"Dad," said Saphrin as she walked deeper into the forest with Jero, "Please remind me again why we're out here?"
The man looked back at her while he was walking and gave her a little smile, "To train of course." he faced forward again as he kept walking. They had spent the past half an hour traveling through the thick forest. The sky contained various shades of orange, yellow, and blue as the sun began to rise from the horizon. As they kept walking, the lass let out a deep sigh as she rolled her eyes, "Dad," she whined, "Just because I'm out of school doesn't mean that I don't have other responsibilities."
Jero just shook his head, "Like what? Talking to your friends and hanging out with them at the local gymnasium?"
"Hey!" She sounded a bit offended, "There's more than that?"
"Oh really?" The man chuckled, "Sure you do." A few minutes later, Jero stopped walking and the two of them had arrived at a clearing in the middle of the forest. The medium sized area contained nothing but ankle high grass and a few large rocks. As the lass looked around the clearing, the place gave her a strong sense of deja vu.
"Do you remember this place, sweetie?" Asked Jero as he set his large, camel beige duffle bag down onto the ground.
"A little bit," said the lass as she faced her dad, "Have we been here before?"
The man nodded as he sat down on the flat surface of one of the large rocks.
"Yes, we have."
"Well then how come I don't remember much of it?" Asked the lass.
"That's because the last time I brought you here, you were barely two years old. Do you remember the story of how your father and I found you?"
Saphrin nodded, "Yes, I do. Father found me in some rumble of what used to be a small town."
He gave her a quick nod, "Correct!" He motioned his hand to the large rock that was adjacent to him, "Have a seat because I have a little tale to tell you."
The lass walked over to him and sat down on the flat surface of the rock.
"So why'd you bring me here all those years ago?" Asked Saphrin, "It wasn't to train, was it?" She chuckled.
The man shook his head, "No, no!" He chuckled, "I brought you here to have you baptized."
"Huh?" She scratched her head in confusion, "Baptized? Here? But I thought you and father held my christening in our local church."
"That's just something we told everyone so they wouldn't get suspicious. You were definitely baptized but the faith you belong to is strongly discouraged here."
"Strongly discouraged?" The lass paused for a moment as she thought about what her dad had just said. "Wait a minute! Dad, are we devil worshippers?!" She asked in a nearly panicked tone.
The man shook his head again, "No, no! We're not devil worshippers, sweetie. Please settle down." He motioned her to calm down.
"Oh sorry," she apologized sincerely, "So if we're not that, then what are we?"
"Pagans," said Jero, "Norse pagans, to be exact."
"But how? I mean, father takes me to church every Sunday and you two have a cross in your bedroom."
"When I said 'we', I meant just the two of us, excluding your father. He was born and raised Catholic while I wasn't. So when we first adopted you, one of the things we had to decide on was your faith and how to raise you in accordance with that. Radulo was never against anyone, even his child, being a different religion from him. However, we both grew up in a place where non Catholics, even Protestants, were ridiculed and harassed for their faith. Therefore, the two of us agreed to have you baptized as a Norse Pagan but raise you as Catholic so that nobody outside the family would suspect anything and start trouble."
"Outside the family?" Asked Saphrin, "Do grandpa and grandma know about this?"
The man shook his head, "No, sweetie, they don't. When I said 'nobody outside the family', I meant nobody aside from you, me, your father, Mairey, and Limia."
"Is aunt Limia Pagan as well?"
Jero nodded, "Yes, she is! After she was adopted by a warlock, she was baptized by the coven and became Pagan. Speaking of whom, she should be here any minute now."
A neon green vortex appeared out of thin air a few feet away from them. Saphrin stood up as she stared at it in shock and awe.
"That must be her." Said Jero, sounding very calm and unamused. A woman, wearing a mahogany red cloak, stepped out from the portal before it disappeared a second later.
"Sorry for being late!" The woman apologized sincerely, "I got a bit side tracked."
Jero stood up and walked over to her, "Don't worry, sister," he smiled, "You're not late at all."
