It has been ten years since Trissa carried Lark through Valiant's portals into the Paladin woods. The war ended in Valiant with a powerful spell cast by a Wizzard named Dendarven and his three apprentices, splitting Valiant into nine different worlds. Creatures born of wandering spirits of the dead during the war divided everything in Valiant, with a gatekeeper guarding every exit and entry to each world. Nobody understood why Dendarven cast a spell to shut everyone in, isolating each world to fend for themselves. World number five and the world that was the center of Valiant was called the Prison Kingdom, ruled by an evil Wizzard named Azlok. The rumor that has been going around for the last two years was that the Valiant Kingdom had lost the battle against the Demons, and with the 100TH passing away in the war, Danderven, who had moved into the center of the fight, broke his staff in two and pushed them down in the grass and everything changed with him disappearing. His apprentices escaped in three different directions.
Trissa was sitting and resting on the chair on the terrace when suddenly someone was giggling inside the cabin with her daughter running out with her little brother chasing after her. When she sees Trissa running after her, she suddenly bends to the right, shoots small light pink balls toward the floor, and flies over the rail, getting her brother yelling at her behind the rail:
"Not fair! You cheat!"
Trissa picked up her son, who was on his way to cry.
"Don't worry! You can tease her as much as you want when you get your power." She said, comforting him.
She was worried that the daughter had already shown signs of her powers when she was one year old, but the little brother, who was now four, had not shown any signs. Their father being half Demon and half human made her worried if the son only inherited the human parts in the family and maybe only is just a human. All this would mean they would have to leave the boy in the human world outside of Paladin if he did not get any powers soon, as he would not have a chance of survival in Paladin growing up here. Still, with the humans, he would have an opportunity to become a man without danger. For the first time, she had a fear of losing her family since the war when Lark almost died.
Trissa sensed Lark was close by, put her son down, and walked off the terrace, noticing that her daughter and husband were looking at a rock with a beautiful lady who looked like she was explaining something. She went to check what they were doing, and to her surprise, it was another witch talking to her husband, so she became a bit jealous and hurried beside and held his hand.
"Hi! How can the Van Polan Family help you?" Trissa said, nodding her head up and down with a forced smile.
The other Witch noticed the jealousy and pushed back her long blond hair, so her neck was completely naked to the eye, making Trissa furious.
"Are you here to die?" Trissa asked with a firm tone, catching Lark's attention as he tried to calm her down and not go berserk on their property again.
The blonde Witch reached out a letter to Lark and bowed towards them before she walked away.
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"Madeline and Zark, can you return to the cabin? Mommy and Dad will come soon." Lark said, and he saw both his children running back home.
"What is going on, Lark, and why is there a stone suddenly in our area?" Trissa asked him.
Lark looked down on the ground, worried about what the Witch had told him earlier.
"The organization here in Paladin put a stone in place for the ten most vital families in Paladin; it is a precaution towards enemies, and this stone will send the children away to safety if something happens to the family. You only need to put the children on the rock and read the short text in the letter, which will transfer them away to safety.
"What do you mean if something happens? We have lived in peace here in Paladin for ten years. We have a seven-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son; nothing has happened in ten years here. What can happen at all now? We need the children to grow up, and then we can rest." Trissa said, trying to assure herself that everything was safe in Paladin.
Lark took a breath before explaining:
"Samantha has entered the first world with exit to Earth. She has taken over together with several enemies and several territories, and she had set up her next target on Witches who escaped from the war. The top of her list is you, the strongest Witch ever."
Trissa fell on her knees and looked back at her children sitting on the terrace as she tried to wipe her tears. She calmed herself and went up, turning her face away from the children as she noticed Madeline, who had garnered good vision not to see her facial expression from a distance.
"If she is after me, I must leave all three of you and travel to Valiant to put them off our trail to keep all of you safe."
"If you do that, is Madeline ready to protect the family as she has inherited your powers?" Lark wondered.
"No, I thought it was possible to train her slowly until she became fifteen. I should have been more strict with her instead of letting her play around with Zark."
"How long time is needed to make her ready for battle?" Lark asked.
"It would take two or maybe even three years, depending on her devotion and focus."
"You stay here and care for them, and I will leave for Valiant. I will spread rumors in the Pirate Kingdoms that you are there and try to keep moving all the time to create a distraction long enough for them to realize you are not there."
"But, how will you keep them in bay over there?" Trissa wondered.
"Who said I was not allowed to kill a couple of some of her collaborators? I am still in great shape compared to you to go into an intensive fight."
Both were smiling at each other because of Lark's joke, as he had mastered the skill of awful jokes.
Lark prepared his shield and sword and hid them in a backpack so his children wouldn't get to see him wielding any weapons. He went outside of the cabin where Trissa was waiting with the kids. He kissed Zark and Madeline on the forehead and hugged them hard as if it was the last time he would see them again.
"Take care of your brother, Madeline!" Lark said, grabbing Trissa's arm as they walked away a couple of meters from the children.
Lark smothered Trissas cheek, reminding himself that this was the last time he would see his wife.
"Do not forget to teach the spell in the letter to Madeline," Lark said, and they kissed each other.
Trissa had tears in her eyes, realizing the dangerous path that her husband was going on. Trissa had no clue about the secrets her husband was hiding. Lark knew he would not survive the battles against the top lieutenants that had appeared in the Valiant Kingdom. He knew it was going to end with him losing his life. Lark did not care; as long as he spread the rumors and tried to keep them hidden, Trissa should have enough time to train the children to protect themselves. They should be more powerful than their parents because they are of mixed blood; it should be fine, Lark thought and walked away for the last time from his family, his life, hoping that his wife would succeed in teaching their children how to survive in this cruel world.