A Warriors Heart: The Lady Of Death

Chapter 11

After riding for several hours cleo finally arrived at the Hamrah shrine, she dismounted and sent the horse away, knowing she would not be leaving here.

she looked out over the valleys below and saw the city of Stargazer in the distance bathed in the orange-red glow of the setting sun, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves and entered the shrine.

The Masters were all seated inside the shrine and Master Soji motioned for cleo to approach, she knelt down in front of them and placed her weapons on the floor next to her knees before raising her head.

"Masters of The Sacred Dragon I have come before you this day to offer the payment due for the much needed aid you provided, my life is yours"

cleo bowed and waited for a response, it was Master Toshi who addressed her.

"Payment is not required"

cleo looked up in shock at his words

"Your life is not ours to take, but of course you already knew this that is why you sought our help is it not?"

"Judging by the blank expression and her silence I do not think she knows anything Toshi"

Master Soji's voice was soft but there was a hint of amusement in it.

"Tell me Miss Cleo, did the elder not inform you of your origin?"

"Master Toshi, forgive me but I do not understand, I originate in Meadowdell, born to Charlie and Oriana, raised as a warrior and trained in the ways of the samurai and ninja"

As cleo told this to the masters she could clearly see a look of sadness and slight disappointment cross their faces, she was so confused that she just sat there in silence not knowing what to say or do, until Master Saizo broke the silence.

"My dear girl I have a tale to tell you so please sit and listen and do not interrupt at all"

cleo adjusted her position and listened intently to Master Saizo as he revealed to her the truth.

According to master Saizo an old woman had visited Meadowdell one winter demanding to speak with the elder, the woman spoke of a prophecy.

A young girl would come to the town and be raised as the ultimate warrior.

This girl was to be protected at all costs as her destiny was to rid the land of a man most evil and bring about the victory of a unique army who would protect and cherish the land.

The last words from the old woman were "THE WOLVES MUST HOWL".

Master Saizo then told cleo how she was brought to the town when she was just five years old by her true father to be sold and that Charlie, Pup and Jax had heard crying and screaming and had come to the rescue.

Charlie had offered her father double the amount of gold he was asking and had bought her inadvertently saving her life and setting the prophecy in motion.

That is how cleo became the daughter of Charlie, sister of Pup, eventual lover of Jax, saviour of Stargazer city and the Wolves who protect it.

Suddenly every memory came flooding back, the horrible Mr Stimes, her real father, the kind old lady , everything causing a blinding pain in her head.

cleo had been sat in silence thinking over everything she had been told for a few hours when the Masters who had stepped outside returned to the shrine.

"So now do you understand?"

Master Kila's voice broke through cleos thoughts dragging her back to reality.

"No matter what, you must always survive, you and you alone can protect the future of this land, its people and the wolves that guard it. This is why your life is not ours"

cleo just nodded before gathering up her weapons and turning to leave the shrine.

Outside Lord James' horse was still waiting for her, she mounted the beast and prepared to head home, cleo turned to face the Masters.

"Thank you, I will not let you down" with those words she left and started her journey down the mountain.

As she approached the battlefield she was reminded of the previous day's events, but to look around you would never believe a battle had been fought here less than twenty four hours ago.

It was serene and all evidence of a fight had been swept away, the wolves must have cleaned the area before heading back to the city.

Cleo found herself wondering if they had already started to mourn her, she brushed those thoughts aside when she noticed she was already on the road leading to the base.

she could hear a soldier calling for Jax and as she looked towards the courtyard she saw Jax, a warm loving smile on his lips, she jumped of the horse and ran to him, he threw his arms around her and lifted her into the air.

He carried her through the corridor to the main hall where everyone was eating breakfast.

As they entered cleo heard a crash from a cup breaking, she looked toward the sound to see her father with tears on his cheeks.

Mae came rushing over to them panicking.

"Oh my, we must get her to the clinic immediately"

Confused by this cleo looked down at her body to see she had indeed been badly wounded and had several sword cuts, she laughed.

"Ah, I hadn't even noticed I was injured"

they went to the clinic and Mae patched cleo up while she told Charlie, Pup and Jax that the masters had told her about her origins and destiny.

They were shocked at first but soon relaxed and set about organizing yet another celebration.

That night after the party was over and almost everyone had passed out drunk cleo went out onto the veranda for some air.

she was staring up at the moon when she felt Jax wrap his arms around her from behind.

He gently kissed her neck before turning her to face him; he cupped cleos cheek with his hand, brushing her lips gently with his thumb.

He placed a gentle but passionate kiss on her lips as he lifted her up and carried her to their room.

"I'm never letting you go, for all eternity I will stay by your side"

He spoke softly as he laid cleo down on the bed; she gazed into his eyes, reached for his hand and their fingers intertwined.

Cleo kissed him then unsure if he could feel the longing in that kiss but he returned it with a fiery passion, and so began the first passionate night of the rest of their lives together.

Peace had returned to the base and their lives were now filled with relaxation, however the need to train continued as they never knew what lay around the corner.

None of them had expected what they were to face next however.

Policing the city had been relatively simple due to the combined efforts of the wolves and the palace guard, crime had gone down significantly and most of their duties were now helping people with odd jobs and day to day activities.

However the peace they were experiencing was about to be shattered, and cleos life again would be altered forever.