The End of Innocence: Book 3 of the Kinstone series

There are a few things to know about this little tournament that is being conducted. It first started around twenty or so years ago when a group of kids got together and wanted to see who was the best. The debates and arguments got intense to the point of blows being exchanged.

The adults quickly stepped in and settled everyone down. They decided that the matter could be settled in the tournament that we now all are participating in. To make sure that there weren’t any unnecessary injuries or worse, only the children that were at least fourteen and up could enter. This made a lot of the younger kids upset, wanting to jump in as well.

The adults would erect a series of magical barriers in order to not only make sure that normal people wouldn’t be able to see what was happening, but to ensure the safety of everyone in the park. These matches had proven in the past to get a little crazy, with spells growing ever increasingly more and more powerful.

Another reason as to why we hold the tournament is to allow the children to exercise their magic. We all train so much throughout the year and have few chances to really cut loose. So this provided an opportunity in order to do so.

Last year was also first time I transformed into a kitsune away from the Estate, which shocked and amazed everyone present. The bouts also give the children a great deal of practical experience, having them fight someone other than their parents or family members.

The group assembled here numbered a little over twenty, so we had to draw a number out of box in order to see which bracket we were to be placed into. There would be a total of four brackets for us to compete in. Each match would last only fifteen minutes with there being additional twenty for recovery.

There are also multiple ways of determining a winner. The first being that whoever’s defensive shield fell first is declared the loser. The second is a competitor giving up. The last is when the timer ran out and whoever’s shield was lower is also declared the loser. No one could use weapons obviously and hand-to-hand combat is permitted.

Each bracketed match was surrounded by its own barrier to ensure that nothing from one match could bleed over into another. We weren’t allowed the use of familiars or bonded creatures. This made Fenris a little upset last year, as I often got tossed around a couple times during my first few matches. I quickly recovered and hopped back into the match.

The matches each had a judge who would determine the winner and rein in either combatant before anything got too out-of-hand.

Everyone competing gathered around, with some of the boys trash-talking each other. I grin, listening to their bravado and one-upping. My head cranes over to see Rachel standing with my knights, Marron, and someone else, a woman I quickly recognize. I smile brightly the more she came into focus.

A hand then lands on top of my head, ruffling my hair. My head tilted back to Henry, seeing as massive grin on his face, “I’m not going easy on you squirt.”

I gently move his hand away, “Like you did last year?”

He grunts and steps back, slamming a fist into his other hand, which oddly sounded like rocks being crashed together, “Earth will defeat fire and ice on this day.”

I sweep my foot around, carrying my body with it, and dip into a curtsy, “Then this fox shall dodge and weave its way to victory.”

We both stare at each for a moment and then burst into laughter before fist-bumping each other, still bearing massive grins on our faces.

“See you soon,” I say, smiling to him.

“Don’t lose squirt.”

I smirk and then look up to see Alexis walking past us, sending a flick through my hair, “Hope to see you in the finals.” My head shakes with a smile before finally head over to my group.

The woman I saw earlier is still there, talking to everyone. A bright grin forms on her lips as she turns to me with open arms. My feet instantly pick up their pace as I practically leap into them.

She wraps them around me, squeezing me tightly, “It’s so good to see you Aria. It has been far too long.”

I bury my face into her chest, “It has been, Miss Anabelle,” lifting my head up and staring at her.

Her smile beams immensely as she strokes my hair. I tilt my head, “Marron hinted her plans to me.”

She smirks, glancing at her, “She never was one for restraining her excitement.” I giggle, letting go of her embrace.

Anabelle leans forward, “I will miss my little girl and hope to soon rectify a mistake I made years ago.”

My sapphire eyes darted into hers, “You mean?”

She quickly places her finger over her lips, “Don’t say anything. Just keep it a secret between us all right?”

I giggle, “Yes ma’am.”

She leans in and kisses my forehead, “Good girl.” I look to Marron who is staring at the two of us confused. My grin grows even broader, stepping over to her and my mother.

“What were you two talking about?”

