The Night of The Necros: The Rise of The Queen

Chapter One Part Two

Arabella sighed and rolled her shoulders. She reached for the door handle just as a knock sounded. Arabella jumped at the sudden sound. Her hand shook slightly as she reached for the door knob again. She gently turned it and looked up to see a guardsmen standing in front of her.

"Can I help you?" She asked eyeing him coolly.

"Lord Genova requested that I spar with you tonight in his stead. It seems that there was a last minute meeting that he needed to attend." He said nervously.

"Okay." Arabella said shrugging. "Lets go."

"Um... Before we go..." He began.

"Yes?" Arabella asked curiously.

"Well... It's just... Would you please go easy on me?" He asked bowing his head. Arabella's eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

"It's just that I am afraid that you-"

"Let me get this straight." She said holding up a hand and cutting him off. "You, a Vosat village guardsmen, are terrified of me, the one Vosat that cannot use magic?" She asked incredulously.

"That is correct." He said clearing his throat. He blushed crimson as she stared at him.

"Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?" She asked. "I am not some demon that you should fear." She shook her head at him in exasperation.

"We know this but..."

"But what?" She demanded impatiently.

"We have seen you sparing with Lord Genova and well, even he can't touch you. You have surpassed us, Lady-"

Arabella sighed and massaged her temples in frustration. She didn't understand what the problem was. If she had surpassed him in sword skill then he should just use magic. To her this was the next logical step. She sighed and looked at the down trodden guardsmen.

"Fine. I will make a deal with you." She said. The guard's head perked up. "During this match you will use magic. If I can still get past you then I will think of another way." She said. The guard looked doubtful. "If not then I will tell Lord Genova that you refused to spar with me." She said.

"Please, Lady Arabella." He began to plead with her.

"I will not go easy on you." She said glaring at him. The guard stepped back in fear. "Will going easy on you help me?" She asked. The guard stared at her in shock.

"No, Lady Arabella." He said.

"Will going easy on you help you?" She asked. He looked up in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"There will always be someone out there that is better than you at sword skill and magic. If I take it easy on you do you think that will help you get better?" She asked.

"No, Lady Arabella." He said with shame.

"Then man up and spar with me." She said with a good-natured smile. The guard still looked embarrassed that such a small girl was able to grasp something that everyone else was too blind to see.

"You know, Lady Arabella, you're not so terrifying." He said blushing.

"You thought I was terrifying?" She asked shocked.

"It's not a secret that most of us are too afraid to spar with you. We just never realized that we were running from something that would benefit us. We had never seen someone fight without magic before and win. It was like watching a dragon come to life." He said with a chuckle. "Honestly, I feel stupid for feeling that way." He drug his hand through his hand nervously.

"Like a dragon?" She asked c*****g her head to the side. She stared at him with curiosity.

"It was terrifying and beautiful to watch." He said.

"How? It's just sword skill." She said shrugging.

"Just sword skill?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said shrugging.

"Hold on." He said when he spotted another guardsmen.

He ran over to him and began talking to him animatedly. The guardsmen looked towards Arabella nervously. He nodded his head and followed him back to where she stood.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Mark does reconnaissance. He has the ability to replay what he sees and broadcast it for others to see. I asked if he would record us sparing so that way you can see what we see." He said with a nervous smile.

"That's great! I could have used this ages ago to correct my form. How come I didn't know about this sooner?" She asked excitedly. Mark stared at her in surprise.

"You won't mind?" He asked nervously.

"Of course not! Thank you!" She said bowing her head. "By the way, I apologize for my rudeness earlier." She said turning towards the guardsmen.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I did not ask your name earlier and I talked to you so formally." She said. "May I please know your name?"

"My name is Shaun and there is no apology necessary." He said. "I should have introduced myself earlier.

Mark stepped back in surprise. He had not expected such a reaction from her. She was nothing like he had thought she would be. He had never seen her fight before but he had heard the rumors and it had inspired a nervous fear in his heart.

"I told you." Shaun whispered. Mark looked at him in shock.

"I can't believe it." He whispered as Arabella walked ahead of them to the sparing arena. As they followed her to the arena a few guardsmen looked at them sympathetically. They felt sorry for them. They had somehow been forced to spar with her and they were going to be seriously hurt. They could read the looks on their faces but they paid them no mind. A few of the guards followed so they could see the sparing match. When they arrived Arabella looked around in surprise at the crowd that had followed them in. Most of her practices were private. She wasn't used to having an audience.

"Alright. Let me know when you can no longer go on. Remember I want to see more sword skill than magic. It will benefit you but please use your magic as well." She said as the two turned to face each other.

