“Your pathetic Child Warrior is dead,” sneered the Red Wizard. “I’ve won.”
Looking at Austyn’s still face, Reina’s grief turned to anger, and finally to deep, burning hatred. Her hand reached out and grabbed the Unicorn Sword. She looked up at the Red Wizard.
He laughed. “Now it’s your turn, little girl.”
His eyes were liquid black, gazing at her with a deep intensity. They seemed to reach into the depths of her soul and whisper to her to give up, beg her to lie down and join Austyn in death. What is the point of living if he doesn’t? they asked. From a great distance, she heard them and sensed their power. If she believed them, she would die. But the anger, the rage and grief at not being able to save Austyn, surged like an ocean between her and the Red Wizard’s words.
She glanced to one side, meeting Austyn’s dead gaze, and his empty eyes asked something different of her—asked her to avenge him. Destroy the Red Wizard for what he has done and what he will keep doing.
Slowly, she stood, her hand clutching the sword. The competing whispers increased in a torrent of sound rushing in her ears. One of them needed to die—there wasn’t room in the world for them both—and it was up to her who that one would be.
The Red Wizard’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened in surprise. “Wha—”
“You killed him!” Reina embraced the anger and the words it whispered to her. He would be the one to die, not her. Rage and grief propelled her forward, and she thrust the Unicorn Sword into his chest, right where his heart would be, if he had one.
The Red Wizard screamed. Light poured out of his body around the sword as it slid into him. He exploded in a wave of silent white light that washed over Reina, leaving her momentarily blinded. He was gone—she had destroyed him.
She felt no victory, only another wave of intense grief. Austyn was still dead. The Unicorn Sword dropped from her hand, and she spun around to gather Austyn’s body into her arms. Sobbing, she clutched his limp body to her chest.
“Why couldn’t you have stopped him?” she cried and dissolved into wordless wailing. He wasn’t supposed to be dead; he was supposed to be the one who killed the Red Wizard.
“Because he was not the Child Warrior,” a strange, musical voice interrupted her.
She looked up, tears still running down her cheeks, and saw the unicorn standing in front of her. It bent its head to look her right in the eye.
“What?” She wiped away the tears with her sleeve.
“You are the Child Warrior, Reina, the one foretold to destroy the Red Wizard.”
“I … I don’t understand.”
“You always were the Child Warrior. The medallion chose you; the magic that you and your brother worked together was always yours.”
“But Austyn won the sword, not me.”
The unicorn gently nudged her. “I am the sword of the Child Warrior, the Sword of Chastity, whose name the Gold Wizard misread in his father’s prophecy.” The unicorn nickered, and its eyes sparkled with amusement. “The Gold Wizard was blinded by his preconception that the Chosen One had to be a boy.”
Reina’s mouth dropped open. She was the Chosen One! She had killed the Red Wizard; she would be remembered with honor and respect for generations to come. The magic she wanted was all hers. She was exactly what she had always longed to be.
And yet it meant nothing. Nothing seemed important any longer, without Austyn. What did getting what she longed for matter when her brother lay here dead?
“Why couldn’t I have saved him, then?” she wept. “Why?” She tried reaching out for magic to call him back to her, but she felt nothing. “How can I be the Child Warrior and not be able to save him?” Her chest and throat burned, and she looked again at the unicorn, her eyes tearful and accusatory. “He shouldn’t be dead.”
“If you wish, you may have your brother’s life back.”
Reina’s eyes widened. “You can bring him back?”
“I can, but beware, Child Warrior. It will cost you much. Only a sacrifice can work the magic to restore a life. For your brother, you must trade what you value most: the Medallion of Courage and the Sword of Chastity. If you do this, we will not meet again.”
That made Reina pause. For so long she had longed for recognition, for power, for everything Austyn had, and now she had found out it really was all hers, but she was being asked to give it all up. She looked down at Austyn’s still face—the choice was simple. None of it would be worth it without Austyn. She laid him gently on the ground.
“I want my brother back. I will give anything you ask of me to have him back.”
The unicorn nodded at her. “Then farewell, Child Warrior.” It bent its head, touching the tip of its horn to Austyn’s chest. The medallion glowed white, and then disappeared. Austyn coughed and took a deep breath. Reina dropped to her knees at his side, barely seeing and not really thinking about the unicorn vanishing in a flash of white light.
She helped Austyn sit up as he coughed a couple more times and got his breath back. He turned troubled eyes to her. “What happened?” His voice was weak and pitiful.
“Oh, Austyn!” She threw her arms around him in a hug, choking back a sob. “You’re back. I love you so much, Austyn.”
“I love you too.” He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes. “What happened to the Red Wizard? I thought…. “His look went distant, as if remembering the events.
“I killed him with the Unicorn Sword,” Reina said, trying to distract him from thinking about his death. “He’s gone for good.”
“Yeah,” Austyn said in a vague voice.
Reina ruffled his hair, trying to draw him away from the past. “Hey, it’s all over now! We can go home.” She smiled at him, although with all that had happened, she didn’t know how genuine the smile looked. Then her eyes glanced at the table with the chest. “Wait a minute—we didn’t destroy his heart, or whatever nonsense the Gold Wizard wanted us to do.”
