple, and something she was able to do. "Good, now first I show you the tent, and then I drop you off by the soldier who is in charge of that group." They both got up and went on their way. His tent was not big, but had a separate sleeping area that she could close off. Which indeed gave her some sort of privacy. And a half hour later, she was walking in front of a cart to distribute firewood to one of the blacksmiths in the camp.


    "Do you need help with that?" a man with a brown leather apron came out of the tent. He was mostly bald, his dark evergreen eyes were covered by thick black eyebrows. His face was covered with large soot stance. She could hear the roaring of the fire in the portable forge, outside the tent were wooden stands filled with all kinds of weapons. She shock her head, but he was not the first one who offered her help. All the blacksmiths and chefs had offered her help with the large stacks of firewood. But she had proven to each one of them that she was more than capable. She grabbed the first pile and carried towards the small stack that was already there. He chuckled, which was a low sound. "Here, it goes a bit faster if I help? I can see that you can do it yourself, but why should you." He started to laugh, and this time it was one of the deepest belly laughs she has ever heard. The wood was indeed unloaded in a matter of minutes.


    "Thank you, but you didn''t have to. I can only imaging how busy you guys are." she said, but he waved her words to the side.


    "Every member of this small army is always prepared to help each other, no matter how busy we are. This camp has three blacksmiths and like you geussed I am one of them. I am resposible for the weapons. Markus over there does horseshoes and stuff for the kitchen. And Karel works on armour. You should go there next, he needs some of your measurments for a new armour. Apperantly the one that you were wearing is beyond prepare." the blacksmith said. That last part didn''t surprise her to much, Riftwalkers are not known for their gentle touch.


    "I will, thank you once again." she said while walking towards the cart, grabbed the wooden pole and started to drag it towards the forge of Karel.


    "Ahh there is the wood delivery, do you need a hand with that?" and the same type of conversation started. She declining his offer, and him helping her anyway. Karel was tall, had blond hair, light green eyes. His face was clean, but covered in pearls of sweat. "Good that you are here, I need some of your measurments. Your former armour is dead, and not even the Gods can bring it back to life." He already had the measuring tape in hand. "May I?" she nodded. It didn''t take long, he waved her goodbye and went back to work. Dinner was served in a large tent, just as large as the one that housed the hostpital. Food was simple meat stew with some patotoes, but she didn''t care. As lonhg it was warm and filled her stomach, she had worked hard bringing the firewood around camp. But she was glad to do something useful, she sat down and took a bit. Her eyes grew in surprise, the meat in the stew was tender and melted away without one single bit. The vegstibles was not muchy, but still had their freshness and crunch. It was so tastefull, which she didn''t expect. Did this camp have a set cook, like they have a set doctor, and blacksmiths, or is this also part of the core schedule and were all the soldiers responsible for preparing food? If so than this tasty, yet simple dish was even more surprising.


    "It seems to me that you like your food," Tom, the soldier she has beaten over and over earlier this morning, sat down next to her. "No surprise there, James is a master in the kitchen. But I have to spoil your fun tomorrow there would be someone else cooking the meal and only the Gods will know what kind of gruel we will be served." He chuckled softly. "I have seen you pulling around the firewood cart, typical. The Captain didn''t waist anytime to put also you to work."


    "I do not mind," she said. "I rather urn my keep." Tom nodded in agreement.


    "You are an amazing fighter, and a true asset." he said. She wanted to thank him, but he was to busy shoving down his food. Everyone inside this camp was so nice to her, it was so much more different than she was used to at home. Briefely she wondered how Benjamin was doing, but quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She was left for dead, not only by her father, but also by him. Her was no longer her brother, and she was no longer his sister. Tears stung her eyes, it might be easy for them to cut her out of their lives. Only for her, it was not that easy.

 Chapter 4

    Benjamin was fuming when he left his father''s office. How could he be so heartless. Kiara was an eighteen-year-old woman, in her prime, and what his father just threw her to the Riftwalkers. He left her inside that poor village, presumably to die. And why, because she got hurt, she got hurt while protecting him. And twenty five-year-old man, one that drew his own plan, and she had paid the price for it. Benjamin slammed his fist against the wall. How could his father be so heartless? It was not her fault that she got hurt, it was not her fault that he went to the front with only her as his protection. It was his fault, he was the older brother, and he should have known better. He knew that his job inside the Core of Protection was important, he was the only one alive who was able to close a rift. Especially after his grandfather passed, away a couple of years ago. Kiara also has some of the magic, only according to father not enough to close a rift. Which in his mind was a load of horse shit. If he only had given his permission to let her learn and use the gift. Even if she wasn''t able to close a rift all the way, she still would be able to help him in more ways than only protecting him. Only that never happened, and she was now somewhere inside this messed up estate, alone. He slammed the wall once again, he was not without blame either. Benjamin has seen first hand how their father bullied her, how he kept working her to the bone. Until she couldn''t do anything else, then to fall upon her bed and sleep. He snorted, it was not even a bed. It was a piece of cloth covered with heaps of straw, even sitting on it made him uncomfortable, and she needed to sleep on it every night. He once offered her his bed, when they were just small children. But their father discovered her in the middle of the night and gave her a beating. She never complained about her bed after that, and it was also the last time he offered to make her life easier. Because he knew that it would make her life even harder, his uncle rounded the corner and saw his now bleeding hand.


    "Benjamin, what happened to you?" his uncle said.


    "I hit the wall," Benjamin replied, through gritted teeth. "Father wouldn''t let me go." His uncle slowly nodded in understanding.


    "This is about Kiara."


    "It was not her fault, it was mine!" Benjamin shouted. "She doesn''t deserve to be left like that, she doesn''t deserve any of my fathers'' treatment." His uncle shook his head.


    "Benjamin, listen to me carefully. I agree with you, she is just a woman that brushed my big brother''s ego when she didn''t possess the families gift. In the same way you do," he added the last part, after Benjamin glared daggers at him. He knew that Kiara did had the magic, she only never learned how to use it. "But maybe in this twisted way she can be finally free. She doesn''t have to work so hard to keep Anton happy. She can live a normal life, and to be honest with you, that is the only thing I wish for her." Benjamin agreed with him there, but that will only happen if she got to live. "She is alive, Benjamin. My sources told me that an hour ago. She is currently inside the Lordling''s camp, and according to them, she has shown him how good she is with a sword. He beat her in the end, but according to my scout, it was a fair and good fight." Benjamin was taken aback by this, Kiara was still alive and had even trained with the Lordling''s army. He didn''t know much about the Lordling, that is how the Core of Protecting called Arion Snem?ne, except that he was a good Captain of the Snem?ne army. "I was going to get her chest of clothes and sent it to her, after reporting this news to your father. Not that he wants to know this, but I do not care what he wants right now."


    "I wished that I was able to come with you," Benjamin said. "To see Kiara, I want to say that I am so sorry about what happened." His uncle laid a hand on his shoulder.


    "Benjamin, you have being raised in the same unhealthy manner as your sister. Only you were conditioned to believe that you could do no wrong. I have seen you struggle with this for years, knowing that you are in the wrong. The desire to be her protector, even though your hands were bound. It is good to know that you are still able to see that you are at fault." His uncle hand slipped away, and he left him alone. But Benjamin meant what he said, he wished that he could go with his uncle. Only he knew that his father would never have allowed him to leave. Benjamin looked over his shoulder where his uncle has being a couple of seconds ago, he left the hallway when he heard his father''s loud voice.


    *****


    Benjamin knew this fortress as the back of his own hand, no surprise there, he has grown up here. The thick dark gray brick walls, the large and deep moat that surrounded the building. The people who were working inside its walls, it has been the same large group of people all his life. Some die overtime, but new editions to the group were born inside the walls. A large group of soldiers, were training in front of the main building. Young children were sitting at the edge of the field, watching their fathers, brothers, mother, or sisters preform the movements. Early in the morning before their lessons in math and writting it was their turn. Training for them started at the tender age of ten, Benjamin scoffed. Kiara was five when their father brought her to the field, weeping. She was scared, and didn''t want to leave her mother''s side. Her mother, who was fine with their father''s treatment of her daughter. Benjamin and she didn''t share the same mother, and his own mother cared enough for the both of them, until she too passed away. Benjamin walked past the large group and entered the building, the spiraling stone staircase that lead towards his father''s apartment was steep. And when he was younger, he found them disorientated. But that feeling faded when he got older. Kiara at first didn''t dare to set foot on the stairs as long he was not with her, she was so small back then. So small, so scared. She always knew that their father and her mother didn''t love her, she knew that his mother did. She knew that their uncle and grandfather did. How many times their grandfather offered to take her from their father''s hands, Benjamin was not able to tell you an exact number, but their father always refused. Telling him that he was too old to look after a major disappointment, and yes, he said that while Kiara was present. She had cried herself to sleep that night. After that moment, she has taken to her studies more seriously. Dared herself to climb down from the stairs, even though he was a couple of steps removed from her. She forced herself to be the perfect daughter, forced herself to be the perfect soldier. She was good with the sword and every other weapon she was able to lay her hands on. She never complained, when their father laid an extra layer of task on her. Benjamin''s blood began once again to boil when he thought back, his uncle was right. His father made her believe that everything she did was not enough, that even her getting hurt through his mistake was her own stupid fault. Benjamin walked through the simple apartment, there was a small kitchen and dinner area. A small living room, his father''s bedroom and then his bedroom. Which was filled with stacks of leather-bound tomes, rolls upon rolls of parchment with some kind of magical spells. In one short word, his room was a mess, and once again that was somehow Kiara''s fault. She was responsible for the chores, above her already busy schedule. He himself bowed down to pick up the few pieces of clothing that lie around on the floor.


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    "Alright, it is now time to clean this mess up. And that before uncle is done talking with father." he said to himself. "I know that there are some tomes, and scrolls that can help her with training her magic." He knew his sister too well, she would fight the Riftwalkers again. She would come across an open rift, and with those small gestures in the right direction, he hoped that she would be prepared when she did. He gathered the books and placed them one by one inside the large book case that covered one of his walls. He threw the dirty clothing by the door, so that he wouldn''t forget to dump them in the laundry basket. The tomes he wanted to give away landed upon his bed, he would look at them in more detail later. Because he knew that he couldn''t give all of them to her. She was no longer living at home, she lived inside an army camp now and even thought the inventory traveled behind them. There was no way he could expect that they hauled all of those tomes with them. The roles ended up in a special cabinet near his desk and when all of it was done he was pretty proud of himself. Kiara would have being shocked to see his room so cleaned up and organized. A part of him hoped that she could walk through that door, but that was a fooling dream. He picked up the tomes, he chose two and the various scrolls. One of them explained the spell she needed to close a rift, which was the most important one of them all. Kiara''s bedroom was the door opposite of his, and he wouldn''t go so far as call it a bedroom, either. It was not even half the size of his own room and had just enough room for a bed, a chest for her clothes, a washing bowl. That was it, there was a small stand mounted up on the wall for her sword, but that one was empty. Her sword made with Segeus steal, a special metal embodied with the magic to kill Riftwalkers more quickly. He himself made that sword for her, he placed his own magic inside of it. He opened up her chest and placed the tomes and scrolls at the bottom before placing a magical spell over it. So that, even when examined by his father, he wouldn''t see them. He wanted to place the small collection of daggers, he made, in there. But maybe that would be too much. His father barely allowed her to use the sword he made, it would have given her an unfair advantage. Which was horse crap and Benjamin knew that as well as everybody else inside this compound. His uncle and father entered the room, luckily he had the daggers still in his hands.


    "What are those?" his father asked.


    "Segeus steel daggers, I made them for Kiara''s birthday." which was not a lie. He had made them for her birthday.


    "You once again waisted your presious magic, on that useless girl. She is no longer part of this family, I can''t believe that I allow your uncle to bring her the chest with clothing. But I know he would have done it anyway, even if I forbad it. But I will not allow those weapons." Benjamin suspected that much. "What are you doing herre anyway, do you not have your magic studies?" Benjamin shook his head.


    "My mind was not in it, so instead I cleaned up my room." he replied.


    "That is not your job, that is..." his father''s words died down. He wasn''t able to blame Kiara anymore, she was no longer a part of this family. That was a habit that needed to be unlearned, Benjamin had no doubt in is mind that he would find a new scapegoat. His uncle, his aunt, one of their children. All of them were likely suspects.


    "Normally, Kiara''s. But she is no longer here, and it was a mess." Benjamin explained it with a simple shrug. "And besides that, I had the free time." His father nodded slowly, he opened the chest and looked through it, as Benjamin suspected he would.


    "Alright, get this thing out of my sight." his father snapped at his uncle. His uncle did and left with the chest. Benjamin followed him, down the staircase towards the stables. A horse with cart were already standing ready for departure.


    "Give me those daggers," his uncle hissed. Benjamin did, his father would be so angry when he founds out. But he wouldn''t be angry at him, he would be angry at his uncle. And his uncle knew that all to well. "I will pass on your message, Benjamin. Do not worry to much about her, she is one of my best students." Benjamin nodded, knowing that his uncle was right. Kiara was the best warrior he had ever known. But that would never take away his guilt, the guilt that he was the one that coursed her pain. His uncle left, leaving him behind.

 Chapter 5

    The camp awoke, like every single morning since she arrived, to the call of the single trumpet. The soldiers lining up by the tent that housed the dining area inside the camp, already fully dressed in armor. Knowing that after breakfast there would be a brutal training session. It has being seven days, since the last rift opened, and normally the compound she once called home would be buzzing. Rumors of a possible location for a new rift, the preparations, her brother that would be bowed over some maps. The hairs on her neck were standing on end, live inside the camp might seem normal. But also here was some kind of tension in the air, the forges were already being prepared to move. The breakfast and dinner the day before were simpler than usual, as if the cooks had less time to prepare. Kiara walked towards the stables, she had mocking duty after training. She always loved horses, but her father had never deemed her worthy enough to have her own. She always needed to borrow one, and she hated that fact. When she entered, she was surprised to see Arion already busy. The training has stopped just a few minutes ago.