"Shaun, I will pray for your soul after we bury you." One guard said laughing. Arabella glared at him.

"Pay him no mind." Arabella said. "Mark, are you ready?" She asked. Mark gave the signal and the two turned to bow to each other. They both drew their swords. Shaun's hands shook as he faced her. "Take a deep breath and calm yourself." She said. "As soon as you are ready attack." She said waiting for him to make the first move. Shaun nodded his head. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Everyone held their breath as they waited with excitement. Shaun tightened his grip on his sword and charged forward. Arabella met his attack head on. Her swords rose up to block his. Arabella kicked him in the stomach as she blocked his attack. Shaun staggered back gasping for air. He looked at her with surprise. He had not expected such power in a physical attack. The excitement in her eyes seemed to light a fire in him and he gathered himself and prepared to attack again.

Once again he charged at her. Her swords rose up to block his again this time when she went to kick him back blocked her attack. Arabella grinned up at him and countered with a round house kick. Shaun backed away barely missing her kick. Everyone watched with surprise as Shaun and her battled. Her movements were both graceful and powerful. It was obvious that she had spent many years training. She was more skilled with a sword than most Vosat guards.

Shaun could feel himself being pushed back as her attacks became more and more fierce. His arms were beginning to hurt. She was indeed a formidable opponent. How such a small person had come to acquire such an advanced skill was beyond him but he knew that he never wanted to be on the receiving end of such a dangerous opponent.

"I believe that I said that you could use your magic." Arabella said.

"But-"

"Do it!" She shouted.

Shaun took a deep breath and stuck out his left hand. He could feel the energy pulsing in the palm of his hand. It flowed out as fire leaped up in front of her. Arabella jumped back to avoid the flames as they came up in front of her. She looked around to weigh her options. She didn't have many as the flames had circled around her. A crazy thought popped into her head as she looked around. She didn't know if she could jump over the fire but figured that the sand on the ground should be enough to create a cover for her.

"What do you think she will do?" One of the guardsmen asked excitedly.

"I don't know. If you ask me she should just surrender. I don't think that she can-" He was cut off mid-sentence when someone shouted.

"She going to run through it?" They asked someone next to them.

"How would I know?" The other guardsmen said excitedly.

Everyone watched with shock as Arabella ran towards the fire and slid legs first into it. A few of them gasped in horror expecting a horrible outcome. As she slid on the ground the sand flew up blocking the fire. When she emerged she was unharmed. Everyone cheered. She had shocked them all by sliding into the fire and even more when she emerged without so much as a scratch.

Arabella's face was covered in soot and dirt but she was elated to finally have a guard spar with her. Even Shaun was so shocked that he actually ran over to her to see if she was okay.

"Lady Arabella, are you okay?" He asked.

"Fine." She said. "Now draw your sword." She said pointing one of her katanas at him. He nodded his head and drew his sword with trembling hands. He knew his first assessment of her had been correct. This young woman was absolutely terrifying.

The two clashed again as everyone watched. Everyone cheered excitedly as the sparing match came to a close. Arabella and Shaun were both covered in sweat and dirt as they bowed to each other. In the end Shaun couldn't go on any longer but the guardsmen had been impressed while they watched the match. Arabella's chest heaved with each breath she took, but her face glowed under all the dirt and soot. Once she had caught her breath she turned to everyone.

"Thank you for coming to watch us spar. I know that a lot of you have been afraid of sparing with me. I apologize for making you feel that there was no hope in sparing against me. I hope that after seeing this you will believe in yourselves more." She said. "I know that a lot of you think that I probably forced Shaun to spar with me but I didn't. It was requested of him by Lord Genova. However, he asked me to go easy on him when it was time to spar. I want all of you to know that I didn't go easy on him. Instead, I told him that by asking me to go easy on him he wasn't challenging himself and sparing would have no benefit for either of us." She said. Everyone looked at her in embarrassment. "I know that all of you have been too afraid to spar with me but I hope in the future that will change as we work together to push ourselves. I know that it is a lot for this simple and powerless Vosat to ask but I hope that after today you would consider it." She said bowing to them. Everyone flooded into the arena and began to swarm around Shaun and Arabella.

"That was so cool." One of the guardsmen complimented. "I don't see how you could see yourself as a powerless Vosat." She said with bright eyes.

"What do you mean?" Arabella asked.

"I mean, that just because you don't have magic doesn't mean that you are powerless." She said. "If anything you just proved that anyone can be powerful." Her eyes glowed with admiration.

