Farewell, Children

---Katherine---

"Kath, Aaron, I don't want you to leave!" Charles hopped off the couch and clung to me, wrapping his arms around my leg. Christina stood up and blinked away tears. I ruffled Charles's hair lovingly and crouched down to be at eye-level with him. "I'm sorry, Charles, but Aaron and I have to go now. We have something very important to do. I promise we'll come back to visit you. In the meantime, will you be a good boy and stay here with your aunt and grandaunt? Can you do this for me?"

Sniffling, Charles tried to be brave and nodded. Then he ran to Aaron and hugged him tightly. I turned to Christina and held her small hands in mine. "Christina, you are such an intelligent and courageous girl. I know it hasn't been easy for you, but you've been so brave. I've taught you enough that you can easily fight off any unskilled attacker. Remember to practice daily, and when you're old enough, you should attend the Rosewood Academy or find another mentor. You'll be able to learn a lot more."

"Kath!" Christina burst into tears, her brave façade cracking once more.

I enveloped her in a tight hug, trying to keep my own emotions at bay. After spending the past two months with the children, I had grown attached to them. I didn't want to leave them, even though I knew they belonged with their family. "We'll see each other again, I promise. In the meantime, protect yourself and your brother, okay?"

Christina pulled back from the hug, tears still streaking down her face. My heart ached for this young girl who carried a burden too heavy for her age. "Christina, I want you to have this." I untied my old sword from my waist. "My father gave me this when I was about your age and decided to become a swordswoman. It's been with me for nearly ten years and brought me security and peace. I hope it can do the same for you, and I hope you will use it well." I handed the sword to Christina, who received it with both hands with awe.

"Thank you, Kath. I will use it well." A fresh batch of tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "I will become a great swordswoman just like you."

Aaron was also giving his own gift to Charles. "I got this cloak when I left my school to go on my quest," he explained as he tied his old cloak around Charles. "It made me feel powerful and safe, especially on cold nights. I want you to have this, buddy. One day you'll grow into it, and you'll be the most dashing hero in Crystallea."

Charles flapped his arms, watching the long cloak flutter around him and trail several feet on the ground. "Thank you Aaron. I'll take good care of it. When I can finally fit it, I'll go to your school and find you. I'm going to be a good fighter, just like you." I've never seen Aaron so close to tears before. He hugged Charles again, murmuring, "You're a brave boy, Charles. Such a brave boy."

One last group hug, one last teary goodbye, and then Aaron and I were on the road again, loaded with food that Lily so kindly packed for us. Christina and Charles stood on the porch, waving and crying. Aaron and I looked back every few steps, neither of us wanting to leave.

Then we finally exited the village and let the horses gallop freely. Ravenstone was soon just a speck on the horizon, and the Northern Mountains loomed in the distance before us, its peaks already capped with white. We had a mission to finish, and a prophecy to fulfill. We made a promise, and we will uphold that promise.

As we passed through villages along the way, I noticed how the villagers stared at us. They always had a wary expression if we approached them. A few prodding questions, and we found out that large groups of people had recently passed by. Smaller groups consisted of around ten people; larger groups had twenty-five or more. The largest group to pass through, an old man in one village told me, was near a hundred.

"They rode stallions, battle stallions," the old man told me with wide eyes. "I saw people wearing armor and holding weapons. Several of them had swords, just like yours. We suspect…" he looked around and lowered his voice dramatically. "We suspect they might be Lord Victor's new recruits."

"New recruits?" I looked at Aaron in shock. "Were they all headed towards the Northern Mountains?"

The old man nodded. "One group of about twenty-five just passed by just a couple of days ago. If you're heading that way, you'd best be careful. Lord Victor's army is ruthless; it'd be tragic if you two kids died out there."

Aaron and I discussed the newfound information as we made our way towards the Northern Mountains. "So Lord Victor is congregating his army at his stronghold," I said, letting my horse proceed at a trot. "This means it'll be much harder for us."

"All the villages we passed through said they saw groups of soldiers," Aaron mused, his horse trotting alongside mine. "Lord Victor must have gathered quite a force."

I sighed, gripping the reins in my hands tightly. "I'm going to be honest with you, Aaron. I don't expect to come out the Northern Mountains alive. In fact, I doubt I'd ever make it out of the Northern Mountains, even if I was dead."

To my surprise, Aaron reached over and covered my hands with his, brushing over my whitening knuckles. "I know," he said softly. "Once upon a time, I thought I'd return to the Academy a hero. I thought I'd make my family proud and show my Mum up above what her son accomplished. But now…" Aaron gave a small bitter laugh. "I would give anything to be a normal student at the Academy again. I would trade in my powers for a normal life."

"But we have to do this. We made it this far, and lost all our friends. Martha and Matthew died because of us. We can't let them die in vain." I looked over at Aaron, gazing into his chocolate brown eyes. "We have to at least try. If we die in the process…at least we can join Indigo and Ashley and the rest of our friends in the afterlife, right? At least we'll die as heroes."

It was a somber journey, knowing that we were headed towards almost certain death. Yet we pushed on, our horses racing down the dirt road, two teenagers against the most powerful evil lord of all times. We had to try. So many people believed in us; countless people gave their lives in hopes that Lord Victor will be defeated some day. We can't let them die in vain. We can't let our friends die for nothing.