Hateful Words and Fatal Strikes

---Katherine---

I was so shocked and so hurt. Every comment that Indigo uttered hit home, stabbing at my pride and whittling away my self-esteem until nothing was left. I was always slightly awkward and very self-conscious in school. My passion lied with swordfighting; the only time I felt like I could completely be myself was when I was practicing my sword maneuvers or dueling. My sword skills defined me.

I didn't fit in with the feminine girly-girls, and I was not athletic enough to be with the sports teams. I was of the nerdy type, I guess, but also not nerdy enough to be top of the class like Aaron and Indigo were. I just wanted a group of friends to call my own—people who accepted me for who I was. I had a sudden urge to cry, but I blinked the angry tears away.

"Well then, next time when you're in mortal danger I'll just sit back and watch!" I said indignantly. "I won't risk my neck for you if my efforts were not only going to be disregarded but also disrespected!"

"See? See? Exactly my point." Indigo clapped her hands together. "So easy to anger, so easy to provoke. As if I wanted you along on this mission. All you do is hog the spotlight and steal my—" Her voice trailed off uneasily. I glared back at her. Oh, I knew what she was thinking of.

"Steal what? Steal your boyfriend?" I challenged. "As if you had one! Besides, do I look like I'm in a relationship with anyone right now?"

"You're lying!" Indigo pointed an accusatory finger at me, trembling with rage. The nerve she had! "Who rushed to your aid when you fainted? Who was so worried about you when you disappeared at Goldhedge? Who caught you when you fell, and who rushed up to give you a hug when you were actually alive? And in front of all of Goldhedge! He didn't do that with me! I bet you cast some spell to enchant him and make him fall in love with you!"

I knew exactly who Indigo was referencing to, and my anger flared at these outrageous twists of the truth. Ashley and Rachel were trying to get our attention, but through my rage, I only saw Indigo's ugly face. "Look here, Indigo. I didn't ask for his attention. Why didn't you faint then? Why didn't you disappear at Goldhedge? Why didn't you have enough skills to beat Eric and save your beloved?

"I get that you like Aaron, okay? I get that you two are in a semi-relationship that both of you pretend doesn't exist. I ship you two just like everyone else! I'm not trying to steal his love or seduce him or anything, okay? I can't help it if he pays more attention to me than you. Have you reflected on yourself, Indigo? Maybe he doesn't care about you as much because you're not worthy enough of his attention!"

"He was sleeping on your bed!" Indigo screeched.

"You think I asked him to?!" I shouted right back.

"Bitch!"

"You—!" Our voices had gone shrill as we screamed at each other on horseback. That last insult was so hurtful and so rude that I roared and charged at Indigo with the intent of stabbing her through. Not to be outdone, Indigo urged her horse forward and charged towards me at a high speed, murder in her eyes. Someone screamed in the background. Our swords met with so much force both of our horses neighed and stumbled back, nearly throwing us off balance.

The anger and hurt blinded me. I didn't care if Indigo was possessed. She humiliated me in front of my closest friends, and she's the one trying to make me look like someone I wasn't. If there was anything I couldn't tolerate, it was people spouting lies about my actions, especially if they were good intentions. I would make her pay.

"Katherine! Calm down! She's been possessed! She doesn't mean it!" Rachel tried to stop me.

"Indigo, don't do this! Calm down!" Lucian yelled.

"It was another blue orb! Indigo saw something that set her off!" Aaron tried to explain to me. "She would never say those things!"

"We know they're not true!" Ashley pleaded with me. I looked back at them with outrage and betrayal.

"So you're all taking her side? So I'm the one at fault here?!" I couldn't think straight through the anger and the hurt. "I'm supposed to just stand aside and let her insult me and try to kill me?!"

"No, Katherine, we didn't mean it that way—" Ashley tried to explain. Indigo roared and attacked, drawing my attention back to her.

"Coward! Useless! Attention-whore!" Indigo taunted me, always dancing out of my way. I shrieked with raw anger and stabbed furiously towards her. The rosestone on Retribution glowed a dangerous red. I'm going to get her.

"Kath! Please, stop! We can talk about this!" Aaron was at my side, riding on someone's horse and trying to stop us. I ducked around him and aimed for Indigo's smirking face. It was a manipulative game; I knew it was. I was walking right into her trap, but I was beyond caring. I will make Indigo pay, and then I will deal with the consequences.

"Katherine, don't be rash! Indigo, stop it!" Rachel ordered with as much confidence she could muster. It didn't work.

Indigo and I were in an all out battle. Metal met metal again and again, the metallic sound ringing out in the quiet forest. Indigo's figure occupied my entire vision, and defeating her was the only thought in my head. Warnings, pleadings, rationality…I pushed everything away. Indigo did the same, her eyes narrowing as she unleashed her battle cry. It was a fight to the death, girl to girl. And all over a boy.

"Guys, stop!" Aaron—nice, stupid, clueless Aaron—seemed to catch on to our bloodthirsty motives and threw himself in between us as Indigo and I were charging towards each other, perhaps in a futile attempt to stop us.

I yanked on the reins and turned my horse so that I wouldn't crash into Aaron. As I narrowly passed by him, Aaron suddenly threw out his arms and tried to lift me from the saddle, pulling me off of my horse while my fingers were still tangled in the reins. Aaron's hard pull made me pull my horse to a screeching halt. My sword went flying as I threw my arm out and tried to regain my balance. Indigo's eyes were filled with blinding hatred as she took in the scene of me in the arms of the boy she loved so much. She didn't stop—or at least, not in time.

I lurched forward, spitting crimson blood. The intense pain cleared my mind immediately. Shocked, I met Indigo's eyes, which had lost its possessed rage. They turned clear and rational again as she surveyed the scene. Her expression turned from one of confusion into horror. I looked down at her blade, buried halfway through my stomach, and the blood dripping onto the horse, the sword, the ground…

"Oh my gosh," Indigo whispered.

I heaved a painful, raspy breath and slumped in Aaron's arms.