Hi everyone! I've been kind of inactive (my bad xP I blamez mabi =3) I was hoping to put up my story, and I guess I should do some copyright stuff, although i'm not sure how they exactly work, but just don't do the following~
-DON'T copy and paste it to some other site and say it's ur own, unless you have my permission, and give all credit to me.
-DON'T print it and sell it (Hiss!)
-DON'T change it in anyway when putting it somewhere else and saying it's your own
-Etc.

Kk here's the story! (wish i could just add attachment xP I used special fonts =3)
(Btw, at parts where it sounds like the charrie is thinking something... He/she is thinking something)

Prologue

Isaac had been blessed by a phoenix the day he was born. When the phoenix blessed him, he changed into what seemed to be a phoenix shaped like a human. Immediately, Isaac changed back into his normal self, but now he had a marking on his back. The marking was a sword.
One day, he decided to try to learn how to play soccer at the age of 7. His dad looked amazed by how his son wanted to be in a sport, especially by how all the other boys are 2 years older than he is. For his mother, she would simply pretend she cared, but she never did. Even though she treated Isaac like nothing, she treated his 3 siblings with more care than all the other parents would normally give to their children. Isaac always had a feeling that he would be safer near his dad rather than his mother.
Isaac went to his soccer practice with his brother, Alex, who was just an average 10-year-old boy who just simply loved being in all kinds of physical games. One time during the practice, he kicked Isaac on the head right after Isaac fell on the ground, and he thought he was the soccer ball. He even snorted, “Isaac, you’re so weak and pathetic that you actually can be the BALL!” When Isaac tried standing up, he saw the brown hair of his brother flowing with the wind. He felt like he was nothing but a rock in front of a prodigy.
After soccer practice, Isaac came back to his home with Alex who occasionally insulted him on how he played and shoved him a bit. When they arrived home, Isaac felt like crying for hours on what happened. When his father saw how bruised up Isaac was he tried to bring him to a better mood and even mentioned a punishment for Alex for what he did to Isaac. Sadly, his mother saved him and she even congratulated him for how he played on the field. She didn’t even bother to ask how Isaac did and better yet she laughed at how banged up he was.
Isaac ran to his room, not caring of the laughs and voices he heard on the way their. He only heard his crying and the loud ‘SLAM’ on the door when he closed it. Afterwards, his younger sister, April, shouted from her room, “SHUT UP! Can’t you see that I’m studying my spell book unlike you?” She was probably the smartest out of all the other kids, for she was only the age of 6. What was even more amazing was she could sometimes ignite dead weeds on fire with only the use of her magical talent.
“Well maybe it’s because I don’t want to learn magic. AND I’ll STAY QUIET WHEN I WANT TO!” shrieked Isaac. Even though they had an argument like this one, they treated each other nicely. Isaac’s final sibling soon came quietly into his room. His sister, Sally, was the only one who truly treated him nicely. She always remained quiet most of the time. Isaac even envied her for having such a calm and tranquil mind. Without saying anything, Sally took a close look at Isaac’s bruises.
She was the healer in the family, and she took out her staff from her room. It was almost half her height and she soon started to heal Isaac’s wounds. She asked, “What happened today? I highly doubt that you got those bruises from ‘accidentally’ getting hit by the ball in practice.”
Isaac questioned, “Who told you that?”
“Alex. Who else would you think would make a terrible lie like that one? I know you’re better than that.”
“Figures. It makes sense ‘cuz HE was the one who hurt me in the first place.” Isaac told her the story of what had happened during practice that day.
Sally said angrily, “I can’t believe Alex would go so far just to show that he beats you at everything! It’s already obvious that…”
Isaac interrupted, “THAT HE’S BETTER THAN ME! THAT HE TRULY IS THE STRONGEST IN THE FAMILY AND I’M THE WEAKEST!” He started to tear up.
“Please calm down. I was actually going to say that you are better than Alex.”
“I’m confused…How can I be better than Alex? He can easily beat me up, but I can’t even get him to flinch.”
“Isaac, are you really that naïve?” Sally paused. “A person is not judged by how strong they are, but by other qualities like kindness. I know that you have a good heart and you should never change that.”
Isaac stayed quiet after he had heard those words. For once, he feels like he truly is worth something in this world. Just as his sister was leaving he said, “I think I will.”

Soon, the years started to fly by. Isaac had changed from that day Sally encouraged him that he was better than Alex. He became more optimistic and he decided that no one could make him change. Isaac started to actually come back to life.
When he turned 9 years old, he asked his dad if he could have a wooden sword like all the other boys. His dad couldn’t believe he wanted to learn the way of the sword at such a young age, for all the boys who had one were all 12 years old. Then, a smile formed in his face. He answered, “Isaac, you do know that you should probably learn how to use a sword at the age of 12, right?”
Isaac exclaimed, “I know. But I want to learn to wield a sword! I will do anything to get one!”
His dad chuckled. He replied, “Let’s get your sword then. Also, no complaining on how hard it is.” Isaac started jumping out of excitement when his dad said those words.
They went outside and Isaac’s dad gave him a whittling knife and a big log. Isaac knew what he needed to do. As if by instinct, he started whittling away, and soon enough he started going faster and faster. His dad looked wide-eyed at how fast Isaac’s sword started forming. On Isaac’s last whittle, a few sparks came off the blade of the knife. Isaac had surprised himself by how he made the sword perfectly at such a speed and how he unleashed some fire magic from the knife he had used.
Later that day, Isaac told his dad, “Thank you for allowing me to make my own wooden sword.”
His dad replied, “No, I should be the one thanking you. You have grown so much Isaac, and I’m proud of you.”
Isaac started to cry out of joy and he whimpered, “I’m sorry you have to see me crying… I’m just so weak compared to Alex…”
His dad placed his hand on him, and told him, “Son, please, never say you are weak. You did a better job than your brother did when he made his 1st sword. As a matter of fact, he even got the knife stuck in the sword.” They both started to laugh. “Isaac, don’t be afraid to cry. It’s an emotion that you never want to lose. I’m afraid Alex has lost that emotion, but you’re not like him. Your heart is filled with love and kindness.” Isaac gave a hug to his dad.
Isaac had never forgotten what his dad and Sally said to him about his kindness and love. He kept training with his new wooden sword, day in and day out. He even stayed awake in the middle of the night just to get some practice time. He put all of his free time into his training, and he kept at it for a whole year.
After seeing Isaac having a wooden sword, all the other kids started to talk to him more often. Sometimes, Isaac would have a crowd watching him train. Isaac’s current goal in training was to cut through a big stump in front of his house. Just as he started, a crowd formed around him. For once, his younger sister decided to watch him train. Sally always watched him practice when a large crowd formed.
Slicing through the wind, he started hacking the stump with his sword. Slash after slash, he sliced through the air rapidly now, and he was getting nowhere. He fell to his knees; but everyone still gave him a comment for his efforts. Sally and April helped him up. Sally started healing Isaac’s energy back, while April started to show that she actually cared about Isaac. She said joyfully, “ISAAC! Since when did you get so good with swords?!”
Isaac was just blown away when he saw how nice his younger sister was being. He then answered softly, “I’ve been practicing for about a year I think…”
“O… I’m sorry for all the mean things I have done to you before. We are family, and I guess I never considered you part of our family. I’m sorry for doing that all these years.”
“It’s okay. I forgive you. But why did you not consider me part of our family?”
April groaned, “I hate to say this, but I think I got it from our mother.”
Isaac just stared blankly after hearing that. April looked at him, and it seemed like she was about to cry.
“If you’re going to cry, then go ahead. Don’t worry, I’m nothing like Alex.” They both started to cry and they hugged for their 1st time with each other. “Let’s go back inside. It looks like it’s going to rain.” Just as they started to walk back, Isaac glimpsed to his left. He saw Alex, and his ‘Friends’ swarm a little girl. She had the same hair color and eyes like Isaac. The difference between them was that her hair was longer than Isaac’s and her hair was dirty blonde, while Isaac’s was a brighter blonde. Tears started rolling down her blue eyes.
In an instant, Alex hits her in the face and she fell to the ground. Just as Alex drew out his wooden sword from his scabbard, Isaac sprinted towards Alex and his sisters just realized what Alex had done. Alex attempted to hit the girl with a slash from his sword. Luckily, Isaac came in to parry the blow and he pushed Alex a few yards away from the girl.
Alex retorts, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING ISAAC!? STAY OUT OF THIS!”
Isaac replied calmly yet fearfully, “Why are you trying to hurt that girl? What did she ever do to you?” Isaac was nervous for he didn’t want to have a fight with his own brother, no matter how much he hated him.
Alex snorted, “If you must know, I hate her. I hated her after that one day she made a fool of me.” Isaac looked at him in a confused way. “Are you stupid? Remember that one girl during soccer practice who kicked a ball right at my face?”
Isaac cheered, “She’s the one who did that to you! I felt a whole lot better that day when she did that!” Isaac couldn’t help but laugh remembering about that day. Sally and April caught up with Isaac, but they were in the outer parts of the many people who were watching. When Isaac got up, he saw Alex and all his lackeys glaring at him. He knew they were all going to attack him at once.
April cried, “Don’t worry Isaac! I’ll make this a fair fight by casting this spell I learned yesterday!” She started chanting words and a barrier formed around Isaac, Alex, and the girl who still was unconscious. Soon everyone who sided with Alex started going after April. April chanted even more words, and a wall of fire formed in front of her. Everyone stopped in their tracks for they feared April just as much as Alex.
Alex smirked, “Are you ready to die Isaac?” Isaac froze after he heard what he just said. Before Isaac noticed that the battle started, Alex threw a powerful slash at him. He barely dodged the attack and when the slash hit the ground, pieces of debris started flying off the area of impact. While Isaac recovered from that near hit, he saw Alex dashing towards the girl. He hadn’t given up getting revenge just yet.
The girl was regaining consciousness, but she couldn’t dodge the blow that was in store for her. Just as Alex readied a blunt slash on the girl, Isaac stabbed Alex in the side. It wasn’t a lethal stab, but it did make his side numb. Isaac only intentioned to hurt Alex and try to keep him alive. All of Alex’s rage now focused on Isaac after that blow.
All of Alex’s supporters started ‘booing’ at Isaac for getting an easy shot at their leader. It started to rain, just as Isaac predicted, and everyone started to run back to their homes where they could stay near a warm fire. Only Sally and April stayed to watch the fight. The girl had come back up to her feet and April allowed her to escape back to her home. A small exit opened in the portal and the girl just ran to her house.
Now that the girl was safe, Isaac didn’t hold back on his offense now. He still wasn’t going to try to kill Alex, but he intended on knocking him out. Isaac launched a series of blows that we are all hard to dodge. About half of them hit Alex, but he still wasn’t ready to give up. Alex focused only on strength when it came to sword fights, but he still was a fearsome foe. Alex tried to smash his sword into Isaac again, but he missed. Isaac knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge another blow like that one, for he was starting to tire out.
Isaac tried to land a slash on his brother’s back, but he ended up missing. Isaac knew his fate from that one mess up. When Isaac lifted his sword back up, Alex landed his 1st blow on Isaac. Isaac went crashing through to the right. He stopped when he hit the barrier placed by April. Sally and April were gasping, and April brought down the barrier while Sally attempted to heal Isaac. Sadly, Isaac had a few broken bones and she could only heal cuts and bruises. They all cried, knowing that this might be the last time they see each other. Isaac cried the most, for letting them all down.
Alex was approaching closer and closer, the three siblings only scared even more. April casted another barrier, but she knew it wouldn’t hold for long. Alex banged against the barrier with his slashes, still keeping his word with killing Isaac. Soon, the barrier started to shatter right before them. April casted a fireball at Alex hoping it would break his sword. Instead, he just ran through the fireball, and shoved her out of the way. Sally cried, “Alex don’t do this! Please stop! Don’t kill Isaac, he has a great future ahead of him! Just please don’t crush it now!” Alex ignored her and shoved her aside just like April. He readied his sword into a stabbing position and Isaac saw him preparing to kill his own brother.
Soon, everyone couldn’t believe what had just happened. Isaac was standing up, even with both his arms broken. What amazed the siblings even more was that he had his wooden sword in his hand clutched tightly. Next, he went into a barrage of stabs and slashes. Stab after stab; slash after slash, they all went through Alex’s defenses. He expected Isaac to be done for after that mighty blow. Alex then fell to the ground and so did Isaac. They both were breathing hardly. Alex soon got up and Isaac tried to get up, but his arms were in too much pain.
Alex dashed in for the kill. Isaac said, “Goodbye April, and Sally. Tell dad that I said goodbye to him as well.” His few last tears came down. Then Alex stopped in his tracks. It was as if time had stopped, and only Alex was frozen with it. Finally, Alex let out a yelp of pain and he fell to the ground. Isaac was about to black out, but before he did, he saw the person who saved him from his inevitable doom. It was the girl he had saved that saved his life. He weakly said, “Thanks for saving my life… Who are you?”
She answered happily, “My name is Jenna. And don’t worry, I know that your name is Isaac. Just rest now, you have had a hard day.” Isaac soon lost consciousness.

