“Kymbre, Warrior Queen Of Kala’an”

King Takeshi leaned on his bloody sword and breathed deeply. The witch screeched and flew at him, narrowly missing him by inches. He flinched but did nothing to protect himself as she tried another attack and failed. After missing him again and tumbling to the ground, again, the witch screamed a curse to King Takeshi in her ancient language, flying out of the courtyard as she did. King Takeshi didn’t know what she had said and he didn’t care. All he wanted was to go home and see his wonderful wife, Queen Mabry.

He knew the only reason he was still alive was because of the magic running through his veins, magic he had inherited from his father when his father was kissed as a child by a fairy. The magic was ending with King Takeshi’s children’s generation, and the prophecy foretold the child that inherited the magic would kill the witch, but none before them could kill the witch. The magic only ran in a male’s veins, but he didn’t exactly care. He was still young and had plenty of time to produce a male.

As he reached his castle, the prophet, Na’an, began shouting in the ancient tongue of King Takeshi’s kingdom, Kala’an. After attaining King Takeshi’s attention, Na’an began shouting to him in words King Takeshi understood perfectly well.

“My king, long live your line, if so be it by the God of the universe. But my king, the witch you have once more defeated has cursed you, and you shall have no more children to continue your lineage. The child your wife is expecting shall be a girl, and she will either inherit the magic which runs in your blood, or your kingdom shall be reduced to dust within days of your death.”

King Takeshi was puzzled by the prophet’s words but soon forgot them when, as the prophet said, his wife gave birth to a beautiful daughter, whom they named Kymbre. From the start, she was a very active child. Kymbre hated the princess duties her mother required her to do. She always wanted to be out in the wild, going on adventures and having fun. Her favorite way to spend time was to sword fight with the boys at Kala’an’s top sword fighting academy. Kymbre spent so much time exploring the outdoors and sword fighting that she eventually joined Kala’an’s army and became their biggest weapon, much to Queen Mabry’s disapproval.

As the prophet Na’an had claimed, King Takeshi never had more children. As he grew older, the realization of the curse and the prophecy weighed heavily on his heart. King Takeshi vowed not to tell Kymbre about the prophecy or the witch, for he knew she was doomed to die fighting for Kala’an. Kymbre tried her best to impress her father with the fighting techniques she learned, but she couldn’t help but notice when he looked at her, his eyes would become filled with sadness, even if he tried to smile. As she grew in beauty, grace, and strength, King Takeshi grew weaker and weaker until he was too weak to do anything except give commands to his regents from his bedroom.

One beautiful spring morning, as Kymbre practiced her sword techniques on a dummy in the royal gardens, the witch came to torment her father. Kymbre, knowing how weak her father was, stepped up to the witch’s challenge and agreed to fight without letting her father know. The winner would gain the kingdom.

The witch attacked first, but missed. Kymbre attacked and struck the witch on the face with her sword, drawing blood. The witch shrieked and attacked again, missing by inches. Kymbre drew back to gain strength, and with one final blow, finished the witch off.

Cheers and screams erupted from the crowd that had grown during the fight. A regent ran into King Takeshi’s bedroom, unannounced, and proclaimed the message. Queen Mabry gasped and fainted into the arms of waiting servants. King Takeshi was overjoyed with the news and immediately made preparations to crown Kymbre Queen of Kala’an.

Until the day of his death, King Takeshi forever blessed the day the witch cursed him and his family, for little did she know at the time, but the day she cursed him was the day she sealed her doom.

***

Sorry for not posting last week; things were crazy because of dress rehearsals and performances of a show I was in.

Love from the Library,

Aria