"Jero!" She ran up to him and hugged her brother tightly, "It's been so long! How are you?"
"I've been alright," said the man as he hugged her back, "How have you been, dear?"
"Not too bad," said the woman as she pulled away from him, "Still looking for Lucas."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that." He frowned a bit, "I hope you find him soon."
"Thank you, Jero!"
"Aunt Limia?" Asked Saphrin as she slowly approached her.
The woman turned to face the lass, "Please, cariña," she smiled, "Call me aunt Tezria. Only your dad can call me Limia since that was the nickname he had for me back at the orphanage."
"Oh I'm sorry, aunt Tezria," she apologized sincerely, "Does that name have any bad connotations to it?"
The woman shook her head, "No, no! It's not bad at all, Moria. It's just a cute little nickname that only your dad calls me." She chuckled. She walked up to the lass and hugged her tightly, "You've gotten so big now! Last time I saw you, you were learning your ABCs."
"Has it been that long?" Asked the lass as she hugged her aunt back.
Jero nodded, "Apparently so. I mean, the last time I spoke to you, Limia, was when that cat of yours couldn't talk."
Tezria pulled away and looked at her brother, "Ayote could always talk, hermano!" She smirked, "He just didn't want to talk around you at the time."
"Now he just won't stop talking." Jero sighed.
Tezria laughed, "Oh, Jero!"
"So uh … Aunt Tezria?" Said Saphrin, "What's the occasion for your visit? Are you here to help my father train for the duel next week?"
The woman turned to face the lass, "Duel? What duel? With whom is Radulo going to be dueling with?"
"Oh, my dad never told you?"
The man walked over to them before he placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder, "Limia, my husband recently agreed to a sword fight with a young man who kept on bothering our daughter."
Tezria looked up at her brother, "Oh? How come I wasn't told about this?"
"Well I just didn't think it was super relevant. I mean, he's just a young lad, how much damage could he possibly do to someone as skillful and strong as my Radulo?" Said Jero.
"Duels are serious business," began the woman, sounding very stern, "These kinds of things can still be legally valid if the boy or one of his family members decides to have an attorney present during the event. You out of all people should know that, Mr. 'I studied the blade while you were painting rocks'."
"I know, I know!" Said the man, sighing, "I'm just saying that Radulo can take care of it himself. There wasn't any need for me to tell you about this."
"So you'll only tell me these things if you need my help, huh?" She placed her hands on her hips as she spoke.
"What?!" He shook his head, "No, no! That's not what I meant."
"Don't worry, hermano," she smiled, "I'm kidding!" She began to laugh.
Jero rolled his eyes at her, "Of course!" He turned to look at his daughter, "Moria, sweetie, can you please fetch me my bag?" He pointed to his duffle bag which was a few yards away from them.
She gave him a quick nod, "Sure, dad!" She turned around and walked over to one of the rocks they were sitting on prior to Tezria's arrival.
Jero looked at the woman and took a step closer before placing his hand on the side of her arm.
I am actually worried about something. Said Jero, telepathically communicating with his sister.
Oh? Well what is it, hermano?
I had this terrible dream the other night. In my dream, I was baking before our house caught on fire and then I saw Radulo's family crest burning. Finally, the entire house exploded.
Tezria's eyes widened in shock, That's so unnerving!
How would you interpret this dream, sister? Asked Jero.
Well I have two theories. The first one is that your baking skills are so bad that even your subconscious mind is aware of it.
Hey! Jero responded in anger. This isn't funny! This is serious!
Tezria smirked, Sorry, I just couldn't resist.
So what's your second theory?
My second theory, she began carefully, Is that a serious, unknown threat is lurking just around the corner and your family is definitely in jeopardy.
Jero looked down and sighed, Just as I thought, Radulo's agreement to a duel with that Lemar kid is going to end badly, he looked up at his sister, What should I do now? He asked in a desperate, somber tone.
In a situation like this, there is only one thing you can do. Said Tezria, in a stern tone, Now listen very carefully because I have a plan.