Chapter 1
The Hour of Destiny

I woke up today at 2:00 P.M., I think. Everything was a blur to me for a moment. Soon, everything came together. Jenna saved my life. What did she use to knock out Alex? I highly doubt that she used a wooden sword to do the job.
I tried getting out of my bed, but I let out a scream that got everyone running towards my room! I noticed that both my arms had casts, which reminded me the pain I felt when Alex broke both my arms.
Everyone barged into my room crying, “Are you okay?” and “Please don’t scare us like that again!”
I complied, “Everyone, please, calm down. You guys don’t need to worry; I’m okay. But what about Alex?” I notice that everyone in the family was in my room, except for Alex, and mom. Figures.
April retorted, “Being showered with love by mom. What else did you expect? But, Alex has changed, he seems to be hating himself now.”
Sally added, “not only that, but now he’s starting to come to his senses. He even said two things no one ever expected. He said…” There was a loud knock on the door before she could finish what she said. I got off the bed, but this time, I ignored the pain.
Dad immediately shouted, “Isaac, don’t kill yourself now! You need to rest!” I ignored him, for something in me just told me to keep walking towards the door. I felt like screaming, yet I never did. What’s this sensation in me? How am I still able to move?
I have absolutely gone insane. I’m now trying to open the door, and both my arms are broken still. I eventually opened the door. All the pain in my arms had disappeared, and they felt as good as new.
I was so amazed at myself, I forgot to greet the person at the door. Jenna. She stared at me by how she didn’t expect me to be the one who opened the door. She murmured, “Um…Hi…I was going to see you…Are you okay?”
I replied, “Trust me. I have no idea what’s happening to me. First, I’m in pain, and now I feel like nothing ever happened to my arms! I’m so confused!”
“I don’t blame you,” she giggled. “I think I know ho confused you are.”
All of a sudden, a thunderstorm of footsteps could be heard coming towards us. I knew they were all going to do the same thing they did in my bedroom. Instead, they all thank Jenna for saving me. Everything was ending up good.
Alex came to the door where everybody gathered. Everyone was quiet, and it stayed silent for a few minutes. Alex broke the silence, “Isaac, I’m…” he paused. HE’S GOING TO KILL ME! “I’m sorry for all the mean things I have done to you! I’m also sorry for nearly killing you and that girl!” Tears were coming down his eyes. He actually does hate himself, I though.
I told him, “Alex, I forgive you. You are my brother, and I won’t be holding grudges against you. Just, please have more control of yourself next time.” Jenna tried avoiding Alex’s gaze. She seemed to be troubled. She stayed quiet while Alex was there. Alex always focused his eyes toward her, even when Sally told him to ‘Think before you do something.’ Does he have a crush on her?
Later that day, everyone started questioning on what happened earlier and Alex didn’t bother staying near me for awhile. Dad exclaimed in the uproar, “SILENCE! I have a theory of why Isaac healed so quickly. Isaac may you take your shirt off?” I did what he just commanded, not caring if Jenna was watching. He continued, “ Isaac, have you ever noticed the birth mark on your back?”
I answered, “Ya, but I’ve only seen parts of it. By the way, exactly how big is it? And why did you bring it up?” Everyone started looking at my back. They started to gasp.
Jenna cried, “That’s not a birth mark! It’s shaped like a sword!” I reacted to what she said. I grabbed 2 mirrors, positioning them to see my back. I saw a black sword marking that covered my whole back!
I screamed, “What is this, ‘TATTOO’ on my back supposed to mean!? And how long have I had it?” I started calming down after I let out my reaction.
April exclaimed, “I bet it’s a curse mark!” I felt like fainting when I heard that.
My dad still remained calm, and answered, “No, it’s not a curse mark. It’s best described as a blessing.” I calmed down again. How is a sword tattoo on my back a blessing? He continued, “You have had that mark since the day you were born.”
I questioned, “Then how did I get it? I still don’t understand how this goes with all this.” Now, I felt more confused then before.
“You received that mark from a phoenix.” I went wide-eyed after hearing that. A PHOENIX!?!?!? Dad spit out, “Not only did the phoenix give you the mark, but he blessed you. If I’m correct, he blessed you with regeneration powers of a phoenix. That would explain your quick recovery. But, there are many more powers for you to discover.” Everything became clear now. My quick recovery and the black sword on my back. Yet, there is one question I had left.
I asked, “Why did I keep walking towards the door, even when I had broken bones?”
Sally answered before dad could. She said, “Maybe, just maybe it was your heart that told you to keep going to the door, knowing who it would be.” Hearing this, everyone started to smile, and even Jenna started smiling. Wow. Is my heart that powerful? So powerful, that it can even get the better of me?
Everyone went to his or her own rooms, and I decided to go outside with Jenna. Sally’s uncompleted briefing on Alex popped into my head. I guess I should ask tomorrow. When we got to Jenna’s house, I asked, “Hey, what did you use on Alex to knock him out?”
Jenna giggled, “I used a wooden sword. What else did you expect?” My mouth opened after hearing that. She finished off Alex with a wooden sword. She even added, “If you want, I can help you with your sword training.” She smiled at me.
I blurted, “How are you so good with a sword? Your only a girl… aren’t you into those other things like books and stuff?” From hearing this, Jenna stared at me in an angry way. “Did I say something bad?”
She cried, “Yes you did!”
“I’m sorry, please forgive me!” She started running back to her home and I tried to catch up, trying to apologize. When I caught up with her, she slapped me. She seemed like she was going to cry. I started walking back to home, with sadness behind me.
It was nighttime when I arrived back to my house. I got my wooden sword, and I started my training. I kept thinking to myself, Man, I’m an idiot for saying that! I can’t believe I’m that stupid! All because she was a girl… I went back to the stump I tried cutting through yesterday. This time, I am going to cut through it.
I did the exact same slash after slash technique I did last time. I only ended up denting the wood this time. I started to hit the ground for still not reaching my goal. When I was about to give up, I heard a few twigs snap. When I looked in the direction I heard the sound from, I saw Jenna.
She said in a mocking way, “You still haven’t cut through that stump have you?”
I retaliated, “Why don’t you try cutting through it then?” I still wanted to apologize, but I knew I wouldn’t go anywhere with it.
“I will. Just you wait to see that girls ARE better than boys!” I still had a hard time believing in her, yet she changed my opinion.
She drew her wooden sword attached to a leather scabbard on her back. She readied her sword into a slash, yet hers was different from mine. Rather than hitting right away, she focused on where she was going to hit. Then, the moment she slashed, she sliced off a chip of wood from the stump.
I exclaimed, “WOW! How did you do that?” I felt really pathetic by how I was asking her to train me now.
She said, “I’ll teach you how to cut through this stump with your sword, but you need to promise not to say boys are better at girls in a good number of things, because I just proved to be better than you in sword fighting.” I didn’t really care about the condition, because I started to regret ever thinking that when she slapped me.
I replied, “I promise. Sorry for the way I… Um… treated you earlier.”
“Apology accepted, now let’s start practicing.” She returned to her old self while we were practicing. I even started seeing what I was missing all along. I was missing ‘Accuracy’ and ‘Weak spots’, which were both essential in sword fights. I had learned so many things from Jenna, yet she also learned many things from me, like ‘Chaining your attacks together’ which was one of the many sword techniques I made up.

We practiced together for about 2 months, and even started dueling each other into sword fights. Sometimes I would win, but Jenna won as well. We both kept on learning new tactics in battle. One time, I even tried making a spin in the air to add momentum to my sword, but I ended up landing on my back and losing. I decided that I will try making that move again, but when I’m older.
Tomorrow was my birthday. I was going to turn 11, and I couldn’t wait to see what surprises were in store for my party. I even invited Jenna to come to the party. My dad has been acting weird during the past few days. He even asked if it would be okay if he could ask a few of his friends to come to the party. The only one I knew was Daniel, a swordsman who seemed to be just as good as my dad, yet he seemed more battling than my dad, who rarely drew his blade. He seemed to be the nicest of the many guards of the town I live in.
Then, the day of fate had come. The one that destroyed everything I believed in. Alex acted weird that day as well, and dad was being overprotective. Mom said she had to go do some errands. Sally, April, and Jenna were at my party having fun. Then, in the distance, a house got lit on fire. One after another, they started to catch on fire. Soon our house lit on fire. Was this what my dad was worrying about? We started leaving the house, and all the guards prepared for battle. Sally and April did their best to douse the fires. Jenna seemed scared to death when she saw the many people in pain. I felt that way too.
In the distance, the shrieks of terror had came. The many warriors who had caused the houses to light on fire started charging in the town. All the guards, were fighting they’re best. I screamed in terror when I saw one guard die. Jenna still had a deathly look on her, April tried killing off some of the raiders with her magic, and Sally did her best to heal the wounded.
We seemed to have the advantage, and then a 2nd wave came towards us. This time, it was soldiers who were skilled both in magic and close combat. There were also a few archers in the distance. Everyone seemed to be dying at once. Even April got hurt, and Sally healed her. Jenna went out of her state and now actually did her best to defend herself. Soon, all my dad’s friends came into battle. Dad was leading them and he drew out his great sword, which he called, ‘Blade of Destiny’. He killed off 5 soldiers who tried swarming him, and soon the 2nd wave started falling back.
The raid seemed to have ended, but then the commander along with a few of his elites came to end this battle. The elites were masters of both magic and weapons. They massacred all the townsfolk and guards. Only I, Jenna, Sally, April, Alex, and dad were the last ones left on the battlefield. All the others were either captured or killed.
The elites were about to kill us, but my dad overpowered one of the elites, and he killed him. The commander growled, “Elites fall back, I’ll handle these few personally.”
The elites answered, “Yes, Your Majesty.” THE COMMANDER WAS A KING! The commander started to lunge forward with a sword twice the size of my dad’s blade. He launched a great swing onto my dad’s sword, which parried the blow completely.
He exclaimed, “Why I see you are still a formidable opponent as you were last time we fought, King of Blaidia! I expected you to have become weaker by abandoning your kingdom for these commoners!”
I blurted, “King of Blaidia? Is he talking about you dad?” The commander started gazing at me and he started laughing mockingly.
“You haven’t told your children about your past have you?”
Dad said, “Yes, I was King of Blaidia, but I abandoned that kingdom. I didn’t want to lead such a powerful region. I could have gone mad with power if I hadn’t abandoned it, wouldn’t you say so yourself, King of Xapear!” I didn’t know what they meant when they mentioned Blaidia and Xapear. But what bothered me the most was that my dad was a king.
Alex commented, “So your King of Xapear, I have a read a lot about your nation. Ruthless yet formidable, and I have came to ask you, may I join you in this war?”
I shrieked, “Alex what are you doing?! Don’t side with him! I know you’re better than that!”
“This is my pathway and life, so stay out of it, stupid!” I was shocked when I heard this. The King of Xapear starts laughing at what he just heard.
He exclaims, “Very well. You may come with me, Alex. You seem to be a dark one like me. You even have the strength to one day surpass your own father.” At this Alex bows down, and he shows a grin on his face.
Dad stays quiet, for he knows he has no control over Alex. Soon I lose it. The evil king then dares to joke around by placing his sword in a stabbing position. He then snarls, “SO, WHO SHOULD I KILL 1st!” I run towards him with my wooden sword and I try to pierce through the armor that surrounds his body. I pulled off knocking a piece of armor off, but the commander tries slashing me. I would have died if I hadn’t quickly tried parrying with my wooden sword. Although it broke during the parry, my life had been saved.
I had left my guard open, so the commander punches me in the ribs. I fell down to the ground in front of him. I think he broke one of my ribs, and everyone was gasping. Dad tried coming to the rescue, but one of the elites remained to hold him down. The evil king grabbed me by the end of my shirt; I was scared of him now.
I started crying, “PLEASE DON’T KILL ME! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!” He laughed at me for begging. I lost my temper again, and I tried punching him in the face, yet he had a helmet on. I ignored it, and kept punching at him. My efforts annoyed the commander, so he attempts stab me with his sword. I gotten out of my shirt in the nick of time, but I exposed the mark on my back to him. The commander started to chuckle.
He growled, “So, this brave little commoner has been blessed by the legendary phoenix! I must end this one’s life before he becomes a trued threat to me!”
Dad finally yelled, “NO! I WILL STOP YOU FROM KILLING HIM! HE HAS THE SIGNS OF A TRUE HERO!” Dad shakes off the elite on him killing him with one quick stab. He parried the attack that almost hit me. He screeched, “ISAAC, GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE! I WILL OPEN A PORTAL THAT WILL GET YOU TO SOMEWHERE SAFE!”
Sally cried, “But what about you?!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” he promised.
April added, “We have many questions to ask as well!”
“JUST GO OR YOU WILL ALL DIE,” he cried. Soon, a portal opened behind him. I brought everyone through to the portal. Once we all went through, we were in a town that was similar to ours, but bigger. We all started to cry, but out of all of us, Jenna cried the most. She had no family left.
As a quick answer, I informed her, “Jenna, we are your new family now, but where will we live?”
Sally said firmly, “What will happen to us?” I had no answer to that question sadly.
April cried, “Isaac, what will we do without dad or anyone to help us? What if dad…”
I interrupted, “Don’t talk like that. We still have hope of finding dad and all our friends. Lastly, we will avenge our village one day!” Jenna was giggling by how I said that last sentence. I looked at her in a confused way.
She explained, “At first, you may have been nothing but an ordinary kid. Now, you talk as if you were a leader! I’m going to fight with you to the end. You’ve always been there for me, now it’s time I help you out!”
April cheered, “Even if I’m the youngest, I’m still going to fight no matter what! We will fight till we get back our village… or what’s left of it.” I looked at her in a funny way. She was a very smart child, yet she is willing to take the hard way in to life.
Sally finished off the moment of optimism by saying, “I’ll help take care of us, the best I can, and you know what, I plan on learning offensive magic now! That way I can heal and fight with you guys!”
I exclaimed, “Let it be known then that we will one day defeat the King of Xapear!” I raised my hand to the air. For a moment, I felt like the hero I always wanted to become. Everyone else started raising the hands in the air, but with their weapons. I knew that we will overcome the evil lord, but we needed to train first. I shouted, “We shall be known as the…” I couldn’t think of a name for the group we were about to form.
Jenna quickly added, “The Excalibur Knights!” I actually liked how she used a sword mentioned in a few legends for our group name. I nodded at hearing our group name.
We all shouted, “THE EXCALIBUR KNIGHTS!”

Chapter 2
Days of Darkness

The days that passed by were torturous. We were barely alive, and we only had water to drink sparingly. We couldn’t eat food, because we had no money, or allies to get the food for us. It seemed like there was no hope left. Sally had started getting more irritable than ever in her whole life, and April started talking to herself about the hardships of death. Jenna had gotten really pale and her eyes were starting to turn pale as well. I also started to become insane like all the others. I dreamt of myself getting stabbed by the King of Xapear, Alex, and I even killed myself in a good number of my dreams.
We lived in a deserted alley that had nothing soft to lie on. We even asked desperately for people to adopt us, or feed us. Sadly, all our requests were ignored. Even this one couple laughed at our attempts. We started to lose hope. Now, this is what we have become. We have become creatures of death, ready to leave our miserable life and die.
The final day had came. We couldn’t last any longer, thus we started falling to the ground. We were ready for an eternal sleep. I fell to the ground last, saying my last regrets and wishes. Soon, someone saw us all lying on the ground. He gasped at what he had seen. I knew this was a person who had a kind heart.
I clambered clumsily to my feet, and I whimpered, “Please give us some food! We are dying here!” He started smiling at the request I made. He placed his hand on me.
He whispered, “Don’t worry, young one. I will help you, and all those other kids on the ground… well if it’s not too late…”
“It’s not too late! I’ll help you as much as I can just to save all their lives!”
“What about yours? Surely you care that you survive as well.” He seemed to calm down from everything he saw earlier, as he started to lift Sally and April into his arms.
I replied, “My life doesn’t matter anymore! I want them to live!” I lifted Jenna as best I could, because I could see the man started having trouble with my two sisters.
He said softly, “You have a kind heart. You are willing to save all three of your comrades, for the cost of your life. You only see kindness as great as this once in a life time.” I started smiling by how he talked to me as if I was a prodigy. Then, I remembered about Alex. He had betrayed us for the side of evil. I used to think he was a prodigy, but now I didn’t. I still wondered, What has happened to Alex?
After a few minutes, we arrived at a house that stood very high into the skies. Without questioning, we went into the house immediately trying to nurse all the others back into health. Sally was the 1st to wake up, then Jenna, and lastly April. They all acted like they used to, before they had gone insane. I smiled by how they all were okay. My eyes started to close. I crashed to the ground and lost consciousness.
I woke up at nighttime, and everyone gave me looks. They were all looks of happiness, and I felt the darkness going away from us. We all came back to being our old selves, yet now we all had learned a valuable lesson. The lesson of ‘Hope’. We all started to say, “Thank you,” to the man who helped us in our time of peril.
He exclaimed, “Don’t mention it, but may I ask your names?”
We said our names, and I was the last to say my name. He stared blankly at all of us.
He finally came to say, “Excuse me, but is your father none other than Luke?” I didn’t even know what my own dad’s name was. It never came to my head what his name truly was. Everyone seemed to not know the answer to his question.
I placed all my trust in him and said, “Is he by chance King of Blaidia?” Everyone looked at me for giving away a valuable piece of information to a stranger.
“Yes, he is! Are you sure he’s your father!?”
“Yes, of course, but Jenna is from a different family.”
“O, THE GOOD OL’ MEMORIES!” He started chuckling when he said that. When he became serious again, he continued, “So, you must be the Isaac your father told me about. The one who had been blessed by such a divine creature as a phoenix!” I felt better knowing that this man was one of my father’s friends, or seemed to be one. “Don’t worry boy! You can trust me. Your dad and I go way back when he was still a prince. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I’m Kaito, his best friend and if you must know, his personal servant.”
April questioned, “Were you really his servant? If you really are, then why don’t you hate him?”
“Yes, I really was his servant, yet even though he was a prince, he treated me kindly unlike all the other royal bloods. We talked to each other often, and to he even told me once, that I was his only friend!”
Sally said, “Wow! He must have been just as kind-hearted as Isaac is right now! But, I guess we should be leaving now that…”
Kaito interrupted, “NO! You don’t need to leave. As a matter of fact, I have decided that you all can live here.” Everyone got excited after hearing this.
Jenna cheered, “Thank you, Kaito! Thank you for taking us out of the miserable life we had before! We will treat you kindly as if you were our father…” She stopped in her tracks when she brought up that last word. She started to cry.
I supported her and said, “Jenna, I bet your parents are all right. They can’t die. You need them as much as they need you. Besides, my dad is probably freeing them right now!”
She started calming down and she replied, “Thank you.”
Kaito added, “O, I also forgot to tell you my son, Kyosuke, is going to be living with you guys. He’s about your age, Isaac. You don’t mind, do you?”
I answered, “That shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” Kyosuke, I wonder what he’s like? Maybe he’s just like all the other boys in our town…
When we all entered Kyosuke’s room, which was indeed large enough for all of us to sleep in, I saw a boy reading a book that had about 1000 pages. This is Kyosuke! No it can’t be! I asked, “Excuse me, but are you Kyosuke?” He looked at me, and closed the book he was reading.
He answered, “Why, yes I am. Are you by chance Isaac, Jenna, Sally, and April? And are you all going to really be sleeping in my room?” He said it all in a sarcastic way.
“How did you know all that?” He caught me off guard with all those questions.
“Obviously, you haven’t met a boy as smart as me, better yet half the wits I have. Not only am I smart, but I have an amazing hearing ability.” Wow! Did he just read my mind! He continued, “You four are quiet amusing. Anyway, it’s great to have you guys having to bunk with me. It’s practically like a sleepover.” He smiled and we all started to smile.
Over the weeks, we learned more about each other, like I learned that we are Kyosuke’s 1st friends. We even trusted him so much, we told him about the group we had formed when we 1st came here.
He exclaimed, “The Excalibur Knights, that’s a really good name!” Jenna started smiling.
She cheered, “Ya, I came up with that name! Speaking of our group, we should probably…”
Kyosuke interrupted, “Hold on! You made the name? I highly doubt a girl could come up with the ‘Excalibur Knights.’ Uh-oh, not again. Well, he thinks of girls the same way I used to think of them, but this isn’t going to turn out nice. Jenna started to seem furious at what he said. Out of all the things she hated, she hated being treated as a weak person compared to a boy.
Jenna started smirking, “So, you think boys are better than girls?”
He replied, “Yes, it’s so obvious that a boy is better than a girl because boys are stronger than girls.”
“Let’s see about that!” She took out her wooden sword and started chasing Kyosuke across the front yard. She cried, “Why are you running? Aren’t you better than me?”
Kyosuke frantically cried, “OKAY, OKAY! GIRLS ARE BETTER THAN BOYS IN A LOT OF THINGS! JUST PLEASE STOP CHASING ME!” She stopped in her tracks, thinking he had suffered enough. He whispered to me, “Is she always like this?”
I replied, “No, only when she’s treated like the way you just treated her. Trust me, you never want to do something like that again.”
Jenna continued what she said earlier, “As I was saying earlier, I remembered that we should be practicing with our weapons.” She was right, because if we wanted to defeat King of Xapear, we need become more skilled with our primary weapons.
I said, “Hold on everyone. I’ll be right back.” I ran towards Kaito’s house, and I asked Kaito, “Do you have a whittling knife, so I can make a wooden sword? My old one broke from the incident a few weeks ago.” He nodded, and handed me one.
He warned, “Be careful with it! Return it to me when you’re done.”
I sprinted back to everyone and said, “I’m back. Hey, Kyosuke. Do you know where I can find some wood?”
He answered, “Sure, there are a lot of logs behind my house.” I started running to fetch a few logs, knowing that I might have to make a few more weapons, like a staff for April. When I came back he asked, “What are you going to do with all that wood?”
I informed, “Make some weapons, why else did you think I got this whittling knife?”
“Well, I was wondering… could I have… can you make me a bow?” He seemed excited by how he might get a bow.
“Sure, but we are going to need a string and a few branches if you want one.”
He immediately said, “I’ll go get those things! Just as long as I get to have a bow!” He was trying to act mature, but inside, I can tell his jumping all over the place.
When I began whittling, this time I could actually feel more of the fire magic in me. It’s another gift from the phoenix’s mark. As I whittled, sparks flew off the blade. Everyone stared at me, because they never expected me to know magic. I started whittling faster than ever and within 2 minutes; I made my new sword, except I made it more lethal than before. I hoped I wouldn’t hurt anyone during our training with this more pointed sword. Before I knew it, I challenged myself to make my own wooden scabbard. I did the same process I used with my sword, yet even more sparks flew out of the knife. The scabbard I made was perfect, and my sword fit perfectly in it.
When I started working on Kyosuke’s bow, I had completely gone blank on how to make it. Soon, I came up with one idea on how to make it. I thought of carving out a moon, rather than a bow. In a few minutes, I had made my 1st bow. I tried bending it, and it didn’t break or resist bending. It turned out to be perfect. I asked April, “April, what do you want the head of the staff I’m making for you going to be?”
She answered, “Make it a… SUN!” It made sense, she did consider fire her favorite magic. Without questioning, I started working on April’s new staff. It ended up being nice, and now it was time to work on Sally’s new weapon, as well as a new sword for Jenna, because her old one has a crack in it, which might end up breaking the sword.
I questioned Sally, “What do you want your staff head to be, and make it unique.” I smiled and so did she. She started to look a bit irritated as she thought, though.
She cried, “I can’t think of any other head for my staff!” She started tearing out her hair practically. I came up with a design for her that she actually might like.
I suggested, “How about a Moon? That’s unique, yet it relates to you a bit!”
She cheered, “YA! I like that design! Go ahead, I’m okay with it.” The design was a bit simple, but I still made it. I gave it to Sally, and she practically hugged her staff. She pulled out her old staff, and took out the gem that gave it healing powers. She looked confused on where to put the gem, then she asked me, “Can you make a hole right here?” She pointed and the part of the moon she wanted me to cut through. I did what she told me, and she was finally able to fit the gem in the hole. She became really happy after she got her new staff fully functional.
Jenna’s sword was the last thing on the list. I wanted to make her sword unique like all the others. I came up with a pattern that she might like. I whittled the last of my energy into the last log and a sword started to take shape. Many sparks were flying when I made this sword. I made it perfect, and it was just as deadly as mine was. I told her, “Jenna, this sword I made is supposed to resemble the Excalibur. I did my best to imagine how it might look like. You deserve the sword the most, because you came up with the name of our group, and you saved my life.”
Jenna said softly, “Oh… Isaac, that’s really nice of you. You really are the nicest boy I have ever met.” She gave me a hug and I didn’t really know what to do. I decided to just hug her as well. It felt… awkward hugging a girl, because the only girls I had ever hugged were my sisters. She gave me a quick glance, and said, “Thank you.”
Kyosuke came back with all the materials, noticing everyone’s new weapon. He exclaimed, “COOL! NICE WEAPONS! SHOW ME MINE!” He acted like a boy whose birthday was today. I gave him his bow, and he started putting together it together. He added, “THANK YOU! I ALWAYS WANTED A BOW! NOW CAN YOU CARVE MY ARROWS?”
I said, “Sorry, I can’t trust you with lethal arrows yet. For now though, practice with branches rather than arrows. We don’t want someone to get hurt.” Kyosuke understood my reasoning, yet he still couldn’t wait to practice with his new bow.
I said, “Let the training begin!”