Lord Genova stood in the shadows and watched as everyone willingly approached her. He had not been disappointed. A wide grin lit up his face. He turned to the two people with him. The Grand Elder and the man next to her watched with faces filled with emotion.

"She's ready." She said. The man next to her nodded. "Soon you, the Elite Guards, will be able to reunite with her." She said as tears filled her eyes.

"My queen... my love." He whispered. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword. "Why had she been allowed to take up arms?" He asked. His throat tightened as he stared at her.

"After that night..." The Grand Elder began.

"I see..." He said. "Then I can understand. How is the-"

"It's still there. It's just not as visible anymore." Genova said. The man sighed.

"That scar will haunt me forever." He said as he fingered the scar on his forehead. It had mostly faded and was a small cut compared to the wound that she had received.

"I know." Genova said sadly. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened that night?" He asked.

"Hasn't she told you?" He asked astonished.

"No." Genova said shaking his head. "She won't talk about it. She doesn't remember much, nonetheless what she remembers still haunts her." He said. The man nodded.

"Makes sense." He said. The Grand Elder nodded her head in agreement. "Thank you for looking after her, Grand Elder." He said.

"You're welcome, Young Master. Will you be going?" She asked turning towards him. He nodded his head.

"There was a guy recording that match, right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Genova said. "His name is Mark."

"Request a copy of that for me, please." He said turning away from them. "Grand Elder, I will await the call." He said. She nodded her head.

He left the sparing arena without drawing attention to himself. His heart throbbed at the pain of having to leave without speaking to her but he knew that the time would soon come where he could be with her again. That was all that he dared to hope for in this life. That and nothing more.

"Was it right to let him see that?" Genova asked turning towards the Grand Elder.

"It was the only way to reassure him that she was fine and ready to undertake the task at hand." She said.

"He protested her leaving?" Genova asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Not her leaving. He wanted to be sure that she was ready." The Grand Elder said.

"I think seeing her might have hurt him more." He said cautiously.

"He's been coming to see her secretly for years. He has only been able to watch her from the shadows." She said knowingly.

"Really? I didn't know that." He said.

"Of course not. Your head is filled with nothing but your duty to her." She said turning away from him. "I going to rest. I will see you off in the morning."

The Grand Elder left the arena and returned to her Estate. She knew that Arabella was ready but she hoped that the young girl would be okay on her journey. After watching over her all these years Arabella had become like the daughter she never had.

"She will be okay, Grand Elder." Her assistant said coming to help her back to her room. The old woman nodded her head.

"I know. I just worry." She said.

"Sometimes, you treat her like your daughter." The assistant observed.

"Someone had to." She said. The assistant nodded her head.

"I would like to spar with you." One of the guardsmen said approaching Arabella. "Would you spar with me tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry. I can't. I am leaving the village at first light tomorrow morning. The Grand Elder has assigned me a mission." She said.

"What?" They asked. "We should have spared with you sooner." They said sadly.

"We can spar when I get back." Arabella said.

"Really?" They asked hopefully. Arabella nodded. "Alright! I get to be your first partner when you get back!" He said excitedly.

"When she gets back?" One of the guardsmen asked. Everyone turned towards her.

"What's happening?" Another asked.

"Lady Arabella, are you leaving?" A guardsmen asked. Arabella nodded.

"I promise that I will come back as soon as my mission is over and we can spar then." She said.

Everyone looked at her sadly. They had spent so long being afraid of her that they hadn't realized that she was a really nice person. Now that they were learning this they were disappointed to hear that she was leaving.

As Arabella was about to leave the sparing arena she turned towards everyone one last time. She looked at them nervously. She still felt bad that her request had caused everyone such hardship. She wasn't sure when she would be back and she felt the urge to apologize. Everyone stared at her curiously as they wondered why she was looking at them like that.

"Before I go, I want to apologize. I made a request of the Grand Elder and it has made your job a lot harder." She said bowing her head to them. "I asked the Grand Elder to let the refugees in when they came here. It is my fault that I made things tense. I am very sorry for not considering everyone's position."

"Seeing as how they needed a safe place, I am glad that you sympathized with them." Mark said. "I have talked to a lot of them and they are very nice people who have been wronged by the Council. If not for your kindness, they would have died." He said bowing to her. "If you have a request we will do our best to honor it, even while you are gone." Everyone nodded their heads and bowed as well. Arabella's eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you." She said. "Please allow me to make one request then."

"Anything, Lady Arabella." Shaun said.

"Please continue to look after them in my place." She said bowing to them.

"We will gladly look after them for you." A young woman said smiling.

Arabella nodded and left the sparing arena. Everyone waited until she left then began talking all at once. They wanted copies of the video that had been taken. Mark was suddenly bombarded with requests. Those that wanted a copy of the video lined up to place a request.

That night the whole Vosat guard was buzzing over the sparing match between Shaun and Arabella. No one had seen a sparing match like that before and Mark had caught the whole thing from start to finish.

The following morning Arabella met Genova at the entrance to the Grand Elder's estate. The sun had yet to fully rise and the night's hazy spell was being broken as the sun began to paint a picture of purple, pink, and orange. The Grand Elder was waiting with Genova. The old woman smiled warmly at her.

"I am going to miss you." She said wrapping her in a warm hug. Arabella smiled and hugged her back.

"I will miss you too. I will make sure that I have Genova report back as often as possible." She said with a smile. The old woman nodded.

"Be safe out there." She said to the two of them. Arabella and Genova bowed to her. "Both of you knock that off already." She said. Arabella smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Never." She said cheekily as she waved to the old woman. The Grand Elder laughed and waved at them as they left.

"Are you excited?" Genova asked as they made their way to the village entrance.

"Aren't you?" She asked looking over at him.

"Of course. I am. I have been dying to see something other than a Vosat village." He said with a wink. "What about you? I know that you have been pouring over old maps and books about the world before." He said.

"Are you kidding! I almost couldn't sleep last night." She said excitedly. "I have- What's going on up there?" She asked.

When they got closer to the entrance the Vosat guardsmen were lined up along both sides of the road. Genova shrugged. He had no idea what was going on. He was just as surprised to see the guardsmen at the gate.

"Lady Arabella and Lord Genova, we all came to see you off on your adventure!" Mark said when they saw them. Arabella laughed heartily at the display. Everyone said goodbye and wished them good luck as they passed.

"Thank you, everyone." Arabella said. Her heart was truly touched as she looked upon them. "We will try to be back as soon as possible." She said waving as they left the village. Arabella and Genova looked at each other and laughed. They had not expected such a send off.

"You're quite popular." She said nudging him with her elbow.

"I think that was mainly for you. After yesterday you earned not only their respect but their friendship." He said.

"What?" She asked looking at him. "You saw the whole thing?" She accused.

"Guilty. So did the Grand Elder. We almost had a heart attack when you were surrounded by that fire. I almost stepped in but the Grand Elder was imperative that I stay out of it." He said.

"Yeah. I would have been angry if you had interfered." She said. "Still I can't believe that you bailed on me like that! Everyone practically accused me of forcing Shaun to spar with me." She said.

"I believed that they would understand you after watching the two of you spar." He said. "But what really did it was your encouraging them to push past their limits like that, and bowing your head to them like you did earned you their respect and admiration." He said smiling down at her.

"You did that for me?" She asked. He nodded his head. "Thank you, Genova!" She said throwing her arms around him for a hug. He laughed as she put all of her strength into the hug.

What Arabella didn't know is that he had always felt bad that she had been an outcast because of her situation. He wanted to ease her suffering at least a little if he could. He had always tried to make a situation where she could gain friends but most people didn't want anything to do with her since she was a Vosat without power. When she took up the sword he had tried to get people to spar with her but unless it was one of the older guardsmen no one wanted to spar with her. At first they were afraid of hurting her then one of the guardsmen tried to teach her lesson about knowing her place. It had taken all he had not to interfere like the Grand Elder ordered. It was as if the old woman had known that she would win. A little girl of thirteen took out a guardsmen that had been in the Vosat guard for five years. When that happened no one wanted to go near her because they were afraid of her so Genova began to spar with her. Over the years he had seen her grow stronger. She constantly challenged him and he constantly pushed her forward. It had been his job to protect her but he had always seen to her mental and emotional care as well. Yesterday had been his final push at getting people to accept her and it had worked better than he could hope for. He had figured that most of the guardsmen would still be afraid of her. However, almost all that fear had been replaced by respect and admiration. He knew that without a single doubt Arabella would be the kind of queen that would inspire people wherever she went. To him that was a queen worth serving.

After they left the final gate to the Hiroki Village they were greeted with a sparse landscape. They looked around and wondered how the refugees had made it so far in such an unforgiving environment. They shook their heads in wonder at their persistence.

Arabella pulled out her map and looked around. Nothing seemed to match the current landscape. But she noticed something far off in the distance that caught her attention. She looked back down at her map and smiled. She knew that finding their way to the Great Tsaligu would be difficult. As she tucked her map away she vowed that she would see the mission through.

"Which way, Arabella?" Genova asked. Arabella looked up at the sky and smiled.

"West." She said taking a breath to steady her pounding heart.