    "Be careful, they are a bit on edge." he warned her. She nodded, just like the horses back home. They, too, were able to feel that something was going on.


    "Normally, I would be inside a war room. Listening to a lot of plans, theories about how to close the rifts for good. Never allowed to speak a word." she said. "Sometimes I even wondered why I was in there. My opinion didn''t count, I was only in the way."


    "I do not believe that for one second," Arion said. "You needed to know the plans in advance, so that you were able to plan out your own strategy." She frowned, did he know something she didn''t. "Your job was to have your brother''s back. So you needed to know what his plan was to be able to do your job. Not that it mattered, from what you told me." She nodded, this was indeed something she hadn''t even considered. Her brother''s plans were not widely known by the other warriors, so if that was the only reason why she was needed inside those councils, well it could have been a good one. Still, at the time, she wasn''t able to see it that way. And Arion was right, it didn''t matter in the end. Her brother changed the plans last minute, and didn''t bother to inform her. "Are you alright?" she nodded. It was not the first time that this type of conversation took place between the two of them. She didn''t know why, but he was just easy to talk too. She closed her eyes, and some kind of feeling washed over her. It was a feeling she never had before all of this. No, that was not true. She has felt this feeling before, but only when she was near a rift.


    "I do not know how to describe this, but I am able to feel that a rift is about to open." she whispered. "Close by, and soon."


    "How close and how soon?" he didn''t ask her to explain things further. He just wanted to know what she just shared with him. She walked to the entrance of the tent, dark thunderclouds started to gather.


    "Hours, if we are lucky." she said. "I need to go there, warn the people nearby." he nodded and ran out of the tent. She began to get all the horses ready, together with some other soldiers who overheard their conversation. No one questioned her, when she pointed towards a direction, and the whole army left the camp behind them. Leaving only the doctor and the three blacksmiths behind in the camp.


    *******


    The wind picked up, purple lighting shot from the sky towards the ground. The smell of burned flesh penetrated the air, they were not too late. That was all Kiara could pray for, they would be on time. They would be able to get as many people out of the area as possible. Arion road on a horse besides her, his sword already in hand.


    "Stay close!" she screamed, that was the only way to be able to get over the wind. Then there it was a loud cracking sound. Purple flames marked the edges of the rift that slowly split open, forming some kind of sick bridge between the two realities. Luckily, the village was at least ten minutes removed from the rift. So if the army would split up now, they would be able to safe everyone. Arion motioned to the men behind them, and a group indeed rushed towards the village. Kiara drove her horse towards the rift, stopped a couple of meters, and then jumped off. Horses wouldn''t be of no use during this fight, they are just too scared of the Riftwalkers and not without reason. Those creatures didn''t belong here. The first member of the creatures jumped out, the purple flames. She already had her sword inside her hand, ready to strike first. How long before her brother and the warriors of the Core would be here? The compound was half a day on horse back away, but surely they would come. But will they come in time, she was not sure about that. She luckily didn''t need to worry about the villagers, she only needed to worry about herself and the rest of the Snem?ne army that was backing her up. The Riftwalker stomped towards her, its three razor sharp claws ready to attack. She often compared the creatures with very large woodlice, but with horns. Their ability to put boiling heat into their claws made them more dangerous, and she was trained to fight them. She duck away from its claws and pushed her sword into its stinking flesh.


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    "Alright man, you have seen first hand how to defeat them. Stay away from their claws, hit them right under the arm pit." Arion said loudly, which was indeed the gist of this all. Kill as many Riftwalkers as they can, until her brother is here to close the rift. The men behind her started to shout, and rushed towards their targets. The sound of their shouts didn''t fade into an empty silent void, their voices changed to the clashing of metal. Screams of them getting hurt and maybe even dying as they fight off the creatures. Kiara lost count of how many Riftwalkers she has slain, but she could feel her muscles starting to burn. Meaning that they have fought for a very long time, and to her horror her brother and his men were nowhere to be seen. She quickly looked around, the soldiers that were assigned to assist the villagers had joined the fight, so they were at least safe. Another Riftwalker died due to her sword, as quickly as it came into view. "Kiara, we can''t go on like this!" Arion screamed, from behind her. He was having her back all this time, which was a comforting. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded, he was right. She was trained to fight these creatures, his men weren''t. Something she was going to address in the future, if they have any. Where in the name of the Gods was her brother? He should have being here by now, there was no excuse.


    "Arion, I am going to try something." the words have left her mouth, before she realized what she was saying. She never closed a rift before, she didn''t have enough magic, according to her father. But what other option did she have? Her brother wasn''t here, and Arion''s army was not holding these creatures back for much longer. She needed to do her best, she almost knew how to do it. She had seen Benjamin do it countless times, she put away her sword. "Cover me!"


    "Always!" he shouted back. She raised her hands and called upon ever bit of magic that was inside her body. The magic that always was there to heal her injuries. It came to her slowly, wrapping around her as a warm and cozy blanket. The soft purple and gold light escaped her hands, traveling towards the raging purple flames that marked the edges of the rift. As it was a small thread of cloth, it started to stitch up the rift. Only it was way too slow, but that was probably the result of never doing this before. Pearls of sweat covered her brow, black spots started to cloud her vision. She couldn''t stop, she needed to go on. Until the rift was closed, or her brother finally showed up to finish the job she started. "Almost there, Kiara." Arion said. "You are almost there." His words were comforting too, it warmed her heart to know that he was supporting her efforts. The black spots grew, until they covered her vision fully.


    "She is going to collapse after this," Tom screamed towards Arion. "Be ready to catch her, I will cover the both of you!" Tom has seen her struggles. But she wasn''t able to hear Arion''s response, nor did she see any. But she could feel strong arms wrapping around her waist. Arms that kept her up, while her knees started to buckle.


    "Don''t worry, I am here. I got you." Arion''s voice whispered in her ear. "Are you sure you are doing this for the first time." She wanted to smile, but was too tired to do so. "Just a bit further." Breathing became difficult, to the point that the air barely reached her lungs. Still she kept on pouring out her magic.


    "Kiara, stop!" That was Benjamin, he was finally here.


    "You are late," she said. Before she slipped fully away into the darkness.

 Chapter 6

    Arion was holding the unconscious Kiara in his arms, her brow was covered in sweat. Her skin and lips avoid of any form of color. But she was still breathing, so she was still alive. Tom was indeed covering his back, while the strange group of people rushed in to finish the job. The man that clearly knew Kiara''s name was closing the last part of the Rift, probably he was her brother. The man lowered his arms and sighed deeply, before turning around.


    "What, in the name of the Gods, was she thinking?" he asked loudly enough for everyone to hear. Arion looked at his men, who all sunk towards the ground in exhaustion. He, too, was sitting on the ground, avoid of any energy to stand on his own two feet. The man knelt down and lay a hand on Kiara''s head. "It doesn''t matter, she closed the rift. That is all what matters."


    "She is still breathing," Arion snapped in a low voice. And the man nodded in agreement.


    "My uncle was heading your way a couple of days ago, but I gather you have yet to meet him. He was bringing a chest with all her clothes, some tomes and scrolls so that she would to study the magic that lies within her." the man said.


    "And I would have being here sooner, if I was not occupied with cleaning up some bandits along the way." All of their gazes snapped towards the man that was sitting inside a wooden cart. "No worries, Lordling, I handed them over to your father''s men." Lordling? That was a term he never heard before. But did that matter, he wasn''t sure, he looked at Kiara who lay in his arms and shock his head. "But what is your excuse, Benjamin? The compound is not so far for you all to be late." Benjamin, that was the man''s name. Benjamin opened his mouth. "I don''t you dare to blame your father, you are a grown up man. You go when you feel the fabric between the worlds waver." Benjamin closed his mouth and let his head hang.  He was ashamed, good. He was not only late, he brought Kiara in danger again. Arion knew that he wasn''t able to judge this man for his deeds before he met Kiara. But in the name of all the Gods, this man made it so difficult for him. "Actions speak louder than words, Benjamin. You kept saying that you are sorry, to me, to your father, and if you had to change right now, you would say it to your sister. You knew that she one day was going to face the Riftwalkers, that is the reason why you placed those tomes and scrolls inside her chest. That is the reason why you made those daggers. But you, of all people, should have known that she wasn''t ready." The man looked away towards the direction of the rift. "Although she did a pretty good job, despite the odds." His gaze snapped back towards Benjamin. Who hasn''t moved one inch. Good.


    "I didn''t know that she would be here." his voice was soft, and barely audible. Even Arion had trouble hearing it. But apparently his uncle heard him loud and clear.


    "That is horse shit, and you know it." the man snapped. "The Lordling''s army was camped a bit further than the compound. Still, they didn''t only show up on time. They removed the villagers from the danger, and fought well, even though they aren''t trained to do so. Something your sister will undoubtedly change, if the Lordling lets her."


    "And I will," Arion replied. "We now know what we have being fighting, and it is just out of pure luck that we didn''t lose anybody." The man on the cart nodded.


    "You have more common sense than my nephew here." He pointed towards Benjamin. "Go home Benjamin, pounder over what you have learned today. And do better!" Benjamin rose up and walked away, without saying another word. The man finally climbed out of his cart and came towards Arion and Kiara. "The few you left behind are already busy to set up camp, just outside the village. The wounded are already transported towards the large tent that you have made into a hospital. Let me carry my niece towards it." Arion wanted to protest, but he was not even able to stand on his own two feet. Let alone carry her, so he nodded, and her uncle took her away. He himself was helped up by Tom.


    ********


    Kiara''s uncle was right, the camp was already in the latest stages. The portable forges were set in place, the tent that functioned as the mess hall was standing proud. The stables were ready to house the horses, even most of the soldier''s personal tents were set up. His, or rather Kiara''s included. This was the first time that his men were able to pull something like this. But then he saw the villagers walking between the tents, so they had help. Which was also something new. He hadn''t time to inspect the village himself, which was on top of his agenda in the morning. Now all he wanted to do was to shut his eyes and sleep. But not before Kiara has woken up. He struggled to get to the hospital tent.


    "Captain, you look like the walking dead." the doctor said. "No surprise there." he sighed. "Are you hurt?" Arion shock his head.


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    "No, just tired. But thank you for checking in, Sonny." he replied. Sonny nodded and sighed.


    "If we are going to fight these creatures in the future, I really need some extra hands. Right now, I am able to make do with the help of people from the village. But we wouldn''t be that lucky every time we set up camp. " Sonny said. Arion knew that he was right about that, but there was nothing he was able to do about it now. "But you are not here, to hear me rant about my troubles. She is inside her old room, the one with the cell." Arion knew the room, her uncle was sitting next to her on the bed.


    "How long did she stay in here, before escaping?" he asked while Arion sat down on the chair.


    "One night," Arion said. Her uncle started to laugh, but somehow the sound of it was a bit hollow. Arion didn''t know how to react, so he did nothing and just waited for the man to continue.


    "She was the best student I ever trained. My only regret is that it was not because she wanted to learn, it was because of the imposible desire to prove something to my brother. To prove that she wasn''t useless. But he kept on pushing her, almost breaking her. The bittersweet moments of love that my wife, Benjamin''s mother, and I were showing her was barely enough to keep her together. Do not mistake the lack of Benjamin''s actions of love, he did his best. But the boy has being conditioned to see his little sister suffer. One time he offered up his comfortable bed, instead of her straw filled sack. That same night, my brother found them and beat up Kiara. It was so bad that she wasn''t able to pick up a sword or pen for a week. This scared Benjamin, and I, for one, do not blame him for that." the man shock his head. And Arion felt sorry for Benjamin and Kiara. "Do not take my next words the wrong way. But I am glad that my brother left her for dead, it was the only way for her to break free from the abuse he put her through." Arion only nodded, agreeing with the man. Her uncle sighed and pushed himself up. "Time for me to unload her stuff, and to go back home." This shocked Arion, her uncle was leaving her while she was still unconscious?


    "Do you not want to wait until she is awake?" he asked. But the man shock his head. Now that the man was up close, Arion was able to look at him closely. The man was a different shade of blond, but he had the same gray eye color as Kiara.


    "She has suffered enough by my families hand, it is better for her if she never sees us again. Something that is not going to happen as long as the rifts are a thing." he said. Arion looked confused. "But right now, the Core of Protection are not fighting this battle on our own. Encourage her to teach you and your man how to fight. Give her this." He gave Arion a package. "Those are daggers made from Segeus steal, Benjamin made them for her birthday. Which is tomorrow." Tomorrow, he has nothing to give her. "Do not worry about it, she has learned not to expect anything. Another thing I blame myself for, all what I could give her were weapons. Everything else got taken away from her." Arion balded his fist, he hated to even think about how bad things were for her. Not even daring to celebrate her own birthday, not even able to hope for a nice gift.


    "Is there something I can do for her?" Arion asked.


    "You already doing it, Lordling. You have given her a place to stay, compassion and respect. Making her a part of your army. Keep on doing that, and you will make her life so much better, and that is all I ever wanted for her. Al what we all wanted for her." he said, and this made Arion feel a bit better about himself. But there would be something he could do to give her a bit more. Her uncle left the room, and Arion followed him. While his mind was all over the place. The cart of her uncle was standing in front of his, Kiara''s tent. There was one box, one single box. Was that it, was that all she had? Even his men who were constantly on the move had more. Two sometimes three boxes, with clothes, tomes and scrolls and other stuff that kept them busy. Her uncle, got out the crate and handed it over to Arion. "I know what you are thinking, and yes. This is everything." Arion''s blood started to boil. "Benjamin''s mother left her so much clothing, jewelry to fit four of these boxes. But like I said, all of that was taken away from her, by her own mother." So Benjamin and Kiara didn''t share the same mother. But apparently the mother of Benjamin did everything in her power to care for Kiara. "Kiara has always been a strong child, and she did her best to not show any emotions. But still, it was enraging to see, how a grown woman stole from a ten-year-old and got away with it." Arion nodded, even he got angry, and he wasn''t even there.