I reach behind and pull back my hair, tightly it up, “Oh nothing, just doing some catching up.”

She crosses her arms, gazing at me and then her former teacher. “I’ll never understand either of you.”

I giggle, lacing another ribbon into my hair and look up to see my knights stepping towards me. I cock my head at them, “My mom filled you both in on what’s going on?”

Orga crosses his arms, “She has, Your Highness,” appearing to fidget with the miniaturized hilt of his sword. “It…will take some measure of restraint on our part not to charge in if something were to go wrong.”

I quickly place a hand onto my hip and shifting slightly to my left, “Don’t interfere at all. Don’t even twitch from where your standing,” practically jabbing my finger at him.

The knight steps back, almost curiously frightened by me, “I promise, Your Highness.” His fingers continue to fiddle with his sword.

I roll my eyes, “The fact that your still unconsciously messing with your sword leaves little confidence,” holding up my hand, “hand it over.”

His silvery eyes sink back, fingers now frozen, “But, Your Highness.”

I shake my head, “No buts,” turning to Kateryna, “that includes you too.”

The elf’s eyes flutter in surprise, but smiles in acquiescence, removing the bluish-silver gauntlet from her left arm, and placing it into my hand, “As you wish, Your Highness.”

The piece is shockingly light. While in its compact form, it still retains the outline of the shield projector which also contains the miniaturized hilt of her sword. I turn to her husband, “Fork it over mister.”

The knight stares at me and then his wife and smirks, uncoupling his gauntlet and places into my hand, “I truly fear the day you fully mature into a woman, Your Highness. The world will be cowering at your feet.”

I let out a smirk, “Maybe. But then again, that’s a long ways off,” staring at the gauntlets, “Fenris?”

My bonded soon appears beside me, now in his full form, “Yes, little Aria?”

I hold up the knights’ weapons, “Care to watch over these while I fight?”

The massive wolf plops his butt onto the ground, “Gladly.”

I kneel down and place both at his feet, who in turn lies down and coils around them. With a potential problem solved, I walk over to my mother, but give both knights a reassuring smile, “Trust me, I’ll be fine.” The couple bow their heads.

Rachel draws me into her arms, stroking my hair, “That little act of yours even gave me pause.”

I giggle, “Yeah well, had to do it.”

She grins, then leans over and presses her head against mine, “Are you sure you are up to this? No one will think less of you if you were to withdraw.”

I shake my head, “I’m fine Rachel. My getting back into sparring with Silvi and the maids really helped out a lot.”

She cups my face, stroking over my cheek with her thumb, “I know love. A mother worries, that’s all.” I smirk. My eyes pan up to meet her gaze, seeing my mother’s violet eyes glisten in the light. When I get home, I really do need to thank everyone.

The first week after the attack was rough for me, but was graciously spared any nightmares as a result. It did however leave a few lingering doubts and fears. So once my training resumed, I was able to iron out those worries and normalize myself back to normal. Plus this tournament was exactly what I needed to further expel whatever was left in me.

She raises her head and plants a kiss onto my forehead, “Be safe my love. Know that I shall pray for your victory.”

My smile grows wider, “Thanks Rachel.” She brushes some hair out of my face; her eyes still full of worry.

“Can we have everyone’s attention please?” shouts someone. I turn to see Mr. Bigsby, Mr. Eckerts (Mandy’s dad), and a few other adults walk into the middle of the crowd. Jenn’s dad gazes at everyone gathered, “Those who are competing should step forward.” I give one last look at my mother and then trotted off.

The twenty or so of us all stand around the assembled adults, with Mr. Eckerts holding a small box. Behind them sat a board with the four brackets on it.

“Everyone form a line,” continues Mr. Bigsby, “when it’s your turn, reach into the box and pull out a piece of paper. A number will be written on it. You will then hold up the paper and your name will be placed onto the board according to the number.” We all give a nod.

“Now those who competed in the past should already be versed in the rules. For those participating for the first time, I hope your parents have already informed you of them. But an additional rule has been made. Transformations are allowed, seeing how Aria surprised all of us with her changing into a kitsune.” I feel the weight of dozens of eyes falling onto me, causing me to blush.