Chapter 3
The Adventure Begins

Almost two years passed by from the time when this war had first changed all our lives. We all became skilled with the weapon we chose. Sally and April have even decided to learn how to use a sword, because they wanted to be ready for any close combat fights, and be able to handle it themselves. They weren’t as good with the sword like Jenna or me but they know how to use it effectively enough. Kyosuke started carving his own arrows a few weeks after he got his bow, but they weren’t like normal arrows at all. I told him that those aren’t how normal arrows looked and I question why he had done this.
He exclaimed, “Of course these aren’t normal arrows. These are my personalized arrows!” They had a point that curved into a sharp tip. The body of the arrow was zigzagged, and the end of the arrow had a few feathers to make it more accurate.
I asked, “Can you show me that you can actually use these arrows?” He gave me a glance of doubt.
He said, “I’m aiming for that leaf that just fell and is in the air right now.” There actually was a leaf in the air. Without a moment’s waste, Kyosuke fired his arrow and it whooshed through the air. A snap was heard, and the arrow hit a wall nearby. I looked closely at it, and it had the leaf in it. I stared in amazement at this, especially since it was a prototype arrow. He started to explain why he picked that design. I ended up getting confused because he started mentioning things, like ‘dimensions.’
Those were the days of our development, and I wish we had a better life. We didn’t celebrate anyone’s birthday on the last year of training, and I felt sad because we had to miss Jenna’s 13th birthday. Tomorrow was the day we headed out on our new journey. Kaito had a very hard time with this, assuming his only son would die. Tomorrow also marked my birthday, and of course, the tragic event. Dad, hold on a bit longer. Everyone, please don’t die yet. We are coming to free you after all this time!
Today we started getting our supplies ready, and I asked Kaito, “Is there any iron or metal materials around this area. Or better yet a blacksmith who lives nearby.”
He exclaimed, “I see you all want real weapons now! Yes, we have a blacksmith in this town. He lives just next door to be honest!” I thanked him one last time for all the good he has done us. We all headed out to the blacksmith. The blacksmith had a sign that said, ‘You say it, I make it.’ The man who worked there was really quiet. All he did was make weapons. We told him the weapons we wanted, except for me.
In a matter of hours, all the weapons were made, and now everyone had their old weapons replaced with iron ones, except for Sally and April’s staffs, because it was harder to focus magic through metal. When we were ready to ask for my weapon, I asked, “Can I make my own sword?”
He said his 1st and only words since we arrived and they were, “Go ahead.” He seemed like he didn’t care. Everyone watched me making my sword. I had no clue what to do. I experimented and started hitting the chunk of metal with the hammer. I acted again by instincts, but now I could actually see my sword form. I knew if I started hitting the piece of iron too fast, the sword will be ruined. How do I know this? It’s like I have done this before, but I never remembered doing it!
The sword was finished. It had a special pattern, like Jenna’s old sword, but I didn’t name it the Excalibur. The edge of the sword had a very lethal touch on it, because it scratched the anvil I made it on. The man looked at me as if I was a professional at this stuff. I exclaimed, “Thanks for your help! Here’s your pay!” I left a bag filled with about 500 gold coins in it. That should have paid for all the weapons. He waved goodbye to us all.
We slept one last time in Kaito’s house. None of us could fall asleep, so we ended up talking all night. We mentioned many of the funny things in our childhood. Everyone was in a happy mood, except for me. I had a hatred within me that kept growing, and growing. It got the better of me up until now.
I blurted out, “I just want to kill that evil lord, and Alex for everything they have done! I even want to kill all of his men now!” Everyone stared at me, because they never expected me to say such things. I started crying and I went outside, because I realized that my hatred was taking over my whole body. Now I started thinking of vengeance, many dark things, and even the death of many men. Who am I? I thought I had a kind heart, but not anymore. I am nothing compared to a dying creature now. I might as well die…
I was deep in my thoughts, because this hatred wouldn’t go away, no matter what. Then, I grabbed a log and sliced through it with my sword out of anger. It didn’t help at all, and I hated myself for what I had become. I stared in the reflection of myself in a puddle in front of me. I saw many dark things surrounding me. I knew that I would become just like Alex if I continued this path.
Suddenly, the darkness in me started to disappear. Jenna was next to me, crying as well. I felt bad for having to make her cry because of me. She cried, “Isaac, please don’t hate yourself. You will never become like Alex. I know you’re better than that.” How did she know about that? She continued, “I have a secret to tell you as a matter of fact. The reason why I know all of this is because… I think… I can sense what a person is thinking deeply in their heart! I have heard many things from all of you, but your heart was the purest! I know you won’t become like Alex! Please, stop thinking of dying!”
I cried, “Okay, I’m sorry for getting you scared. Maybe, I have been thinking the wrong things. I can’t let my hatred get the better of me! I KNOW I WILL OVERCOME IT!” I started to sound like my old cheerful self. Good… The darkness in my heart is gone… We both smiled at each other. I gave her a hug, for giving me hope. I would stop the evil king and Alex, but not out of revenge, vengeance, or hatred. I was going to stop them, so no one else would end up having to see everyone they knew and love die in front of them, just like I did.
I went back to Kyosuke’s room, and Kyosuke exclaimed, “I see you’re in a better mood. Next time, I suggest you control your hatred, because you’re like a whole new person when your hatred gets the better of you.” Everything he said was true, even if I didn’t like it.
I replied, “Yes… I know… and I don’t want to ever let that happen again. Just, forgive me for the way I acted earlier. I hate myself for ever doing that.”
Sally said, “Please, don’t talk like that, we don’t blame you. Out of all of us, you have changed the most from this war. I never hoped you would have to kill at such a young age, or have to see people die at an even younger age.”
April added, “Ya, I even felt like you did just now a good number of times before. Yet, I know I will never do those things that my hatred tells me to do.”
Jenna ended, “Isaac, just ignore all those terrible things you want to do. Just focus on the good parts. No bad parts.” We all started smiling after a few more tips.
I said, “Thanks everyone. I don’t know what I would do without you guys.” We all started to fall asleep, knowing that tomorrow will be one of the toughest yet. I knew though that we will continue, no matter the hardships, struggles, or injuries we will encounter. I felt like this was just like the day Alex had knocked me out. I started to fall asleep.
I woke up earlier than everyone else the next morning. I went outside, knowing that I won’t have a chance to relax for a long time. I readied my weapon, and I got my share of weight ready to go. I closed my eyes, not trying to sleep but think.
Today’s the day we leave. It might not have been the life I wanted, but I will save the lands I know. Blaidia may be the only one I know of, but I will protect all the others. Xapear will be the last land I set free, because that’s their stronghold. I’m gonna need all the support I can get from the other lands. I need to also weaken Xapear’s strength by cutting off their resources that they might be taking from the other lands. Today, I will be known as Prince of Blaidia to the other lands, in remembrance of Luke. Even if my brother is the rightful heir to the throne, he betrayed his own bloodline. I won’t let him take the throne. He would become a ruthless monarch just like King of Xapear if that happened.
Kaito came to me, breaking my thoughts that I had just formed. He pleaded, “Isaac, protect my make sure my son is safe during your journal. I don’t know what I would do without my only child. It was bad enough I had to see my wife die in combat. Now, a chance that my son might die is too much to bear.”
I answered, “Don’t worry, Kyosuke is a great fighter. Even if he were surrounded by 10… no 30 men, he would be victorious because he has the knowledge of a tactician, and the heart of a warrior. I believe in him, sir. He will make it through this like the rest of us.”
“Thank you for lifting for spirit. Here’s something that will help you.” He handed me a map, showing all five nations. It even told the name of each nation. I already know two nations, Xapear and Blaidia. Now what are the other three? I looked closely into the map. Retallia… Sebalta… Lesido. Those are the other three nations. Kaito added, “Also, Sebalta, and Retallia are under Xapear’s control. I suggest you head to Lesido first, because it seems like Xapear’s next target. Blaidia is too strong and large to seize, so King of Xapear plans on attacking on all borders. You must protect Lesido from the army that may come to bring it to its last days of freedom.”
“Thank you for telling me all of this, I don’t know how to repay all the kindness you have provided for us all over these two years, or better yet with the information and map you just gave me.”
“Don’t worry. Saving these lands is the only thing I want. What you’re doing right now is repaying me.” He smiled at me, and I tearfully gave him my last farewells.
Everyone started waking up, getting ready for this near impossible quest. April and Kyosuke were the ones who started having 2nd doubts about this journey, but then they both decided that no matter what, they will stay strong. Sally came to me and cheered, “Happy Birthday Isaac! This isn’t much, but…” She handed me a scabbard, but unlike my old one, it had a beautiful design on it. I touched it, and it wasn’t wood, but metal. She added, “This present isn’t just from me, but everyone. We all worked hard on getting enough money to get it.”
For a moment, I hugged everyone and I told them all, “Thank you!” Kyosuke gave his dad one last hug before he went away from the place he grew up in. We said our last goodbye to Kaito, and he wished us good luck. We started walking out of the town, and while we were leaving, a few guards stopped us.
One yelled, “Halt! You can’t pass by! We are in a war and no one is to be let out! We don’t want our defenses dying right off the bat!” I gently pushed him aside, and we started going through. “HEY! Are you lot deaf?”
I informed, “No, we aren’t. We are going on a journey to defeat the evil dictator that plagues this land. No one will stop us, not even you guards.”
Another guard snorted, “Let’s see about that then!” He came dashing towards me with his lance. I stayed calm, and when the lance almost hit me in the chest, I quickly moved out of the line of fire and caught the lance with my sword. The guard was surprised at my quick reflexes. Soon, I came back up and looked at him impatiently.
“Just let us go through,” I requested nicely. In spite of my kind words, the guard started charging towards me, but he decided to use a sword against me now. I parried his blow, and as he charged again, I disarmed him of his sword. He lost his breath, and stared at me in an angry way. I told everyone, “Let’s get moving, we wasted enough time. We really need to hurry. Who knows how much time we have left?” We started walking away, and the guards didn’t bother us anymore. They knew that we aren’t ordinary kids.
When we started getting on the road to Lesido, Jenna cheered, “I see you handled that problem really nicely! You didn’t even have to hurt them, except maybe the one guard that attacked us.”
Sally added, “Ya, I’m not sure I could have kept my cool if something like that happened. You really know what to do in times like these Isaac!” I started to show a smile in my face, and we kept walking through the road.
After a few days, we had already started running low on supplies. I looked closely into the bag, finding pieces of fur in it. A raccoon or something had probably robbed us for almost all of our food had vanished. Now, we definitely looked forward to getting to the next town nearby. I looked in our bag of gold to see how much gold we had left for food and supplies. 100.
We had come to a town just at the border of Blaidia, and near the entrance to Lesido. Luckily, we had enough gold to get enough food for 2-3 meals. Everyone feared starvation, and it took a heavy toll on our progress. April being the youngest and weakest was the most affected, and her strength faltered as the days went by. Sally’s seemingly-endless optimism ceased and she kept to herself than ever. As hard as he tried, Kyosuke’s bravado failed him and he became weak with misery and fear. Even Jenna seemed to be losing hope! And then to make matters worse, we had an unfriendly encounter.

