The Journey of Two Sisters: Book 4 of the Kinstone series

(Marron)

I watch Aria walking off with her knight, still smiling at her. I know she is overjoyed to have me with her again. Heaven knows how happy I am to see her.

I eye her carefully. Something within me is now settled. The same feeling of familiarity I’ve had with her since the day I met her is now telling me that she is now complete, that she is exactly who she is supposed to be. But why is that? I wish I had an answer but for now, I have my sister again, and she is with me.

I rise from the rock and continue to watch over her. I then eye Orga as he steps towards me. I feel a small amount of tension growing within me the closer he comes. As a knight, he is sworn to defend Aria from any and all threats. From what Aria has also told me, they can claim the right of vengeance if their charge is ever taken from them. This concept only fuels my worry.

I cross my arms across my chest as I look at him, “Hello Orga.”

He stops just shy of a few paces from me. The knight then bows his head to me, “Greetings, Lady Marron. You cannot begin to imagine how happy Kateryna and I are to see you.”

My eyes flare in shock, “Why are you calling me that? With everything I did to her and her mother, I figured you and your wife would either want to kill me or have me leave.”

The knight smiles, “As with Master Fenris, neither Kateryna nor I seek your death. Nor would we ever wish to banish you from Her Highness’ presence. We were told the truth of that night and the details behind it.” He then smirks, “While undergoing some rather lengthy and often heated discussions with Her Highness.

I sigh. Aria would come rushing to my defense, even if it meant the possibility of burning a few bridges along the way.

“I have seen something like this before,” he states. “It was often the favored tactic of House Nethune. They would find a single weakness within their intended target and then use that to cause a loved one to commit the most heinous of acts. All of this to achieve whatever goal they were striving for.”

I cross my arms and hold my head, sighing. The pain of what I did creeps back into me.

“What happened to the both of you was abhorrent,” he says. “You are as much a victim as she is.”

“It still doesn’t absolve me of my guilt,” I say, looking up at him, “or my sin.”

He steps closer to me. I watch as he locks the hilt of his weapon into his gauntlet, hearing it click. I think this is his way of showing that he is sincere in that he doesn’t want to hurt me.

“You must learn to forgive yourself, my Lady, to let go of your guilt,” he says. “Take solace that you and Her Highness have forgiven each other. I know there were many nights when she called out your name in her sleep. She has longed for you, wishing to be with you once more.”

I nod slowly. I really and honestly have missed my sister. There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t want to be with her. To hold her in my arms and tell her how much I love her.

“I am happy beyond measure that you have chosen to stay with us,” says Orga. “By being with Her Highness you have accomplished much for her and for yourself. You have already atoned for two of your sins by merely being here with her.”

I smirk, thinking of something she just told me. “Aria told me not to sacrifice myself for her.”

He nods, “Her Highness has already lost much when others sacrificed themselves so that she might live. While is it a noble act to give one’s life for another, it can be equally self-serving. By living, we truly are able to redeem ourselves, not through some meaningless fantasy of self-sacrifice.”

I nod slowly. Death is easy, if you die, you stop. But if you live on, the pain continues until you find a way to end it. Suicide is coward’s act, leaving others in pain. Not to say I’ve considered it, not even in the slightest. Given that we live in a world such as this, and what I did, I have to live on for her.

“Again,” he continues, “while a noble idea, it would only cause Her Highness even greater suffering if you were to die, be it by our hands or your own.”

I chuckle nervously, “Everyone is so willing to trust me. Fenris, you, Kateryna, all of you.” I stop and look to him with pain-filled eyes, “I betrayed my sister, shattered a vow I made to never hurt her.”

Orga smiles softly to me, “A family forgives all, my Lady. Even the most egregious of sins can still be forgiven.”

I smile, gripping my arms tightly as I look over at her. “That girl has always been my little sister, and I will gladly do anything for her.” I continue to watch her, “How long has she been having nightmares?”

Orga looks at me surprised, “How…how did you know?”

I take a few short breaths, while not looking away. “Her eyes look more and more exhausted, probably due to lack of sleep.”

I turn to face him, “Shortly after Aria lost her birth family, she had really terrible ones. They nearly drove that poor girl insane almost two years ago. Her then-to-be mother grew increasingly worried over her.”

Orga nods slowly, “Her nightmares began right after we were forced to flee from the Estate.” His hands balled into tightly packed fists, “Her Highness was forced to witness her mother being impaled with a sword, and then having been whisked away from her home as it faded in a ball of light.”

My eyes grow wide with horror, “She…she saw that?”

He nods solemnly, “That she did. After fleeing the Ranch, we were attacked two more times by other covens, the second being the battle we just concluded. So Her Highness has been constantly on edge. We even ran afoul of law enforcement, claiming they possessed a warrant for our arrest, having kidnapped Her Highness from her ‘family’.”

My heart quickens. That poor girl must’ve constantly been looking over her shoulder. She already is possibly the most paranoid girl I have ever known, but this is far worse than I could have imagined. I peer over to Aria. Not only is her home gone, but her mother as well. It’s simply inconceivable that Rachel Rivenfeld, one of the most powerful people I have ever known, and that girl’s mother, is gone.

Now even law enforcement is after her? Now it makes me wonder if Matt tried to get to Jon and Evie in order to warn them in person or possibly argue against the warrant. Granted, Jon is also a lawyer and maybe the two could’ve come up with something. I don’t know, but this only makes hiding her away all the more pressing.