Mr. Bigsby smiles, “Now, if you would form a line please.”

We quickly queue up and slowly step forward to claim our placements. When it came to my turn, I reach in and pull out a folded piece of paper with the number “6” on it. I showed it to the adults, who quickly jot down my name onto the board.

First bracket, third match. This should be fun.

My opponent is going to be Carol Wieland, a high school senior who lives near Knoxville. I really haven’t much contact with her, but heard she is known to be a bit of a firebrand. I thought I heard a rumor that her family was descended from dragons.

In any case, she had an innate talent for fire magic and a personality to match. She walks over to me, “Dragon versus fox,” leaning in close, her deep ebony hair draping over her shoulders, “let’s see whose fire is hotter.”

I smirk, “You should meet my sister. She’d love you.”

The girl grins, snorting flames from her nostrils, and then holds up her fist to me, “See you in a bit.”

I smile, hitting hers with mine, “Likewise.” We smile and separate.

I look over to see Jenn and the others all standing together and talking. I hop over them. Alexis smile to me, “So…you got Carol huh?”

I shrug, “Yeah…oh well. What about you?”

She peers up at the board, “Fourth bracket, and first match. Have to face off against Terrance Albright, a blithering pompous ass if you ask me.”

I lean back, “I took him down last year in no time flat.”

She leans in, flicking my forehead, “Yeah, because you surprised him when you transformed.”

I giggle, rubbing my head. She sighs, holding hers, “To think that this will be the last time I get to compete before I become too old to do so.”

I hold my arms behind my back, gripping my left, “Gonna miss it?”

Alexis peers up at me, “Yep that I am. Haven’t won top spot in two years, but have to eventually step aside to let you guys take over. I will still look after the kids for another year though.”

I smiled to her, “You’ll do fine. Still hoping you make it to the finals.”

She lands a chop onto my head, “You bet your little butt I’ll be there and you as well.”

I giggle, looking to the others. Jenn is in the third bracket along with Henry, but they’re in the first and fourth matches respectively. Mandy is in second bracket with me and Heather , but she got slammed with the initial match.

We all stare at each other, all smiling. Jenn held up her arm, followed by everyone. Each person grabs the next by the wrist. “We are one coven, one heart, one spirit. We remain as one, no matter the storm,” all speaking in unison.

It's the Coven’s credo, and something that I have wholeheartedly embraced. The act of gripping each other’s wrists was meant to symbolize our bonds and commitment to one another. I am a part of this coven now, and its traditions had become my own. The six of us release our grip and drop our arms to our sides, all still smiling to each other.

“If everyone is ready, let us begin.” shouts Mr. Bigsby.

We all let out a collective sigh. I peer up to them, “See you soon,” turning to Heather, “hope to face you.”

She gives a nod, “You bet.”

I turn to everyone, all smiling, giving a nod to me. With a final nod from me, our group heads for the designated sites.

As I walk over to mine, I glance over to see Rachel and the others all waving and cheering for me. My cheeks turn a deep shade of red, quickly heading off.

The first two matches of my bracket didn’t take too long. Heather easily won hers; having defeated her opponent in less than five minutes, but it was going to take her entire rest period in order to rest up for her second round match.

The second match ended when one of the combatants managed to knock the other out unconscious. That sort of outcome is bound to happen, but they weren’t too overly hurt. Just a bump on the head, nothing a good long nap couldn’t cure.

I wasn’t paying all that much attention to the other matches, thinking that I’d wait until mine was over to see where everyone stood. One problem with having an odd number of people participating would be that there were going to be extra matches within the brackets in order to get us to the standard structure. So if I won mine, I’d be facing another one soon after. Joy.

“Aria Edge.” I look over to see Mr. Eckerts calling out to me. I took a long deep breath and nodded, stepping into the ring.