Chapter 4
King Lesido

When we entered Lesido, we came across a band of soldiers that were ready to attack us. Xapear soldiers? They are already in Lesido. I have got to warn the King before it’s too late. They had about 50 men, while we only had 5 people. We were outnumbered 10 to 1, not very pleasant odds. It turned out the men we were about to fight are not elites, but probably those who ranked mercenary, and maybe a few recruits. We had a chance to defeat them, but it wasn’t a very high chance.
I shouted, “EXCALIBUR KNIGHTS! WE CAN DO THIS! ALTHOUGH THIS IS OUR 1st FIGHT AND WE MAY BE OUTNUMBERED, WE CAN DO THIS!” I yelled so loudly, the soldiers on the other side of the battlefield laughed at us. We started raising our weapons in the air, and cried, “FOR OUR FREEDOM!”
Without a moment to waste, we sprinted through the field. I was the fastest, and my targets were the commander of that squadron and few of the tougher looking soldiers. I landed the first blow, and killed the soldier instantly, but now, five other soldiers tried swarming me. I had no choice but to attempt to use magic I had never really mastered. I readied my sword with both hands, and began the cantation for the spell.
When the five soldiers came close enough to strike with their weapons, I easily finished them off one after another. I did this by using magic to increase my speed and strength, but it left me weaker every time I used it. The enhancement magic I used sapped up all the energy in my body, in order for it to work, which was a deadly side-effect in some cases.
Six soldiers were already dead, and Kyosuke had landed a few more kills making a total of twelve. Everybody came into the fight and now, blood was shedding everywhere. I killed soldiers one after another, trying to find their commander. Jenna started struggling when a massive man struck his sword at her. She almost lost her balance, but made a quick jump in the air, and landed on the back of the brute. She stabbed her sword into him, and he let screamed as he died. He fell to the ground and Jenna went on to more soldiers.
April casted fire spells to finish off some off the stronger enemies, and she had to use her sword to finish off the nearby soldiers. Sally did the same thing April did, except she used ice magic she had learned during her training. One time, Kyosuke let his guard down, and he got stabbed in the shoulder. He let out many cries of pain, and Sally came to heal his wound.
She told him, “Please be careful next time. You’re lucky it’s not broken!” He looked ready to fight again after he got healed. He came up with an idea when he readied his arrow. Instead of one arrow, he placed six! I didn’t question what he was going to do, but I readied myself into protecting everyone if something went wrong.
He let go of the string, and all the arrows flew in a spiraling direction. They were all near each other, rather than far apart. I realized what he did. He’s using magic to control where they go. The spiral of arrows separated into a barrage of arrows either killing or wounding the six soldiers that got hit. Kyosuke let out a cheer of excitement for discovering his new attack. Soon, an arrow started flying towards him.
NO! There was still time to stop the arrow. I sprinted in the path of the arrow it was taking. I readied my sword, and I deflected the arrow that aimed at Kyosuke. I gave him a look that told him to stay focused in battle. He nodded an ‘Okay’ to me.
Only a few soldiers remained, and they all started to retreat. None of them were the leader of the wave we just faced. When we were ready to get back on the road, a wave of archers and spell casters formed on the hill we were going to go through. They all readied their attacks, and I knew we couldn’t defend ourselves in time. I cried, “I’m not going to let you take our lives!” Soon, energy started forming around my sword, and it was so powerful, the sword heated and vibrated in my hands.
They all fired their attacks that were bound to kill us. Just before their attacks got halfway to us, I fired a large wave of what seemed to be fire and wind from my sword. It disintegrated and disrupted the attacks of the archers and spell casters. Next, the wave of magic I fired killed all of the soldiers who nearly just killed us! I told everyone, “Hurry, we don’t have much time left! King of Xapear has already readied and devised his attack towards Lesido if there are more soldiers in its borders!”
We all started to sprint towards the castle, far off in the distance, where the King of Lesido lived. It took us a two or three hours to reach the castle, but we finally made it there. We barely took any breaks on the way, because our supplies got destroyed during our 1st battle. We marched through the town filled with people. Many people looked at us as if we were heroes, because we dashed through with weapons in our own hands. Not many of its people have seen that many fighters for most of its population didn’t want to fight in a war they might die in.
While we got closer and closer to the King’s empire, the more people that followed us. Soon we were forced to stop, because the road had been blocked by many townsfolk admiring all of us. They asked, “Who are you people?”
I answered, “We are the Excalibur Knights of Blaidia, and we have come to tell the King Lesido about King Xapear’s plans on attacking the nation very soon.” Many people gasped at this. They started throwing fits about what will happen to them.
Next, a little kid asked, “What are your names?” We started saying our names one after another, and our weapon of specialty.
I asked the townspeople, “May we please pass by? We really need to tell the King about the events that have happened.” They started clearing up, and one man told us to go that way to find the king’s palace. I said, “Thank you.”

We started sprinting again, but now the people of Lesido have stopped running behind us. Instead, they kept chanting, “Our saviors have came! THE EXCALIBUR KNIGHTS HAVE CAME TO SAVE US! A new group they may be, and as small as it is, THEY WILL SAVE US!” Next they chanted our names in honor of us trying to save them from their time of peril. We started smiling of the things they said about us.
Jenna commented, “I can get use to be treated as a hero here! But there are many obstacles in store for us…”
I replied, “I know… We may be showered with kindness, but we might die here and now if we aren’t careful.”
Kyosuke added, “Maybe even tortured if they feel spareful at the moment…”
Sally informed, “But we aren’t going to be taken in or killed without a good fight!”
April cheered, “Ya, they will need more than a 1000 soldiers to take us in! And that’s to take us prisoners! They will need a million to kill us!” We all started laughing at April’s large bluffs, and she even laughed at what she said too. We finally arrived at a large castle, and it made sense if it was King Lesido’s palace. We barged through the doors, not caring the number of guards telling us to leave.
We ran right through all the guards, because they had no intentions of killing us. Eventually, we found a stairway, and we climbed it as quickly as we could. We started to tire out, but we kept going and we heard voices behind a door that mentioned of the war. Many guards were climbing up the stairs now, but now they had weapons with them. I knew this was our only chance to convince the King to get his troops ready for combat.
We broke through the door, and we saw the throne room and everyone in it. Everybody gasped at the sight of us coming in. I cried, “Which one of you is the King of Lesido? We have valuable information to tell you about the war! Please reveal yourself!”
Jenna pleaded, “Please, believe us! We have to warn you about the King Xapear’s intentions! We even need your help to defeat the King himself, because he poses as a threat to all the lands!”
The guards down the stairs had caught up to us. They knock us all down to the ground without hesitation. We all got tied up, and they were about to take us away. I struggled as hard as I could, and I knocked out the guard who held me. I ran towards the group of people, and cried, “PLEASE TRUST US. KING XAPEAR PLANS ON TAKING ALL THE LANDS, AND RULE THEM ALL WITH HIS DICTATORSHIP. HE’S AIMING FOR THIS NATION RIGHT NOW, AND HIS ATTACK IS PREPARED. PLEASE ORDER YOUR GUARDS TO LET US GO!” Another guard dragged me on the ground. I cried knowing that the King didn’t answer to our cries and pleads.
Then, a man shouted, “Guards, HALT! Release these five people!” Thank you, for answering us.
A guard complained, “But, your Majesty! You can’t trust these five! They ran through all the guards when they entered!”
“Yes, because the information they have is that important to my nation, and are you willing to make me risk my nation to its own demise?” The guard had gone quiet when he heard the king say that to him. He let me go, and started untying me. Same with the others as well. The King said, “Please forgive me for not answering your request earlier. I wasn’t sure if I could trust you five. Then something told me to trust you guys. So, what’s this information you need to tell us.”
I was about to say something to the King, but Kyosuke told me, “Isaac, allow me to talk to the king. Out of all of us, I know how to talk to royalty the best. I’ve read all I could about the manners of royal ones and when it came to their way of taking.”
I told him, “No, it has to be me. I am the true heir to the kingdom of Blaidia, and as the prince of Blaidia, it is my duty to tell King Lesido of the matter at hand.” King Lesido stared at me when he heard that.
He asked, “Are you by chance, Prince Isaac and, Princesses April and Sally, and for that matter is your father named Luke and he’s King Blaidia?” I nodded. “So you’re his son that he mentioned in his letters, I’m terribly sorry for not knowing who you were from the start. My name is Matthew, may I ask for the rest of your names?”
“I’m Jenna and I’m very skilled with the sword like Isaac.”
“I’m Sally and this is April and we are both skilled with magic and swords. I’m also specialized in healing magic.”
“Your Majesty, I’m Kyosuke, and I have mastered the bow in many ways. I even make up my own ways to fight with it.”
“Thank you for telling me your names, but now back to the subject at hand. What’s the information you need to tell me?”
I informed, “King of Xapear plans on taking over all these lands, and he has already taken the nations, Sebalta and Retallia. The next nation we think he’s trying to take over is none other than Lesido. Also, his troops are already in the border of Lesido. You must prepare your troops for battle, because he can send in his troops to attack the palace any day he wants.”
Matthew looked at me in an amazed way. He exclaimed, “Thank you for the information you gave me. You may have saved my nation from its doom. If there’s any way I can repay you, I will do so once we expel all of Xapear’s troops. For now though, I would like to enroll all five of you to the army. Also, I’m making you, Isaac in charge of your own squadron. Sadly, I can’t spare any troops to you right now, so you will have to stick with only four soldiers, are you okay with that?”
“Yes, I am. Thank you for leading my own squadron, and may it be called ‘The Excalibur Knights’?”
“Of course. You do know there is actually a group of knights who rank the highest in the army of Blaidia and they go by that name right?”
“Wow, I never knew that! Did you Jenna?” She shook her head, so I guess it was a coincidence. “Anyway, may Kyosuke be my tactician? And also can we please go to sleep, we have been traveling for days without any food.” He looked at me and nodded his head saying yes to both of my questions.
When we finally went to the guests’ bedroom, which was filled with many beds, Kyosuke exclaimed, “Thank you, Isaac for making me your tactician! I won’t mess up on any of the fights we go into, okay?”
I replied, “I didn’t only pick you to be my tactician because of your intelligence, but as a thank you for coming with us. Not only that, but you’re my friend.” We shook hands with each other, which was like our way of hugging.
We didn’t bother staying up for too long. We were too tired from the days we had previously encountered. I stayed up longer than everybody, because I was thinking of all the things that could have happened. What if… What if I die? No…No… I’m not going to die. Same with all the others. This isn’t the place where I want to die! So, I just can’t die now… I had fallen asleep.
I woke up, finding everyone at his or her bed, just waking up. I picked up these clothes I found next to my bed. They looked like clothes royal people would wear. I came out of the room, seeing all the others holding similar clothes like the one I found.
Kyosuke explained, “We are heading to a royal meeting today, if you’re wondering why we are wearing these clothes. I suggest we look as nice as possible because we don’t want to look like peasants in the meeting. I suggest we hurry, because the king left a note saying that the meeting is at 9:00 A.M. and right now it’s about eight o’ clock!” We all started dashing for a bathroom, because we didn’t want to make fools of ourselves. I finally came across a bathroom that wasn’t occupied.
I took a shower, and when I finished, I started to put on the clothes really quickly. When I came out of the bathroom, it was 8:50. I saw everybody else heading to the meeting room, and I followed them. When we came to the meeting room, I started to realize how everyone looked. We all looked like royal princes, and princesses. When I looked at Jenna though, I saw how beautiful she looked. Then, I immediately looked away. I thought it was best, if we were only friends.
The meeting soon began, and we all started trying to devise a plan when King Xapear would order his men to attack. Better yet, we started predicting on what his strategy would be. We tried to figure out a plan that would lead us to victory without to many deaths. Kyosuke proved to be the most helpful, because whenever we got stuck on countering a problem, he would suggest something that may help us if it were to happen.
I came to say, “Maybe, we should also focus on putting all the strong, close combat soldiers in the front line, with all the long range soldiers in the rear line.”
King Matthew said, “That may prove to be useful, but that’s one of the most anticipated tactics in war. Only people who are willing to risk their lives would do a move like that! Besides, I planned on doing the opposite of what you said! Next, you’re going to suggest placing our healers in the front line!”
I protested, “Don’t treat me like someone who doesn’t know anything about war! I’m not as stupid as you think! Even if you were intending to put me into the rear squadron, I will fight with the front line, even if I disobey your orders! I will not let you treat me like a child!”
“Fine. If you don’t want to be treated like that, leave. As a matter of fact, I expel you from the army!” Everybody gave the King a look for what he just did, because I was the strongest out of all five of us. I may even be stronger than Matthew!
Knowing what had happened I went back to the bedroom to get my old clothes back. King Matthew brought them to me with his magic, and he smirked, “O… And keep the clothes I let you borrowed. You’ll need them!” After hearing him say that, I just wanted to stab him so hard with my sword, that I would kill him in one hit. But I didn’t do it, because I had controlled my anger and hatred towards him.
I walked through the palace gates, looking behind one last time. No one followed me out. They didn’t even try defending me… I started to cry, but I kept walking without looking back. King Matthew is just like the King of Xapear! I eventually made it to a public bathroom, where I changed clothes, and when I went back into my old, tattered clothes, I flushed the royal clothes in the toilet. I just wanted to pretend that I never had to go to King Matthew, or better yet ever saw him!
All the people still treated me the same, but not my friends and family, they still haven’t came out of the palace to check on me. I decided to go to the outskirts, where I can try getting myself ready for the war, even if I King Matthew demands that I can’t enter the war. When I exit the town’s boundaries, I say many men marching towards the town. NO! THE ATTACK HAS BEGUN!

