45. Crossed

The sun shined on the three friends as they headed to the castle to face the king.

           A week passed when Shawn drove back up to the cottage. The Ferrari rolled onto the grassy parkway and Shawn honked the horn. Brooke, who had spent her morning practicing her martial arts with Rogue, stopped and released her stance. She missed her sword. Shawn got out the car and approached Brooke. He unclamped the sheath from around his belt and presented it to her. Brooke’s stomach churned and she wondered what Shawn did. She grasped the handle, tasseled with yellow strings, and slowly unsheathed the sword. Brooke gasped and her eyes glinted at the blade, black and glossy. She held the sword up by its cord wrap and a broad smile planted on her face. Brooke wanted to hug him, wanted to kiss him. She spun the sword and found it was heavier. “Thank you so much, Shawn!” she exclaimed.

            “That sword had the dullest blade I’d ever seen,” said Shawn. “I thought I’d spruce it up.”

            Meredith sat on the empty tree stump. She stood and went to look at the blade. “Marvelous appeal, what did you use?”

            “Obsidian rock.”

            “Wow.”

            “A special woman deserved a special sword.” Brooke’s shoulders shook as a tear slid down her cheek.

Meredith hugged her. “No time for crying now, we’ve got a king to face tomorrow.”

Brooke nodded and cheered up. Shawn stayed over for dinner and she introduced him to Ellis and Athena. They got along well. That night she couldn’t sleep. She kept seeing the master guardian’s face in the wake of her dreams. She awoke at dawn and refused to sleep until Meredith and Ellis woke.

The afternoon sun shined on the three friends as they prepared their journey to the king’s palace. Brooke and Meredith mounted Athena. Meredith asked Rogue’s to take care of Ellis. She didn’t want the anymalis in the way. Athena galloped and Brooke directed her. The black sword Shawn designed for her rubbed against her leg. She caressed the tassel of her mother’s sword and they reminded her of her mother’s yellow ribbon. They passed the academy, the academy that rejected her. It seemed nothing more than a distant nightmare. Without the academy however, she conquered her fears, protected the princess, and grew confident in her abilities, confident to face whatever obstacle arising. 

Brooke and her friends arrived at the palace. The sun disappeared behind foreboding clouds. Thunder clapped after lightening began to dance. No rain fell yet. Brooke and Meredith dismounted from Athena. The guards glanced at Athena strangely, but everyone gasped to see Meredith, whispering amongst one another. Some even recognized Brooke and returned to standing rigid and stern like. The guards patrolling the entrance stopped. “P-P-P-Princess Meredith!” They exclaimed all at once. “You’re alive?”

“Hello, Bruce and Fred,” Meredith regarded them kindly. She chuckled at their surprised expressions. She grew up with Bruce and Fred acting as uncles to her. “Allow us entry.” They nodded.

“But, Milady, what about-” Fred hinted at Brooke.

Meredith frowned. “She is none of your concern.” Her voice sounded formal and in command. Fred nodded quickly and opened the door for the women.

They entered the palace and then the throne room. The king, the servants, and the visitor gawked at the two. Tears threatened to come to the king’s eyes, his knuckles reddening. He opened his arms, choking on his gasp. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Meredith, is it really-”

The hands felt like those of a stranger, grasping her shoulders. His eyes were a darker turquoise and his smile, his reactions, everything seemed false. What part of him was real? Rain’s words echoed in her ears. He wasn’t Victor, but a murderer who possessed a thorough desire for power. She cursed the roundness of her eyes and the way of her hair, any features that connected him to her. She wanted no relation with him. He utterly disgusted her. She tried not to grimace. She wanted to see if they could act in a civil manner before anything broke out or she exploded. “Who else would it be?” she scoffed. She shook her shoulders, removing his hands from her.

“I thought-I thought-”

“I was gone for good, yeah, I know.” Meredith rolled her eyes. “Father, I demand you release this woman’s father and allow her freedom as well,” Meredith said. “She did not kill my sister.”

The king glared at the swordswoman he thought to have died. “You!” he yelled, pointing at her. “You corrupt my daughter’s mind!” Master guardians readied themselves to attack. One of them happened to be the master guardian that escorted her to and from her cell. Hatred and fear filtered through her as she recalled his face in her dreams.

Meredith pushed his accusing finger away. “Father, this ambitious, strong, kind woman suffered. Unnecessarily. For a crime she did not commit.” Flashes of her sister’s death played in her mind. Then, she recounted Dorian and the story behind her father. “I’ve seen who killed my sister. I know who killed my sister.”

The king cocked his head to the side, his face suddenly drying up. “Oh?” He directed the visitor and servants to leave the throne room. The master guardians remained. He sat back into his chair and crossed his legs. “Who is our culprit?”

Brooke intervened because she didn’t want this to result in bloodshed “That doesn’t matter; you’ve heard your daughter’s wishes.”

“Hmph.” Victor smirked and took a deep breath. “I can’t comply, my dear.”

“With what?” Brooke laid her hand on the handle of her sword.

“Releasing any of you.” After that statement, Brooke knew there was going to be bloodshed.

“So you did do it!” Meredith accused. “You killed my sister!” Her face was red with tears.

Victor laughed and clapped. Brooke drew her sword, but the master guardians blocked the king. They were outnumbered. “Indeed I did.”

“How could you- your own flesh and blood!”