    "Is there something she always wanted, except approval of her father?" he asked, trying his hardest to sound calm. He knew that he was failing miserably. Her uncle gave him a friendly smile, but didn''t say anything for a while.


    "I can see that you are a good man. I can think of one thing, a horse." he said. Arion nodded and watched the man climb the cart. "She loves those creatures, and always begged her father for one. And that stubborn asshole was not able to see that it was not only a want but also a need. So I know for a fact that you would make her day, no you would make her year if you gave her one." A horse, the army had a few spare ones that normally pulled the carts behind the main group. But those were needed inside the camp, Kiara had rode one of those. She needed one of her own, that was for sure. And he nodded, that was something he could do. Her uncle chuckled, and drove off. Arion wanted to call him back, pleading for him to stay. But he knew that her uncle left her in his care, and he would do everything in his power to take care of her. To be there for her, to support her and show her that she is more then enough just the way she was.

 Chapter 7

    Benjamin slammed the door of the apartment shut, he hated to even think it. But his uncle was right, his actions were contradicting his words. And he didn''t like it one bit. His father poked his head through the doorway of his own room.


    "Were you successful?" he asked. Benjamin nodded, but didn''t say anything. "Good, not that I suspected anything less from you."


    "Except it wasn''t me who closed the rift, it was not our people who defeated the Riftwalkers." Benjamin snapped. "It was Kiara who closed the rift, you remember her? The daughter you left for dead? The one with ''not enough magic''? She closed the rift without knowing how, she led the Lordling''s army towards the rift. They fought with the Riftwalkers without proper training. They were in time, got the people of the small village out. And we were too late to do anything. Next time I just round up the men and leave, I am not going to look for you and beg you on my knees for permission. I have a duty, I have...." his father slapped him across the face.


    "Watch your tone, boy." he said in a low, growling voice. "I am the leader of the Core of Protection, and above all that I am your father."


    "And you are doing a bad job on both fronts, big brother." uncle Bjarne said, he appeared just behind Benjamin. When did he come back? Benjamin left him behind at the village, and he was the one who brought Kiara too, the Gods knows where. But that those not matter right now, they needed to put his father in his place. Yes, he was the leader, but he wasn''t the one who needed to fight the Riftwalkers. He was the one who stayed behind, and he didn''t have any right to hold Benjamin back. "Your boy, here, is the one who can sense when and where a rift is going to open. Just like dad before him, and as such, he needs to have the freedom to leave this compound when ever he sees fit. And your daughter is doing great, she was still asleep after her performance. But she is fine, thought you want to know."


    "Well, you thought wrong, little brother." Benjamin''s father replied. "And he is not leaving this compound without my permission!" He now pointed towards Benjamin. But Benjamin shock his head.


    "You are delusional to think that I am ever going to ask you. When I feel a rift, I am going, and there is nothing you can say or do to stop me." Benjamin said, and he passed by his uncle and father. He had said all he needed to say, he was a fucking adult right now, and Uncle Bjarne was right. It was highly time to grow the fuck-up and make his own decisions. He opened his room and... "Emma, what in the name of the Gods are you doing in here?" Emma Olesen was a young woman with long walnut brown hair and summer green eyes. She was sitting on his bed, dressed in something that could be described as a translucent dress. Making his question rather stupid, she was here on the orders. His father has pushing him towards women before. One of the reasons that he was so late by the rift was because his father wanted his opinion. Well, clearly, the old H?ber, has taken matters into his own hands. "You know what, do not answer that. I was just surprised to see someone else inside my room." Emma nodded, clearly glad that she didn''t have to answer anything. Benjamin wanted to curse out loud, but he didn''t. Knowing that Emma would think that his anger was directed at her. He shock his head and sighed, stepping closer towards her. Keeping his eyes locked on hers, not daring to look down at anything else. "Please only answer with your head. Do you know why you are her?" from all the women his age, his father picked this shy girl. Emma nodded. Alright, that skips the need to explain things. "I am not going to do anything if you do not agree with this." he said softly, hoping that his father didn''t hear the statement. Emma just gave him a soft smile, placing her hand on his cheek.


    "I consider it to be an honor to carry your child." she whispered softly. "I am fine with it, and you are so sweet for asking my consent." He nodded, glad that she thought so. But he wasn''t sure about any of this, he knew that he needed to get his ass in gear. Literally, it seems, to create the next generation. He stepped closer to Emma, she might be shy, she was however a strong warrior. Just as strong as Kiara, so she wouldn''t be a bad choice to carry his children. He knew that his father wanted him to sleep with multiple women to enhance the chance, but he knew that it was not something he would do. If he picked a woman, he would stick with her until the end of his days. And again, Emma wouldn''t be a bad choice. He wanted to explain this all to Emma, and he did.


    "Now that you know all of this, do you still agree?" he asked. She nodded again, there was a shimmer in her summer green eyes. He smiled, and kissed her softly on her cheek. "Well, then there is nothing that is going to stop me now."


    ********


    Arion was sitting on the same chair as he did a week ago, his head was bobbing slightly. He was so tired, but there was no way that he was going to lay down or fall asleep. Not while Kiara was still asleep, after what he has heard from her uncle, he wanted to be there for her. He wanted to give her everything her own bloody family couldn''t give her. And he wasn''t even thinking about gifts, which was something that made his stomach turn every time he thought about it. Although, he considered his childhood a bit harsh, with his father being away all the time and his mother resenting him for it. But still, he was able to say that his parents loved him, that they can''t wait for him to get home. Kiara started to stir in her sleep, it appeared to him that she was suffering from a nightmare. He got up from his chair and took place on the side of the bed. Whipping her strawberry hair out of her face.


    "Please do not leave me?" she whimpered, repeatedly. His blood started to boil, who was leaving her in her dreams. Her father, brother, mother, the rest of her family? It didn''t matter, and at the same time it did. She was clearly pleading towards someone to stay.


    "Don''t you worry, I am not going anywhere. I am going to stay right here." he whispered. Tom entered the room.


    "Captain, you are needed." Tom said. But Arion shook his head, and motioned towards Kiara. Who at that moment grabbed his arm tight.


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    "Please do not leave me?" she whimpered again. Arion glanced towards her, and then back to Tom. Hoping that he was able to see that he was needed here. Tom''s mouth thinned out.


    "Your father is here, captain. But I can clearly see that you are needed here." Tom said. Arion almost jumped up, his father was here. What, in the name of the Gods, was his father doing here? "Should I ask him to join you in here?" Arion nodded, even if he wanted, he wasn''t able to leave. Kiara''s grip was strong. Tom moved away and not much later his father joined him inside the room.


    "Father," he said shortly.


    "Arion, I see why you were not able to meet me outside." his father said softly. "Who is she?" Arion slowly wiggled with his head, knowing that large parts of her story were not his to tell. So he told his father the basic''s instead, her name and what she can do. His father nodded slowly. "One of your men showed me a corpse of what you just named a Riftwalker." That had to be Tom. "I can''t believe that they are the creatures responsible for this mess. What I can believe is that our ancestors turned those of her organization away, even if they had solid proof. Everyone before your grandfather was kind of arrogant. I believe my mother or grandmother had something to do with my father''s kindness. Ohh, she is waking up." Arion turned his attention towards Kiara, and indeed her gray eyes slowly opened up.


    "Welcome back," Arion whispered. She gave him a smile. "We have company," her gaze snapped towards his father.


    "Lord Carl Snem?ne, at your service." his father introduced himself. "My son told me a little bit about you, and your organization. At least the parts he felt comfortable sharing," so his father had noticed that he left out some parts. "But that is how his mother and I raised him, so I can''t blame him for that." Kiara sat up straight and smiled.


    "Thank you," she whispered, and then started to tell her story herself. Some parts were simply repeats of what Arion shared, but his father didn''t comment on that. He simply nodded and listened.


    "I am so sorry to hear about your family, although there is nothing I could have done to prevent it. As a father myself, I can''t fathom the idea of treating my son like your father treated you." his father said, and Arion knew that he meant it. "But like my son, I thank you for your efforts and providing the answers we desperately needed. I am not going to tell you that there is no place for a woman inside the Snem?ne army, because that is no longer up to me. That is up to my son, and he, like yourself, told me that you are a trained fighter. I agree with your uncle though, this army is not suited to fight those monsters, at least not yet, and so I will ask you to train them to the best of your abilities." Arion nodded, it was indeed up to Arion to decide who to include inside this army. A privilege to his duty, but he never used it before.


    "I will train them, as best as I can. Sir." she replied with a nod. Arion smiled, knowing that she would do more than just her best.


    "Good, then, instead of one group fighting and one cleaning up after them. We have two groups, and hopefully no more clean up." his father said with a smile. "So what I want you to do right now is go back to sleep. You did a lot today, from what I have heard." She nodded and lay back down. Arion placed a simple woolen sheet over her and walked out of the room together with his father.


    *******


    "She seems nice, strong and more than capable to hold her own. When she is awake, at least. I heard that you barely beat her in a duel." his father said, while they arrived in the mess hall. Various soldiers gathered around to grab something to eat or just finished up and went out to do their chores. Tom who was standing on the otherside of the food line serving food, nodded.


    "After she beat up me a few times, sire." Tom said. Arion placed his hand before his mouth.


    "Ten," he said while coughing. Tom looked at him with narrowed eyes. His father started to chuckle. "But what you heard is true, father." His father lowered his head. "And I am not ashemed to admit it. She is a strong warrior, and I am not surprised at all about that, after fighting with those Riftwalkers myself." His father looked at him.


    "Please son, I am so glad that we finally have the answer to what plagues our lands. But I am not willing to lose you, so that we can get rid of them. If that is even posible." his father said, they sat down at one of the tables. Eating their food.


    "Captain," one of the soldiers approced him. He was in charge of the firewood, and today he should be part of that team. He forgot all about that, he cursed.


    "I am so sorry, it totally slipped my mind." he said. The soldier nodded.


    "You had much going on, so I understand." the soldier said, but Arion shook his head. No that was not an excuse, if someone other then him forsakes his duty, he would have punished them. And he shouldn''t be any different.


    "How late am I?" he asked. Which earned him a strange look from his father.


    "Half an hour, Captain." the soldier replied, Arion nodded and stood up.


    "I am sorry father, but I forgot that I needed to gather firewood for the forges and kitchen." Arion said, his father now looked even more confused. But he stood up as well.


    "Do you mean to say that you are doing the same type of chores as the rest of your men?" his father asked and Arion nodded. "Laundry, cooking, cleaning out stables." Arion nodded again and his father''s dark brown eyebrows shot up.


    "Is there something wrong with that?" Arion asked, and his father shook his head.


    "No, but let me help you as well." and so they walked out of the mass hall to gather the firewood. "So this is your way of earning respect from your men?" His father asked and Arion nodded as a reply. His arms were filled with small sticks, and some pinecones. His father was the one who told him to do so, and he saw no shame in participating in day to day tasks. "Smart, you are showing to them that you are not above them. But that you are one of them. But I have a hard time picturing you cooking something." Arion started to chuckle.


    "To be fair, I am banned from touching the food while it is boiling. I am only allowed to peel the patatoes and clean the vegtibles." Arion said. His father started to laugh. loudly.


    "That woman, Kiara. Is she also doing day to day tasks?" he asked and Arion nodded.


    "Only not tomorrow. I learned from her uncle that it will be her birthday, I also learned that her family never celibrated it. They even took away every present that wasn''t a weapon." he said and his father started to curse. "I am thinking of taking her through the village, and ask the men to prepare something nice for dinner." his father nodded.


    "And what do you plan to give her?" his father said. "It is a bit late to get something made, or to buy something expencive like jewelry." Arion nodded towards a meadow, on there was a whole herd of horses. Their owner was a man that lived inside the village, and Arion already planned on meeting him after Kiara had woken up. "A horse?"


    "She always wanted one, according to my source, her uncle. But her father never saw the need to give her one." Arion replied and his father nodded.


    "Well I say lets deliver this firewood, and then we are going to buy her a horse." Arion didn''t miss the word ''we''. His fatehr really wanted to help him with this and there was nothing that would stop him from doing so.

 Chapterr 8

    Kiara woke up just before the sun came up, smiling when she crawled out of bed. Still wearing the same old clothing she has being wearing for over a week. Now that they were near a village, she really needed to figure out to get some new ones. The only problem was money, she didn''t have a single coin. Slowly she shock her head and left the room, that was part of the hospital ward. Which was simply a giant tent, one of three. The other two were the kitchen and food storage, and the other was the mass hall where everyone eat their meals. It was silent, the sky was a dusky light purple. Some small colorful moths, and twinkling fireflies were still flattering around. A song of an early bird was heard in the distance. This time the camp was not near a cliff, or near the sea at all. But there was a nice boulder that faced west, so she took a seat. The early morning air was crisp, but not overly cold.


    "Morning," someone whispered. Her head snapped around and behind her was Arion. He was holding two wooden mugs in his hands. Steam was coming from the liquid within, the smell was some kind of herb, only she wasn''t able, to describe it.  "It is tea." She nodded, and took the mug he offered. The warmth was a welcome addition to her morning.


    "You are up early, didn''t see your name on the guard list?" she said, and he nodded.


    "My father," as if that explained everything. Maybe in his mind it did, but she didn''t know his father. She only met him yesterday and that was in one word briefly. "I told him that today is your birthday." She gasped, how did he know? Her uncle most have told him, he most have. But that still those not explain why he was awake this early and what his father had to do with it. She only has known these people for one week, and there was no way that they would go out of their way to make this day special. Her own family, on the whole Core of Protection, never did that for her, and they have known her inter life.