Chapter 5
The War of Blood

I started dashing back to the palace to warn everybody the attack has begun. When I arrived, I ended up being insulted by Matthew even more. He smirked, “Look who’s crawling back! I see you can’t handle being away from royalty for too…” I grabbed him by the neck, in a choking position.
I shouted in his ears, “GET THIS IN YOUR HEAD YOU IDIOT! THE ATTACK HAS ALREADY STARTED, AND ALL YOU CAN DO AT A TIME LIKE THIS IS INSULT ME!?!? YOU REALLY SEEM VERY NOBLE FOR THIS WAR!!!” Everyone showed a smile; even the guards let out a grin seeing their own king has screwed up. I loosened my grip on him, and he started rubbing his throat, and he looked at me in a sad way. He opened his mouth, and I interrupted, “You are not worth listening to anymore. I’m going into this war, and I’d like to see what you are going to do.”
He said not caring if I would ignore him, “Okay, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m not sending my men until you DIE in this war!” Everyone shuddered after hearing this. I slashed right through the wall of the palace, ready to enter battle.
Jenna grabbed me and cried, “Don’t do this Isaac! You’ll end up wasting your life! Just let this kingdom fall! The one at fault won’t be you, but King Matthew, so please don’t do this!”
I informed calmly, yet in a regretful way, “I’m sorry… I can’t let this nation fall all because of its lousy king. I made an oath, swearing I would protect all the lands… and I’m not going to break that oath now… Goodbye, everybody…” I let out one last tear. I readied my sword, knowing my fate. Jenna grabbed me harder than before, and now everybody was helping her. I let out a burst of magic from my body, causing them to let go. “I’m sorry for hurting all of you… GOODBYE!” I dashed through the hole in the palace, and I started dive-bombing towards the soldiers under the rule of King of Xapear.
When I almost hit the ground, it was near all the soldiers. I surrounded myself with all this energy and magic I had never seen before! When I landed on the ground, a great explosion went off killing hundreds of men. I felt really weak, but I kept fighting. I killed every man that crossed attacks with me. I had kept standing my ground for ten minutes, and I had already killed hundreds of soldiers! Piles of dead bodies were starting to form around me! I couldn’t believe I lasted this long, and Jenna and the others still hadn’t bothered helping me at all. They were afraid of dying, and they didn’t want me to die now.
Soon, the soldiers swarming around me started to get stronger and stronger. Eventually, hundreds of mages and archers were aiming the attacks towards me. I dodged all their attacks, which ended up hitting their own soldiers! I had gotten hit many times, but none of them were lethal. They started to add up, and more blood started coming out of me. I felt more and more pain, yet I kept on fighting. Soon, I was forced to use magic, and each magical attack, they soldiers kept swarming around me. They outnumbered me by too much. When I came to the point where I had killed probably three thousand men, the soldiers’ stabs and attacks started hitting their marks. The many people, who kept rooting me to kill as many soldiers as possible, started gasping at what they had seen.
Jenna and the others were also watching, and they started letting out cries of pain, and sorrow of what they saw became of me. The stabs grew more painful every time they hit, and then, I started retreating back as best I could. When I made it back to the town, I had casted the same barrier spell April casted around me and Alex the day we fought, but now it covered the whole town. Everybody started crowding around me, because I was covered with blood and injuries.
I said to them, “I’m not giving up yet, I’m going to keep fighting for what I dream of one day… I dreamed of a land, filled with many people, all living in peace. I’m not going to let it die!” I coughed blood, and Sally attempted to heal me. I casted a barrier around me before she could heal me, and added, “STAY AWAY FROM ME! Why do you heal me now? Why didn’t you help me earlier? Same with you three? Why do you just watch me die? And you know what, I thought you all cared about protecting these lands! I guess I was wrong. And I guess I was wrong about all of you really caring about me!” All four of them stayed quiet; they knew what they had done wrong, yet they didn’t want to admit it. The barrier I covered the town with started to disappear, and I went back into battle not caring, about anything now, but making the army as weak as possible.
They got the better of me again, and I started getting hit to many times and I fell to the ground, and all the soldiers started wishing I never had became so good with the sword, because I had killed half of their army. Now they wondered what to do with me, because I was still alive, barely though. When they came to the decision of killing me, a sword parried their stab. Did Jenna just do that? To my surprise, it wasn’t Jenna, April, Sally, or Kyosuke. It was Alex.
I looked at him blankly, wondering why he saved me! Alex said, “So, I see your friends really did save your life right there.” He had a grin in his face, and as much as I hated him, I nodded my head at him. He then told the soldiers that were about to kill me, “Men, stand down, we got what we came for. Even though he killed half our army, he will be the one who helps us capture Lesido next time. We can’t take control of it today, for our army is too small. Head back to Xapear now, all of you! I’ll take care of this boy.” All the soldiers started opening portals that lead them back to Xapear it seemed.
I asked, “Why did you spare me? I thought you betrayed us! Better yet, I thought you were still going to kill me!” He started healing me, and I looked at him more amazed than before, not only for learning healing magic, but because he started healing me back to health. “Why are you doing this?”
He said, “Because, you are just like me… You lost all your friends because they had betrayed you… I had that same experience, but you were too young to remember what had happened. I had lost all my friends, because I kept saying I would be the best swordsman in these lands. Then one day, they turned on me, and they made fun of me for not standing too much of a chance to beating them. Ever since that day, I had become the Alex you knew and remembered.” He cried when he said that. “That’s why I betrayed you… so I can make my dream come true. Now, let me offer you a hand.” He helped me up, and Jenna and the others started running towards us.
Alex shouted, “Now make the decision! Will you join Xapear and help us conquer these lands where King Xapear and I will support you. Or will you choose to be with the people who betrayed you, and better yet, have King Matthew lead you to your own demise?” They came closer and closer. I had made my choice.
I said, “I want to be with…” They all arrived, and they rebelled at what my decision should be.
Sally said, “Don’t listen to Alex! He’s lying, and he’s trying to get the better of you!”
April protested, “Don’t do this, this isn’t who you are! We know you’re better than Alex!”
Kyosuke added, “Isaac, please don’t abandon us, you can’t blame us for not helping you, but…”
Alex interrupted, “You all say lies, and you won’t keep your word to what you are saying to him.”
Jenna cried, “Please don’t join Alex, you can’t trust him. I know you will never be like him Isaac. Just please don’t side with that monster!” I got mad at her at what she called Alex. He may have been a monster, but he has changed.
I cried, “He’s not a monster, because unlike all of you, he helped me when I almost died! Now I consider him as a brother again and now…” I breathed deeply and continued, “Now… I think you are the monsters!”
They looked at me sadly, and Jenna took it the hardest. She started backing away, and I said, “Alex, take me to the King of Xapear, I want to side with you!” He smiled, and a portal appeared in front of me. It was filled with darkness, and anger.
“I say you’re ready to take a trip through the darkness!” He pushed me through, and he laughed at me, for falling for his trick.
I cried, “You lied to me! I can’t believe I trusted you!” My hands were barely holding on to the edge of the portal.”
“No, you caused this to yourself for believing in me rather than your friends!” He laughed menacingly when he said that.
I heard the voices of Jenna, and all the others were saying, “Hold on Isaac, we will try to pull you.”
Alex shouted, “I’m afraid you all are too LATE!” His foot started crushing my hands, and my grip loosened.
I said softly before I lost hold of the edge, “I’m… sorry… everyone…” I lost my grip and tears came out of my eyes. I heard the cries of all the others as well. Soon, I landed in many dark clouds, and my hatred got stronger and stronger. Before I knew it, I lost control of myself. I let out a cry of pain, and I didn’t know what I was doing anymore. I… think… that this is the end of me… or at least the good side of me…

Chapter 6
Jenna’s Hardships

“Isaac!!!” I cried. I tried to grab Isaac right before he let go of the portal’s edge. It’s too late… Isaac is gone… I couldn’t save him on time… I looked at Alex, who was still laughing at what he had just done.
He then mocked, “I can’t believe he actually fell for that lie! He’s so easy to trick! I definitely can’t wait ‘til he comes out of that place. He’ll truly change, and maybe be just like me.”
I shrieked, “If only we had helped him earlier… no if I had helped him, he may never have trusted YOU!” Everyone looked at me with a glare, a glare as if I just bragged about myself, but I had to say it. I don’t know what made me say it, but I do know this is the same feeling Isaac had felt many times before. My heart made me say it.
Alex retorted, “You must be that girl I wanted to kill before! I would love to kill Isaac’s girlfriend right now! The best part is that he won’t even remember you, so he won’t care if I killed you!”
“I know Isaac better than that! And I’m not his girlfriend… But…” Before I could finish my sentence, a barrier had been created around Alex and me. April casted the spell and I was in shock of what she had done. “Why are you doing this?”
April said, “Because you said Isaac only needed you to help him and not us… Also, we don’t want you to be near us anymore… You’re the cause of Isaac’s disappearance!” Kyosuke and Sally were also agreeing with April. I didn’t know they would take my words so seriously. But they don’t have the right to send me to my own death… Just like the King, and… all of us…
Alex exclaimed, “Thank you sister. With act of kindness, I will kill Jenna, and maybe even spare you from your death. Same with you, Sally and Kyosuke.” They looked at Alex with a glare of hatred, because they still hated him, and wanted to kill him. For now though, they had a temporary truce.
The battle had begun, and Alex had me stay on the defensive. He had gained more speed and power over the two years that have passed by, but I had gotten better as well. The iron edges of our weapons clashed very often, but I noticed that Alex’s slashes were getting weaker every hit. He had focused on killing me with his 1st few blows, because he already started tiring out in the beginning of this fight. I went to the offensive, and I managed to hit Alex a few times, but none of them were lethal enough to kill him.
He stood up again, this time he started using his healing magic on himself, and he used magic similar to Isaac’s but he had became more powerful than ever. He charged in for a slash so quick, that I couldn’t dodge it. I was forced to parry it, and part of his blade slashed me on my sword arm. After I got some distance from him, my sword broke from the great power it absorbed. I was weaponless, and I knew my death would come very quickly. I looked around for anything that could help me. Just when Alex prepared to charge towards me, I found Isaac’s sword on the ground. I had no choice, but I used his sword.
Many memories of him came back to me, and I knew that this was the only piece left of his kind-hearted side. I had parried yet another blow, equal in strength with the last one, but this time, I had fully pushed it back, even with my sword arm injured. Alex looked surprise by how the blade did not shatter like my other sword. I started slashing him when he left his guard down, and I knew that would be enough to send him back to Xapear.
He screamed in pain, after I finished doing damage to him. He slightly stood up and snarled, “If only Isaac had not stopped me from killing you that day, I would never be in this condition. I will kill you! If not, maybe the trio over there will… That will be satisfying enough for me…” He gave me a smirk, knowing I would die soon.
The barrier around us shattered, and Alex ran through a portal to Xapear, knowing if he stayed longer, he would die. I had tried catching my breath, and I checked the wound on my arm, knowing Sally will heal it.
I asked, “Are you going to heal me? Or will you hate me, all because I am the cause of Isaac’s disappearance?” She started to seem touched by what I said. I still knew though that Kyosuke and April hate me.
Kyosuke protested, “She still hates you obviously! You’re the cause of Isaac joining Xapear, and now we may never get him back with us!” I couldn’t hold it anymore. I started to run away, knowing that it had to be somewhere, except here. I started running down the trail all of us had taken before when we were trying to help this region from the attack. I wish we had never came to this place, because the king isn’t worthy to rule this place, we all are being separated, and Isaac is gone…
I kept going through the trail, knowing that the place I should head to be none other than Kaito’s home. That was the safest place I could think of in my whole life. When nightfall came, I rested on the grass, and the pain in my wound started to have effect on me. I felt like screaming in the night sky, but I didn’t want to give away to my location. I heard a few twigs snap, and I knew whoever came was going to kill me. The person was Sally, and she had an expression of sadness on her face.
Sally mourned, “It’s okay. I came alone, because I abandoned the others just like you did. Let me heal that injury for you.” She started healing my arm, and he face started to lighten, knowing she had done the right thing. I still remained quiet, because I sensed she wanted to say something else. She said, “I’m sorry… for not trying to help you fight Alex… I hated you immediately when the others did. But after the fight, you knocked me into my senses with what you said. I don’t care if you’re the cause of Isaac’s betrayal. All that matters is that we are friends again.”
I asked, “So, you’re going to come with me to Kaito’s house?”
“Yes. I also found this map that Isaac had before I had left April, and Kyosuke. It turns out, it’s more detailed than Isaac had described it. It even mentions the town names, which he never bothered to mention. The town that Kaito lives in turns out to be called ‘Town of lost hope.’” I had never known that until now, because I never really cared what the name was.
“That’s very interesting. Let’s get some sleep now, today has been really rough on us. I just wish…”
“You wish he was here don’t you?”
“Ya, because I think I actually, have a… have a crush on him.” She looked at me and she started to giggle at what I said.
She then said, “Well, it’s about time one of you had realized they have a crush on the other, because you two always treated each as if you loved each other.” I looked at her, knowing everything she said was true. I couldn’t say a thing. It took all my guts to tell a secret like that to Isaac’s own sister! She added, “Well, let’s talk more about it tomorrow. Your secret is safe with me. Let’s just try sleeping already.”
We became best friends from that point on, because we started sharing secrets with each other. We kept them safe from everybody, no matter what the secret was. We were like sisters in a way.
After about two weeks from the separation of our group, we had arrived at Kaito’s house. We were very tired, because we had barely anything to eat on the way, and we had been doing this for two weeks. He said, “Hello Jenna and Sally. Please come in. Where are the others?” We looked a bit sad when he said that, and tears started coming down from his eyes.
When I sensed the trouble in his heart he felt happened, I exclaimed, “NO! It’s not that. All of us made it out alive, but we are all on different paths now.” Kaito felt better when he knew his son was still alive. I added, “Also, the one who suffered the most is Isaac… He fought of thousands of soldiers, and he killed almost half of them. Yet, all of us didn’t help him, because we were afraid to die. He wasn’t afraid to die, so he kept fighting, even if he would lose his life in trying.” Sally and I explained almost everything else. We described King Matthew and how cruel he was to Isaac. We told what happened to Isaac, him being saved by Alex, and him going through the portal of darkness. We even told him about why we separated from each other.
He cried, “This journey has affected all of you more than I hope it would... Why did it come down to this?”
I added, “If only Isaac was here… He would help us…”
Sally informed, “I hate to break this moment of sadness, but I just received a message from April. Our staffs have the power to send messages to each other, if something dire happened and we were far apart. She said this…” Her staff started to glow and it let out a voice just like April’s.
April shrieked, “Sally, come quick! We need your help! We are under attack at the palace and we are barely holding out! Their leader is about to break through the gates!”
Sally screamed into her staff, “Who’s their leader?”
“I hate to say this, but it’s…” A loud crash was heard and it sounded like the palace has been breached! “It’s Isaac…”