Across from me stood Carol, already smiling and with flames swirling around her hands, I smile to her. She grins, slamming her fists together and watching as purplish black scales appear over her body. Her arms and legs swelled in size, forming into armored clawed gauntlets. A long, scaly tails erupts from her rear as wings then sprout from her back. Finally, two short and two longer obsidian-colored horns sprout from her head, along her dragonic ears.

I smirk, “Yep, Silvi and you would definitely get along.”

She grins, “I should really thank you for entering last year. Now I can fight you as I truly am.”

I jokingly give her a bow, “I am happy to have been of service to you my lady.” She grins even more, snorting flames from her nostrils.

I look over to see Rachel with her hands folded over her chest. My head tilts back, giving her a smile as the barrier rose up around us, becoming fully opaque. I couldn’t hear the crowds outside, only hearing the slight breeze as it blew around us. It basically acts like a two-way mirror, blocking out any distraction while letting people watch us.

I turn back to my opponent and smile to her, taking a step forward, feeling my tails slowly emerge from out of me, watching as my dark blonde hair turns more pinkish-blonde with my ears growing larger and shifting to the top of my head.

I cross my arms, all eight tails swishing around me, “Ready Carol?”

She grins, baring glistening fangs at me, “Ready furball.”

Mr. Eckerts then appears into the ring, looking at us both, “Are both combatants set?”

We each nod. He then raises his hand, with each of us forming a defensive barrier around our bodies, quickly throwing it down, “Begin.”

Both of us launch ourselves into each other with Carol opening up by launching an enormous plume of flame towards me. I swerve out of the way, watching as the flames sail past me. Their intense heat singes the furred ends of my ears. My body rolls away as I rush into her, slamming her with two consecutive balls of magic.

She reels back, but responds by grabbing for one of my tails just as I return to my physical state and swings me around, slamming me into the ground.

Her strength, while nowhere near as great as my sister’s, is enough to hurl me around and slam me face-first into the ground. My light body bounces off of the grass.

I respond by twisting a couple of my tails around her arm and firing a couple orbs into her face, forcing to her release her grip. She then lurches forward as they made their return trip. I roll forwards, summoning three tiny kitsune-bi and hurl them at her.

The dragoness swats them away with her arms, grinning to me, “Aria, please don’t insult me with such pitiful flames.”

I smirk, unfurling my tails and summons tiny balls of flame at each tip, “Really need to study up on yokai Carol,” lurching towards her, flicking a tail at her, launching a fireball.

She dodges each one and thrusts a claw at me. I in turn spin around and hurtles a fireball at her, while also jabbing at her ribs in an attempt to widdle away at her barrier. She answers by grabbing my arm and tossing me into air.

While hovering in midair, I watch as she leaps up and flies towards me, seeing her reach out to grab for my jacket. Just before she does, I outstretch my tails and wrap them around her arm. I summon a portion of humid air and form a small platform of ice. I stamp my foot onto it, pushing forward and dive downwards to the ground.

I use the momentum to carry Carol along with me, throwing the dragoness into the ground, while firing an Orb at her. She crashes hard onto the grass, bouncing slightly as the orb passes through her and back to me.

I land some distance from her, noticing that her barrier flickering red, meaning that it’s low. I know mine’s still okay, but not great. I close my eyes for moment to catch my breath, only to discover her appearing right in my face, slamming her gauntleted fist into my stomach, sending a small shockwave of air out my back.

I stagger back a couple steps, gasping for air. Carol on other hand floats rearward, slipping into a fighting stance, “Come on Aria, I know that’s not enough to take you out.”

After taking a few short breaths, I stand back up, knowing that if Silvi were here, she’d be yelling at me not to lose to another dragon. My lips curls into a half-smile, looking up at my opponent, “Yeah…you’re right.”

I sweep back my right foot and catch a leaf which had wandered into the ring. I bring it to my lips and blow into it, forming a clone of myself. “We” smile to her and leap towards her.

Carol in turn slashes at us with her claws, punching and swiping her talons at us. I dodge and deflect many of her blows, landing few on her and vice-versa. The clone also keeps up the pressure by harassing her with kitsune-bi.

