THE SHIELD AND THE SWORD

Chapter 8 - FENCING & DREAMSCAPE

John age 16

I just completed my afternoon training with Mr. Richards, and I am so tired. “John, before you hit the showers, I need to speak with you,” he says. “Ok,” I replied. “Son, there isn’t much more I can teach you. We now make great sparring partners. Would you be interested in learning something new?” He asked.

“Of course I would,” I replied excitedly. “OK, on Saturdays, I teach fencing. Would that interest you?” “Wow, of course it would,” I exclaimed. “Great, we will continue our regular Monday through Friday sessions, except we will alternate between training hand-to-hand and fencing,” he explains.

Elizabeth is still my constant companion when not in school. We head home for our evening routine. Supper, homework, and our hobbies. For her, it's still drawing, and for me, studying plants and different gifts or powers.

Thankfully, most of the time, our parents ignore us. Occasionally, we get those weird looks or a run-in where I'm slapped or hit. As long as they don’t touch Elizabeth, I will gladly take it and keep my mouth shut.

Tonight, I have another wonderful dream of my girl. That’s what I call her now. Knowing she will be my beloved one day. It looks like she is in a clearing with mountains around her. She is sparring with a woman a little older than her. My girl jumps in the air, doing a roundhouse kick that barely misses the woman.

Wow, where did she go? The other woman disappeared for a moment and then appeared behind her. s**t! She’s a witch. My girl just swirled around laughing, then firmly stated. “No, using your teleportation till I can shift into Akira!”

The other woman laughs. Then she replies, “Well, stop trying to take my head off.” Both hug, giggling. A tall, broad older man walks up and tells them enough for the day. I wake back up in my bed.

I can’t help but think not only is my girl beautiful, but she’s a total badass, too. I wonder how old she is? Does she have dreams of me when I’m training? I’m going to ask Hecate when I see her again.

The next several months go by in a blur with our same routine. Today is Saturday, so there is no school or training.

I woke up early, hearing yelling. One of the voices is male, and I don’t recognize it. I immediately jumped up and ran to Elizabeth's room. I see she is awake also and wide-eyed with fear. We hear my mother’s voice screeching back at the man.

“You paid me for a heat potion!” She yells. “Did you give it to the she-wolf?” “Yes,” he yells back. “Did she go into heat afterward?” My mother screams. “Yes,” he replies. “Well, then, what's the issue?” My mother questions. “She isn’t pregnant.” My mother starts laughing maniacally. “You didn’t say you wanted her magically pregnant.” I hear a loud growl.

“You b***h, what did you think the potion was for?” He yells. “You better watch how you speak to me, dog,” She replied. “The only one that can ensure pregnancy is the goddess herself. Is she your fated mate?” Mother asks. “No,” is his quick reply. “Chosen?” She pushes. “Yes,” is his answer. “There is no way around the laws or the blessings of the gods. Children are rarely given unless the couple is fated. Unless…. Did you do a claiming ceremony with your chosen?” she asks. “We tried, but acceptance wasn’t granted.” He replied. “Well, you know as well as I do the reason for that. One or both of you still had a fated mate out there.”

Frustrated, he yells, “So I’m supposed to go through life without an heir to my pack?” Oh s**t, he's an alpha, I think to myself. It's then I hear my mother laugh again. “Well, there is another option.” She says.

Crap, I know this won't be good, I think to myself. “What’s that?” He asks. “Since your marking and claiming were denied by the gods, seek out your fated mate.” That is her explanation. “I don’t want anyone else!” He exclaimed.

“Look!” She yells. “I don't care what you do. I held up my end of the deal. Go home and live happily with your chosen but childless. Find your fated and take her, hoping the gods will bless you. Or hell, even use her as a sidepiece! I don’t give a s**t. Don’t come to my coven claiming I didn’t do the job you paid me for. Now, get the hell out!” she screams.

I turn and look at Elizabeth. Her eyes are wide. “We both need to stay away from our mother today. She is in a worse-than-normal mood,” I State firmly. “Ok, Bubba,” she replied.

“You don’t think that man will look for his beloved just to use her for a child, do you?” She asks. “I don’t know,” I say. “There are good people in this world, and there are cruel ones. Seeing as how he is doing business with mother, my hopes aren’t high for him to do the right thing.”

“I hope Hecate chose a kind beloved for me.” She exclaims dreamily. “I hope so, too. But remember, everyone has free will. I trust the goddess above all, but we must be smart,” I tell her. “What do you mean, Bubba?” She asks. “If you don’t know your beloved, then take a little time to watch their actions. Above all else, I want my mate to respect the goddess’s laws.” I state.

“Why don’t you prepare for the day? Then we’ll have breakfast. Meet you back here in 20 minutes,” I say. We do our business, and I head to her room carrying a tray of waffles and fruit. It's better to keep her out of sight today.

I enter her room and sit to eat. “Why don’t you draw, munchkin, and I’ll study.” “Why do you research your books so much, Bubba?” She asks. “Well, I have less than two years till I receive my gifts. They won’t do me good if I don’t properly use them.”

She nods in understanding. I don’t want to tell her about my dreamscape with Hecate. I know I will have a destiny to fulfill, but I could never abandon Elizabeth. Our horrible mother would destroy her.

I go to my room and decide to grab the book on teleportation. Since seeing my beautiful girl and her sparring partner seem to be using it. I need to learn everything about it. Hummm. It seems you should only use it in places you have been before. Wow! I guess it’s right. You wouldn’t want to end up off a cliff somewhere or hit by a car in the middle of the road. I think it’s good they put prior mistakes of others in these books. Damn, I think to myself.

I am thinking back to my dream. The witch with my beloved used it to avoid an attack. I guess it could be used to both travel to a destination and also a battle tactic if used right.

Just as I finished that thought, I felt an unbelievable pain rip throughout my body. It felt like I was being torn to pieces.

I knew I couldn’t scream and alert my mother. I held my breath, turned over, and buried my face deep in the pillow. I then screamed into it. Oh goddess, what is happening? Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, everything went black.