Chapter 7
The Rise of the Excalibur Knights

I knew it would come down to this. The Isaac mentioned by April is really him, but lost in hatred and darkness. I readied my sword, knowing that I had to be the one to fight Isaac. The transmission between the others and us got interrupted. Isaac, I’m ready to do this…
I asked, “Kaito, is there any thing that you can do to make us get to the palace of King Matthew?”
He said, “I can try opening a portal to the palace, but you won’t be able to come back. Are you ready?” Sally and I nodded, and he started creating the portal. “Good luck, and try bringing Isaac back if you can…” We had entered through the portal.
The area we were in was the meeting room where this all happened. This time, the room was filled with many of the townspeople and royal people. Kyosuke and April were in the front of the crowd, and the king was in the very back. I said, “How many soldiers are there?” Everybody started cheering because of our return, yet there was still no hope left.
Kyosuke shouted, “To be honest… they only sent one soldier! Isaac already eliminated half our troops, and now he has made us retreat this far into the palace!” I looked at the door, and Isaac had already sliced a hole through the door. His whole body had an aura of darkness around him. He even seemed to have trouble with his actions, as if his good side is trying to stop himself from doing what he had almost done.
The sword he carried was huge. Its length was twice his height, and it was as wide as him. He carried a sword that seemed perfect for Alex, but Isaac’s dark side may be just like him. He had the same clothes he wore the day he got captured. It’s like he had no mind… or heart. He went through the hole he had made, and when he stood in front of me, he stared into me.
I said, “Isaac, do you remember me?”
He said, “…Jenna…Please…stay away from me… I don’t want to hurt you.” I was relieved when he started becoming himself again.
“Isaac, I’m staying here. I know you can fight the hatred, I believe in you!” He came back to his senses, and he started to realize what he had done. He looked at me, and gave me a hug. He dropped the sword he held.
“Thank you, for saving me from my hatred. I hated it, and I never want to be in it again.” Just as he finished that sentence Alex showed up.
Alex exclaimed, “Well, well, well… You broke free from that curse King Xapear placed on you. I’m surprised you had the guts to break free from it. But now, I have no choice, but to kill your girlfriend!” He grabbed the blade that Isaac had used earlier. I did my best to parry the blow before it hit me. Sadly, it just wasn’t enough. I dropped the blade I held, and I started at the sword that stabbed right through me. I coughed blood, knowing that this is the end of everything. The end of my life had come. Alex pulled the giant sword out of me, and I fell to the ground.
Isaac caught me before I hit the ground, and I held his hand as I sign of goodbye. She did her best to heal me, but I wasn’t getting any better in the state I was in. She cried, and Isaac kept crying and saying that I could make it. I was too weak to start crying, and I had no regrets of anything. The memories were coming back to me. Everything that I had gone through my life flashed right before me. I remembered about the day Isaac and I had become so close in our friendship.
We had only been friends for a year, and we talked more about the blessing mark Isaac was born with. He said, “I wonder why I got blessed now… I never wanted to be different from everyone. Now I’m just a freak in this town!” He brought this up, because people started to discover about him being blessed by a phoenix. I figured it was Alex who spread the rumor.
I said, “Isaac don’t be hard on yourself. You shouldn’t really care about what they all say.”
“It’s just so hard to ignore them though, and I hate being treated like a creature or something like that. I wish I was normal sometimes.”
I cried, “But then, you just wouldn’t be the same person you are right now… If you hadn’t been blessed by the phoenix, I bet you would still have a miserable life, and may have died if Alex hit you like before when you saved me…”
“Ya, you’re right… I have to accept the fact that I have been blessed by a phoenix. No matter all the people who make me feel bad, I will have my family to support me, and you.” I smiled at him, and that’s when I had a crush on him. I didn’t know what that feeling meant, until now.
I confessed, “Isaac, you’re not alone… I have the same mark as you, but rather than a black sword, it’s a black heart. I don’t know what it means, along with your mark, but I do know I can trust you to keep it a secret.” I removed my glove on my right hand, and I showed him my blessing from a phoenix. There was a complex marking of a heart on my hand, and Isaac noticed that his mark also was shown on his right hand as well. He always didn’t notice the smallest things, even if they were on his hand. I giggled seeing him overreact by how his mark was also on his hand.
He said, “Thanks for telling me, I feel like you’re the only one I can truly connect, too. Let’s promise not to tell anyone about our marks, and it will always be our secret.”
Those were the days of my life, but now I have to say one last farewell to Isaac. While Isaac was crouching beside me, mourning my death that was to come, Alex had already prepared himself into stabbing Isaac. No… I’m not going to let Isaac die! I couldn’t find a blade within my reach, so I tried grasping the sword Alex was holding. His strength was far greater than mine, and I told Isaac, “Hurry! Get a weapon, I don’t know how long I can hold him!” I realized what just happened. My regeneration ability had finally healed me back to full strength. Isaac knew what just happened as well, while everyone was in shock of what they saw.
Isaac grabbed the sword he used when he tried protecting Lesido Palace. I dodged the attack of the Alex’s blade, and Isaac attempted a stab towards Alex. Alex held the sword with one hand now, and he grabbed the sword Isaac used, crushing it with his own hands. We were both left weaponless, and before all the soldiers could swarm Alex, he created a portal, and threw us both through it, and he jumped in as well. When we came out to the area of destination, it looked like a desert, and no one was within sight.
Alex had came out, and we were desperate for a miracle to happen. We couldn’t attack him with our fists, because he wore armor that protected him. We had no choice but to keep dodging his attacks. He never tired out, and Isaac forced himself to cast an attack spell. It sent Alex flying backward, but he still seemed to be in the same condition he was before. He was coming back, but he rested knowing that we couldn’t hide from him.
Isaac exclaimed, “I see you learned how to heal yourself without any magic!”
I said, “I’m surprised you can remember about that time I told you my secret… If we are going to die here, I’m glad I die with you.” I started to blush, knowing that now was the time I had to tell him how I felt.
“Is there something wrong? You look sick, you’re starting to turn red…”
I giggled, “I’m not sick Isaac. It’s just that I… I… I LOVE YOU!” He started to turn red himself, and I felt like fainting for what I just said. Hearing no reply from him, I said, “I’m sorry I had to say that… It was stupid of me to say that… It’s okay if you don’t…” I got interrupted by a kiss from Isaac which was the only thing that made me put back everything. We kissed again, but now we did it with more joy. We held each other, knowing that we will be together until the end.
Alex came and now we were ready to die. He saw us kissing earlier, and he snorted, “SO, YOU TWO REALLY ARE A COUPLE! I knew this from the start. I might as well kill one of you, and leave the other alive, having a miserable life!” He finally got under my skin, and Isaac felt exactly how I did. We really wanted to fight off Alex, but we still had no sword to fight with. All of a sudden, it seemed like time had stopped, yet we didn’t. Alex just stood there, and we were both able to move.
Soon, a beam of light came down from the skies, and inside it were two swords. One of them was stronger than the other, while one seemed swifter than the other. I grabbed the lighter, yet swift sword, and Isaac grabbed the regular sized blade, which looked very much like the wooden Excalibur sword he made for me that one day when we started our training in the ‘Town of lost hope.’
We heard a voice come from the light, and it said, “You are the true heirs to these two swords, Jenna and Isaac. They have been waiting for you all these centuries. Only you two can wield them, and use their power. The one you have, Jenna, is the Lightning Excalibur. Its speed is said to be quicker than a lightning bolt. The sword you hold right now, Isaac, is none other than the legendary Excalibur. It can slice through the strongest of armors and only you can use its power. Use these swords wisely, for they are the weapons of legend. I also knight both of you, into Excalibur Knights!”
A strange light started surrounding both of us, and our clothes turned into armor, which shined brilliantly in the light. The armor felt so strong, yet it felt as light as our ordinary clothes. The only armor piece that we didn’t have was a helmet. I asked, “Who are you?”
Isaac added, “And why would you help us in a time like this?”
The voice said, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m the phoenix that blessed both of you! I can’t show myself in person right now, but the reason why I’m helping you two is because this world needs you to save it from the evil king. If both of you were to die, all hope would be lost. I must leave now, and take care of yourselves.”
Everything went back to normal, and Alex regained his movement. He stared at us, knowing what had just happened. Alex snarled, “So, that cowardly phoenix casted an immobilization spell on me. I saw everything, and now… I will kill both of you!” He charged the giant blade towards me, but this time, even with a lighter and smaller sword than before, I parried the attack completely, and pushed Alex backwards. The swords were truly powerful, and we had the upper hand.
Alex knew he couldn’t win if he had both of us attacking him at once. He pushed me backwards, and I fell to the ground. Isaac was astonished about what Alex had done to me, as if he became overprotective for me. Alex tried slashing me, but dodged it, yet Isaac parried the blow at the same time. Our love made him fear my death, so I cried, “Don’t worry about me! I can take a few hits just like you! Please, don’t risk your life protecting me for nothing!” He finally understood that I can defend myself, and so he retreated back near me. He knew what Alex intended on doing. Even with swords as great as the Excalibur and the Lightning Excalibur, we still need to be careful.
Isaac charged in to the fray, and he brought Alex into the defensive. He slashes kept building power after every hit. Soon, he focused all his energy at once into Alex’s blade weak point, the middle of it. Without hesitation, Alex tried parrying the blow, and while he did his best to parry it, he tried dodging from the attack that started to slice through his blade. He managed to escape the wrath of the Excalibur, but I still made him taste the edge of my blade. He was still in the air, and I dashed through the air, with wind breezing past me in a quick speed. I stabbed Alex right before he landed, and I took my blade out, cleaning the blood that started to spill from his body. The fight was over, knowing I had placed Alex’s death wound. He screamed in agony and pain, and kept screaming that he would kill us.
Then, right before we were going to head back to Palace Lesido, we couldn’t move, and we knew what had just happened. A dark shroud started forming around Alex, and we knew that he must have been blessed without anyone knowing. But, the phoenix that blessed him must have been an evil one. When we regained our movement, Alex had armor similar to ours, and his blade was equal in size and strength to Isaac’s Excalibur.
He smirked, “Are you ready to die? I’m ready to kill you with the Dark Excalibur, right here, right now!” He charged directly towards Isaac, but now Isaac was forced into the defensive. Isaac let down his guard after a number of attacks, and Alex forced his fist into Isaac’s head, which sent him airborne. Alex was ready to kill Isaac right there, and he readied his killing stab, but now he had it covered with an aura of darkness and even more power than he ever had in his whole life.
Isaac still was recovering from the blow Alex landed on him, and I had no choice on my next move. Alex attempted his death stab towards Isaac, but I stopped it right in its tracks. The dark sword stabbed right through my arm, and I started slashing and stabbing right into Alex’s torso. He felt the pain I had just done to him, but now, he tried to hold it in, trying to prove he wasn’t afraid of pain. He teleported back to Xapear, and I fell to the ground, not caring how hard it was.
Isaac woke up, finding me with my painful, wound, yet no matter how painful it was, I didn’t scream out pain, for I knew what I had done was not pain, but bravery and courage. He started saying to me, “Please, don’t die! This isn’t the end of our journey! Don’t leave me alone in this world, Jenna!” He started crying.
I grabbed his hand and said joyfully, “Isaac, this isn’t the end of our journey, because it’s only the beginning. No matter the hardships of the journey ahead of us, we will find all our friends again, we will free Retallia, and Sebalta from Xapear, and we will save these lands and protect them from the King of Xapear.”
He said, “Yes, your right, we will never give up. We will also defeat the King of Xapear, I know it!” He attempted healing my wounds, and he pulled it off, because I felt as good as new. We started walking towards the path where the sun had set, knowing this would be our new journey as the Excalibur Knights of these lands. We came to a cliff, where we saw our all the regions. We saw Blaidia, Sebalta, Lesido, Retallia, and even Xapear. It was a beautiful sight, and we looked at each other, knowing our journey continued from here. We had kissed in peace for the 1st time, and we jumped off the cliff, landing softly on the ground. We walked down the road ahead of us, knowing all the hardships we faced.
Isaac said, “This is going to be one tough path for us. But we won’t stop, no matter how had the challenges are!”
I cheered, “Ya, because all we need is love to keep us going!”
“Only one thing is left to do though before we save Retallia…” He pointed at Lesido’s border, and I saw a few thousands of soldiers preparing to attack the palace.
I cried, “We have to help them! We can’t let them get killed!” He nodded in agreement with me. We both ran towards Lesido Palace, otherwise known as the Kingdom of Light on Isaac’s map.

Chapter 8
War of Hope

“Xapear soldiers are already on the move to attack us…” King Matthew sighed. I looked at him in a disappointed way. He continued, “We might as well surrender, or else there will be a battle which we will lose no matter what…”
I bursted out loud in the meeting room, “Are you crazy!? We have to at least try fighting for Lesido’s freedom!”
Kyosuke informed, “What should we Sally? It’s obvious we can’t win this battle…”
April cried, “Are you always going to base battles off of logic? So what if we lose? I’m going to fight for this region’s freedom! That’s what Isaac and Jenna would do!” It was a week since we last saw them both. Please, come back both of you…
I added, “It’s what they want… If they died… I will keep their dream alive!” Kyosuke and Matthew still disapproved of the idea. April was with me though. All hope in the soldiers seemed to have abandoned them though, so they might not join this war also. They lacked the morale to fight, and I couldn’t possibly force them into battle.
My thoughts were broken by loud cheers from the townspeople. They cried, “THE EXCALIBUR KNIGHTS LIVE! WE WILL WIN THIS WAR!” They soldiers heads finally had a different expression on their faces. They had an expression of happiness. King Matthew still thought we would lose this war, and Kyosuke seemed to be in his thoughts. Soon, a man who barged through the front gates went into the meeting room.
He exclaimed, “Your Majesty, and Excalibur Knights! I have news to tell you! Isaac and Jenna have survived the fight with Alex! They are already on their way here!” Everyone started to cheer delightfully, even the royal bloods that were in the meeting room started to cheer. We can do this now!
Kyosuke accused, “And how should we believe you? The chances of Isaac and Jenna surviving are…”
April cried, “Kyosuke! Now you’re being heartless! How can you say such things about our friends!?”
I asked, “How do you know all this by chance? I believe in you, but I want to know what has happened to them?”
The man continued, “Well… I was in Lesido’ borders, and when I was about to make my return trip here, I got attacked by Xapear soldiers! I thought I was done for… But then, two people in shining armor started killing off the soldiers! They did it so quickly; I just couldn’t believe what I saw! Next thing I know they tell me that they are the Excalibur Knights, and their names were Isaac and Jenna!” They really are alive!
He continued “I kneeled before them and cried, ‘You two are alive! Please, save us from Xapear!’ Isaac replied to me, ‘We will, but we are going to need help from Blaidia if we want to protect Lesido from the army that is preparing its attack at this very moment. If you can, tell everyone in the Kingdom of Light about what you just saw, and tell them this… Never give up, no matter how hard the obstacle may seem!’ I started dashing off towards here, knowing how important the matter was… and here I am now! I hope this information has helped you in deciding…”
King Matthew mocked, “I believe I have heard enough of this nonsense! For all I know and care, both Isaac and Jenna are dead! If they were alive, they would only make our chances of winning slimmer!” He laughed mockingly, and all of us gave him a stern look, including the guards.
Kyosuke added, “I hate to say this but… He is right… Isaac and Jenna are de…”
I interrupted, “Kyosuke! What’s the matter with you!? Don’t you care about them anymore!?” Kyosuke looked at me sympathetically and emotionlessly.
“I don’t care about Isaac at all…” were the words that came out of his mouth. I wanted to just hit him so hard right now, but I can’t, now at least. I had to recruit an army that doesn’t belong to the king.
I cried, “Well… If neither of you are going to do anything about this war at all… I will! I will gather an army of my own, and I’ll fight for Lesido’s freedom!” April looked at me in a proud way. I started marching out of the room, knowing King Matthew’s next action was going to be. April followed me out as well. When we were about to recruit the townspeople into the army, to our surprise, a few thousands of soldiers were already gathering around the town. Even the thousand soldiers that were in the palace came out.
The commander of the squadron comes towards me and April and informs, “Excuse me, but are you Sally?”
I answered, “Why, yes I am. Why?”
“We received a message from a girl named Jenna to go to this place to fight for our lands. She also said that the one who will command us, to our surprise was you. We trusted her though, because she said she was an Excalibur Knight! May you command this army wisely.” They all bowed in front of me, and all the soldiers from the palace bowed as well.
April bowed as well, and said, “Come on, don’t just stand there! You’re like their queen, and Jenna trusted you with them! Say something!”
I murmured, “I… don’t know what to say but…” I paused, only thinking of what I believed in. The soldiers gave me a glance, and townspeople started gathering around the area. I shouted, “I will fight for this land! I won’t give up hope for this place, no matter how terrible its king is, or how horribly treated the people are! I know there’s still a light of hope that shines over all these lands, even Xapear! I will lead you all into victory, even if I have to die in the end!” The whole army and townspeople cheered my name into the skies. April looked at me and gave me a smile. I had finally felt like I had proved to be helpful in this war for once. All of us were going to help in this war. I cried, “Will you fight with me!?” Everyone cried into the skies.
April said to me, “Congratulations! Right now, you inspired many people to join this battle! I believe in you! I know you can lead this army!” I hugged her, which is my way of saying ‘Thank you’.
A few weeks have passed, and the army I had totaled to about 10,000 men. There were a few hundreds of women in the army, but most of them were healers and spell casters. All of them were trained efficiently by the higher ranked soldiers. We actually had the chance to win this fight after all.
I went to a place where I could be alone, in order to calm done from the troubles I went through training all the soldiers. I found a pond that soothed my mind when I gazed at it. I sat down on the grass, and I got lost in my thoughts. Isaac…Jenna… If you can hear me right now, I want you to know, that I’m not the same person you know anymore… I’m not as quiet or as shy as I used to be. Thank you for everything you have done for me…
I opened my eyes, seeing the reflection of the king in the pond. By his side was Kyosuke, and I knew why they came here. The king smirked, “I see you have gathered an army that can actually win this fight. Well… I’m not going to let you win! If you win this, I may lose my position as king, and you may end up ruling Lesido! Now… you wouldn’t want to rule a land as great as Lesido now, would you?”
I answered calmly, “Actually, I would. I show love towards these people unlike you. You don’t even deserve to rule this region. It’s too much for you to handle. Now please, move aside. I have to prepare for the attack that is going to come.” I got past them, and Kyosuke glared at me, as if he were ready to kill me.
When I got all my weapons ready, I glanced at a sword that lay on the ground. I picked it up, trying to see if I had the hang of it. I remembered all the techniques to using the sword back in Town of Lost Hope, yet I felt the blade as if I had used it for years. I grabbed an old scabbard left behind and placed the sword in it. I promised myself to only use the sword in a critical moment in this battle.
I got in front of the army, saying my last speech before the battle that soon came. I was able to see the Xapear army heading our way, and I held my staff with a tight grip, ready to go into the battle. I said, “Everyone, I know we don’t want war to happen in these lands, but Xapear is giving us no choice, and we have to fight in order to keep these sacred lands protected. We may win this battle, but the war won’t end until we attack Xapear and kill their Evil King! We will keep fighting through ‘til the end! At times, we may lose hope, and we may want to go back and never have been part of this war… But we have to keep fighting, not only for Lesido’s freedom, but for all the lands freedoms!” I unsheathed my sword, and I raised it to the sky. The whole army let out a cry of delight, in hopes to win this battle, and better yet, to win this war!
I looked at April, seeing that she wanted share something to the whole army. I added, “You may not know her, but the girl over there is my sister, April. She is the person who inspired me to say these words! She was the 1st to support me when I said I would make an army! My thanks go to her!” April smiled at me, and she came next to me.
She exclaimed, “People of Lesido! We may only be a small threat to Xapear, but you know what, they are wrong! We will one day become a threat so big, that we will overpower their power-hungry king! We will help save these lands, and liberate Retallia and Sebalta!” I gave her a smile, and all the soldiers began to cheer her name for the 1st time.
The Xapear Army stood in front of the town, and we started to form a line across the land. Many of the cavaliers stood in the front lines, while all the spell casters, healers, and archers remained in the back. Even though I was a spell caster and a healer, I stood in the front line. I grabbed my sword, gazing my eyes upon the commander of the other army. The person who stood there was Daniel from our home town. I knew why he was doing this. He was under the same curse Isaac was under when he had no control of himself. Daniel stood with armor covering almost all of his body, and he seemed to have trouble holding himself up. What have they done to you Daniel…?
I cried, “CHARGE!!!”
Daniel yelled, “ATTACK!!!”
Both armies clashed with each other, evenly matched. The numbers seemed to be even, and we had already gained the upper hand. Wherever I looked, I saw dead bodies on the ground, blood splattering from the soldiers’ bodies, and the many shrieks of pain. It was too great for me to bear, but I still did my best to fight. I casted many ice spells that completely stopped the soldiers in their tracks, which made them easy to kill for the archers. The spell casters had already killed the swarm of cavaliers that were charging in relentlessly.
April always got shot once or twice by an arrow, but she broke it off without crying and I healed her immediately. I focused mostly on healing the rear attackers, because they proved to be the more efficient of the two attacking groups, and I couldn’t let myself get killed without seeing Isaac or Jenna one last time. Some of the cavalier in the Lesido Army had to come back, because they carried wounded men towards me. I healed them immediately, along with the horses, and they were ready to fight again.
Daniel stood where he was from the start, knowing walking into the battlefield would be suicide. Once every few minutes, a soldier would try piercing through his armor, only ending up getting killed in one strike from the commander’s blade. We had the upper hand, and half of the Xapear Army remained. April probably killed the most soldiers due to her years of practice with magic.
Soon, Xapear reinforcements came, and they seemed to be an army of 20,000! We couldn’t stay much longer, and we had to retreat back into the town. I healed the wounded and my powers were starting to weaken. April casted a barrier around the town, knowing it wouldn’t hold more than a few minutes. Daniel had finally started to approach the battlefield, knowing now was the good time to attack. By the looks of it, only 8,000 soldiers remained in the Lesido Army. The soldiers had started to lose their will to fight, and I even started losing my will to fight.
When the army began its attack on the barrier, April and all the other spell casters made walls of fire, and electricity in order to kill and slow the Xapear Army. We knew our fall was to come soon, but we weren’t ready to give up. When all hope started to fade as the barrier broke, two figures stood in the horizon. Then they charged into the battlefield, with many soldiers following them.
One soldier cried, “No! More reinforcements! We are surely done for now!”
I cheered, “Those are reinforcements! But they aren’t Xapear reinforcements! They are the Blaidian Army!” Everyone started cheering when Isaac and Jenna’s faces were seen. They truly were the Excalibur Knights, because they wore armor that glowed brightly in the sun. They held swords with magnificent power, and April felt inspired to see them both again. They dashed through the thousands of soldiers, and went through the barrier.
Isaac exclaimed, “Sally! April! It’s great to see you again! You both have changed so much since a last saw you!” We all hugged, and Jenna came towards all of us.
Jenna cheered, “I see you’ve done a great job training the army I sent you!”
I cried, “Yes, I have! That’s what has made me understand the pain of war, and made me come to love Lesido! We have to stop the Xapear Army!”
April added, “Also, Daniel is under the curse that you were under Isaac… Any ideas on how to get rid of it?” He shook his head, and we all mourned the thought of having to kill our friend. I looked at Isaac and Jenna, and I saw both of their hands holding together. I smiled at Jenna, knowing she told Isaac about her feelings. She smiled back to me, as if she knew why I smiled at her.
Isaac informed, “Well, I better tell Kaito to send in the troops into battle.”
I exclaimed, “Kaito’s here!?”
“Ya, he is but we are in a battle right now, so we will all meet up later, okay?” We all nodded, and the battle continued. Isaac and Jenna were slashing right through hundreds of soldiers, and they made their way back to their army. The army started charging into the fray, and I signaled my army to continue fighting. The barrier melted away, and now I fought with the sword I had found earlier, knowing I had to take a break from magic. I slashed through soldiers, one by one, and I caught them by surprise by how they thought I used magic. I had to retreat, for the time being, but I still fought the Xapear Army with my ice spells.