    "My birthday, is just some regular day. I do not celebrate it." she said before taking a sip from her tea. It was something minty, not literary mint but something similar, but softer. Lavender maybe? She was not sure, but she rather focused on that, then to talk about her birthday and the disappointment that came with it. Year after year, to the point she had given up on it all together. At least she thought she did, but now that he said something about it. She sighed and took another sip. Her gaze was fixed on the horizon, waiting for the first glimmer of the sunlight.


    "I saw your skin glow up, the first time." he said, she frowned. Her skin did what now? "You clearly didn''t know about that." She shook her head, no one even mentioned it to her. Not that there were many people that woke up this early to watch the sunrise with her, and to be fair, he was the only one who did it. "It was beautiful to see." his voice was soft like a whisper, but it warmed her soul somehow. The sun peaked over the grassy hills, and the first rays tickled her skin. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and let the rays warm her skin. "Kiara," Arion''s voice was soft, he had said that her skin glowed. So opened her eyes and looked, he was right. Her skin had a soft golden glow to it. "Like I said, beautiful." She smiled softly, while looking away from her hands towards him. But a sliver of doubt crossed her mind. He was talking about this strange ability, not about her. She lowered her gaze towards the ground in shame, she was not beautiful, her parents told her as much. She was an ugly waste of space with her lack of magic and her disappointing performance on the battlefield. Arion sat down next to her and grabbed her hand. "What is it? Did I say something I shouldn''t have?" He was so sweet, and now the doubts about the meaning behind his words faded into nothingness. This was Arion, not her parents, he wouldn''t hurt her with empty words. She shock her head, not trusting her own voice. She took the last sip of her tea.


    "No, thank you." she said, he nodded and sighed.


    "Your uncle has brought one crate with clothing." he said. And she was shocked. All her clothes were here, so she was no longer conditioned to walk in the same outfit day after day. "And I didn''t want to, but the thing slipped out of my hands. I saw everything and so did my father. Simply to say it in his words, ''that is ridicules''." she looked at him confused, she wasn''t mad about him seeing all her clothes. But why was it ridicules? "He has ordered some seamstress that lived close by to come. And Karel already had your measurements." Then his words finally hit her, no, this couldn''t be. This was not happening. "Come with me, birthday girl. It is time for you to change clothes." He was still holding her hand when he stood up and pulled her with him. She was still in shock, new clothes. Did they really get her new clothes? Her own family only gave her worn out hand-me-downs, that were either too big or too small. They entered the tent she was assigned by Arion, it used to be his own personal tent. But he gave it to her because it granted her a bit more privacy. There was a table, chairs and other stuff that was from him and all of that was filled with various outfits. No dresses, but outfits she could move and fight in. "All of these dresses are made with some metal lining, that functioned as armor. So no more metal plating for you, because that only slows you down." Arion explained, and he walked over to a mannequin that displayed on of the outfits. It was a simple white blouse, with long sleeves. It had an under-bust corset that seamlessly moved over to black pants. There were small golden embroidery on the blouse and pants. She moved closer, to study it better, and then she was able to see the skirt attached to the corset. "My father, really liked this one and wished that you could humor him by wearing it today." she slowly nodded. Of course, she would humor him. "I will leave you alone then, happy birthday, Kiara."


    ******


    Kiara''s hands went over the fabric of her new outfit, it was so soft, smooth and expensive. She would never be able to effort something like this on her own, and for the first time in her life she had something that fit her perfectly. With her head held up high, she left the tent, but that quickly sunk in when her eyes met those of the whole army. All of them started to sing.


    (Make your own happy birthday song.)


    Her heart fluttered, and her eyes filled up with tears. This is also the first time she heard this song aimed at her, she was always the one singing along with others on their birthdays. But before now, no one ever sung it for her. An arm wrapped around her shoulder and when she looked at the side she saw Arion. His father, Lord Carl Snem?ne, was standing behind him.


    "You look beautiful," Lord Carl said, with a simple nod. "Happy birthday." She smiled at him, her cheeks were still covered with tear.


    "Thank you," but he waved her words away.


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    "It was nothing, you desperately needed clothes that would fit you and your job. And those old ones were not going to cut it. And besides that, it is your birthday." he said and all the men started to echo the sentiment, again a wave of happy tears washed over her. "So now it is time for breakfast, and after that, my son, you and I are going into the village. There are still some things a woman needs, like a hairbrush." She wanted to decline, he has done so much for her already. "This, young lady, is not up for debate." Arion shook his head.


    "All of the men chipped in for stuff you might need." he said. "So this will not be a gift from my father, or me. It is their gift to you, our newest member of this army and the one that is going to lead us." Did he say, lead? But he wasn''t going to repeat himself. He slowly pushed her towards the mass hall, where a large buffet was waiting for them. When in the name of the Gods did they do all of this? The food was delicious as always and there was even cake. She never tasted cake before, her parents didn''t allow her to eat sweets. Sweets were only for useful children, like Benjamin. She slowly shook her head to remove those negative thoughts out of her head. They were not here, so there was no use to think about them right now. "Alright, are you ready to head out?" Arion asked, she nodded and sighed. The rest of the men wished them all luck, and went back to their tasks.


    ******


    The village was slightly bigger than the one that got destroyed last week, and the people were just happy to be still alive. Something that those not happen that often, almost never. Children were playing on the streets and alleyways between the buildings they call home. Various cats and dogs were roaming between them, the sound of laughter filled the air. Together with the smell of fresh baked bread, women were standing in groups engaging in conversations. And their men were nowhere to be seen, probably at work in the fields.


    "Most of them are cattle farmers, I have seen sheep, cows and some horses." Arion said. "I have counted 60 to 80 houses. So I estimate the population to be around the three hundred in various stages of life. The elderly are still very active." He nodded towards an older woman who was hanging the laundry out to dry. A few chickens surrounded her. "That lady over there is responsible for your cake." Kiara smiled at the woman that waived at them.


    "Good morning, how was the cake?" the woman asked when she came closer. "I assume that you are the birthday girl." she said to Kiara, and she nodded. "Well, sweetie, then aren''t you a lucky one." Kiara didn''t know how to react to that, but she could make out that this was not to mock her. "All those men were running around like headless chickens, only for you. But I also heard slivers and hints that this is the first time celebrating it like this, so I am able to understand why."


    "Thank you," Kiara said, she didn''t know what else to say. "It was indeed a surprise, and yes the cake was delicious." The woman nodded, and smiled at the two men behind her.


    "Martha, is already expecting you. But you better get your fancy asses to the town sqaure. One of your soldiers is in trouble." She said. Kiara didn''t know who Martha was, but that needed to wait. First they needed to see what was going on. They rushed away towards the square, and indeed there was a soldier laying on the ground. An angry older man was towering above him, his fists raised ready for another attack. Behind the man stood a group of young women, and one of them was in tears. Pleading for the man to stop.


    "What in the name of the Gods is going on here!" Lord Carl shouted, the whole sqaure fall silent. Kiara rushed towards the soldier and checked for any injuries. He only had a swolen eye and a cut in his lip. Arion had made his way towards the women, probably to get their side of the story. The older man pointed towards the soldier on the ground.


    "That piece of trash, defiled my sweet angle Brigit!" the man shouted, the soldier in qeustion gaze went towards the ground.


    "I don''t know if I did, but also do not know if I didn''t." he whispered. "I was to drunk to remember, anything to a curtain point." Kiara nodded, but what was he doing here then? The man then looked up to Lord Carl. "Because I do not know for sure, I still want to do right by her. So I came here and asked her hand in marraige. I even gathered all the money I have for her dowery." Lord Carl pinched the bridge of his noise.


    "Do you really think that I am going to sell my daugther to scum like you." The man shouted, he was ready to attack the soldier again.


    "The money is not meant to buy your daughter." Lord Carl said, this pulled the man''s attention away from the soldier and to Lord Carl. "It is to pinch in for her upkeep, while the groom is still in service. This man here is a soldier and currently fighting to keep the whole estate safe. Which can cost his live, the money is to pay for her food and the roof above her head. Until he is released from service, or he is able to bring her to his home." Lord Carl looked at the soldier on the ground. "I have to say that I do not condone your actions that led you to do something rash. But I admire your strenght to do the right thing." The man now looked at Lord Carl.


    "What kind of practic is this?" the man asked.


    "A practic, I established after seening the opostite happing when the army was under my own command. Good sir." Lord Carl said. "So now we have that cleared up, were is your daughter." The young woman rushed towards the soldiers side and knelt down next to him. This is where Kiara stood up and made her way to Arion''s side. "Do you wish to marry this man?"


    "What I never gave my concent!" her father shouted. But Lord Carl looked at him with narrowed eyes.


    "I wasn''t asking for your concent, I asked for hers." Lord Carl snapped. But the girl nodded. "I can''t hear you, do you wish to marry this man. Even though he is still in service and might die in the upcomming battles?"


    "Yes, my lord." the girl said. Lord Carl then turned towards the soldier.


    "How much did you offer the father?" He asked.


    "I only have three months of my salery with me, the rest of my money is at my house." the soldier said. "I offered him more, and I told him that it would take time to get that money to him." The father glowered at the soldier.


    "And I supposed to believe you, after what you did." the man hissed.


    "For which he takes responsibility," Arion said. "Yes, he made a misstake. But he is prepared to marry her, and I know this man very well. I also know that he didn''t fight back, he let you use him as a punhing bag." Kiara nodded, she had seen him spar with various soldiers as well. She even sparred with him as well, she won. But that didn''t mean that he wasn''t a good fighter. "And besides that three months of his salery is nothing to sneez at. The Snem?ne family is paying their soldiers well." Lord Carl nodded, and he should know because he was the one paying them. The father now looked at his daughter who was still on the ground next to the soldier.


    "Fine, you want to marry him go ahead. But I will not except the money, because you are no longer living under my roof if you do!" With these words the man turned around, walked towards the other women and grabbed them harsely by the arms. The girl was in tears.


    "Sir," Kiara yelled. The man turned towards her. "Can we, I mean your daughter and I, collect her clothes and other posessions? She is going to need them, inside that camp. Trust me." the man looked at her with narrowed eyes. But slowly nodded.


    "Fine, you two and Lord Snem?ne. But not those two, I already lost one daughter." the man said. Kiara grabbed the girl by the shoulders.


    "You can cry in his arms after we got your stuff," she whispered in Brigit''s ear. Brigit nodded and walked with her. Her head bowed, but she didn''t fight Kiara. They got her stuff, which wasn''t much and after that she went with her now betrothed towards the camp.


    "I need to speak with my man, when we get back." Arion said. "This is not something, that should be tolirated." His father nodded in agreement. But that was something to address, when they got back inside the camp. "But first we need to see Martha."

 Chapter 9

    Martha, the woman who owned the local store, was very nice. The gentlemen had arranged for her to get everything she needed for her hair and personal hygiene. Something she had forgotten, strangely enough. But then again, being abandoned by your family, getting adopted by an entire army and learning new things about one''s self, there are some things one might forget. Martha didn''t mind and even gave her some extra stuff for Brigit. Because she would need this stuff as well. When she left the shop, she felt a bit spoiled. Because that is what they have done, they spoiled her. Not only with all the stuff, but also with their attention. For which she was more than grateful, they knew how her family treated her. Probably also how her own mother took away her inheritance. The jewelry, clothes, the tomes, and small objects she was not able to remember. Only because her mother shared her father''s beliefs.


    "Alright," Lord Carl Snem?ne said with a sigh. That was uncomfortable, but there was no way we could ignore all of that." He was talking about those hygiene products. He apparently didn''t have a daughter, or if Arion had a sister, their mother would have covered that part. Which sounded natural, she would ask Arion about it once they were alone. "But we are not done with you yet, miss H?ber." This earned him a confused look, from her. Arion just let his head hang. They were not done with all those surprises, she currently had more than enough stuff. More than she probably needed, what else were they about to pull out? Weapons? She has enough of those, her sword made from special Segeus steal. Metal that hold her brother''s magic. Something he spent hours one, and their father didn''t approve of him ''wasting'' his abilities on someone like her. But her brother didn''t care, and she has a nice sword that was perfect for killing Riftwalkers. Arion took her hand and sighed.


    "My father is right, we are not done. Not yet, there is still one more surprise." he said. His brown eyes sparkled slightly. She looked at them, and the feeling of something strange erupted in her stomach. Not sure what it could be, but she liked it. He pulled her with him, softly yet forceful, as if he couldn''t wait to show her something. And she let him do it. His father didn''t follow them, which was strange. He had said that they were not done with her, and now he was not coming with them?


    "Why does your father not join us?" she asked, and Arion just shrugged. As if it was nothing, and probably it was nothing. So she decided not to pay much attention to it, but wondered where they were going. She wanted to ask him, but knowing him, he wouldn''t answer her. She frowned slightly, but did she know him? They know each other for one week now, and they sparred. Fought against the Riftwalkers, where he had her back. Something she was not able to say about her own family. His father also treated her warmly, but she didn''t know if he did that with everybody. Because again she didn''t know him, she didn''t know anybody inside that army camp, except for a few names. She has spent most of her time, training, doing chores and being inside Arion''s company. Which was nice, but most of the time they only talked about her. So he probably knew more about her than she about him, no not, probably. He knew more about her than she about him, something that was going to change. The walked out of the village, there was a forest nearby. Something she hasn''t seen before now, which was not surprising. They have arrived only yesterday, and back then she had something else on her mind. Defeating Riftwalkers, and keeping the people inside this village safe. But near the forest was a fenced off field, on that field was a whole herd of horse. The animals didn''t look up when they approached, they were being busy eating the long grass that covered their home. "They are so beautiful," she whispered. Her eye fall upon a black stallion, the way he walked told her that he was a proud creature, stubborn as well. She tried to call him, and to her surprise he responded in kind. "Hello, who are you?" she asked while holding her hand upright, the stallion placed his noise against it. The warmth of his body, the softness of his noise and the soft sound of his breathing. She took it all in. She remembered all the times she pleaded to have a horse of her own, one she could train and rid without having to ask permission. But her father didn''t see the need, and owning a horse was a fleeting dream.


    "It seems to me that this one has chosen you, miss." a man''s voice cut through the silence. Her head snapped towards a man who was standing a few inches from them. On the other side of the fence, this was without a doubt the owner.


    "They all are beautiful, sir." she said, and he nodded in agreement.


    "They are my pride and joy, they are beautiful and loyal creatures. All of them except that black brute that has chosen you. He is a pain in my behind ever since he joined my herd a couple of weeks ago. The one that sold him to me said that he was his first owner and got him from another breeder. Which I believe is horse crap, because in my firm believe this one is pretty wild. But he was a fine specimen, and he has done his duty, a few of my priced mares are pregnant." he said while he petted one of the mares on the neck. But then he looked towards Arion. "You didn''t want to choose one of the horses upfront. And now I can see why, the animal wouldn''t be driven by you." Arion nodded. Kiara frowned slightly. What did this man mean by that? Why didn''t Arion want to choose a horse all by himself? He already has a horse, a beautiful white stallion. So she was not able to see the reason why he needed another. Also, the rest of the men had their own horses, and there were a few spares that were needed to pull the carts with cargo and the forges. So horses plenty. But there was one person who didn''t have one, she gasped. No, there is no way. He those not know about that, she was pretty sure that she never told him about that. But her uncle, her uncle would have told him, together with the fact that it was her birthday. No, this was crazy. He was not going to buy a horse for her? "So, it seems that the black pain in my behind has chosen his next owner. But are you sure?"


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "Kiara, is not a beginner." he said. A pit of disbelieve filled her stomach. "I have seen her ride before, I am sure that this one is going to present a challenge for her, which in my mind is not such a bad idea." She shock her head slightly.


    "Arion, please tell me that the two of you are joking." she pleaded. "And if so, I need to say that I do not find it funny." The owner smiled at her.


    "It is not a joke at all, miss. That horse is now yours, this young man even paid for it yesterday." he said. Kiara looked at him and then at Arion who nodded.


    "Do you like it?" he asked. Tears started to well up in her eyes. This was crazy, so crazy. He went out of his way to deliver her a birthday she never dared to dream of. They have spoiled her rotten, by having a nice breakfast with cake. All those hair products, and hygiene products. And now a horse! She didn''t like it, she loved it. She stepped away from the animal and wrapped her arms around Arion''s neck.


    "Thank you," she whispered. Not trusting her voice to get louder, the tears were now flowing over her cheeks.


    "I will deliver him in the morning with a saddle and reins. Enjoy the rest of your day," the owner said, and he walked away. Leaving them behind with the horses. One of them was hers, and she was still not able to believe that he was. She hadn''t let go of Arion, who had wrapped his own arms around her waist.


    "There is no need to thank me, it is your birthday. And to be honest, you really need a horse of your own." he whispered in her ear. Still, there was reason enough for her to thank him. And she felt comfortable in his arms, the strange feeling that she had when he had taken her hands was back. A feeling that made her feel safe and cared for. Something she never experienced before, not even with Linda, Benjamin''s mother, or her uncle. They were never able to protect her from her father and mother, they were only able to soften the blow. Nothing more, or less. But she fully believed that Arion would have fought her father, with ever fiber of his being, to protect her. A clearing of someone''s throat made them break apart. Arion''s bronze skin tone was colored a soft pink on his cheeks. His father finally joined them.


    "Sorry, for the interruption. But I was curious which of these fine creatures, Kiara picked." his father said. Looking at the horses in the field.


    "Well, I didn''t pick the horse, the black stallion picked me." Kiara said, softly. "I still can''t believe that you bought a horse for me." she turned towards Arion, who shrugged.


    "Like I said, you needed one. And this man was willing to sell." Arion said, and his father nodded in agreement. Of course, he knew.


    "The black stallion, you say," he said. "He seems strong, proud, most likely stubborn as well." Kiara nodded in agreement. "Good, now that all the surprises are out of the way, let us go back to camp. I want to hear Kiara''s ideas about training our troops." And that was exactly what they did.


    *******


    "Come on, guys, move a bit faster!" Kiara screamed over the trainings field. It was just like Lord Carl Snem?ne had suggested, she was now responsible to get these men into the fold. They had fought Riftwalkers before, untrained, and no one was killed. And that on its own was a miracle, but now she was not going to leave anything up to chance. Arion was among his men, training his ass off. Something appreciated. The men preformed the various movements again and again. Her eyes went over them, and corrected a few of them when needed. Her eyes fell upon Brigit that was standing on the sidelines, with Lord Snem?ne. Looking at her now fianc¨¦e, Kjeld. Kiara walked over and gave her a soft smile. "Welcome, are you here to join us?" she asked. Brigit who didn''t know how to respond.


    "Can I?" she asked. "I thought the army allowed only men."


    "Which is true," Lord Snem?ne said. "That was before Kaira, however." Kiara knew that he was comfortable with her fighting along his men. This was because she was a trained warrior. But Brigit wasn''t and that in his mind would make things a bit more difficult.


    "Well, I do not know if you ever see a battle. But I believe that every woman needs to learn how to protect herself." Kiara said, she wasn''t looking at Brigit but at Lord Snem?ne. Who slowly nodded in agreement. "And I do not see a reason why you shouldn''t join the training sessions to learn just that." Again Lord Snem?ne nodded in agreement. Brigit''s face light up and she rushed away to get a sword from Josh''s forge.


    "Sneaky, but I agree. Now that she is living among men, she needs to learn how to protect herself. But I also have a feeling that you will go further than that." Lord Snem?ne said, and she nodded in agreement.


    "In the Core of Protection, every child no matter the gender learns how to fight as soon as they turn eleven. I on the other hand was forced to learn it when I was five or six. I do not remember, but it was around that time." she said.


    "Forced?" he asked and she nodded.


    "By my father, even though my uncle tried to convince him that I wasn''t ready. Which didn''t work, and I had to learn how to wield weapons I wasn''t able to hold yet. So wooden sticks it was, until I became strong enough." she explained. Her glance went upwards to see Lord Snem?ne''s face, which was seiging with anger.


    "I am so sorry that you needed to go through that all." he said, and she believed him. "Arion is my only child, and even though I taught him how to fight from a very young age. I never forced him to pick up a wooden sword. I never forced him on the back of a horse, sure he knew from an early age that he had duty to forfill. But then again if he really didn''t want to do that, I would have found a way to lift that duty of his shoulders." and again she believed him.


    "You are a good man, Lord Snem?ne." she said. He wanted to say something in return, but Brigit was back with a sword in her hands. Kiara greeted her back with a smile. "Alright, let us go over the basic''s with your future husband." Brigit nodded and together they walked away from Lord Snem?ne. Kjeld was more then happy to train with Brigit, not even wanted to know why she needed to learn. He just excepted it and started to train her himself. Arion joined her a bit after that.


    "Good call, now this army has one more soul." he said, she nodded. Hoping that they wouldn''t need her to fight Riftwalkers, but the future was unknown and all they could do was prepare.

 Chapter 10

    Arion watched as Kiara took charge over his men and Brigit, she was a talented warrior. But also a great teacher, that was something he wouldn''t have guessed. But he also heard her small conversation with his father, she was forced to learn how to fight from a very young age. And his father was right, he never, never forced him to pick up a sword. Or to climb on a horse back, that all came from him. Her family, and specially her father, became even more toxic with every thing she felt comfortable sharing. And he figured that what she and her uncle have shared was only scratching the service. And he was afraid to loss her if he pushed for more, which was the last thing he wanted to do. Or rather the last two things, his eyes lingered on her while she gave Brigit and Kjeld, the soldier they needed to save from Birgit''s angry father. Not that he could blame the man for being angry, he would be too. If a man showed up at his house, saying that he thinks that he slept with one of your daughters. His daughters, how would they look like. His eyes went back to Kiara, hopefully they all would be mini versions of her. If she was willing, of course. A sliver of fear entered his mind, what if she wasn''t willing. No, he shouldn''t think about that, there was a job to do first. Train his men into fine warriors who can fight against those Riftwalkers, and after that he didn''t know. Her uncle was talking about finding a way to close those rifts forever, but how are they going to find out information like this? Did the Core of Protection hold records of some sorts, prophecies? He didn''t know, and he highly doubted that Kiara knew information like that. He sighed, turned away from the training grounds and walked towards his tent. The one that he currently shared with Tom and one other soldier he didn''t know the name of. The poor man was kicked out of his sleeping arrangement, because of Brigit. The package that Kiara''s uncle had given him was laying on his bunk, and he cursed. He had forgotten about it once again, he quickly grabbed it and rushed back. The training had ended, only Kjeld and Brigit were still going through the basics with Kiara to guide them.


    "Uhm, Kiara." he stammered. As he walked over, she glanced over her shoulder. Her beautiful gray eyes sparkled slightly when she saw that it was him. Or did he imaging that? He wasn''t sure about that, but there was no time to dwindle on it. "I am so sorry, but your uncle gave me this." he gave her the package. She looked at it confused. "He told me that it was a birthday present from your brother, but I got sucked in planning your birthday planning. Long story short, I completely forgot about it."


    "From my brother?" she asked, and he nodded.


    "I am so sorry," he said, knowing the things he said before were not really suited as an excuse, even though they were the truth. He should have given the package to her, first thing yesterday, this was the same thing that went through his mind this morning. Only for him forgetting it again, when he went out for breakfast and training. She opened up the package and a set of four daggers came out. All of them were made by the same type of steel as her sword. Weapons, the only type of gift she was allowed to get.


    "They are made from Segeus Steel," she said. "That means that my brother forge them himself." Now he felt even more guilty. Her brother made these, with his own hands. Arion looked at her, and saw the tears were appearing in her eyes. He knew nothing about him except for the few minutes they spent together. But from what she told him, he didn''t know how to feel about him. Changing plans, and not telling her about those changes. He would have known that she would face the conciseness, not only by getting hurt. Her uncle told him that Benjamin is raised to believe that he could do no wrong. But it was not up to him to judge a man he barely knows. He is already doing that with her father, but this was her brother. Someone she clearly loves. He wanted to repeat his apology, but she looked at him with a wide smile. One that was reflected in her eyes, which made his heart beat faster. "Thank you for passing them on."


    "I wish only that I have done it sooner." he countered. But she simply shrugged.


    "I understand, you had a lot on your mind," she said. But he shook his head, he was not going to tell her how to feel. Again, it was not his place to do so.


    "Fuck, Kiara, that is not a good enough excuse." he snapped. "I am sorry for snapping like this, but please do not put yourself down for my sake. I can handle you being mad at me, or disappointed in me for forgetting. I can handle it all, and I wouldn''t blame you for feeling that way. But please, do not feel the need to hide it from me." He took her hands and sighed. Knowing that this might be the result of years of trauma, but she was with him now. She was with his whole army now, she doesn''t have to hide who she is, how she feels. She looked at their hands, but her smile didn''t waver.


    "Thank you, but I am really grateful that you brought them to me." she said. "It is just," she shook her head. Clearly stopping herself.


    "Please tell me," he said. Brigit and Kjeld have noticed the tension and left them alone. She sighed.


    "I do not know, I still hear my father''s voice in my mind. How worthless I am, how all those presents are wasted on me." she said, she held the daggers even a bit higher. "Two years ago, Benjamin forged my sword. He placed his own magic into it to make it even deadlier for the Riftwalkers. Something which was very useful for someone of position. And my father said that he wasted his time and efforts. That I was far beneath such gifts." she swallowed. "They left me for dead, and do not mistake me. Benjamin too left me for dead, while he already forged these weapons." Then the meaning of what she was saying hit him, like a horse kick against the nuts. Weapons are not made overnight, and magical weapons like these would take even more time. So what would Benjamin have done with the daggers if she indeed died? Something he didn''t want to think about, but that was beside the point. Right now, all he wanted to do was pull her into a hug and to never let go of her. To comfort not only her, but also himself. "Your father, the rest of the men and you, have spoiled me rotten yesterday. I would have been content with only the birthday breakfast, but you all went above and beyond for me. And I can''t help but wonder..."


    "You were worth it, not only are you training us. You have become a member of this community, by simply being who you are. A badass woman with a magical sword, who can fight like Godva, Goddes of death, is after her. But is also kind, willing to do her part of the chores without any complaint." He said with a large grin on his face, hoping that she believed every word that came over his lips. "Something all the men, including myself, have done on more than one occasion." She giggled and nodded.


    "Good to know, and I mean it, thank you not only for all what you have done. But also for what you just told me, I think I am going to hear that pep talk more often." she said, pulling her hand out of his. "But speaking of chores, I need to go and gather some fire wood." He wanted to groan, he was back on laundry duty. She started to laugh when she walked away, a sound that he adored and wished she would do more often.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    *******


    There wasn''t a river nearby, but near the village was a large well, where all the women did their washing. And today it seemed almost all of them were gathered, to do their laundry.


    "Good afternoon, ladies." he said, hoping that they wouldn''t hear the discomfort in his voice. Some looked up from what they were doing and greeted him in return.


    "There is some space over here, Young Master Snem?ne." one of the older women said, petting on the space next to her. He nodded and guided the unfortunate donkey towards it. The poor creature was carrying two baskets that were filled till the brim, and he himself was carrying two more. "By the Gods, are those from the whole army?" she asked, a bit shocked.


    "Give or take." he admitted.


    "And you are going to wash all of it?" she then asked, he nodded as a response. Sitting down and started to work on the first basket. "But you are their captain, and a young lord at that."


    "That even more reason why I am doing the chores, like collecting firewood, helping in the kitchen and doing laundry. This army needs to work as a unit, I am not above my men. I have a healthy body, and can pull my weight around the camp." Arion replied, while the rubbed the shirt with a cleaning stone. "My men are trusting me with their lives, and in return I do their laundry." The woman next to him nodded, and sighed.