They got to their feet and walked over to the box.
“I saw the Red Wizard die,” Reina said, still puzzled. “If that’s the case, how can his heart be in here?”
“I wonder what’s in it if it’s not a heart,” Austyn said.
Reina put her hands on the box, and at the moment she touched it, it sprung open. She gaped in astonishment. Inside lay a gold crown. She picked it up, fingering the cold metal and jewels. “Weird!” The Gold Wizard really didn’t know what he was talking about at all. She held the crown up to the light. “It’s gorgeous.”
The door to the room burst open, and they both swirled around to see who it was. Reina’s hand went to her side automatically, and she remembered with a pang that the Unicorn Sword was gone. However, it was only the Gold Wizard, his hair askew and looking really worried.
“What happened?” He glanced around the room. “I woke up, and all the monsters had disappeared. I couldn’t see you anywhere. You must have killed the Red Wizard!” He beamed at Austyn and ignored Reina entirely. She felt a sliver of annoyance, but when she looked at Austyn, it melted away. He was worth it, every bit, even though he’d get all the credit and she’d done all the work.
Austyn’s cheeks turned pink. “But—”
“Look! The crown!” The Gold Wizard almost bounced across the room to grab it from Reina’s hands. He lifted it up, a look of ecstasy on his face.
“I thought his heart was supposed to be in there.” Reina just couldn’t resist teasing him.
The Gold Wizard flushed a little but brushed it off. “It doesn’t matter how it was done, only that it was done!” He sounded all pompous again.
That’s truer than you know, Reina thought, but kept her mouth shut this time. He wouldn’t believe her if she told the truth.
The Gold Wizard talked on, oblivious, patting Austyn on the head and giving him a fond smile. “Not only have you destroyed the Red Wizard, but as the Chosen One, you shall be our new king. I’ll be your wizard, and we’ll elect some other men to help with the actual ruling
until you come of age, but with time you’ll be our true king!”
“But, I—”
He grabbed Austyn by the arm, pulling him towards the door. “Come! I can’t wait to tell them. You know, you saved all their lives, and then we found the other children, the ones who’d just been stolen. At first I was afraid for you, because you weren’t with them, but I kept searching. Everyone will be overjoyed to hear you made it. You’re the most incredible hero of all time….”
He continued ranting on in ecstasy, not letting Austyn get a word in edgewise. Reina stopped listening and just followed them, watching Austyn. He was so young, so full of life, and just seeing him in front of her felt wonderful. Nothing else was quite so good or important in the world.
The Gold Wizard dragged Austyn through the castle, and as they stepped through the door, Reina saw the courtyard full of the men who had gone with them to face the Red Wizard, some of them holding onto children, their faces radiant. Looking at them, Reina filled with warmth. She had saved them, children and adults alike, and even if no one ever knew, it was good to know inside of herself that she had.
She recognized the man she had ridden with and guessed the boy he hugged must be his Tyler. Tyler turned and saw them. He grinned at her and waved, reminding her of Kylen, only nicer. His father then noticed them as well.
“Look!”
The crowd of people stared at them. The Gold Wizard held up his staff, appearing very pleased with himself and a bit grand, even if he was too young for a wizard.
“The Child Warrior has been victorious; the Red Wizard is destroyed!” he bellowed, even sounding wise and majestic, although a bit overdramatic. The people cheered. With a flourish, the Gold Wizard placed the crown on top of Austyn’s head. “Behold the new king!”
The crowd went wild, screaming, cheering, and yelling, “Speech, speech, speech!”
Austyn’s face turned bright red, but he held up his hand, and they went silent. His confidence surprised Reina. Then he pulled off the crown, still blushing.
“I’m not the Child Warrior!” he announced to the crowd.
They gasped.
“I didn’t kill the Red Wizard either. Reina did! She’s the Child Warrior, and she’s the one the crown belongs to. I’d be dead if it weren’t for her!”
Austyn held the crown out to her. “Take it, Reina. It belongs to you.”
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Chapter Twenty-three: The Chosen Queen
The Gold Wizard’s mouth dropped open, and Reina realized she was gaping at Austyn too.
“I—I—” Reina didn’t know where to begin.
“I don’t want to be king,” Austyn said in a quiet voice. “Please, take it.”
Still in a daze, Reina accepted the crown.
Austyn smiled at her, looking mischievous. “I know—you didn’t think I knew, did you? But I did! I don’t want to be the Child Warrior. I never did. When I finally realized it was you, I was too scared and ashamed to tell you.” His cheeks turned pink again.
“When?” He knew before I did?
“At Eleia’s. I finally realized the magic never worked unless you touched me or were really close by. I didn’t tell her, but I think she knew I had figured it out. I kept wanting to tell you, I really did! But I was scared to. After—well, you know—I just couldn’t keep lying to everyone.” Austyn then drew the sword of Chivalry. “I want you to have this too, since you don’t have your own sword anymore.”
Reina hadn’t thought he’d noticed. She put the crown on, to have room in her hands for the sword. The crowd, which had grown quiet, started cheering again. Reina turned to look at them in amazement. They believed her! She glanced back at Austyn, and he bowed down. Reina’s eyes almost popped out of her head as all the men and children she had saved also bowed. She was going to be queen.