The Blaidian Army were slaughtering off Xapear soldiers in large groups. The Xapear Army was down to its last soldiers by nightfall. Daniel still stood outside of the battlefield, and I challenged him to a duel. Everyone cried that I shouldn’t do something so risky, but it was too late. A barrier formed around us, as if Daniel casted it himself. I readied my blade, and he readied his.
I cried, “Daniel, snap out of it! I know you can break through this curse!” I heard a chuckle come from him.
He exclaimed, “I’m sorry, but I’m not under a curse! I reason why I’m fighting in this battle is to keep a special someone alive!”
“You don’t have to do this!”
“I do. I had to test your strength, but I originally hoped it would be Isaac… But he has already shown how strong he has become! Now, I have to face you in a fight to the death, close combat!” I dropped my staff, and everyone gasped by how I was willing to take such extreme measures. He added, “Good…”
He charged in with a slash with the immense sword he held. I dodged its blow quickly enough, but then he went immediately into another slash. I barely dodged it, and my leg suffered from that slash. It had a large cut in it, but I could still walk with it. Now, I faced a tougher challenge than ever. I couldn’t dodge Daniel’s slashes as effectively as before, and my leg is injured. I had to go into the offensive.
I charged in for a strike, but I only accomplished knocking a piece of armor off of him. I jumped back to my starting position before he could counterattack. I was running out of ideas, and he would surely counterattack me next time. I had no choice but to start using magic. I covered my sword with ice to make it slightly stronger than before. Daniel started realizing what I was planning and he attempted a stab on me. I parried the blow luckily.
I started slashing and stabbing Daniel as soon as his guard was open. I knocked off all his torso armor, and yet Daniel gave a smirk. Now, he started running faster than ever, and I knew the flaw in what I had just done. He started to slash at me from all corners, and I got hit once or twice on my sword arm. The pain was too great, and I had to let out a yelp of pain. Everyone was starting to attack the barrier, hoping they could help me.
Daniel snorted, “Is that it? I was hoping you would be… more of a challenge. I guess I was wrong.” He was dead wrong on this duel. I had only just begun. I started making an ice replica of the sword I held, and when it was complete, I held it in my other arm. I jumped into the air, launching everything I had on Daniel. I caught him off guard many times, due to his arrogance. Even when he actually parried one of my blows, I would send the other sword directly into his flesh.
Daniel went back into the offensive and he tried slashing me. I parried the blow with both of my blades, but the ice one shattered into pieces and the iron sword lost its layer of ice.
It was down to the final attack. We were both seriously injured. We couldn’t take much more. We launched our blades against each other. They clashed with great force, and it felt like too much for me! We placed all our power into this clash, and neither I nor Daniel was showing any sign of weakness while this happened.
Daniel smiled, and exclaimed, “Your father would be proud to see what you all have become… But I have to make sure you can truly overpower the king…”
I cried, “Of course we can! Just surrender yourself from anymore innocent bloodshed in this pointless fight!”
“I can’t… Not until you defeat me!” He pushed his blade further, and I almost let my guard down. I pushed back, not with the strength of my arms, but with the will of Lesido in my hands. Daniel was soon forced on his knees, and without hesitation I stabbed Daniel in his shoulder. He coughed out blood when I pulled out my blade.
I shrieked, “I’m sorry! Please, let me heal…” He grabbed my arm before it reached my staff.
Daniel mourned, “I’m sorry… I had decided my fate when our duel began. I knew I was going to die sooner or later…” He coughed out more blood, and the barrier finally shattered. Isaac, Jenna, and April gathered around their long lost guardian. We all started to shed tears down our faces.
He continued painfully, “Your father asked me to tell you where he is… He’s being held captive in Sebalta…”
Isaac cried, “Why did you do this!?”
“I did this… to make sure you all have become strong enough to face the Dark Lord… I’m sorry you have to see me die in a state like this… I have one last request for all of you…” He coughed in a terrible way, and followed, “Save these lands from the horrible poison that threatens it…” His face became pale, his eyes had nothing in them, and he lay there motionlessly. He died…
I shouted into the skies, “Yes, we will stop King Xapear from poisoning these lands!” We all cheered out loud.
We all got a good night’s sleep, and the next morning, both Blaidian and Lesidian Armies celebrated of their great victory in yesterday’s fight. I wore white clothes for the celebration, and people thought of me as a saint by simply looking at me. All the townsfolk who stayed out of the war joined in the celebration as well. I always heard my name being chanted into the heavens everywhere in town.
All the soldiers were feasting in the grand square in the town. Everyone talked about how intense the battle was. There were many deaths, and people mourned for the soldiers who died for our freedom. I had finally founded Isaac and the others in the great crowds.
Isaac and Jenna weren’t wearing their armor for once, and I smiled even more by how they made a nice couple. Isaac wore what seemed to be clothes meant for a prince, and the clothes shined in many colors. Jenna wore a red dress, with white gloves and white boots to go with it. I saw Kaito in the distance as well, but he was talking to some of his fellow commanders in the Blaidian Army. April stood next to me, wearing a nice dress for once in her life time, and she looked very graceful.
I exclaimed, “It’s great to see you all again!” We exchanged our greetings to each other, April hugged Isaac as hard as she could, and Kaito came up to us and chuckled. I cried, “Kaito!” April had released her grip on Isaac, and now started hugging Kaito. I didn’t blame her, for she was almost 12 years old.
Kaito chuckled, “It’s great to see both of you again! You two have changed so much over the years! April, you are starting to look like a beautiful girl!” April blushed and she twirled her light-brown hair when he said that. “And Sally! I see you have discovered more things about yourself through this battle. You have found the leadership, courage, and bravery in your blood after these many years!”
I said, “Yes, I have changed so much over the past few weeks. I should probably say my ending speech now…” Isaac grabbed my arm before I went off.
He said, “Great job on the field, and good luck on your speech.” We exchanged smiles.
Jenna added, “Sally, thank you for everything you told me while we were castaways…”
I replied, “No… Thank you, for what you have helped me become.” We hugged each other, and I whispered, “I told you he would like you for who you are.” We both started to giggle at the comment I had made.
Isaac had begun his speech, and I watched him say it in a prideful way. He shouted, “Blaidian Army! Thank you for the great services you have paid for saving Lesido from its demise! And Lesidian Army! You also have done so much to helping us in this battle as well! If you hadn’t held back the Xapearion Army, we would not have made it in time! I thank you all, and I hope you will help in the liberation of Sebalta!” Many voices were heard shouting into the skies. Isaac started to walk away from the front of the grand square, and I walked in.
I exclaimed, “I thank you all for what you have done to help save Lesido from its impending doom! If neither army contributed, Lesido would have surely fall under Xapear’s control! We will keep fighting to stop Xapear’s control over Sebalta and Retallia one day! We will even liberate Xapear, because deep down in my heart, I believe its people are good! The one we are truly targeting is King Xapear!” All of the soldiers cried my name out loud, and they even referred to me as the ‘Maiden of Hope.’ I continued, “Thank you for all the kindness you have shown to me and my friends. I hope this war will one day end. I believe in you all, and you are the ones who will end this war!” More cries of valor were heard!
One soldier cried, “She should be the true ruler of Lesido!”
They all shouted, “Queen Sally! Queen Sally!” As they said that I had to say one last thing.
I cheered, “Thank you for the kindness you all have shown me! I’m not sure if I can rule Lesido, but I will do my best if I have to!” After I said those words, an arrow shot me in the arm. Another sliced through the wind, this time it hit one of my lungs. Everyone started crying at the sight of me falling to the ground. I struggled and cried, “Why Kyosuke…why…?” Everyone crowded around me, and Isaac, Jenna, April, and Kaito tried supporting me to stay alive.
Isaac said painfully, “Please… Don’t die on us! I don’t want to bear the pain of losing one of my sisters… Stay with us…” Tears came down his cheeks.
Jenna cried, “Don’t go away! You are like the sister I never had! Please, you’re like the only family I have! I don’t want to lose you!” Her face started turning pale while she said that.
April shrieked, “Sally! Please stay alive longer the healers are coming! I don’t want to see you go away just like Alex!” She cried the most out of everyone.
Kaito mourned, “Sally… I’m sorry my son did this to you… I never thought he would do such a cruel deed… Please… don’t die…”
I said softly, “I’m… sorry… I’m dying…It’s too late for me… I wish all of you… good luck on this treacherous war…” My eyes started to close, and everyone cried even louder… I was dying, and I couldn’t be saved… It started to rain when I couldn’t breathe anymore. Goodbye… everyone… I’m sorry you have to see me like this… Goodbye… forever…

Chapter 9
A Great Miracle

I looked up to the skies, wanting to kill Kyosuke for what he did. I found his hiding spot, and water droplets were pouring hard on me. Kyosuke readied another arrow, and he fired it towards me. I deflected the arrow with the Excalibur, and everyone gasped at the sound of me unsheathing it. I shouted, “You’re going to pay for this Kyosuke, for killing my sister!” As I readied a dash towards the tower he hid in, Jenna grabbed my arm.
She cried, “Please, Isaac! Don’t do this!” Five more arrows hissed through the air. They all spiraled towards me, and I blocked all of them except one. I pulled out the arrow without any pain, focusing on Kyosuke only.
“Jenna! Let me go! I have to do this! He killed Sally, and now he’s trying to kill me! Why do you want me to not kill him?” She let out a few tears.
“It’s because he’s still our friend… and he’s in a confused state right now… He’s even lost in hatred… I can sense it without even trying to look into his heart…”
I said softly, “He hates…me… I won’t kill him… I think I might knock him into his senses…” I felt sad, by how someone manipulated him. King Matthew… You’re the one who deserves to get killed… She let go of me, knowing I wouldn’t kill him.
I dashed towards the tower, focusing only on trying to get a long lost friend back. He fired arrows at me, but I dodged them all, and I let a few hit me. None of them were lethal, but I didn’t care how much it hurt. I pulled them out when I reached the tower’s entrance.
I ran to the top of the tower finding Kyosuke glaring at me with hatred, and he readied an arrow in his bow. I cried, “Kyosuke, please fight the hatred! Don’t become a person you hate! I know you’re better than that!” He seemed to be hesitating at how he was about to fire an arrow at me, and then I dropped the Excalibur on the ground. He broke free, and he started crying out all the pain he had caused.
He murmured, “Isaac… Kill me… Before I hurt someone else… Don’t you see!? I’m cursed! King Matthew placed it on me in my sleep! It’s made me kill Sally!” He fell to the ground, mourning he killed one of his friends.
“Show me the curse mark!” He instantly showed me his neck to me. On it was red markings that seemed to look like a skull. Next to it, I saw Sally’s name, and my name right next to it. I said to him, “Don’t worry. We’ll break the curse on you!”
Kyosuke started to look irritated, and he shrieked, “Please! Help… me! The pain is getting to me! Knock me out, before I lose control again! That’s all I ask for! I don’t want to hurt you!” I nodded at him, and with a quick motion, I hit him hard on the back, and I picked up my blade on the ground, placing it back in my scabbard. I placed him on my back, and I carried his bow and quiver of arrows as well. While I climbed down the stairs, I noticed a peaceful smile on his face, as if he finally found peace within himself after a long time.
It still rained outside, and I ran towards the others, who were still gathered around Sally. Even the whole army sat there silently, praying for Sally in silence. I gently placed Kyosuke on the ground, and whispered, “He’s under a curse… I think it’s a death curse, where the cursed one must kill the people next to the skull as you can see, I’m the next on his list…” I showed everyone the curse on his neck, and April started crying at the sight of it. I asked, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
April cried, “There’s a way you can heal this, but… I don’t know how to… Sally was the one who studied on this kind of dark magic; she studied it in hopes to find a cure…” I took a last look at Sally, and I cried out loud.
I cried, “Why! Why did this happen!? Sally, if only you were here… You would know what to do… Please… come back!” I hugged her, and while I did, her glove fell off. I stared at her hand, only seeing if what I saw was real. Her hand started to burn me, and the rain started to turn into snow. Everyone started looking into the skies, dazzled by the change in such weather.
Jenna wondered, “Can it even snow in Lesido in such warm temperatures?”
Kaito answered, “No… Lesido is the warmest of all the five lands… Why in the world would it snow?”
I said, “She really is alive…” Everyone, including both armies, looked at me in a wondering way.
April questioned, “What do you…”
I interrupted, “Look at her hand, and feel it…” Everyone started crowding around her body, seeing her face started to turn light blue. When Kaito lifted her hand into the air, everyone gasped at what they saw. They saw a black marking on it, and it was shaped as a shard of ice, reflecting both light and darkness on it. Some people still were confused, and I exclaimed, “Don’t all of you get it! She’s been blessed all this time! I don’t know if she was blessed ever since she was born, or she got blessed right now, but she’s blessed!” I even pointed at the holes in her shirt. The only thing you could see through them was light blue skin.
A soldier shouted, “Her flesh! It has regenerated! Is she…”
Jenna added, “Isaac, you’re not saying… You really think she’s…”
April frantically asked, “Think she’s what? Alive? Dead? What!?” The snow started to stop falling from the skies, and sun started shining on Sally. She started returning to her normal skin color, and her eyes started to open. Everyone let out cheers of joy, and Sally jumped up to the ground, scared at what she saw.
She cried, “Am I really… alive?!” She sounded both excited and scared when she said those words. We all hugged her, and she hugged us back, knowing the answer was, ‘Yes.’ “How am I still alive?” I pointed at her hand. She started to hug deeper than ever, knowing what the mark meant. She exclaimed, “I remember now! I saw a light when I died, a blue, soft light. I walked towards that light, and I saw… A phoenix! I think it came from the Ice Phoenixes race that lies deep in Retallia! All the phoenix asked for was, ‘Are you willing to keep fighting in this war?’I replied, ‘Yes, as long as I know will fight with everyone I love and care for!’ And… here I am right now…”
I asked, “All I ask now is, can you please free Kyosuke from the curse on him?” She looked at his neck, and she started to get a bit sad.
She said sadly, “I might know how to dispel the curse, but I don’t think my staff can handle the great amount of magic I have to use… But I’ll do my best!” She started chanting out many words, and her staff glowed with power, and parts of it started to crack open. She let out a few yelps of pain, but she kept focusing her power into freeing Kyosuke from the curse. It started to fade away, but now her staff practically glimmered with many lights. She said a few more words, and then the curse disappeared from Kyosuke’s neck. There was a cost though.
When she finished the dispelling, her staff exploded right in front of her. We all went to her and she was covered with many scratches on her arms and a few on her cheeks. She said, “I’m okay… All that matters is that Kyosuke is free from that wretched curse…” She fainted on the ground, and I carried her to a room in the palace that had a bed in it. Kaito carried his son, thankful for what Sally had done, and placed him in a bed as well.