    "You are a good lad, I hope that man is treating poor Brigit right." she said with a sigh. "What a shame, being tossed out only because she is in love with a soldier."


    "You know that it was because she slept with him right, she was damaged." another woman said. Arion wanted to groan, there they go. A few of the woman nodded in agreement. "A man like that can not be trusted."


    "A man that doesn''t know if they slept together or not," yet another woman corrected. "Still, he went out there and asked her hand in marriage. I know that rule about the money is a bit strange, but I have to believe that there is a good reason behind that as well." The same set of women as before now nodded towards her comment in agreement.


    "How is Brigit, holding up?" the old woman next to him asked. "I helped her mother getting her into this world, with great pride I have seen her grown into the young woman she is today." Arion smiled at her, so she was the village midwife.


    "She and Kjeld, have tied the knot yesterday evening. With the help of my father and our own doctor who is also a priest." he said. Which came as a surprise to him as well. "They have kicked Kjeld''s former roommate out of the tent, and she has trained with us this morning."


    "Trained, you mean that is learning how to fight?" the woman asked in horror. Arion simply nodded, and grabbed another piece of the laundry. The work to his surprise went a bit faster, then normal.


    "She is currently living in an army camp right now. We are fighting, creatures that belong in nightmares, bandits and sometimes armies of other houses that want to take over this estate. She needs to learn how to defend herself, because with the Gods as my witness, Kjeld, me or the rest of the army can''t protect her all the time." he explained. The shocked expresion in the woman''s face softened and she sighed.


    "That indeed makes a lot of sense." sha said. "She is a brave girl, a bit reckless at times, but brave." he smiled, but another woman came into his minds eye. "I am done with my laundry, here let me help you." She already has taken some of the laundry, before he could refuse her.


    "Thank you," he said, but she shook her head.


    "It is nothing, you better take good care of my Brigit and we are even." she said. One by one the other women took pieces of the laundry and started to wash it after their own laundry was done. Not all of them, some left without saying a word.


    "Oh hello, Captain," it was Martha, the woman who owns one of the local stores. "What nice to see you here," she took a spot that was just reseltly being abondoned by the former occupant. "How is Kiara, I could see that she was a bit overwhelmed yesterday."


    "She is doing great, thank you for your concern." he replied, smiling from ear to ear. Which was noticed by several women.


    "I believe my eyes spot a man in love, please pray tell more about the lucky girl." the older woman next to him said. He sighed and started to tell bits and pieces about Kiara and how they met. But he didn''t go deep into her families abuse of her. But it was more then enough information for them to fill out the missing details.


    "She seems such a nice girl, it was sweet of you all to do something like this for her. But do not forget, this kind of actions are becoming void if you are not there for the smaller things as well." Martha said. This time it was his turn to nod in agreement. She was right about that, he has seen the reality of doing just that earlier that morning. He wanted to thank her for her advice, but saw that she was in conversation with another woman.


    "Does she know that you have feelings for her?" the woman next to him asked, but he shook his head. She gave him a soft smile and a small pet on the shoulder. "Then you better hurry up, Captain." he chuckled slightly.


    "I will, I promise." he said.


    **********


    It didn''t take long for the wet clothes to be put back in the baskets. He thanked the women that helped him and rushed back to camp. Those wet clothes and sheets needed to dry.


    "Welcome back," it was Kiara, and he smiled. "Shall I help you?" He didn''t know where his voice went, so he just nodded. "You have done this laundry with the speed of the Gods, please tell me your secret." He opened his mouth.


    "Well there were some ladies by the well, and they just grabbed the laundry out of the baskets, after they were done with theirs. The only thing they wanted in return is for me to listen to the village gossip. The hot topic, Kjeld and Brigit." he said, surprised that his voice came back for this explenation. But is not there to greet her. She chuckled slightly and reached down to the first piece. "Then the conversation shifted towards you and me." She froze in place.


    "What about use?" she asked. He closed his eyes.


    "They asked if I had feeling for you?" he said, which was only half the truth. But she doesn''t need to know that, he just sat their smilling like a lovesick fool when they were talking about her. He could see the question in her eyes, before she asked it.


    "And what did you reply?" she asked. He stayed silent for a moment, would he come clean? Was she going to respond in the same way? They didn''t know each other for that long, but what did it matter.


    "I told them," he was going to put it out and in the open. "That I never met a woman quiet like you, so strong, so talented warrior. But yet so kind, and beautiful." It was a bit of the same thing he said this morning. "It was hard not to fall for a woman like that." She looked at him with wide eyes, this lasted only a second. But in his mind it took hours. But a large smile formed on her lips.


    "Did you really say all of that?" she asked, he wiggled his head. Now being somewhat truthfully with her.


    "Maybe not in these exect words, but yeah." he said. He turned his whole body towards her, hoping that she would say something back to him. "And I am not joking, not about his. Not with you." Her mouth opened up, and closed, for a few times. She was lost for werds, was that a good thing? He didn''t know, but he at least told her how he felt. Then she lauched herself at him wrapping her arms around his waist.


    "I can''t describe what I am feeling, only that I never felt something like this before. But I have a weird feeling in my stomach, everytime you are near me. My heart beats faster, and when you are not near me my mind races towards you." she whispered, while she laid her head on his chest. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her as wel. She was feeling the same way, although she those not know what that feeling is. It doesn''t matter, he would happily describe it to her, every minute of his life.

 Chapter 11

    Benjamin was sitting in the library that he, more often than not, called home. Sitting at a large table, with his nose buried inside one of the many tomes that were left by his ancestors. All of them were written with only one topic in mind, ''The Rifts.'' Something that gets boring from time to time, but he loved to be in here. He loved the smell of the leather and the aging paper. He loved the silence, and the way that he was able to think clearly. A cup of hot Lavender tea was standing next to the tome, prepared by his recent acquired study partner, Emma. She was sitting across from him, bowed over a tome, reading every word and every page. Which Kiara never did, Kiara always attempted to look like she was reading. Not that it mattered, because their father would pull her out of the library as soon as he discovered that she was in there. Which he didn''t do with Emma, he tried to do that but failed. Benjamin is sleeping with Emma for the last couple of weeks, and although his father has tried to push more women into his bedroom, in various stages of undress. But he shoved them back out faster than they were able to blink. And at the same time, his father tried to push Emma into the role of a house slave, just like he has done with Kiara. But he those not do that when Benjamin is around. Which was another reason why Benjamin is keeping Emma so close to him, he doesn''t want Emma to be the next Kiara. She is his wife, in all but name, and he is going to protect and respect her to the best of his abilities. Emma looked up at him, probably she has noticed him staring at her. Her green eyes shimmered slightly, something that happened more often nowadays. It might have something to do with the amount of sex they have lately. He sighed and turned his gaze back to the tome he was reading. Although, his thoughts were not with the words written on the page. It has being weeks since the last rift has opened up, and there was still no sign of a new one opening. He didn''t feel the pulling weight of the world landing on his shoulder. It was strange, normally it didn''t take this long for a new rift to form. He briefly wondered what Kiara thought of this.


    "I feel so sorry for Kiara," Emma said out loud with an audible sigh. He looked up, wanted to ask why that was. But she was already holding up the tome she was reading. It was his grandfather''s journal. He himself has read it many times, after his grandfather died. It might sound strange, but every time he read it, he had the feeling that his grandfather was standing right behind him. His words, on the yellowing pages, were a guideline. "I knew that Kiara had a hard life, we all did. But to see it spelled out how bad it was, makes me somewhat sick." he nodded slowly in agreement. Knowing that he was part of the abuse, which made him sick. "And then to think that she was the first ever


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

 Chapter 12

    Kiara lay with her head on Arion''s chest, which slowly rose up and then went back down again. The soft sound of him snoring hung around her, so did his smell. It was pretty late in the morning, if not early afternoon. But the night before, the both of them had guard duty, so they would be forgiven for that. It has being weeks since Arion confessed his feelings for her, and they have slept together ever since. Fully dressed, they didn''t have sex yet. In some ways, she didn''t think that she would be ready for that. It has also being weeks since the last rift. Which in her mind was strange, the time between rifts opening was a most a week. Not a month. She sighed, glad that she was inside the army camp and not back home. Her father was probably loosing it, he was already on edge if eight days went by before a rift opened up again. Losing his temper, drinking, which resulted in her being hit. Slowly, she closed her eyes, once again reminding herself that she was no longer in that place. She was outside her father''s reach, he could no longer hurt her.


    "Ohh look at you, attempting greatness! Pity it''s just an attempt," the voice of her father echoed through her mind. The memory rushed back to her, in just a matter of seconds. She just defeated a much older boy during a sparring match, and her father just walked by the training ground. She was so proud of herself, and full of hope. Hope that her father would be proud of her too. But that was a foolish, her father was not proud, he was just ashamed that the older boy was not able to defeat her with ease. "Your existence is proof that failure has a sense of humor." Another memory, just as painful as the last one. She couldn''t have being older than six, it was close to Benjamin''s birthday party. When she made the stupid mistake of asking her father why she didn''t have one. She was excluded from the celebration, and was sent to her room without food. Her father couldn''t hurt her physically, but the memories still hunt her dreams. The emotional torment only stopped as long as she stayed awake. Not that not sleeping was an option, she was a member of this army, and she needed to be ready. She woke up, tears streaming down her cheeks onto Arion''s shirt. Then there it was, the sense of dread. A rift was about to open, close by.


    "Arion," she said, while she shook him. "A rift is about to open, we need to get ready." he woke up and jumped out of bed. Quickly walking towards the other room where he kept his clothes. She got dressed, her hair was already inside a braid, so she didn''t need to pay attention to that. She placed the scabbard with her sword on her hips and walked out. The rest of the men were already running like headless chickens, getting their weapons, preparing the horses, putting on their armors. Tom passed her by. "Tom, you take Brigit. The two of you are in charge of getting civilians out of harms way."  he nodded and rushed towards Brigit. Tom already had a group of men selected who would preform this task. Kiara walked towards her horse, who was already saddled and clearly ready to go. She mounted, at the same time most of the men did.


    "Kiara, lead the way." Arion said. She didn''t respond to that, simply commanded her horse to go, and he did.


    *******


    This time, the rift was about to open in the middle of a wheat field. The farmers, were already planning to take their harvest to the village a couple of miles away. When the army of Lord Snem?ne and that of the Core of Protection arrived. Benjamin was leading them, he nodded towards her in greeting. But she was shocked to see the state of his face, it was all brushed up. The same went for her uncle''s nose. She knew who was behind the injuries, her father.


    "Kiara," her uncle said as he walked up to her. Wrapping her into a tight hug. "You look, awesome. The clothes'' suite you." she nodded.


    "Thank you, uncle. But we have time to talk after the battle." she said. "A small team of the army is already making sure that the civilians are out of harms way. I have practiced with the scrolls and tomes, Benjamin gifted me, so I am able to help him. Place the rest of the men where you want, only I want Arion close by." her uncle nodded in reply, and started to give orders.


    "Lordling, you have my niece''s back! While she has her brother''s!" he shouted. "The rest of you, I hope you have paid close attention!" Kiara didn''t pay close attention to what happened next. They were in time, and even had moments to spare to coordinate. Which was also something new. She took her place next to Benjamin, her sword already in her hands. While she called upon her magic, which started to circle around her in the golden glow with hints of soft purple. She noticed that Benjamin did the same thing, but his magic missed the hints of purple. There were no colors at all except for the golden glow. Was there something wrong with her magic? She shook those thoughts out of her head, no, there was no time for self-doubt, she needed to focus. Dark clouds started to gather, purple lightning shot through the sky. The shattering sound, of something breaking, the smell of decaying flesh. All of that came at once, but they were ready. She struck down the first Riftwalker that came through the rift, Benjamin struck down the next with his magic. Something she has never seen him do before, but there was no time for questions.


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    "Benjamin, leave the Riftwalkers to us. Focus on closing this thing back up." she screamed. He looked at her with narrowed eyes, there was an anger burning inside them. She has seen her brother mad before, but never this angry.


    "Fine!" he snapped. What was going on with him today, or rather, what has their father done to him. He didn''t look at her, instead he raised his hands and started to close the rift. Another breaking sound interrupted him, however.


    "Kiara!" her uncle screamed. Another rift burst open, just on the other side of the field. Riftwalkers were already pouring out. "You need to close it, no worries. I will cover Benjamin."


    "Arion!"


    "Right behind you, Kiara," he said, before she could say anything else. With his confirmation, she rushed through the crowed. Fighting of Riftwalkers, avoiding the razor sharp claws. "Keep those boiling hot hand off my girl." Arion screamed, to a Riftwalker while killing it. "Do what you need to do, Kiara." she placed her sword in her scabbard, raised her hands and started to let her magic do the work. It was not as taxing as the first, but it wasn''t easy. She could hear Arion fight with the Riftwalkers behind her back. She also could hear his labored breathing, they just ran towards this rift while fighting one Riftwalker after another. There was no way that she could blame him for being already out of breath, she was not much better off.


    "Kiara, my rift is closed." Benjamin said, hers was almost done. "Leave this one to me,"


    "No, I can do it, Benjamin." she said. "I am no longer that weak little girl, I can do it." A smile tucked on her mouth. And there it was, the last bit of the rift was closed. The remaining Riftwalkers were slaughtered by the rest of the army. They did this, together, as a group. There were wounded, but no one got killed. All the farmers were safe, although the grain was destroyed. But if that was the only thing, she could live with that. She sat down, breathing heavily. "I did it." she whispered. "Did you see that, Benjamin, I did it." she gazed up at him. "We did it." He nodded and sat down next to her.


    "You did it, little sister, you did it. You have trained those men well, you have learned magic in record time. And you did that all on your own." he said. Those were all compliments, but still the fact that he called her little sister didn''t sit right with her. He was planning something, and from the expression on his face, she could tell that she was not going to like it.