She’s good, really good. Her movements, while again not as refined as my sister’s, are slowly inching that way. Give her five years, maybe less, and she’ll definitely have her abilities mastered.

She grabs for one of us by the arm and hurtled “me” into the ground, engulfing me in flames for a few seconds. When she stops, the “me” on the ground poofs into smoke, revealing the leaf I had used earlier. Carol’s eyes grow wide in surprise, “Oh no.”

“Hey Carol, had fun with my clone?”

She look up to see me standing a few feet away from her, with orbs hovering in both of my hands. I spin around and hurl each at her. She dodges the first one, but is struck by the second, and then both as they return to me. She staggers forward, with her barrier finally flickering out and shattering.

Mr. Eckerts steps forward, throwing up both of his hands, “That’s the end of the match. Winner…Aria.”

I stagger back onto the ground just as my own barrier petered out, leaning back, and resting on my hands. I heard the sound of claws digging in the ground as Carol hobbled over, plopping herself beside me.

She grins, ruffling my hair, “Nice one kid.”

I giggle, “Thanks Carol. No hard feelings?”

She flicks my head, “Nah. Just means I have to wait another year to kick your furry butt.” I let out another giggle, and then lean into her, feeling her wing drape over me as she gives me a tight squeeze.

The sounds of cheers and clapping grow louder as the barrier slowly fell. She looked to me, “Well, good luck to you in the rest of the tournament. Wanna go out tomorrow?”

I lean forward, “Depends on what the plans are.”

She smiles, “Until then. You’ve got my support.”

I beam, as we both revert back to our human forms. She gives me a quick slap on the knee and then stands up, heading over to her parents. I let out a sigh and roll onto my feet, hobbling off the field and to my group.

Marron picks me up and swing me around, “My God sweetie, that was amazing.”

I let out a whimpering chuckle, “Thanks Marron. But could you put me down, kinda hurt here.”

She laughs, gently setting me back onto the ground, “Sorry sweetie.”

I feel arms wrap around me, peering up to see my mother beaming down at me, “Magnificent, your sister would be proud of you.”

I grin, “Yep,” rotating my shoulder, grunting as it pops, “kinda forgot that I wasn’t fighting as a dragon.”

She grins, planting a kiss onto my head. Her hand then glows, sending healing energies into my body, sitting us both onto the grass.

My knights both kneel down in front of me. “Excellently done, Your Highness,” praised Orga.

“I agree,” added his wife.

I smirk, “Thanks, but I know I made a few mistakes, getting knocked around by a dragon tends to bring them out.”

They both nod to me. I let out a sigh, “Things are only going to get tougher here on out.”

I glance at both of them, understanding that people do love being praised for their successes, often becoming blind to their faults. I didn’t like that idea. It’s why I love whenever the maids would constantly critique my every flaw and misstep. Failure is often the best teacher and Lord knows I’ve failed a lot in my life.

With the first round finally coming to a close, I learned that Mandy and Henry had both lost their matches, while Alexis and Jenn won theirs. I thankfully was spared having to compete in an extra match, but that meant it fell to Heather to even out the bracket.

She ended up losing her match, with her shield shattering when she took the full brunt of an earth spell to the face. Wasn’t the prettiest of sights watching her stagger off the field over to where my group was, which turned into where everyone decided to hang out, along with their families.

My knights surprisingly were doing better than I thought.

During my second round match, I managed to get flung into the barrier itself. My body bounced off it and landed hard onto the ground. The move wasn’t entirely legal as it was preceded by a backhand to the spine, which left me stunned for a moment.

I glance over to Kateryna, who lurches forward, only to be held back by her husband. The two of them gaze at me, returning it with a thumbs-up. I wasn’t going down that easily, and tried my hardest not to make them worry. Rachel on the other hand remained stoic, but I could tell she wanted to jump in as well.

The semifinals were gruelingly long with my match ending in a near loss when I made the boneheaded idea to Rush blindly into wall of earth my opponent threw up. On the other side was Michael Nelson with a charged ball of energy, ready to blast me back into the wall.

