Degree - The Warrior |Book 2|

Chapter 3

JULIUS SLOWLY WALKED out of the den. He was a bit confused to see the others standing outside, facing him. Roxane had a worried look on her face. He knew something was up.
“We heard everything,” Lavender said. Julius looked surprised. “What?” he asked. “Well,” Roxane started, “it’s a little hard not to eavesdrop when someone tells your brother that they must talk privately.” Julius blushed. That means his sister knew all about this. Lavender looked offended. “Are you really going to have to fight Violet?” she asked, a bit of worry in her tone.
Julius nodded slowly. Lavender ducked her head while Roxane ran up to Julius and squeezed him tight. “You said you weren’t going anywhere!” she yelled. “I’m sorry,” Julius started, “but I have to do this. I’m the only warrior who can stop her.” Roxane immediately yelled, “But I can fight, too! You have trained me yourself, and you even said that I was as good as you!” “No, Roxane, you’re not coming. Yes, you are a good fighter, but I can’t risk losing you again,” Julius protested. “But what if something happens to you? What if I lose you?” Roxane yelled back.
“No!” Julius snapped. He turned to Lavender. “How skilled is Violet?” “Pretty good. She treats herself to harsh things and is always training,” Lavender answered. She added, “Can you promise me something?” Julius looked at her, waiting for what it is. “Please don’t kill her,” Lavender said, “She’s the only one I have left.” Julius nodded. “I’ll try not to, but I’ll do what I have to do,” he said.
He turned to Roxane. “I’ll see you soon,” he said. Then he grabbed his knife, turned, and headed out into the snowy woods.

........

He began to run. Grabbing his key item, a feather that he had tied to a necklace, he transformed into a snowy owl and flew up above the tree tops. He saw the canyon and knew he was close. He glided down and let go of the feather, transforming back into his regular self. He rolled when he landed, the soft snow beneath him cushioning his fall. He continued to run across the frozen forest, the trees heavy with the white powder.
After a few minutes of running, he found footsteps still fresh in the snow. He knew he was close. He ran through a thicker section of the air, feeling as if it were mist as the snow was kicked up and swirled around behind him. Then he saw her.
Her dark bluish-blackish hair was tied together in a long, clean braid down her back. Her pale face revealed the bandage across her cheek, and her eyes showed no mercy. Lavender was right when she said that she wore no warm clothes and treated herself to harsh things. She turned around to see Julius run up to her, kicking up heavy amounts of snow as he skidded to a halt.
“Stop!” he ordered. She smiled. “What am I doing wrong?” she asked in a menacing-sounding voice, a hint of laughter hidden in it. Julius scowled. “You can’t take the Gemstone!” he yelled. She looked at him, a rude and careless expression on her face. “Why not?” she carelessly asked. “After all, I could be able to see my brother!” Julius, puzzled, still glared at her. They had a brother? “If you take it, you can never leave this world. You would be stuck in it!” Julius warned her. Violet laughed and unsheathed her katana. Julius felt weak as he had his small knife in hand. But he didn’t care now.
Violet was first to make a move. She lunged her sword at him, her feet quick and swift against the ground. Julius felt a rush of relief as he barely dodged her. He slashed his knife at her arm, barely scraping it. Violet showed no pain, although it felt like fire against the icy air. She sliced at his head with her katana, barely missing his eye and leaving a scrape from his ear to about an inch away from his eye. He retaliated in pain, leaving a chance for Violet to strike.
Luckily for Julius, he was able to dodge. Julius yelled as he jumped at her with his knife, stabbing her arm as she tried to dodge. She acted accordingly and cut his leg, blood spilling out onto her sword. Julius quickly limped back. Lavender was afraid that he would kill Violet. But was she afraid that Violet might kill him?
Julius let out a painful yell as Violet stabbed his other arm. He ran to her and lunged at her neck, but was only able to strike her chest. She let out a quick yelp as Julius sliced her sword away from her. He then pushed her against a tree as he cornered her. “You must stop,” he grunted. “You can’t do this; it will only harm yourself.” Violet said nothing, anger shining in her eyes.
“I don’t want to kill you,” Julius reassured her. He stepped back. “See? I never wanted to hurt you, but you…” his sentence was cut off as Violet dashed from the tree as quick as lightning, grabbed her katana, and stabbed his chest.
Julius let out a quick gasp. His chest stung, and it felt as if his legs couldn’t hold him up anymore. He fell to the ground. “You won’t die from that blow, I should know,” Violet said. She sheathed her bloody katana and began to walk away.
Julius’s heart pounded. He watched as blood began to spill out of the wound, staining the beautiful white snow to be the color of crimson red. His head felt dizzy. It hurt him to breath. He knew he wasn’t dying: he couldn’t be. The blow had only damaged a kidney. And he promised Roxane that he would see her soon… The last thing they did was argue.
Something stirred inside of Julius. He felt reenergized, but tired at the same time. The last thing he saw was Violet walking away towards the mountain.
Violet was walking away, but stopped short as she thought she heard something unusual. It sounded like the heavy steps of feet against snow. She didn’t even have time to turn around before a giant sword stabbed through her back and she fell to the ground.