    "Father hurt you, didn''t he?" she asked, and he nodded. "Because you didn''t listen to him, he hurt uncle, too." He nodded again. "And he asked you to do something, didn''t he?" Again another nod. "Something that involves me." Benjamin glanced over at her. Her heart stopped beating and all the air rushed out of her lungs. He was bringing her to sleep, so that she wouldn''t fight him.


    "What are you doing to her!" Arion shouted in the distance. The image of him was vague, and she wasn''t able to focus on him. But he, too, fell to the ground.


    "I am sorry, Kiara. But father has Emma, he is going to hurt her and I can not allow that to happen." Benjamin whispered. She wanted to curse at him, she was finally free. Away from her father, away from all the hurt that he was able to bring. And now her own brother, the one who has seen the abuse up close, was going to take her back to that place. But her voice didn''t work.


    ********


    "I hope that you know what you are doing?" his uncle asked, when Benjamin picked up the unconscious Kiara. There was a cart nearby and he lay her carefully in there.


    "What am I supposed to do otherwise? Father has Emma, and he is not going to give her up. Until I do what he says." Benjamin said, his uncle lay Arion besides Kiara. "Remove her sword, father will take that from her as soon as we arrive. Throw it to one of their men as we ride on by." His uncle looked at him with narrowed eyes.


    "You are just like him," his uncle whispered, and he knew that he was disappointed in him. He was disappointed in himself, too. But what was he supposed to do, fight against his own father. His uncle, and grandfather were not willing to that either, and they were older, wiser and stronger than that him. The rest of the Lordling''s army were still fighting with the Riftwalkers, while their people slowly faded away. Making their escape to the compound, and he still begged the Gods that he made the right choice.

 Chapter 13

    The thick and cold tears of Nytena waked Arion up, he didn''t know where he was. But that was not something he was worried about. Kiara, that bastard that called him her brother, put the both of them into a deep slumber. Taking them to the Gods knows where. His hands were tight together on his back, the rope was already cutting into his flesh. He was only able to move his head, which was not easy either. The cart was not moving, but Kiara lay next to him. Still sound a sleep, but her clothes. She was wearing something that didn''t fit her, where was the outfit she was wearing when the set out?


    "Ahh, you are awake." the heavy voice of her uncle said. Again, Arion turned his head to look at him. "We are taking the both of you towards the compound." That was Kiara''s childhood home. A burning hatred was burning inside him, how could they do this to their own flesh and blood? How could they bring her back towards a place she where she suffered on a daily basis. "Do not look at me like that, Lordling."


    "How else am I supposed to look at you?" he said through gritted teeth. "Once again her family, her own bloody family, took something from her. Not only the clothes she has being wearing, but also her freedom. Do you know how many times I have held her when she was begging her father to stop, inside her dreams? Do you know how many times I notice her blaming herself for something that went wrong, either by someone during training, a wheel breaking during gathering firewood? How many times she holds in her emotions?" Her uncle looked away in shame, good.


    "I have her clothes inside my saddle back, I was afraid my brother will take them from her. This way I can give them back, when all of this madness is over." he said. Great that he has something planned for after all of this, but that doesn''t explain why they are dragging her back in the first place. And he was sure that he once again would be left to pick up the pieces if she breaks, not that he would mind that. He loved her so much that he was willing to do that much. But he shouldn''t have to do that, she doesn''t have to break, or start all over with her healing process. "Benjamin is desperate, his father hit him for the first time earlier today. Now that drunken mad man is holding Emma, Benjamin''s lover, hostage. He is beside himself, thinking about what his own father might do to her."


    "So he is trading his own sister, to free her." Arion said. He closed his eyes, would he have done the same thing if it was Kiara. Would he have traded someone else''s comfort to keep her safe? No, he would trade himself in. He would suffer every pain that comes his way, if it meant that she would be free.


    "Kiara is the first female who was born with the gift, my own father believed that Kiara''s magic could be the key to close the rifts forever. But that would be the end of The Core of Protection, the end to my brother''s iron grip on the community. Something he fears. That is why he has beaten Kiara, that is why he treated her in the way that he did. That was why he left her for dead, hoping that Godva would take her and end the source of all his fears." Alright, that explained why the father hated her so much, but that doesn''t explain why no one else did something to help her. Or why they bring her back to the man that was acting out of fear. "We all have families, and we all do regrettable things to keep the ones we love safe. I have two daughters, a wife who I love very much. I have tried to get them out of the compound so many times, and I failed many times. My brother and the ones loyal to him are now keeping a close eye on them." Arion didn''t feel sorry for the man, not one bit. Made this fact him a bad person, he didn''t care. All he was able to think about was Kiara.


    "Uncle, we are home," Benjamin said from a place he was not able to see him. "Stay with the Lordling, I do not want him to bring Emma in danger." He didn''t want him to bring someone in danger? That is rich, coming out the mouth of a man who was offering up his own sister. The rattling sound of a metal gate reached his ears, first it was going up, and after they entered some kind of tunnel it went back down. He was not able to see much, from the position he was in. But he wiggled himself closer towards Kiara, who started to wake up because of all the noise.


    "Wait, no, do not tell me," she whispered. He wanted to huge her, telling that everything would be alright. But he didn''t want to lie to her, so he didn''t. And hugging her became a bit difficult too, so all he did was being close to her. The cart stopped, and he suppressed the urge to look around.


    "Ahh, there is my brave son. Did you get the useless girl and her lover?" a man he couldn''t see said, but Kiara''s reaction told him all he needed to know. It was her father. There was no reply to his question, but before he knew, Kiara was dragged out of the cart. Her scream of pure horror would hunt him for the rest of his days. A laughter erupted from somewhere. "What is this you stupid girl. Is this how you greet your own father?" Arion heard the slap, and he could do nothing about it. "Ahh, I see that you brought a friend with you, get him out of the wagon, brother. He needs to see this." This time it was his turn, only he was handled with a bit more care. Now with his two feet firm on the ground, he was able to look around. The compound was a huge castle, with thick stone walls surrounding the houses that were build within. They were standing on the courtyard, which was wide and didn''t show any form of green. Kiara was hold by a man with strawberry blond hair and green eyes, behind him stood two women. One with brown hair and green eyes, and the other with golden blond hair and gray eyes. The blond woman looked so much like Kiara, same mouth, noise. But her eyes were colder than Uhra''s season. "Welcome to my humble home, Lordling." The man said with a sneer. Thick tears of Nytena started to fall down upon the courtyard and everyone that stood there. But that didn''t seem to matter to Kiara''s father, he looked at his own flesh in blood, like a predator looked at his prey. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face, Arion took a step forward, trying to rush towards her aid. He had promised her that he would protect her, but some grabbed him. Holding him away from Kiara, and her father, who was beating her. Kiara screamed out in pain when her father hit her in the stomach, Arion screamed with her. Fighting against the one holding him, and against the ropes that were cutting in his flesh. His face was covered with not only tears of Nytena, but also some of his own. "I will not allow my daughter to be the end of us, not to be the end of our divine duty." Her father hit her against her head with a balded fist, and Kiara dropped towards the ground. And for a reason unknown to him, he was free. Free from the hands that were holding him back, free from the rope that was cutting in his flesh. He didn''t care to ask why, and to be honest he didn''t care either. He rushed towards Kiara, took her in his arms.


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    "I am so sorry, I am so, so, sorry. I was not able to protect you from this." he whispered softly. Her whole face was covered with blood, her lip was cracked, her eyes swollen, her noise was cracked. Nytena''s tears started to wash away some of it, making it a bloody mess upon the ground.


    "Take the both of them towards the dungeon. The Lordling can provide some fresh blood, before we sent him back to his father." Kiara''s father said. Fresh blood? What was that supposed to mean? He didn''t care, all he wanted to do was to hold Kiara. And pray to which ever God or Goddess that wanted to listen, that she would forgive him his weakness.


    **********


    The dungeon was dark, and damp, there was a small window that did it''s best to bring some light in the darkness. The dungeon was divided in three separate rooms, he could think his lucky star that Kiara, and he were dumped into the same cell. She was laying upon a straw sack, her wounds were already healing. But that was not a source of any comfort, they were locked up, and her father was able to get to her if he was in the mood. The heavy door opened up, the hinges protesting violently. A light and a woman with brown hair, green eyes stepped inside. In her hands, she had a lantern and a bowl.


    "Put your hands through the bars, Lordling." she said. She placed the bowl on the ground, it was some kind of ointment. But that was all he was able to see in the dim light and from Kiara''s bedside. Which was on the other side of the cell.


    "And who are you?" he asked. At this point, he didn''t trust anyone inside this place. The woman looked up, she was the same one that stood inside the courtyard, next to Kiara''s mother.


    "Emma, Lordling. My name is Emma Olesen, I am Benjamin''s lover. And one of the main reasons why the two of you are here." she said, was that a sense of shame in her eyes. Good, because when Kiara''s father was beating her into a bloody pulp nobody, literally nobody, did something to stop him.


    "And why should I trust you?" which was a stupid question, and he knew it. But still he wanted to ask it any ways.


    "You can''t," Emma said with a shrug. "But if we do not threat your wounds, they might fester." Arion looked at the deep cuts around his wrists. He needed his hands if he wanted to protect Kiara. So against his better judgement, he stood up and went over to Emma. "Ouch," she said, when she saw the cuts. "Does that not hurt?" he shook his head, and his gaze went over to his shoulder.


    "Not able to do anything hurt more, than any injury," he said softly. Emma gave him a soft smile, when she applied the ointment to his wounds.


    "You love her," it was not a question but a statement. He nodded and smiled. "When I was young, I wished that someone would love me that much. That their own pain didn''t matter, as long I suffered. But what Benjamin and I have can''t be called love. I was shoved into his room, right before he got back form a Rift. But he promised me that I would be the only one that would share his bed. And he has stayed true to that promise." She sigehd. "But I do not know how to feel about the things he has done in my name. Giving up his own sister, all to keep me safe." The ointment stung a little, but he didn''t care. "You know there is only one way to keep her safe."


    "Emma," that was Benjamin''s voice. But she didn''t flinch or back down.


    "He has a right to know, Benjamin. Your father is willing to kill Kiara, to keep his power over the Core of Protection. He is even willing to let women rape this Lordling to add new blood." Emma looked him straight in the eyes. "He will kill Kiara, once you have done your duty and are back where you came from. And there is only one way to stop that from happening."


    "By killing him," Arion geussed, and Emma nodded.


    "The Beskyttelseskerne follow the strongest warrior, at this point everyone believes that to be Anton. Only I believe he no longer is the strongest, I believe that Kiara earns that title. But he has beating her down, over and over again. Making her believe that she is weak and worth nothing, so she will never challenge him. But you have beaten Kiara in a fair duel." Emma said.


    "Barely," Arion added, and Emma just shrugged.


    "Doesn''t matter, and it will not mattter if you kill Anton before he sets his plans in motion." She said, now Benjamin entered the room.


    "That is treason, Emma. I have brought Kiara here to keep you safe, and now you are willing to put yourself back in there." Benjamin snapepd at her and she nodded.


    "I do because I want our child to grow up, free of all of this. Free to life its own life, free to make its own decisions. And with your father clinging to power, that would never happen. So yes, I am willing to commit treason to reach that goal." Emma said and Arion nodded. Only she wouldn''t be the one putting her life on the line here, he was. But he was willing to do that, for Kiara. For her he was willign to do everything.

 Chapter 14

    Benjamin slammed his against the iron bars, the pain didn''t even bother him. What was Emma thinking, putting herself in danger like that? Did she want to be beat up, just like Kiara, or die? She was right about one thing, his father will not let Kiara live. She is too much of a thread to this organization, but then again, was she? Yes, they would lose the task set for them by Segues, but after this task is done there is a whole wide world full of possibilities. A lot of houses were vacant, after the families who lived there were slaughtered by the Riftwalkers. There were farms, stores, fishermen boats waiting for some new owners. Then there was the army for those whose fighting days were not over, he himself could join the local alchemist guild to learn more about things that have nothing to-do with Riftwalkers. He shook his head, those were nice dreams. But those dreams can not be, not so long his father ruled the Beskyttelseskerne with an iron grip. Emma was right about Kiara, she is the strongest warrior among them, and the Beskyttelseskerne would follow her if she defeated his father. That was probably one of the many reasons why his father has being beating her down. But he does not want to believe that this Lordling, would be able to defeat his father.


    "And what do you think," Emma asked, without flinching. The Lordling didn''t answer her with any words. He just looked over his shoulder towards Kiara, the look in his eyes. It was the same look his uncle gave his aunt, pure love. He would risk his own life, to have a small possibility to safe hers. Benjamin''s gaze went over Emma, would he risk his life for hers. No, what they had was not love. They had an understanding, she would be his, and he would be hers. That is all, the sex was nice and the chance that she would carry his children was a future he could live with. But it was not love that moved him.


    "Emma, please stop this nonsense. Before someone that reports to my father hears you," he said. But she shook her head and nodded towards the Lordling.


    "You might be scared, but after I saw your father hit you and Kiara. Well, I think we have lived in fear for long enough." she said while standing up. She placed her hand on his cheek, her skin was so warm and soft. There were tears inside those beautiful green eyes of hers, tears of anger. "But I am not a warrior, never was and never will be. Neither are you, so a place my faith in the Lordling." He closed his eyes, letting this moment sink in. It was something he only experienced once before with his mother, but that was ripped away from him when she passed away all those years ago.


    "Arion," Kiara''s voice was so soft, nothing more than a whisper. But it was enough for the Lordling to jump up and to rush to her side. "Arion, please don''t do it. Do not fight my father." she pleaded. So she heard everything, but in her voice there was no disbelieve, she too thought that he would be able to do it. Instead, there was fear, fear of that he would lose his life. There was no doubt in Benjamin''s mind that she knew what for faith awaited her if their father had his way. The Lordling would be set to produce off spring, with or without his consent, and after that he would be sent back. And Kiara will die, she will be killed by the hands of her own father.