“Orga, what happened?” I ask, feeling both terror and anger.

“We were vastly outnumbered as four covens, at full strength, poured into the Estate,” he began. “The attack was precipitated by a flight of black dragons coming from the lake. Lady Sil’vari flew out and met them in the sky. Her Highness also flew to aid her sister. The battle was going in their favor until Lady Sil’vari was shot out of the sky.”

My knees begin to buckle as I listen. Silvi, my God. And Aria was right there with you as it happened.

“The battle then shifted to the driveway,” he continues, “even with Her Highness at full strength and her mother present along with Master Xiphos and all the forces of the Estate present, we were simply outnumbered.”

I pan back over to her, watching as she and Kateryna set up the tent. Resting beside them is Fenris, keeping watch over her.

I can never leave her side again. She really does need me.

I regain my composure as continue to watch. I kick myself in my mind. While I hate casting doubt on her, she does have a yet another flaw. Something I should’ve thought of back during the summer. “I should’ve realized a long time ago that that girl does tend to guard her feelings fiercely, often keeping them close to her heart. I’m wondering if that’s a holdover from her past life.” I sigh angrily, “If I had, it might have saved us a lot of pain.”

Orga nods softly, “The morning before the attack by the children of the Court, Her Highness sparred with us, expressing the same sentiment.”

I smile, “It takes a lot for her to open up, and it’s different depending on the person. Sometimes she’s like an open book, easy to read. But then she will just bottle everything up. Even when it comes to me she she’ll hold back.” I smirk, “Always the mindful girl.” I look to him, “Thank you so much for watching over my little sister, Orga. I know it mustn’t have been easy.”

He bows to me, “It is my honor and pride to do so, my Lady. I will agree with you that keeping watch over her has been a challenge. While Her Highness can be mature for a child her age, she has proven at times to be rather emotional and has switched to being nothing more than a child, fighting and arguing with us.”

I grin, “That’s just how girls are these days, Orga.” I chuckle to myself; she really has become a teenage girl. If she’s moody and then switches to be her normal mature self, then that just means that she’s now more of the girl that I’ve long come to love.

He smiles and then steps forward, “I have something from Her Ladyship.” He reaches into his coat and pulls out an envelope. “Countess Rivenfeld gave this to me shortly before Lady Sil’vari was shot down.”

I tilt my head as I look at it.

“Her Ladyship gave me explicit instructions that I was to give this to you only in the event that not only had we found you, but you had reconciled with Her Highness and agreed to stay.”

I chuckle, “Those are indeed rather specific instructions.” He smiles, handing the envelope to me.

I take it from him and open it, finding what appear to be legal documents. I remove from the envelope and begin to read over them.

I, Rachel Rivenfeld, being of sound mind and body, in the event that I am incapacitated or met with any other unfortunate circumstances, hereby declare Marron O’Connor as legal guardian of my daughter, Arianna Lucindel Edge. I empower her with all legal rights and authorities granted upon her to watch and safeguard my child.

My eyes grow wide, nearly losing my balance as I read. I hold my hand over my mouth in utter shock. Lady Rachel, you can’t be serious, even after what I did. You still have this much trust in me.

“What is it Lady Marron?” asks Orga.

I look to him, hands trembling as I clutch the documents. “She named me as Aria’s legal guardian.” I then show him the documents.

He looks them over, then back to me, smiling.

I return to reading the letter.

Marron, if you are reading this then the worst possible outcome has befallen me. Please watch over Aria. I know she will be safe with you.

You are the only person who truly knows her, and can fully anticipate her needs. She will be suffering so guide her and love her as you have always done in the past.

I still can’t believe that she did this. Me, probably the last person anyone would name their child’s legal guardian. I reread the documents, which were signed my Lady Rachel along with a signature from a man named Arcturus Helaron. The name is familiar, but I can’t seem to place it.

I know Aria still has her uncle, but according to the both of them, the girl hasn’t spoken to Arnold in nearly two years. The problem is that she isn’t the same person she used to be; therefore his family would never accept her. I am her sister, the only other person she can turn to right now.

“So what will you do, my Lady?”

I look to Orga, folding the letter and documents and placing them back into the envelope. “I will perform my duties as her guardian and sister.”

He smiles, nodding.

“I have to ask, I hope this doesn’t upset you does it? I mean you both have been watching over her for the past couple of months”

He shakes his head, “Not in the slightest my Lady. While it is true that we have cared for Her Highness, and even with Kateryna taking on a surrogate role for the child, we simply dare not cross over that line. We do not fully know Her Highness and have been praying for your return.”

I smile to him, “While she considers you family, you still hold back.”

He nods softly, “Indeed my Lady, we can guide her and love her, we simply dare not move beyond our station.”

I smile, “While outdated, I can appreciate that.” I look over to the fledgling campsite. “Well, it’s getting dark and we need to get something to eat.”

Orga bows his head, “Of course my Lady.”

I then grin as something rather funny pops into my head. “Oh, has Aria ever told you about the running joke with her mother?” I ask.

The knight looks to me, tilting his head. “I do not believe so."

I chuckle, “Whenever Aria and her mother travel, Aria has to do the cooking because despite being over five centuries old, Lady Rachel can’t cook.”

Orga’s face contorts into a large grin, “Are you serious?”

I nod, laughing, “I am.”

We laugh to each other and start towards the camp.