Old Promises, New Mysteries: Book 2 of The Kinstone series
Chapter 18: The Invitation

Part II

The air was crisp and rich with the clapping sounds of wood slamming into each other. I swerved around each pillar, dodging and weaving past sword strikes, with several finding their mark.

Lyra smiled, raising her training sword and swinging expertly at me, with my only recourse in being to deflect it with my kodachi bokken. Her swings were calm, precise, and calculated. The true mark of a master swordsman.

She followed me around each pillar, nearly dragging me out a few times into the open field where the valkyrie held the advantage. I tried not to let that happen; only to be forced to when my foot slipped, causing me to tumble out.

Fenris leapt into the fray, striking at the valkyrie with his fangs. She easily dodged the assault, retaliating with a three-strike combo so fast that I couldn’t even see it.

November came upon us sooner than anyone had anticipated and with it even more changes in the weather. It had grown colder and with it the leaves on nearly all of the trees had fallen off. The dryads too had slowly begun to make preparations to enter into their winter hibernation.

Velhemina had begun to shut down portions of the greenhouse, having already harvested much of the fruits and vegetables for the winter months to come. But I knew she wouldn’t go to sleep until the first frost. So there was still time to visit with my aunt.

The kobolds were also talking about their winter trip to France in order to visit with family. I knew the twins didn’t want to leave the Estate and be away from me. I felt the same way.

Now something that was fun occurred just before Halloween. A few members from the coven actually live in Austin so Rachel and I decided to head out and meet them. It was nice to see a few familiar faces from the summer.

A gathering of other covens had come together in order to celebrate the harvest. I did recognize a few faces from a coven I had the misfortune of running into the previous year. Naturally, I stayed as far away as I could. I hoped that they in turn didn’t notice me.

The coven in question is known as Edtrich. They aren’t nearly as numerous as our coven and are nowhere near as powerful, but often love to strut about and bully the smaller covens in the area. I personally don’t care for them all that much, preferring to steer clear of them.

Our coven is known as the Coven of Colburn, hailing from obscure portions of the British Isles. We stood among the three most powerful covens in America, but have little dealings with the other two apart from some of our members having married into Allister, another of the big three. Mostly everyone stuck to themselves, no wanting to draw the attention of normal people. Other than that, the night was pleasant and mostly uneventful.

But that didn't stop a few from noticing me. A few even tried to come closer to us. I overheard a few of them calling me “The fox princess of Colburn".

This is a title that many came to call me, some within our coven, but mostly outside of it. The obvious reason is due to my transformation into a kitsune. That and my mother is Rachel Rivenfeld.

I don't mind the title, but it's not something I flaunt.

One other thing happened right after my birthday, some late arriving gifts. The first was from Drakon Velkoz. It was a rather beautiful scarlet and black dress, one fit for a vampiric princess. It was ruffled and came with laced gloves and shoes.

He even wrote a note, wishing me the best of wishes, hoping that I would send him a response. While I did indeed find the dress incredibly lovely, there was no way in hell I would accept it. Even Rachel agreed.

The guy still radiates a smug arrogance that I wish I was able to walk up and slap him. I still wanted nothing to do with him, and even thinking of him being into me made my skin crawl.

The second gift was from Savero, and it was a necklace made from crystalline coral and strung pearls, another gorgeous gift to behold for sure. Again, no way would I ever accept it. Here’s a fun fact about me, I hate jewelry in general.

So someone sending me a necklace, while pretty and all, not something I’d really enjoy. The only piece that I do wear is the necklace that Rachel gave me, it’s simple and I will forever love it. Another exception is the necklace the Silvi gave to me for my birthday.

One final issue I have with the gifts belongs to the senders themselves. While Savero is younger than Drakon, being in his early to mid-twenties, it still doesn’t change the fact that both men are still older than me. I don’t give a flipping finger about the norms or customs of either world, this still creeps me out that both men are interested in me.

When I told Jenn about them, she basically went through the roof. I reluctantly showed both gifts to her. She went all googly eyes on me, wanting to see me in the dress. I glared at her. She laughed and relented.

So what became of both gifts you might ask? I simply shoved them into the deepest part of my closet and forgot they ever existed.

A wooden blade swung past my face, only to be parried by my own. I leapt and flipped through the air as Lyra swung across at my body. “Your footwork still leaves something to be desired Young Miss,” spoke my sword master as she pulled my leg out from under me with the back of her sword. I crashed onto the ground, bouncing my head off of it.