    "But Kiara," he said. She placed her hand on his cheek, like Emma had done with him.


    "No, Arion, I can''t lose you. I can''t," Benjamin was able to hear her voice break just a little. This was a side of his sister he had never seen before. She was willing to show her feelings out and in the open. "I love you." Benjamin looked down at his own feet, this was his fault. He was the one who brought the two of them here, and all because he wanted to keep Emma safe. A woman he claimed not to love, but to hear his sister to proclaim it. It was some kind of slap in the face, one he desperately needed. And it was not that he didn''t know it, his uncle has made it pretty clear a while ago. But he was not ready to listen to it back then, and he was not even sure if he was ready to listen to it now.


    "There is no other way to get out of this mess, Kiara," he couldn''t believe the words that were leaving his mouth. "You are the first Beskyttelseskerne with the gift, it took a month for a Rift to open up after your first attempt to close one. You closed another all on your own today, so there is no way of telling how long it would take for another to open again. Father fears this, and you know he does. Besides that, if he does not fight father, you will die. If he fights him, you will at least have a chance to survive this." Kiara looked at him, tears were streaming down her cheeks.


    "But what if he loses?" she asked.


    "Then rest assured that you will not live long to properly mourn him." Benjamin knew that his words sounded harsh, but she and he himself needed to hear it. He once again put her in danger, and this time he did it willingly. She pushed herself off the straw sack, it seemed that she was fully healed. Which was much quicker than normal, she was training her gift. Grandfather was right, her gift was healing her and now that she was strong enough to close a rift, it was also strong enough to heal in hours instead of days. She came towards the bars, there was a fire inside her eyes, once again something he never had seen before. "I am so sorry, but father had Emma,"


    "Keep me out of this, would you." Emma snapped at him, but the softness in her eyes didn''t fade. "Yes, your father was, or rather is, drunk and unpredictable. But Kiara already knows how he is, she has faced his abuse for years. And I am going to give you this much, he has abused you too. Not physical, until a few hours ago. But you were forced to watch." His head dropped, as did his heart. "But I would have being able to take a few blows, I would have being able to endure the discomfort and the pain." He wasn''t so sure about that, she was right that he was always forced to watch. But he couldn''t take one beating, he was scared what that might say about him.


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    "Benjamin, do you feel that too?" Kiara asked, he looked at her. Not sure what she meant? But then the feeling hit him, the weight of the world was upon his shoulders once again. "A rift is about to open," he nodded, he was only not yet able to detect where. But Kiara''s eyes grew, predicting nothing good. "It is going to open here." Benjamin cursed, he grabbed the keys from his belt and threw that towards Emma.


    "Set them free, I am going to run to the armory. They need some weapons," he said while running towards the door. The armory was not that far, his uncle and a few others were busy putting weapons away. "Uncle, a rift is about to open here!"


    "What!" His uncle shouted. "Wait, where are you going with those swords?" But Benjamin didn''t reply, the feeling was pressuring him more and more. The feeling of thread, the weight of the world and all of that more intensely than ever before. Emma, Kiara and the Lordling entered the courtyard when the wind started to pick up. Purple lighting started to shoot down from the skies, together with Nytena''s tears. Which made it even worse. "Benjamin, what in the name of the Gods is going..." The sound of something tearing open, interrupted his uncle. "Fuck! Everyone pick up your weapons, Emma you and the others who do not fight, get the children out of here. Lordling, you have Kiara''s and Benjamin''s back." He shouted so much more, commands. But Benjamin lost track of them all. "Percy, open up the gate. The Lordling''s army is coming, and we can use their help."


    "Kiara, you should close the rift. It should be you and no one else." Benjamin said. She nodded and took her stance. Weapon in hand, ready for the battle to come. It seemed so familiar, but still the past Kiara was only a shadow of the young woman who was standing beside him. The rift opened up and the Riftwalkers entered the courtyard.


    *******


    The sound of metal classing filled the air, the sound of Riftwalkers dying was ear-piercing. It was nothing Kiara has not heard before, only this time it was inside her childhood home. And this time she didn''t have her usual sword of Segeus steel, which made fighting the Riftwalkers a bit harder. But that doesn''t stop her, there was a small pile of those monsters piling up next to her.


    "What in the name of Godva is going on here?" the voice of her father came out above all the noise. Not that she paid much attention to it, there was a job that needed to be done. "Who are those men, and who let them in? Why are we being attacked by Riftwalkers, and why are the Lordling and that bitch not in their cell?" The stream of questions didn''t stop.


    "Kiara!" It was Tom. "Good to see you here, and in one piece no less. Here is your sword." He tossed her sword, she dropped the one she was using and caught hers in one switch motion. Before killing another Riftwalker, it was nice to fight with a familiar weapon. One she could use to channel her magic, her magic flowed from her body towards the sword and back. Making the weapon part of her, and it became even deadlier. She swung her sword, which was infused with golden light with a hint of purple, towards the closest Riftwalker. But her attack was interrupted. Someone pulled her away by her hair, she screamed out in shock rather than pain. She turned around, ready to attack the Riftwalker that pulled this, only to be pushed in the stomach by her own father. "Kiara!" Tom screamed. This drew attention from those that surrounded them. "What is your deal, man? She is busy fighting, and you are attacking her?"


    "Mind your own business," her father snapped towards Tom, who didn''t know that this man was her own father. Her own father, who hated her guts.


    "Well, it is my business when you do stuff that could get us killed." Tom snapped back. "Kiara is the best warrior inside the Snem?ne Army, alright the captain comes close behind her. But that is besides the point, she right now needs to fight those monsters not you. And maybe close that rift, while she is add it."


    "Over my dead body!" her father''s face was red from anger. "I will not allow you to close one more portal, you will not end our divine duty. You will..." He raised his fist into the air ready to strike her down. At first she trembled at the sight, like she always done.


    "There is no other way to get out of this mess, Kiara," Benjamin''s words echeod throug her mind. "You are the first Beskyttelseskerne with the gift, it took a month for a Rift to open up after your first attempt to close one. You closed another all on your own today, so there is no way of telling how long it would take for another to open again. Father fears this, and you know he does. Besides that, if he does not fight father, you will die. If he fights him, you will at least have a chance to survive this."


    No this was not Arion''s battle, it was hers and hers alone. She will not lose him, she can''t lose him to this monster of a man. The fist came down, but she grabbed it and used his own weight to throw him on the ground.


    "Tom, cover my ass would you!" she screamed. "I need to deal with this piece of shit, before I can close the portal." Tom nodded, she met Arion''s dark brown eyes. They were screaming out in horror, knowing full well what she was going to do. "I love you," she whispered. He couldn''t have heard her words, but his mouth formed the same set of words.


    "You bitch, I am going to kill you!" her father sputtered, but Kiara shook her head. No he was not going to kill her, she was going to kill him. Her sword rested in her head, she took a deep breath to calm her nervous. and swung her sword towards the man that called himself her father. He was unarmed as far as she was able to see, and he didn''t have any time to react. He was still laying on the ground, catching his breath. When her sword, still infushed with her magic pierced his heart. He screamed it out in pain, tears of anger, pain and frustration streamed down her face. Toghther with Nytena''s tears. After today this men could no longer hurt her, there was no way he could reach her.


    "Let Godva be mercyful upon your soul, because we both know you do not deserve it." she whispers inside his ear when he strugled to breath. She raised her hands, and let her magic go to the rift. Sewing the two pieces together, while her sword was still inside her father''s chest. "You see I am closing the rift, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. I am going to end our devine duty." The rift closed and this time the feeling inside the air felt different. Her father closed his eyes and took his final labored breath. He was dead, and the rift was closed. Hopefully for good this time.

 Chapter 15

    Tears of Nytena, ticked slowly against the window. Arion was sitting at the edge of the straw back inside this broom closet, it didn''t even deserve the title of bedroom. It was too cramped for that, there was not even room for a decent single bed. He couldn''t believe that someone let his child sleep in here, but then again he had seen the man that put her in this room beat the crap out of her. Kiara moved in her sleep, clearly dreaming. He didn''t know where she was, inside the Realm of Dreams, or the Realm of Nightmares. After the day she had, he hoped it was the former, hoping that she would find at least some peace while she was fast asleep. He sighed, he wasn''t able to sleep. Not after what he had seen, not even with his own men guarding the door of this apartment. Benjamin had offered his father''s room, but Kaira declined. Maybe she was still afraid of that monster''s ghost, or maybe she wanted to comfort of her own room. Arion didn''t know, and he didn''t want to ask. A small knock landed on the door, which was open. Emma looked into the room, Arion hadn''t seen her after she left to collect the children and elderly.


    "I heard what happened, how is she?" she asked. Arion gazed went towards Kiara.


    "I honestly do not know, that monster was her father. But still she killed him, in order to protect me. She killed her own father, to protect me. Yes, he would have killed her after the battle, if he had the change." he said softly. "She is so strong, but also so fragile. That monster has broken her over and over again, she has scars on her soul that she would carry for live. And tomorrow she needs to address the ones that let it all happen to her. She needs to lead this order." his gaze went back to Emma.


    "What are you going to do, after all of this?" he asked. Emma smiled.


    "Benjamin, and I are going to leave. He wants to join the local Society of Alchemy, to learn more about magic and to teach others about the Rifts and Riftwalkers. And I, I am going to focus on my own small family. Now knowing that I can raise it without the fear that it needs to battle a never ending war." she said, Arion was able to see the fire of hope burning in her eyes. He was happy for her. "Bjarne and his family already left the compound, he said something about farming." Well there were enough farms that needed new owners. Emma''s gaze went towards the ground. "Do you really think that the war is over?" Arion shrugged, he didn''t know. He hoped so, he wanted it to be over.


    "All we can do at this point is hope it is, and prepare for the possibility that it isn''t." he replied.


    "What will you do if it is over?" she asked.


    "I am going back home, with Kiara if she is willing, and I want to marry her." he said. "Again if she is willing." Emma nodded, and smiled.


    "Something tells me that she is more than willing," Kiara''s soft voice said. Arion''s head snapped towards her and looked straight into her gray eyes. Those beautiful gray eyes, who were still a bit clouded with sleep. "And I really believe that the war between the Core of Protection and the Riftwalkers is over. Every inch in my body tells me that it is, and so does my magic."


    "My magic is telling me the same thing," Benjamin said. Great now he has joined the conversation. "And I prepared something to eat and drink. So we can talk a bit more comfortable inside the dinning room."


    "I didn''t know that you were able to do that," Arion said mockingly.


    "Ohh, I can''t cook. I never learned how to, but every fool can open up a bottle of mead and cut some cheese into small pieces." Benjamin said. He was right about that, every fool can do at least that. Kiara smiled and got up from the back of straw.


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    "Good, but I am going to make some tea instead." she said. They made their way towards the kitchen, Kiara put on a kettle and started a small fire inside the stove with her magic. Benjamin and Emma took a seat at the table. Arion placed himself near Kiara, not willing to let her out of his sight. "You know that I am not going to break if you took a seat at the table right?" He chuckled.


    "I am not willing to take that chance, thank you very much." he replied. "I love you a bit too much for that."


    "Besides, your mother is still here. Kiara." Benjamin said. "And she can still do her worst." Arion narrowed his eyes, Kiara''s mother. He had seen the woman while Kiara''s father was beating the daylights out of his own daughter, and what did her own mother, nothing. To give that woman some credit, nobody did something to stop that man. But then again, he has not heard one single pleasant thing about her either.


    "She wouldn''t be stupid enough to attack Kiara now, she is the leader." Emma countered.


    "And before that Kiara was her own flesh and blood, and that fact didn''t stop her either." Benjamin said and Emma frowned. "That woman stole everything that my mother left Kiara. She is just like my father." One more person they didn''t need to invite to the wedding, what a relief. The kettle started to whistle, the tea water was done. Arion followed Kiara towards the table and sat down.


    "I do not want to talk about her or about father," she said. "I want to talk about anything under the sun, but not about them." Which in his mind sounded like a fair request. And clearly Benjamin and Emma thought the same thing.


    ********


    "The war between the Riftwalkers and us might be over, but that doesn''t mean that we can sit down and relax. The Snem?ne estate has suffered a great deal. Businesses, farms, and homes need new people to occupy them. And for those among are own who feel that their days of defending the estate are not yet behind them. Arion, captain of the Snem?ne army has offered to take them up into his ranks." Kiara was standing in the middle of the large square, the members of the Order of Protection were surrounding them. Because Arion was not leaving her alone for one second. "I know that change is scary, but we all need to find a new calling."


    "And what are you going to do, sit behind thick walls inside the city. Bowing over seating charts, for the next great event?" a woman shouted. Arion''s gaze searched the crowed, he locked eyes with Kiara''s mother.


    "My mother will never let that happen, she loves that task a bit too much." Arion said, and he can hear his men chuckle. They know that what he said was the truth. "Kiara can do anything she wants to do, and I as her future husband, will support her in any way that I can. Even if she decides to battle my mother, over that task." She smiled towards him.


    "Thank you, but I am going to join you inside the army." she said. "Someone needs to train you, and your father trusted me to do so." He grinned and wrapped her into his arms.


    "And so that you can put me in my place, when ever you want." he whispered in her ears. "And I wouldn''t have it any other way." He let go of her and locked once again eyes with her mother.


    "That is all I have to say about this, you all are free to do what your heart desires." she said. Benjamin and Emma bowed down and grabbed their stuff.


    "We are leaving, I want to learn magic, and teach it as well. Society of Alchemy, here I come." he said, while he walked towards the gate. Other''s started to murmur and went back into their own houses, only to come back with a few of their belongings. Leaving the compound, the only place they called home for years. T