by Billy Wong
Rose laughed weakly. She noticed Amber wheezing as if she had broken ribs or lung damage of her own, but abstained from saying anything. Then she asked, "So what about Justin?"
#
Knowing Rose wouldn't approve, her family had refrained from killing the former demon lord. He was very quiet, and they handed him off to the authorities to handle. Most likely he'd be executed, but it was possible the mitigating factor of an external influence would persuade them to give him another chance. When Matthew recovered, he didn't remember being knocked out, and they allowed to him keep thinking like he assumed that he had been roughed up by Justin. They held onto the spike left behind from the Shadow's defeat for safekeeping. They'd continue to search for a way to destroy it completely, not just throw it somewhere again hoping that would do the trick.
Though Rose had taken enough damage to kill at least six regular people outright, she recovered enough within a few days that her family believed she would achieve an impossible survival once more. They stopped hovering constantly over her bedside and returned to their normal routines, aside from regular visits to see how she progressed.
Noticing her daughter's pallor though she insisted her wounds weren't that bad, Rose said to Finn one time, "Amber scares me. She pushes herself so hard, I'm afraid she's going to get herself crippled... or worse."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he firmly gripped her thick shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry so much, she's just like you. She can more than handle getting hurt."
"Like me, you say? The thing is, I don't want her suffering like I do."
"Then we'll keep watching over her just the way we're supposed to. And when she gets herself into too bad of a bind, we'll be there to help as Jacob will."
She smiled. "You think she's going to turn out just like me?"
"No, there'll never be another quite like you. But she is your daughter. Maybe she'll be better."
"I'd like that. And Jacob's grown so much, too... it's kind of like he's really our son now."
They shared a laugh over that, then Finn said with a wink, "A good son, yeah. Worthy of being ours? He's still got a ways to go."
She pushed him. "Oh, Finn. You're the best."
"I try to be. Get some rest, Rose."
"Rest? Ha! I've killed gods while hurt this bad!" But that didn't keep her from following his advice and dozing off under his watchful eyes.
#
After one and a half weeks, Rose felt strong enough to dare walking, and soon returned to work though she was still in a lot of pain and knew her chronic pangs would remain worse even after she recovered as much as she could. Still, daily agony was a familiar aspect of life by now, and she felt amazingly thankful that not only had she survived, but the rest of her family too. Even she could count herself lucky in some regards.
Her already contented life gained a further spark of joy when she received an evening note from Finn delivered by one of his assistants, promising her a surprise in the dining room. She put on her best revealing dress for private moments together and went to meet her love. But the surprise she found downstairs wasn't what she expected.
"Happy birthday!" a too-large crowd headed by Amber greeted her as she arrived in the cafeteria. She folded her arms over her chest, trying futilely to hide the layered scars which decorated it.
"The hell?! My birthday passed months ago!"
"Doesn't mean you shouldn't get the celebration you deserve," Finn said, towering over all where he stood behind their daughter. He grinned. "My wife, who walked out of hell."
Rose smiled gratefully, but corrected, "Swam. I really need to change." She made to leave.
"Don't go," her husband pleaded. "You look great just the way you are."
"I know you think so, and I'm happy for it, but there are people here. I've already disgusted them enough with my nasty scars."
He took hold of her hand and shook his head. "Come on Rose, you're not in any way disgusting. Just think of them as your uniform, that of the true champion of Kayland."
She couldn't help giggling. "Oh, fine. If anybody says I'm ugly, you can beat them up for me."
But no one did, though in some cases it might be out of fear.
#
The morning after, Jacob woke at noon with a major hangover, and dragged himself out of bed for breakfast—well, lunch. He was struggling to prepare a sandwich when Amber came up behind him and said excitedly, "Corn Cob! Winston's back!"
"What are you talking about? We killed him, didn't we?"
"I thought we did, but maybe Justin revived him as an undead before the last battle or something. He's stirring trouble up up north again, shouldn't we go stop him?"
"Maybe we should leave that to our noble troops who are up there 'protecting' our neighbors," he reminded her.
She frowned, but recovering quickly said, "Nah, that's only more reason for us to go. Maybe we can help everybody get along."
"Okay, fine." He still had an interest in what life on the Norh plains was like during peacetime, and hopefully another full scale war wouldn't break out before they arrived.
"So should we tell our parents, what with you probably needing their protection?"
After a pause, Jacob replied, "Let's tell them, but we needn't insist they come along. Little things like Winston being a pest are probably beneath them, anyway."
"That's the spirit!" Amber beamed. And their adventures continued.
Main cover image copyright © Andreas Gradin
Cover design copyright © Littera Book Designs http://litterabookdesigns.blogspot.ca/
Author Billy Wong is an avid fan of heroic fantasy, with a special love for strong female warriors. He draws inspiration from the epic legends of old, and is on a quest to bring over the top deeds and larger than life heroes back to prominence in today's literary world.
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Other Works
Iron Bloom (FREE!) - A young woman with a kind heart and extraordinary constitution, Rose becomes a warrior to better the world. Despite the wealth and fame she wins as one of the greatest champions of her time, the bloody reality of her new life is nothing like her ideal dream. She yearns for a chance to escape the violence. She finds that chance in Ethan, the leader of an altruistic pacifist group. But when a barbarian horde invades their kingdom, Rose knows that she can make a difference by taking up her sword again. Will her need to protect her homeland cost her the man she loves? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWKEKP4/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
Iron Flower - One of the greatest fighters in the world, nearly indestructible Rose lets few things strike fear into her—but magic is one of them. Nonetheless, she seeks out the magical dangers left by the ancients alongside warrior partner Finn and curious scholar Derrick in order to protect others from them. Their mission is complicated by Rose and Finn's budding romance, as her choice of lifestyle conflicts with his expectations for the woman he loves. But after their quest pits against such titanic foes as a prince able to slay a thousand men in a day and a draconic archmage, will Rose be forced to embrace the very magic she fears? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C2CV2CY/?tag=bilthestaarts-20
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