He started to move towards me carefully. I moved to my left, away from the lake. All of a sudden he pounced on me with his sword, almost not giving me time to react. I dodged him, staying only a few centimeters from him.
“Concentrate,” he said with a hard expression. All trace of his good mood had vanished.
I started to make the daggers turn in my fingers like I so often had and attacked him. The noise of the metal against metal could be heard resounding through the trees in the place. I again leapt at him as he had taught me, aiming for his neck. Then, he trapped my hands with such strength that I let go of the daggers and fell to the floor. In two seconds his sword was on my neck.
“If you do that you will die,” he said with a cold voice.
“That is what you taught me,” I answered almost mad.
He helped me up and told me to pick up the daggers.
“Again,” he said impatiently.
He attacked me again. At that moment I caught his sword within my daggers and made a play with my wrists to steal it from his hands. The sword fell, leaving a defenseless Gabriel before me. Barely being able to believe it he took two small swords with finer and longer blades than the last one from his belt. He joined them effortlessly at the middle, creating a spear. I looked at it stunned at what he had done but I didn´t have much time to watch. I took a step back before his spear cut me in two. I looked at him furiously and threw one of my daggers in his direction. The crash of metals was distinct when he expelled it from its trajectory. It sounded as though the metal had cut. I walked furiously to my dagger and when I turned I saw that Gabriel had a piece of metal in his hand.
“Your dagger has cut my spear,” he said in disbelief.
“That is impossible,” I muttered.
Gabriel lifted his spear so that I could see it better and I saw how a clean cut pierced one of its points.
“I am sorry,” I said not knowing what to do.
He looked at me confused and then laughed in my face.
“Don´t be sorry Samantha, you are a natural fighter. I congratulate you for what you have just done. You have centered your attention in me. You have got angry and have broken my spear. This is great!” he exclaimed.
“What?” I asked without understanding anything.
“Samantha, you don´t need any more training classes. Today you have beaten your teacher. You have done what I have said and you have defeated me. You are ready to fight.”
I couldn´t believe what I was hearing.
“But I thought that I had to train more, a normal person…”
“You are not normal…” he interrupted me,… ”you were already a warrior.”
I was so surprised that I didn´t say anymore. I saw how he picked up his things and started walking to leave. I followed with clumsy steps until I caught up on him. He had already recovered his good humor, in the fight it was all a façade. It was the attitude that was needed.
We left the great prairie again and I turned around to look at that lake that I loved so much. It was like a mirror.
“You have helped me a lot,” Gabriel said improvised making my thoughts diffuse.
“Me? To do what?”
“Seeing your dedication at the time of learning, your efforts for wanting to improve and your stubbornness on not renouncing to Eric. You are a great person and you have inspired me to become better. I was never a bad person, until I met your sister. When I found you I wanted to find her inside of you at all cost. Because she had made me change and I didn´t like the way I was anymore.”
“Is that is why you were so happy before?”
“Yes, because I have changed. I have forgotten the sarcasm and the bad manners. Now I am me again. I am not a murderer.” He said this last thing without looking at me.
“A murderer?”
“I know that Eric doesn´t esteem me highly and when you tell him he will kill me but it doesn´t matter, because now I have the courage to tell you, thanks to you.”
At that moment I didn´t know what he was talking about but I thought it was better not to ask.
“And now I understand,” he continued, “that all she did was to protect me. And for that I love her so much, because I know that she truly loves me and what she did was so that I could be well.”
“What did she do?” I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.
“She abandoned me,” he replied serenely.
We continued the walk home in silence. It was close to midday and my stomach rumbled for some food. I crossed the door and looked left as was custom, and stood still seeing the empty chair. There was nobody in the lounge.
“Kenneth?” I called without getting a reply.
I ran upstairs and found him speaking with Francis in the middle of the hallway.
“Where is she?” I enquired.
They both looked at me with the same expression on their face, that of compassion. Francis moved towards me and hugged me firmly before I could hear those feared words.
“She has gone,” Kenneth announced in a low voice.
But much to the surprise of all I didn´t cry, I only thought that if she had gone it was for a reason.
“Did she say why?” I asked looking him in the eyes.
“She said she was going back to the palace. She asked me to tell you that you would speak after the battle. That until then she had many things to do.”
I nodded calmly, assimilating every word and went downs stairs slowly. I sat in the kitchen and waited for the others to arrive. I was surprised by how such news had been agreeable.
“How are you feeling?” Gabriel asked me with that look that seemed to go through my soul.
“Good, I am good. I understand why she has left. I am hurt that she left before I could say anything, but if I have coped for so many years without seeing her, I can wait one more day.”