Chapter 10
Following Your Heart

I woke up during the night, breathing hardly, as if I was dying. It was only a nightmare… I should just go back to sleep…
I saw the Kingdom of Light, and what seemed to be Ice Mountains, on my left and right sides. I started becoming irritated at what I saw. I started dashing towards back to my people, knowing I could help protect the nation. As I ran towards the kingdom, Lesido started to turn into a giant mountain of ice. I gasped at what I saw, and a voice moaned, “What good is power, when you can’t control it?”
I woke up from my nightmare, wishing what I saw would never happen. I put on my clothes, and I started going down the stairs. As I exited the palace, my hand started to burn me. I tried ignoring it, hoping the pain would go away. I exited the palace, finding all the soldiers staring at me. They looked at me wide-eyed, and I started to sweat, knowing something had happened.
Jenna grabbed me, and started pulling me away from all the soldiers. She pulled me into a deserted alley, and I asked her, “What’s happened? All the soldiers stared at me for a reason, but why?”
She said, “Well… Maybe it’s because you look… different…”
“What do you mean?” She gave me a mirror, and I looked into it, finding patches of blue in my hair. I cried, “Please tell me my hair isn’t blue!”
She giggled, “Okay… Your hair’s not blue, it’s LIGHT blue!” She started giggling and my head stared downwards. When she finally calmed down she said, “Any ideas on how you got your hair that way?”
I stared at my hand that still burned. I noticed the blessing mark on my hand, which reminded me of my life. My life was always quiet, isolated, and calm which represents the dark side of the ice shard. Now, my life is filled with excitement, adventure, and hope… I’m going through a change, a change so great, it fulfills my mark’s meaning. My hair is obviously one of the many changes happening to me right now.
While I stared blankly, Jenna shook me frantically, and cried, “Sally! Are you okay!? Please answer me!” I finally went out of my trance, and started to react to what Jenna said.
I answered, “Sorry… I think I know why my hair changed colors… It’s my blessing… I’m not sure anymore… Everyone looks at me, as if I’m a freak!”
Jenna comforted, “Please… calm down… If it’s okay, I’ll tell Isaac and the others to come over here to help find a way to explain this to the soldiers…” I nodded at her, and I stayed in the dark alley while she left. I kept remembering about my past, loving the memories that brought me happiness. Now, it’s a new beginning and I didn’t care if I was considered a freak. All that matters was that I know everyone dear to me will support me in this whole new part of my life.
“Well… Look who I just found…” The voice dark and shady, a voice I would never forget.
I said sternly, “Go away Alex…”
“What do you mean? Don’t you… hate these people for how they consider you a freak?”
“I don’t care about what they think of me. As long as my family and friends stay with me until the end, I’ll be fine without the power of darkness.” He’s trying to manipulate me, just like he did with Isaac.
He smirked, “The way you say that… It makes me want to kill… Jenna… and better yet Isaac…” He sounds like he’s dying, but it’s only an illusion, I can sense it.
I said calmly, “Don’t bother… They’ll kill you before you kill either of them…”
“Really? I highly doubt it… All I need to do is make one of them think the other is dead… a blow to the heart, wouldn’t you say.” Images of Isaac and Jenna dying started to go into my head. More illusions… I tried resisting releasing any emotion, that’s what he wants me to do.
I said softly, “Stop… Please…” Now, he showed me images of me killing everyone. The townspeople, both armies, Kyosuke, April, and even dad, all of them were killed by me. I started to become very irritated, and I cried, “STOP!” The images started becoming more horrifying. The last image I saw showed me killing both Isaac and Jenna.
My hands were on my head, trying to calm down the pain. I let out a cry of pain, knowing I couldn’t hold it in any longer. He snorted, “What’s the matter? Too much for you? I thought you would give up resisting after my ‘dying’ act! Seems to me you don’t care about me at all… You know how sad that makes me?” He came out of the shadows, walking towards me, staring at the ground, scared by the illusion he casted.
As he grabbed my arm, I cried, “Stay away! Don’t make me…”
He interrupted, “Kill me? I never thought you had it in you! Well, it seems my illusion caused much harm in you.” Sweat started rolling down me, and I looked at him, ready to kill him, as if I were in a trance. I unsheathed my sword, dashing in for a stab into the heart. Alex immediately casted another of his ‘tricks’ and he started to change into Isaac.
He said in a scared way, “You won’t kill me… Will you Sally?” I started crying at what I was about to do. I immediately stabbed him, my sword stabbing right through his chest. He started changing back into his normal self saying, “Never thought you could willing do that… Might as well retreat now… At least… I left a mark on you…” He pushed me to the ground, and pulled at my sword that was in his chest, throwing it aside. He faded into the shadows.
I stayed on the ground I laid on, knowing the many pains that lie in me now. I heard a voice say to me, “Sally, are you alright?” It was Isaac, and without hesitation, I grabbed my sword.
I screamed, “Stay away from me! Haven’t you caused me enough pain Alex!”
He cried, “Sally, calm down! It’s me, Isaac!” I immediately charged towards him, ready to make sure I put an end to him. He grabbed my sword, and threw it behind him. I started to look at him with a glare.
“Go ahead! Kill me Alex!”
“I can’t… I’m not Alex…” He started crying, and the others started coming in.
Jenna cried, “Sally, snap out of it! Please calm down!”
April said fearfully, “Sally… Please… Come back to us… Don’t go away… just like Alex…”
Isaac said softly, “Calm down Sally… I’m not Alex… I’m your brother, Isaac… Please trust me…” My tears came down his face, and he started to get closer to me.
I snarled, “Just die Alex! Just DIE!” As I said that, Isaac came closer to me than he did before. He immediately grabbed me, and he started hugging me.
He cried, “What has he done to you Sally…?” I came back to my senses, and tears started trickling down my eyes.
I mourned, “Kill me Isaac… Alex tortured me… He even tortured me so much… that I killed you just to try to kill him… What’s happening to me…? I’m not the same person I was yesterday… I hate him now… My personality’s not the same… Just kill me, please…” April and Jenna gathered around me.
Jenna said, “Nothing has happened to you… You’re just confused… Please… tell me the pain Alex brought to you…”
I explained fearfully, “He made me see many illusions… he used dark magic to torture me… He even made me see myself kill everyone… Even you and Isaac… After that, I started saying things not like me at all… I said I would kill him.” I paused, wiping the tears off my face.
I continued, “Then, when I lost control of myself, I tried stabbing my sword right through Alex… He casted another illusion… This time, he made himself look like you Isaac… I stabbed right through you, knowing it was him… I felt pain when I did that… Please kill me! I’m no better than him!” I fell to the ground, remembering the agony of Alex’s torturing.
Isaac helped me up, and said, “I can’t kill you… I know you can fight the pain in you… Just please calm down…” He paused, and said happily, “Remember what you said to me when I got kicked by Alex after that one day of soccer! Don’t you remember! This is the exact same thing, just different… Rather than being weak, it’s more like this… If someone says you have no heart, don’t listen to them… listen to yourself!” I remembered the day perfectly. I supported Isaac in his time of need… Now he’s returning the favor.
I said happily, “Thank you… for everything you have done for me… Especially for what you said…” I fainted with a smile on my face, and everyone started smiling back to me, knowing my great pain has resolved.
I started dreaming again, but this time, it felt intense. I felt myself shivering, finding snow falling from the sky. I looked around, finding Lesido and a few ice mountains again… I looked at the Ice Mountains, and I heard a voice. It wanted me to come closer, and I wanted to stay in Lesido. The people were calling me to save them from Alex… Without hesitation, I ran towards the Lesido, trying to save them from their fate. When I arrived at Lesido Palace, I found no one in there. Alex came out of nowhere, standing behind me, and he snarled, “Aren’t you going to kill me? Are you willing to do it?”
I said, “No… I’m not going to kill anyone or hurt anyone just to kill you… I’m tired of your illusions… Especially this dream…”
“Who said I made you have this dream? The ice phoenix is the one who’s casting this illusion. I’m surprised he actually allowed me to enter it too.” He grinned, and I stared at the Ice Mountains, that stood at the other side of my dream. “Don’t you dare leave me here all alone…”
“It’s for the best to just leave you here…”
“Why I’m going to kill…!” He froze, right in front of me, with the Dark Excalibur in his hands. All of his body was frozen, except for his head, “I should have known… The ice phoenix did this purposely, so he could kill me himself…”
I asked, “What do you mean?”
“Everything in your dream may not be real to you, but it’s real to me! If I die here, I’m dead in the real world! If you wake up before I get out of your dream, I’ll be sleeping for the rest of my life!” I looked at the Ice Mountains one last time, and I knew what I had to do.
“Stay still…” I unsheathed my sword. He looked at himself, disappointed.
“Go ahead… I deserve it for torturing you…” I made a quick slash, and all the ice broke off of Alex. He questioned, “Why did you do that? Why didn’t you kill me, like you promised earlier today?”
“Because… You’re my brother… I will never live with myself… knowing I killed my own brother…” Tears were coming down my eyes, and I hugged Alex. Oddly, he hugged me back.
“I’m sorry… for everything I did before…” He looked around, as if afraid of something. He continued, “I have to tell you something… Ever since the day I’ve abandoned you… I did it, to become better than Isaac… I regret making that choice now… I’m realizing that you three are all that matters… I miss all of you, even that girl… Jenna’s her name I think…” A tear came down his eye.

“Let’s get out of this world, together… but something tells me I can’t trust you still…”
He said calmly, “You’re right sadly… King Xapear has control of me… Ever since I surrendered myself to him, he… experimented with me. He placed a curse on me, and… he controls my life… if I don’t follow his orders, even if it’s the smallest task, he can kill me in one breathe…”
I cried, “Maybe… I can heal the curse! Please, I want you to come back to all of us!”
“I’m sorry… It’s too late… the only cure to this curse, is to squeeze the truth out of King Xapear… He’s the one who knows it inside out…”
“Will this be the last time I see you… like this?” He nodded. I cried and hugged him one last time.
“Sally, please promise me this… Don’t tell anyone, about everything that happened here. If you do, a Xapear spy might hear you… and my life will be taken away immediately…” I nodded and he had a satisfied look on his face. We almost arrived at the Ice Mountains, and he said, “This is goodbye Sally. My ride ends here.”
“Promise me you’ll be safe…”
“I can’t… And please… forgive me if I kill… anyone…” He started to fade away, and I fell to the ground wishing he could stay longer.
A voice said, “Sally… Do you know your destiny?”
I cried, “If it’s going to the Ice Mountains, then why should I care!? I had to say goodbye to my brother, knowing that he’ll be killed no matter what!”
“Why do you care about him anyways? Didn’t he abandon you?”
“He did, but he regrets it…”
“Then forget about him!”
I retorted, “I’ll forget about you…” A figure materialized right in front of me. It looked like a man, and he looked agitated. He immediately grabbed me by the neck. I started to feel pain, and he slowly started lifting me into the air.
“Would you really say that to the King Retallia?” He dropped me to the ground and I desperately started breathing in air.
“Yes I would say that to a king, no matter what he says or does! Why are you doing this to me?”
He said furiously, “Don’t you get it!? You are supposed to be my queen! I will hurt you, both inside and out! I’ll kill your friends one by one, until you come to my kingdom!”
“I don’t want to be anyone’s queen… I just want to free my brother… That’s all that matters…”
“Fine, but I swear, the ice phoenix will not show any mercy on you.”
“I think it’s the other way around…” A blue light surrounded me, and my clothes changed into glimmering armor. The color of the armor was light blue, just like my hair. I immediately saw a staff and blade in front of me. I grabbed the staff, and the name Luna came to my mind. When I grabbed the blade, I heard, Ice Excalibur, in my head. I said, “End this nightmare now or I’ll kill you here and now.”
“Very well, but don’t come crawling back to me…”
I woke up, discovering it was the middle of the night. Everything in my dream really happened. I held my two new weapons in both of my hands, I wore armor that shimmered in the moon light, and I found something else. A note and it was closed up. I started reading it, and this was written on it:
‘Sally, thank you for reminding me the good side of life… If only I was free… Thank you for everything, and please don’t tell the others I wrote this. Please burn this before anyone gets their hands on it.
Signed,
Alex Excalibur

I learned many things that night. The family’s last name, my powers, and Alex’s heart… I knew what I was to do next. I set myself on a journey to Xapear. I packed up my belongings, and I brought me enough money to survive along the way.
While I started to leave, I looked one last time into a mirror. My hair was completely light blue now, my eyes glowed with cerulean, and I saw my new self. I said to myself, “I’ll get use to this look.” I started running down the tower, trying to make my departure as quick as possible. When I came to the 10th floor of the palace guard saw me.
He asked, “Where are you going? Don’t you have to watch over these lands?”
I answered, “Sorry, but I have other business to handle.”
“Where would that be?”
“With King Xapear.” He gave me a look, and I tried to ignore it.
He smirked, “You honestly think you can kill him?”
I smiled, “Actually, I’m planning to bargain with him…” He became angry and I knew what his next words were going to be. I jumped right through the window, breaking the glass, not intending to stay quiet anymore.
Many soldiers were starting to gather around me, and I tried ramming right through them. I got through the crowd, and now they started setting up barriers all over the town. I unsheathed the Ice Excalibur from its legendary scabbard that came along with it. I slashed right through each barrier with a single strike, and I started running faster than ever. At the last barrier, it was surrounded by soldiers of all kinds. Spell casters, healers, archers, swordsman, and even a few hired mercenaries who used axes.
One soldier cried, “FIRE!!! Don’t let her get away! She’s both the queen of our land, and she’s an Excalibur Knight! Don’t let her get to King Xapear!” They all started charging towards me, and attacks came from every corner. Immediately, I casted a barrier with Luna and all the attacks were absorbed. Unexpectedly, my barrier spell had an extra kick in it. It exploded everywhere on the field when I disabled it and many soldiers were wounded.
Without hesitation, I healed them all and I jumped towards the last barrier. When I met the barrier’s wall, I slashed a hole into it, and I ran off towards Xapear. I finally felt for once… free. It felt good, and I wished for nothing better. I started to slow down when I got a few miles away from the Kingdom of Light.
Isaac stood right in front of me along with Jenna, and I got scared when by how they caught up with me already. I asked, “How did you catch up with me? And weren’t you guys asleep?”
Isaac groaned, “I know what you’re thinking… Don’t do it Sally… Don’t follow Alex in his footsteps!”
I answered, “I’m sorry Isaac… It’s too late… I have begun this pathway, and now I need to end it… No hard feelings, right?” He immediately unsheathed the Excalibur from his scabbard, and I did the same thing with the Ice Excalibur. I cried, “Isaac! I don’t want to have to hurt you!”
Jenna cried, “Please stop it! Both of you!” She read my heart, and I couldn’t do much about it. I have to talk to her privately about the matter.
Isaac retorted, “I will stop… only if Sally drops her blade, and comes back with us!” I dropped my blade, and Isaac had a look of satisfaction in him. Immediately, I punched him in the face and he fell unconscious. Jenna, oddly, didn’t gasp.
I informed, “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw in my heart! If you do, you’re willing to get Isaac killed!” She nodded, as if she knew what I said.
She said, “Don’t worry, I already know everything about Isaac…” We gave each other a smile. “Good luck on your journey!” I waved goodbye to her. And she started to carry back Isaac to Lesido palace.
This is how it has to be now… Not only am I enemies with Xapear, but now I’m enemies with Blaidia, Lesido, and Retallia… This is one big mess… Isaac will definitely try killing me now after that stunt I pulled on him… I’m going to get through this in the end though… I’m the Excalibur Knight of Ret… of hope…
Alex… I’m going to find you again, and even if we have to fight, I’ll knock you unconscious… I let out a giggle when I thought that. King Xapear… I can’t wait to see you… I dashed off of Lesido borders, and onto Blaidia’s hoping there won’t be too much of a commotion. On my way through Blaidia, I found a cave to rest in. I said to myself, “I’m so in the dark half of my mark.” I giggled, and I fell asleep.