Only there was one other person, someone she didn’t think would let her get away with this. Her eyes wandered over to the Gold Wizard, who still gaped at her. He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before he, too, dropped to his knees. She couldn’t help breaking out into a huge smile and winking at him.
“I’m not quite what you expected, am I, Dwayne?”
He rolled his eyes at her. “I should have known.”
She turned to the crowd, who yelled for a speech again. “I couldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been for Austyn, my brother, or the Gold Wizard, or even without all of you to bravely bring us here at the last minute. Thank you for your help! Now we are free!”
The crowd erupted into cheering, and everyone jumped up, embracing each other. Amid the chaos, Austyn snuggled against Reina, and the Gold Wizard hugged them both. Then something occurred to Reina. “But I never had the Sword of Chivalry, this whole time! I killed the Red Wizard with the Unicorn Sword. The prophecy made no sense.”
The Gold Wizard scratched his head. “Well, um, er….”
“I know,” Austyn said, gloating. “Let me see the prophecy paper.”
Austyn held out his hand, giving the Gold Wizard no time to refuse. With a sigh, he pulled it out and handed it to Austyn. Austyn held it up to Reina. “Look at this! Here, here, and here.”
Reina stared at the runes he pointed to and gasped. “Those are the same ones on the Unicorn Sword.”
“Uh, huh.” Austyn beamed. “See, it really reads like this: The Child Warrior, with the Medallion of Courage and the Sword of Chastity, shall overcome with Charity, the magic of the Red Wizard.”
“You can read?” Reina drew in a sharp breath. When did he learn that?
“Only a little—I can show you,” Austyn said, pride shining in his eyes. “It’s easy, and I already knew those three runes from the sword. Eleia showed me the other ones in the prophecy, because I asked.”
The Gold Wizard’s face turned crimson. “Well, er, those runes, they all look about the same to me. I was, um, close, real close.”
Reina patted him on the arm, feeling a little sorry for him. “Hey, it all worked out, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, guess it did.” He still looked a little ashamed of himself. “I wanted to, you know, honor my father, make everyone proud of me, by finding the Child Warrior and destroying the Red Wizard. I wanted to prove that I can be a wizard, but it didn’t turn out at all how I’d planned.”
Reina grinned, giving his arm a little squeeze. “But you did find me, and we did destroy the Red Wizard. And nothing ever goes exactly like you plan.”
The Gold Wizard’s face cleared. “You’re right. I’d better talk to everyone about sending messengers out. The whole country needs to hear that the Red Wizard is dead and we have a new king—er, queen, that is.”
Reina and Austyn giggled. They sat on the steps of the castle and talked.
“I can’t wait to see Mama and Papa,” Reina said. “They’ll be so surprised.” And Kylen. I’ll show him a thing or two.
“Do you think they’ll believe us when we tell them about all the monsters?” Austyn asked.
“They have to! I’m the queen.”
Austyn shook his head at her.
Reina thought back across their long journey. I’ll miss Eleia. That made her remember something else. “What did Eleia talk to you about, right when we left? You said you’d tell me. Was it about me being the Child Warrior?”
Austyn shook his head and beamed back at her. “No, she said when everything was over for me to come back, and she’d teach me to read more and to become a wizard just like her with my own special magic. I don’t want to be a king; I want to read books. And you’re better at bossing people around, anyway.”
“Oh!” Reina burst out laughing, until tears filled her eyes. “Austyn, you’re wonderful, and I’m so happy you get to learn what you really want to do. I promise, I’ll be the best queen ever.”
And in that moment, she knew what Eleia had meant. She would give Austyn up now, so that he could follow his dreams and she could follow hers. She would miss him, but they each had the work they were called to do,
and now their paths would part.
“Promise you’ll visit if I can’t get away?” She could just imagine all the idiotic things the Gold Wizard would make up that she’d have to do as queen. He liked to put on a good show.
Austyn winked. “Of course.”
* * *
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Table of Contents
Chosen Sister
Chapter One: Village Raid
Chapter Two: The Child Warrior
Chapter Three: Sisterly Love
Chapter Four: Austyn's Quest
Chapter Five: On the Run
Chapter Six: Danger in the Forest
Chapter Seven: The Clearing of Whispering Secrets
Chapter Eight: More Trouble
Chapter Nine: A Castle
Chapter Ten: The Unicorn Sword
Chapter Eleven: The Shadowsoul
Chapter Twelve: Flight to the Mountains
Chapter Thirteen: Down the River
Chapter Fourteen: Mt. Iseeney
Chapter Fifteen: A Space of Peace
Chapter Sixteen: The Journey Resumes
Chapter Seventeen: The Caves of Sorrow
Chapter Eighteen: A Test for Austyn
Chapter Nineteen: The Sword of Chivalry
Chapter Twenty: Night Journey
Chapter Twenty-One: At the Red Wizard's Dark Castl…
Chapter Twenty-two: The Child Warrior
Chapter Twenty-three: The Chosen Queen
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Chosen Sister Page 15