Chapter 18
Elizabeth hid quickly behind the door so that Ian would not see her. She saw how he went towards the secret basement and went into the room but this time he closed the door. She had to make use of the only moment when Ian was distracted and wouldn´t notice her absence. She closed her eyes, moving away from that yellow toned room and opened them in front of the great stone castle that she was now accustomed to seeing. She ran up the staircase and entered. It was deserted as always, so she continued upstairs until she heard a voice muttering. She almost fell on her pretty blue outfit when she finished the staircase.
“Phoenix, I need your help.”
“Elizabeth?” she heard at the end of the corridor.
Shortly a head came from the room; Eric saw how Elizabeth, in the distance, was gasping for air. He started to walk with Phoenix behind him until they got to the girl who was sitting on the floor.
“What has happened?” Phoenix enquired with worried eyes.
“Nothing, I am fine. It is just that I came running so that Ian would not realize that I was gone. I need to go soon,” she spoke quickly as she looked from one face to the other.
“Has Ian hurt you?” Eric asked. “Samantha told me what had happened. She was worried if you were alright.”
“Don´t worry, nothing has happened,” she said getting up, “I have just come to warn you. Ian has a witch prisoner. I think that he wants her to cast a spell to make him immortal or something similar. He wants to win the battle at all costs. And now that you know I must go before he realized that I am not there. He already knows that I am helping you. If he finds out that I have left, he will punish me when I arrive.”
“Wait… wait”” Phoenix grabbed her arm. “You are not going anywhere, and less like this. You will stay here until everything is over. I have many extra rooms. That monster will not lay another hand on you.”
They went to Phoenix´s study and sat down, letting Elizabeth calm herself.
“You say he has a witch prisoner. What is her name?”
“Her name is Gaia.”
“He has Gaia? Oh no, what a grave mistake,” muttered Phoenix almost to himse
lf. “She will try to kill him at all cost. If something goes wrong, he will kill her. We have to help her.”
“How?” Eric asked.
“I have to call a witch. I need help. Wait here,” he said as he left running to search in his powerful and appreciated golden book.
Eric had Samantha’s words going around in his head until he decided to tell Elizabeth.
“Yesterday your mother found Samantha,” he said hoping that Elizabeth wouldn´t faint.
“What?” she asked stunned.
“She was in the forest, they don´t know where she was going when she came upon Kenneth´s house and saw your sister on the porch.”
“And what happened?” she said turning her chair around to be able to see Eric better.
“The empress fainted. Kenneth´s theory is that when she saw Samantha the pain disappeared from her body and her body took possession of her mind making her sleep until she regenerated completely.”
“Why did she have to regenerate herself?”
“That is because a wizard made your mother immortal, but at the same time made it so that her body would age.”
“Wow!” Elizabeth said trying to assimilate it, “has she woken up yet?”
“I don´t know.”
The words floated in the room until Phoenix returned, entering with a triumphant air.
“Help is on its way,” he announced.
“How long will it take?” enquired Elizabeth, nervous about what Ian might do to Gaia.
“Not long. Don´t worry,” he left the room again and went to his bedroom where he kept a treasure, no longer appreciated by him, which he thought to give to Niv as soon as she entered.
Eric, who was accustomed to the coming and going of the wizard, didn´t react to his sudden disappearance. He got up and went to the sofa where Elizabeth was and bent down by her side.
“Can you show me your right hand?” he asked cautiously.
“Of course,” she answered not knowing why he would want to see her hand.
Eric carefully slid the sleeve of her dress and turned the hand to be able to see in the inner side of her wrist. Upon seeing it, a smile formed on his lips.
“What is it?” Elizabeth asked seeing his happy face.
“You still haven´t seen it, right?” Eric said seeing that she didn´t know what he was doing.
“What is it that I have to see?”
Eric lifted her arm making her look at her wrist. Elizabeth´s mouth formed a perfect O when she saw her mark.
“Is that my mark? When did that happen?”
“Samantha´s appeared yesterday after your small battle with Ian.”
“I fainted after that. I hadn´t even looked. Now we really are united,” she said happily, “now I feel part of something.”
“Now you can do many things together,” Eric told her content with himself.
Ian looked how the black marks on his arm were still there as he went down the stair. It was the first time that he had had a scar. He was not happy about it. He touched the firm ground with his feet and in a moment the wall was sliding to let him see Gaia resting peacefully in the bed.
“You still haven´t started making the potion or whatever it is that you are going to do?” asked Ian irritated.
“How do you want me to do something if I don´t have anything to do it with?” Gaia answered without looking at him.
Ian snapped his fingers and in a second two wanderers came down the wooden stairs making the steps creak as they passed. They were laden with caldrons of all sized, tubes and more herbs. They left everything on the floor of the room, without any care, making a great thundering sound as the cauldrons collided between themselves and on the floor.
“Leave her you good for nothings,” Ian blurted. “Do you need anything else?” he asked faking courtesy.
“Yes,” the witch responded as she continued to look at the ceiling, “a hair from your head.”
“I will not give you it.”
“How do you think that I can make you immortal without having anything of yours? The spells don´t work like that. If you want me to do it right, do as I ask.”
Ian, irritated, looked at her and walked towards the desk. He took a hair from his head and left it on the table.
“I hope that you use it well,” he said leaving the room, “I will come back in a short while to see what you have done.”
He left, leaving the door to slide until it was closed and then started to climb the staircase.
Gaia, now alone, got up running and took the strong silver hair between her fine fingers. She took out the bottle of potion that she had made the night before and put it inside it. When she did it the green liquid crackled, forming bubbles and then turning black. Once the potion was complete, she closed the bottle again and stored it amongst the pockets of her outfit.
Then she started to put all the cauldrons in order and put to making another potion to distract Ian before killing him. She could not stay there with her arms crossed.
Venice ran desperately. She tried to reach the palace as soon as possible. She couldn´t understand how she could have thought about her death in such a key moment for the survival of the Kingdom. If the Kingdom was defeated, then planet Earth would be too together with all its inhabitants, whichever dimension they were in. She was in such a hurry that she didn´t even think about her appearance. It had been centuries since she had closed her eyes to imagine anywhere she wanted to be, because she hadn´t left the palace in centuries. Minutes later she was entering by the main door. There was no one in the entrance. She continued to the great hall where she found Morgan sitting on a chair with his feet on the table, eating like an authentic King.
The empress cleared her throat to call his attention. Morgan, bothered, turned around; he almost couldn´t believe what his eyes were seeing, showing authentic amazement on his face. He took his feet off the table quickly and stood up how he could.
“My dear lady,” he bowed, “how is it that you have returned?”
Venice struck him down with her glare making him know that she was not in the mood for pantomimes.
“Leave,” she ordered, “I don´t want to see you again.”
“But, my lady,” he tried to talk back.
“I have told you to leave,” she said passing by his side without even looking at him. “You are not worthy of being here.”
Venice continued towards her room leaving a confused Morgan in the Great Hall.
Morgan left the palace running. If Ian found out what had happened before he himself told him, then he would kill him. Now outside the palace he closed his eyes and opened them in front of Ian´s house. He had a sensation of discomfort, which told him to leave running without looking back. But he was brave, or so he thought. He softly knocked using the knuckle of the door waiting for someone to hear him. Two seconds later Ian was before him. His great size intimidated him more than normal, making his mouth dry up even before speaking.
“Morgan, how happy I am to see you in my house. I suppose you have good news.”
Morgan looked at him without opening his lips. He wanted to conserve his life. Ian invited him to go in with a gesture of his arm and he closed the door behind the terrified young man.
“Do not be afraid my friend,” he said as he took him to his study.
He made him sit down in front of his desk and looked at him knowing that something had happened.
“Is there something you wish to tell me Morgan?” his deep voice resounded through the room. “John,” he called. “Bring my guest something to drink,” he communicated without taking his eyes off of the poor scared man who was in front of him.
After a long pause John came in leaving two glasses over the desk full of liquor.
Morgan without delay took it and drank it in one gulp to be able to confront what was coming.
“Ian,” he barely said in a very low voice, “something has happened.”
“I had imagined that my friend, if not, you wouldn´t be here.”
“The empress,” he stopped for an instant. He inhaled strongly and then let everything out. “The empress has discovered me. She has returned to the palace and has thrown me out. I imagine that she has found Samantha. And now she is preparing to fight.”
I didn´t know what else to say. He remained silent waiting for his end.
“My dear friend, I very much appreciate that you have come directly to tell me. Not everyone has the courage to do so. But I have to tell you that it has been an error on your behalf allowing her to enter.”
“And what should I have done?” he answered showing rebellion all of a sudden.
“Kill her,” he answered as he placed his hands forcibly on the desk.
“I am not a murderer,” Morgan answered almost spitting the words out.
“Then you shouldn´t be under my command,” he straighten up and started to walk around the room. “You know who I am, you know what I want and you know my way of acting.”
Morgan turned round to reply and to his surprise he was right behind him. He saw how every muscle of his abdomen moved as he lifted his hands towards him. Quickly he got up and tried to escape. He looked towards the covered windows with thick curtains and opened them trying to distract him.
“Do you really think that the sun harms me? How innocent on your behalf, I simply like darkness.”
That said, he pounced on the trapped and defenseless young man. He placed his hands around his head and with a quick movement, finished his life.
He let the motionless body fall to the ground and returned to his desk to drink the glass of liquor he hadn´t yet touched.
“John,” he shouted again, “come and pick up this disaster”
In an instant he realized that he hadn´t seen Elizabeth the whole day. He put the glass down on top of the wood and left his study to go upstairs. He knocked on the door softly.
“Elizabeth my dear, you should eat something. You have been the whole day locked up in your room.” He said with a velvety voice.
Darkness The Diary of Samantha Owen Page 20