I narrowly escaped when I shot a kitsune-bi into his face from one my tails, blinding him for a second just as he let off the shot. I watched as it just barely missed my face. I finished him off by kicking him in the head, shattering his barrier.

After the bout, I plop myself back onto the ground, groaning loudly, “Gah I was such an idiot.”

Marron kneels behind me, “Yes you were,” flicking the top of my head, “why on earth did you just fly into the wall when you knew that Michael is a specialist in spiritual combat?”

My hands fling upwards into the air, “I don’t know, I figured I’d catch him by surprise or something.”

She wraps her arms around me, pulling me into her chest, “Just be careful, Baby Ahri. You still have Jenn and Alexis in the fight and both are gunning to face you in the finals.”

My head rests against her, watching Jenn’s quarterfinal match. Her opponent was Robbie Kreston, same age as her and wee bit on the shy side. This of course changed the moment he stepped into the ring, when he quickly transformed into a raging hell-beast of a fighter, almost like a berserker.

This also meant his body literally turned into the Hulk, only way more nimble and could hurdle actual felfire at you. Never was quite sure how that came to be a thing, but you’d just have to be there to see it. My eyes then glanced over to where I had my previous match, watching as the adults went about repairing the damage we caused.

That’s the other reason why there was a long gap between matches. It allowed us to restore the land so when the tournament was over. That way no one would be able to tell that anything had happened. Sometimes I really love magic.

I want to just melt away into my sister as she holds my tiny frame tightly to her body. My eyes slowly closed, feeling the wind whisk against my face. My mind slowly began to slip deeper and deeper into a relaxed state.

I’d been fighting a lot today and I just wanted to fade into dreamland, gradually liking the idea more and more as time passed. While my “nap” was threatening to consume me, images of my previous matches flow passed my eyes.

With every “step” and “strike” I landed, my hands and feet occasionally would twitch to some extent. Not a full-on jerking of the body, but just enough to where I felt as though I were actually reliving to bout.

I feel lighter, as though floating on water or air. Time seemed to move at a standstill around me. The faint sounds of birds chirping in the distance, hearing them hopping around along the tree branches, all echoing in my ears. Sleep’s pull felt stronger and stronger, lying there against the warm pillow known as Marron O’Connor.

A hand gently cups my cheek, with a thumb then softly smoothing over my skin. My eyes gradually open, seeing my mother kneeling in front of me, baring a tender smile. “Time to wake up my love.”

I groan, stretching out my arms and legs, then felt my heart shocking back to life as I stared out passed her, “Oh god…did I oversleep?”

She chuckles softly, “No my love. However, Jennifer lost her match to Alexis.”

My eyes grow wide with my mouth agate. “Jenn…lost?”

She leans in closer, “She did.” I can’t believe it. Granted, I didn’t watch the match due to my being asleep for however long I was out.

The sounds of steps wading through grass grow louder as Jenn herself steps towards me. I gaze up at her, “Hey.”

She spins around and plops herself beside me, “Hey. Guessing you heard.”

I take a couple short breaths, “Yeah.”

My friend lies back onto the grass, groaning loudly, “Gah! Here I was hoping that I’d get to have a rematch with you.”

I smirk, finally getting over the dismay, “There’s always next year.” We both know this, and if I have to be honest, I also wanted to face her again.

It’s been gnawing at me for nearly a year that I intentionally threw our match, and desired to correct that mistake. With her defeat, we’d have to wait a whole other year.

She cranes her head over to me, pupils coming together into feline slits, “Don’t you dare lose to her either. Got me girl?”

My lips stretch into a Cheshire grin, “I got you.”

My mother then leans in closer to me, “Your match is set to begin shortly. I do hope you enjoyed your brief nap.” My eyes turn to her and then back down the hill. I then roll my body forward, freeing myself from Marron’s grasp.

I look up at her, watching as she stands up and pats my head, “You’ve got this sweetheart.”

I lean into her, smiling, “Thanks.” Rachel then softly spins my body and gives a playful shove. I stagger forward a bit, turning back and seeing her smile. I twirl around a bit and bound off towards the tournament grounds.