“I killed Shahana too,” he said casually. The words sent a shattering ring through Meredith’s ears. Her mother too? The press said she was poisoned and a chef died for it. He was just as innocent.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because you all knew too much.” Meredith’s body glowed, showering the room in a blinding light. She directed a blast towards him, but he blocked it with magic of his own. “Dearest Daughter, you have exponential amount of power, but what can you do with it?” She shot at him again and he leaped from his chair, crunch rolling towards a corridor. She shot at him, but missed. Why was she missing so much? Her emotions were rampant and raging. Her magic didn’t function effectively under such condition.

The king disappeared down the corridor. Brooke attempted to run after him, but a master guardian nearly cut her in two. She flipped backwards, and another master guardian tripped her. She landed on the ground and rolled over as another sword came down on her. She rolled forward on her feet and dodged the next two master guardians. In the midst of battle, her head began to throb as her sword collided against that one master guardian. He punched her in the stomach and knocked her down. She rose to her knees and he towered over her. She frowned and swung her sword. She got to her feet and fought against him and the other four. She refused to let anyone tower over her anymore. She picked up her speed and instead of throwing weak attacks, focused on defense.

One master guardian shot bullets within the room. Meredith tried to help, shooting her magic at the guardians. She wanted to pursue her father, but…she couldn’t leave Brooke. On top of that, what will she do once she finds him? Kill him? Wound him? Criminal or not, he was still her father, the man who raised her, shared fun times together. He murdered his daughter and his wife, but Meredith was nothing like him. If she did decided to slaughter him. Would that tie her more to him? She didn’t want that. 

Meredith took two of the master guardians off Brooke’s hands and killed the one shooting bullets, leaving her to face four of them. She ducked below a pair of blades and they made a cross above her head. She spun her sword, creating the blade spin like a windmill and brought it up. The master guardians attempted to step back. She got one in the stomach and leg and another in the stomach entirely. She marked one of them with an X and she returned to dodging, flipping backwards, out of the way of one master guardian’s sword. She dodged the second one and brought her sword into his chest. She loved her new sword.

A few more master guardians began to pile in the room. One of them kicked her and motioned to stab her. She rolled out of the way, as he repeatedly chased her. She rolled and became dizzy. She stopped and kicked the man off his feet. She decapitated him and stabbed the one coming behind her.

A master guardian grabbed Meredith and she slapped him. She kicked him in the stomach, then the chest. She threw a magic blast to follow as he fell against the wall. A master guardian punched her in the face and she paused as blood ran down her nose. She wiped it away and struck back. She flipped using her left hand to guide her onto the man’s neck. She cracked it with her knees and flipped his lifeless body over the velvet carpet. She leapt into the air, spun, and kicked some of them down.

One of them grabbed Brooke by her neck and choking her against the wall. Another master guardian knocked Meredith down on her stomach with his foot. He stomped harder and Meredith yelped. The man’s grip on Brooke’s throat tightened. Brooke and Meredith stared at each other for a moment. A hint of doubt made Brooke falter. Then, Meredith nodded at her. Just before Brooke could arch her brow, Meredith blasted the person choking Brooke. She dropped to the ground and coughed. A multitude of guardians charged towards her and she raced to free Meredith. She dodged the man’s blade behind her and he sliced her across the chest. Another got her back leg. She cartwheeled out of the way.

A figure shot the man hovering over Meredith. Brooke glanced, but looked away as she fought. The figure was…Master Guardian Kirin! She offered a hand and Meredith rose. Brooke gasped when she saw who it was. She survived. She made it. She stood alive and the same as she had been. “What is this, Kirin, you betray your country?” exclaimed a master guardian.

“How am I to serve my country if it has no just ruler?” she replied. She sheathed her gun and brought out her dagger. Brooke grinned. She ran over to Master Guardian Kirin, but said nothing. Meredith, Master Guardian Kirin, and Brooke took guard for each other.

Meredith lit the room again and everyone did their part. It was then that Brooke noticed the luminosity of her sword. The blade was glossy like oil, slick and beautiful. Master Guardian Kirin dashed through the other guardians with her dagger, cutting them down quickly. Meredith struck nerve points and sent bodies out of order. She kicked, punched, and blasted them. Brooke’s speed increased. She dodged the blades and sank her own into the flesh of the guardians, punching them down. Blood blended into the carpets and heads rolled. The fighters painted a grotesque scene. This was getting them nowhere. Brooke found herself tiring. Her swings had gone slower.

A bad feeling swept over Meredith. She punched a man just above the stomach and flipped, bringing her heel across his skull. She flipped forwards, kicking the man’s jaw behind her. The room was quieter and she was sure this was a sufficient amount of guardians they killed. No more would come in awhile. They had to leave.

The master guardian that haunted her dreams approached her swinging his sword. She ducked and kicked him in the chest. Faster than she’d ever been, she sliced his sword wielding wrist. He screamed and Brooke enjoyed the sound. The darkness of that night returned to her. She cut off the other hand. She wanted him to suffer the way he made her suffer. She slowly carved her sword around his left leg. Then, she dug her blade into his other. Each scream satisfied her and represented each night. She then chopped off his member and stuffed it down his throat, silencing him forever.

Meredith tugged on Brooke’s arm and awoke Brooke from her trance. They had a king to catch. Master Guardian Kirin informed them Victor escaped into the battlements and that she would take care of any more guardians. Thunder clapped as Meredith and Brooke ran through the corridors to face the king.

  

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

Tell me what you think of the big fight and what you think of the sword. I tried to do some research and obsidian can be made to craft a sword. I'll do some more, but it would be helpful if you could add some knowledge.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless