Gwen

It's nightfall, and Reagan has been asleep for 2 days now. And for two days, I've sat in this room watching over her.

We were lucky. She saved all our lives. That burst of magic killed every demon within reach of us. And we were fortunate to find this inn to lay her to rest.

The innkeepers have been very nice to us and say we can stay as long as we need and will provide horses upon us leaving. The gods must be smiling upon us.

Reagan jumps from her sleep, and I reach to calm her down. I grab her hand.

"Shh, it's ok, you're safe..you're safe."

She calms down, and I get her some water from the pitcher near the bed.

"Thank you."

I give her a light smile, and she gets herself into a sitting position on the bed.

"Are you in pain?"

"No, not really. Where are we?"

"An inn. After you saved us from those demons, we found this place. The owners were so kind to let us stay as long as we needed."

"Yea, I'm still a little confused on how I did that."

"We all are."

She looks at me in silence. Doesn't say a word.

"I'll go tell the others you're awake."

As I get up to go, she grabs my hand, and she says

"Wait, umm...thanks, it means a lot that you sat here and helped me."

She adds a light chuckle after. I couldn't help but feel myself blushing a little bit.

Before she could notice, I replied,

"Yea, of course." With a smile, I leave the room.

I close the door. Flustered with all types of emotions, I couldn't begin to explain.

I get myself under control and go downstairs to the sitting room, where everyone is gathered waiting.

"She's awake," I say

William and Simons's faces light up with joy. For two days, they were in a saddened state. Not knowing if they were going to talk or hug and do anything with their friend ever again.

They go upstairs to see her. Madeline stays while her mother goes to the kitchen to have the innkeeper prepare a meal for Reagan.

"Hey, you ok?"

Madeline gives me an annoyed chuckle and says,

"Am I ok?" Mockingly

"I know your upset with me, and I never meant for that to happen. How many times do I have to apologize for that?"

"Gwen, if this is you apologizing, you can keep it."

She gets up to leave, but I grab her, stopping her from leaving.

"Madeline, we're sisters. We suppose to be on each other's side no matter what. I'm sorry that I've made you so upset, but why do you continue to choose him over me?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE HIM, GWEN," She shouts at me.

"But it's not like you'd know anything about that, would you."

She gets loose from my grip and walks away from me in tears.

Love? What does she know about that? She's just 18.

Love will cloud your emotions. Won't let you think right. Warriors like myself and Madeline don't have time for love.

The only love we should have is the love for what we do.

Something about Waykeyme doesn't sit right with me. I need to keep an eye on him. Something tells me he's not all that straight.

I go up to the room where Reagan is to check on her. Simon and William still there.

"You were like some badass superhero man. I'm telling you the people will love you here."

"You really think so, Will?"

"Of course they will," I say as I walk into the room.

They all smile.

"I thought you all might be hungry. The innkeeper has something ready if you'd like."

"Yea, yea, I could definitely eat right now, and I have a few things I want to talk to everyone about."

I nod my head in agreement and then move my hand in a motion singling for them to walk. Simon and William leave first.

While Reagan goes to walk out of the room, I grab her and say,

"This thing you want to talk about is important or critical to our mission?"

"Very"

I let go of her, and we go to the kitchen. I walk to where my mother stands and whisper to her,

"Reagan has something critical to share. I advise that you have Waykeyme out of the room."

She chuckles at me.

"Mother, something is not right about this. Think about it. He gets attacked by demons and happens to be the only one who survived. Twice."

"Do you think he is a threat?"

"I don't know, but if you give me some time to figure it out.."

"Ok, if you really believe there's something he's not telling us, find it out but do it quietly. Am I Understood?"

"Crystal clear, mother."

The Innkeeper sets the food on the table in front of everyone. I go to sit down at the table. Waykeyme sits next to me, which is perfect. My plan to uncover his secrets starts now. 

"Waykeyme, I apologize for the way I acted towards you. It was unbecoming of me. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Of course, and I do apologize for overstepping."

I shake his hand as a sign of peace. My vision catches sight of Madeline, who isn't buying my act, but I don't care for that. Sooner or later, she will have to pick a side because this is no longer just about us but Reagan and the entire realm. 

For her sake and possibly all ours, I hope she chooses right over whatever love she thinks she possesses. 

"Diane, I was wondering if you can tell me about the religion you have here?"

"Of course, here we have many gods. Cili goddess of nature and healing, Precious God of Water and weather, Ekron God of Knowledge and wisdom, Blemish God of fire and brimstone, Kelza goddess of earth and Winds and lastly Arthur God of."

"War and weaponry."

"Yes, and he is the king of the gods. How did you know that?"

"Because I meet them."

The mother looks confused. So lost that for the first time in my life, I'd seen mother go into shock. 

"Innkeeper, could you give us a moment alone, please," I say.

"Yes, of course."

"Waykeyme, please join them." My mother adds

"Mother," Madeline shouts 

"Not another word out of you, Madeline. He must excuse us, and my say is final."

Madeline scoffs, shaking her head in disapproval. Waykeyme gets up from the table, his expression unreadable. 

"It's ok, I understand."

He leaves the room quietly. I just hoped that the tension between my mother and Madeline would have left along with him. 

"Now shall we continue."

"Well, all I remember is getting attacked and then light. Then I woke up in this room. It was impeccable. I looked through the window, and I saw a city made of gold, yet so many colors sprung through."

"You're saying you had a visit to Valhalla, the place between time and space itself home of the gods. Land of the eternal." 

"Yes, I guess so, but that's not what I wanted to talk about. The gods Ekron and Arthur told me something essential. They said that I was crafted, which is why I have this power they called it divinity, and then they said we need to find the Sword of Excalibur."

"Does any of this make sense to you, mother?" I say.

"No, but we can figure it out. Did they tell you how to find it?"

"Yes, they said to look for something called Excalibur's Tale."

"Excalibur's tale that's an old prophecy and now turned folks tale," I add.

"Nothing in there should be real." Madeline finally speaks

The mother stays silent for a while thinking, and then she says,

"Excalibur's tale speaks of a god kind who wields a mighty sword. And saves the kingdom from a mighty sorcerer who has it under control."

"Yes, but that's just a story god kind doesn't exist," Madeline says.

"Well, on a normal day, I would believe you, but Reagan here is proof that the god kind could exist."

Shit, this keeps getting better. 

A god kind, could you believe that?

"We leave for the outpost in the morning. Our mission has become more critical, and we've already wasted enough time."

We all partway getting ready for bed. The Innkeeper and his wife come in to clean up after us. I sat down near the fireplace. It was so peaceful. After everyone has gone and the room was empty, Madeline came to sit next to me.

"Gwen, I don't like what we've become this past couple of days."

"Really, then why do you continue to let it happen?"

"I know, and I'm sorry. I decided to cut my ties with Waykeyme. I haven't been thinking of the mission, and it was because of him."

I sigh.

"Love is a distraction but....for the right people, it can be a motivation. I have lots of love for you, Madeline, which is something that drives me to fight my best fight to protect you to protect us."

"I know. Could you forgive me and go back to how we were."

"Sisters?"

"Sisters."

I give her a warming hug, and we sit there watching the fire in silence.