I grumbled as I rose back to my feet, flipping my grip in the sword, now reversed and preferred grip. I held the bokken up and charged at the valkyrie, spinning in the air, catching one of her parrying strikes, and landing a kick into her chest. My master again caught my leg, holding her blade to my neck.

“You must be less obvious in your attacks, Young Miss.”

I grinned as a second strike came from behind my master, with Fenris bounding in, gripping a sword within his mouth. Lyra spun her sword and intercepted the strike, parrying it away from her.

As I brought my sword back up to swing at her once more, I found yet another blade held to my throat. I sighed, dropping my sword, “I yield.”

Lyra smiled, lowering her own and sheathing it. “You have done well Young Miss, you analyze and adapt to new situations. Although I still must emphasize again on working on your footwork. Poor footwork leads to clumsiness and then defeat.”

I nodded, “Yes Ma’am.” She smiled walking over to the weapons rack and placing her sword onto it.

I flopped onto my back. My hands were throbbing from every parry and strike that I had to endure. Sparring with Lyra is both fun and hard. Her blade work is just as sharp as her criticism, which has proven helpful in honing my skills.

A shadow fell over my face, looking up to see Fenris’ eyes peering into mine. I smiled up at him.

My bonded had joined my swordsmanship training some time ago. While he still preferred his claws, fangs, and magic to fight, he since learned somewhat how to wield a sword. The real purpose of him training with me was to better perfect our ability to fight in concert with one another.

With Rachel having reduced her lessons to three times a week, I decided to fill that extra day with sword sessions with Lyra. This proved to be really good idea.

Rachel also began incorporating the lessons from Asha and Yukari into our sessions. Had to laugh at how she actually borrowed the tomes and texts both daiyokai had given to me for reference.

Speaking on that note, I really delved into the lessons I was given. As predicted by Marron, I completed reading less than half of the tomes within just a few short weeks.

Here’s the thing, I’m still writing down notes from all of the books!

My bookcases are filling up quickly with notebooks filled to the brim. I wasn’t just given a few tomes to go over. Ehhh no, I was given dozens upon dozens of books, from both yokai.

So needless-to-say, I was going to be kept busy for a good long while. I can’t even begin to describe how many times my brain felt completely fried.

Aside from studying nonstop, I was able to complete the final volume to Dragon Wings, and it was amazing and saddening at the same time. I was going to miss reading how the main character explored the world that had taken her in. Part of me wonders if the series was meant for me to begin with.

Lyra looked to me as I sat back up, popping my neck, stroking it. The valkyrie smiled, resetting all of the weapons and other training tools. “You are improving immensely Young Miss. You are skilled with the blade, but are in need of much polish.”

I leaned back and nodded to her. Fenris walked over to her, helping with the tools. Not wanting to be lazy, I hopped up and headed over to them.

“Aria!!”

I turned to see my mother walking over to us, behind her was a woman I didn’t recognize. She probably was about the same age as Marron with light auburn hair which only reached below her ears. I waved to her, placing a sword onto the rack.

“I hope you had a good session.”

I nodded, feeling a sharp pain in my shoulder as I rotated it, “Good, but intense as always.”

My mother nodded, “Sweetheart, this Sarah Wincott, a fellow member of the coven.” I looked to her; she stood a head taller than me and had rather interesting silver eyes.

The woman smiled to me, “We never were able to properly meet last year during the festival.”

I nodded, “It’s nice to meet you Miss Wincott.”

She chuckled, “Just call me Sarah.”

I nodded, turning to Rachel, “Okay…so what’s going on?”

She shifted slightly, “Every year, the coven will send a group of the children overseas to help them experience other cultures. It mostly limits the destinations to Europe and the rare occasional trip to Asia. This also is a great opportunity to make friends and form bonds with others.”

This caught my attention, “Okay…I’m listening.”

Sarah stepped closer, “Here’s the problem. Normally these trips take place in the summertime when all of the children are not in school. But due to a few scheduling hiccups, and some idiotic mistakes, we had to push the trip to the fall.”

I folded my arms, “So…what you’re saying is that you want me to go with.”

Rachel nodded, “Exactly.”

I looked at both women, “So who in all is going? Is Jenn or the others in as well?” hoping to be so.

Sarah shook her head, “Sadly not this time. Given how late in the year it is, we decided to take the children who are home-schooled or volunteers from normal schools.”

