Keeper Of Souls

Chapter 1.6: Bathing in the Moonlight

(AN: Wow, yes, I know it's been FOREVER since I updated. I don't even know lol But here it is, finally)

Being punched directly in the stomach shocked Katarina and she doubled over, surprised. Harper hit harder than anyone she had ever known. She didn’t think any woman would need to hit that hard. Kat assumed that Spellgove was a place for the survival of the fittest, not the competition for the prettiest. In her opinion, Harper could qualify in a competition for the prettiest, but of course Clast would win for she looks just like Kat.

“Ow! What was that for?” Kat whined, standing up.

“I’m teaching you how to fight, like you asked.” Harper rolled her eyes, her red hair whipping around her face with the wind.

“By making me incapable to bear children later?”

“I thought you didn’t want children, I thought Princesses loved perfect figures.” She lifted up one corner of her mouth into a smile. Kat glared. “If you must know, I was teaching you how slow and unaware you are. If you’re going to be a fighter, you need to stay on guard at all times.” Harper circled Kat, tapping her chin.

Kat fidgeted and brought a hand to her lips to nibble on her fingertips. It was a filthy habit that Margaret constantly scolded her for, but she couldn’t help it. When she was unsure and nervous, her body went on autopilot and chewed away.

“Are you nervous, really? I only punched you because I don’t like you. I’ve wanted to hit you all my life, actually,” Harper admitted.

Kat gaped. “Are you kidding me right now?”

“No, but let’s start with the basics. Hm… make a fist.” She rested her hands on her hips, waiting. Kat folded her hand into a fist and Harper shook her head with disappointment. “Not just any old fist you nincompoop, but a fist which to hurt others with.”

Raising an eyebrow, Katarina tried to mold her hand into a fighting fist. Harper sighed and then took Kat’s hand in her own, shaping it into something stronger. Kat gave her a questioning look.

“That is a fist that will do damage, okay? Remember this, for I won’t be around to fix your hand for you.” Harper bit her lip. “Now, hit me in my face with all the strength you can muster.” Kat watched as Harper threw her shoulders back, bracing herself.

Kat shook her head. “I can’t hit you, I can’t do it.”

“I just punched you in the stomach and told you I don’t like you. I think that’s enough for you to gain the strength to hit me. Now come on, I don’t have all day.”

Kat couldn’t find the desire to punch someone as strong and beautiful as Harper dead in the face. She had never hit a person in her life and she didn’t want to start with her. Hitting that girl from earlier was a fluke and she hoped she never had to do it again. She shook her head again.

Harper rolled her eyes to the sky. “You’re so pathetic, do you know that? All of the people in the village are going to beat you up, especially when word gets back that you didn’t even so much as hit Heloise once. Someone may even kill you, do you want that? Do you want to die, Katarina of Ichanon?”

Kat’s eyes filled with tears. “No.”

“Well then, for God’s sake, can you please fight for your life?”

“Hitting you when you’ve done nothing to me is not fighting for my life!” Kat snapped back.

Harper cocked her head to the side, a malicious glint shining in her eyes. “Okay then.” She slapped Kat across the face. “Is that enough now?”