I slumped against a pillar, “Okay then.”

Sarah then walked closer to me, “We are also a little shorthanded with chaperones and will have a few small children in tow. I still remember hearing how well you handled the kids last year during the lead up to the festival. So naturally we’d also like to have you onboard as an extra set of eyes.”

I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow, “Please don’t tell me that Miss Elizabeth’s kids are going too?” My mother sighed, nodding slowly.

Elizabeth Aitchison’s two children, Susie and Robbie, were among the small gaggle of kids I was tasked to look after while their parents helped with decorating. Both were the largest source of trouble for me during that time and I nearly went ballistic when they wandered off, finally cornering them in the library.

I knocked my head against the pillar, not really liking the idea of having to deal with them again.

“Aren’t they kinda young to be going overseas without their parents?”

“Never said they were,” replied Sarah, “their mother is going with.”

Elizabeth, their mother, was a really nice woman whom I had gotten to know over the past year. She is really good friends with Rachel, and was happy to see me during the summer festival. If she was going, I knew it would make me feel a lot better overall. Her kids, on the other hand, again were holy terrors. I nearly throttled the little demons when they played pranks on me while there. But I sighed. Just keep them away from me and I’ll be fine.

“How many kids in total?”

“Around twenty-five or so, with a few being junior high age or older.”

I nodded, “Okay…so no real need for lots of babysitting,” looking up at them, “Our destination?”

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My eyes flared as my jaw quivered. Okay…this could be fun. “Where exactly? Rome obviously.”

Rachel laughed, “You never cease to amaze me my love. Yes, you will be traveling to Rome, with the first stop being in Florence.”

I smiled, nodding, tapping my lips, and forming a soft grin. My mother quickly flicked my forehead, “I understand your interest in Tuscany but you mustn’t become distracted if you are to go.”

I giggled, “Okay, okay.”

What she was referring to was my love for cooking and the rich history the region possessed. My birthmother had sometimes expressed an interest in visiting Tuscany. So this was a great opportunity to go in her stead.

She looked to me, her eyes portraying a soft concern within them, “I will not be joining you on this trip.”

I turned my head up at her. Wow…this will be something. While I flew to St. Louis alone to see Jenn, I was still within the country and visiting a friend. She clearly was anxious about this, and so was I. Feeling Fenris brushing against me, my hand began stroking his fur.

“You won’t be allowed to take him with you either.”

My eyes quickly gazed at my mother as my shoulders slumped, “Why? Why not this time?”

She shook her head, “This is one journey you must take on your own. Believe me, I wish you would not go on this trip.”

I sighed, slumping even more. My bonded even whined, not wanting me to leave without him. Father-figure yes, but Fenris still often acted like a dog. I smiled, continuing to run my fingers through his fur.

“When do we leave?” hugging him.

Sarah knelt beside me, reaching out her hand to the wolf, smiling as he started to lick it, “In a week.”

I looked to the woman, eyes wide with shock. “Okay…what is with this coven and cutting things super close?”

Sarah laughed, “Sweetie, you have no idea.”

I sighed louder, groaning, “Fine…fine, I’m in.”

My mother smiled, although she wasn’t exactly the most thrilled at the decision. “I would suggest that you brush up on your Italian as well young lady.”

Sarah looked to her, “She can speak Italian?”

My mother nodded, “Fluently.”

The woman turned back to me, only to find me grinning. She sighed, “Well, if we run into any trouble, I know who to call on.”

I giggled, “Just hope there isn’t any.” Both women smiled to me.

I sighed, closing my eyes for moment, “Guess I should start prepping myself then. It’s going to be very long week.”

My mother walked over to me, pulling my tiny frame into her, holding me tightly. “This will be a test for the both of us my love.” I nodded my head.

She was right. This was going to be a trial run for my two-month long stint in Japan. I would be halfway around the world, no family, in a foreign country for a period of time. Anxious and nervous would scarcely begin to describe what I was feeling at the moment.

Rachel kissed the top of my head, arms still wrapped around me. Her scent easily filled my nose, easing away my tension. There are many things about her that always found a way to melt away my defenses, her scent being one of them. I felt calmer, happier as I stood there. I smiled to her, lifting my head to meet her gentle gaze.

She looked into my eyes, “Why don’t we turn for home, so that we might discuss your trip in further detail?” I nodded to her.

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