Tina stepped out of the steam filled bathroom with a sigh. She felt a lot better, like she was human again. She held her dirty clothes piled in an arm as she strolled to her room. Her mom was right. The hot shower did help her feel better, despite the negative feelings didn’t fully go away. It still felt she was drowning in ocean of emotional pain.

She glanced around her room as she entered it and tossed her dirty clothes into the half-full laundry basket behind the door. She saw the mountain of books under her window. She was slightly surprised none of the books managed to hit the window just right and busted it. Some of her books were textbooks from her college which she decided that she wasn’t going back to, just yet, if ever. That was his dream after all. To have a successful woman as his wife. At the time, it sounded alright. She didn’t have a plan after high school anyway. She just knew she wanted to be with him and if going to college would make him happy, she was what she was going to do.

However, he managed to graduate college before she did because she ended up a year behind him and failed a couple classes that were needed for the degree. He had waited another two semesters as she found a job and an apartment near the college campus during the summer while she attend Summer semester. She had offered him a room at her new place, but he refused, claiming he didn’t want to distract her from studying or working. She had managed to get caught up over the summer and got back on track for the fall semester. Things started to go right again until the spring semester when he decided to the end the relationship.

Tina knew she would have to explain a few things when she decided to re-enter society, but right now, she just didn’t give a damn about it. Her stomach rumbled slightly. She frowned. What was the last time she actually had real food, not the ice cream she had been trying to drown herself in? She didn’t remember to the truth. She sighed. She knew what she was going to do next. She was hunt down some real food and maybe, just maybe she would put her books away, back on the bookcase. She didn’t know after that.

She turned and slowly entered the hallway. She stared down the stairs. She didn’t want to interact her grandmother. She just did not feel like getting into a debate with the older woman about what happen. Tina steeled her nerve. She needed real food. She grabbed the railing and stepped from the second floor landing, ready for face her grandmother rather she wanted to or not. She took a deep breath and headed down the stairs.

Tina peered into the kitchen once she reached the bottom landing and saw her grandmother sitting at the table with a pile of papers, muttering to herself, just loud enough where Tina could make it, “Maybe it is time. It will be her choice. He has already waited for 4 extra years. She needs to be trained in the old ways, since we have been an influence family since his time.”

Her grandmother had rich black hair, now streaked with gray. She had her hair up in a high ponytail, flowing down her back. Tina’s grandma looked up at Tina when a floorboard creaked and she stopped muttering to herself. She grinned at Tina and said, “Feel better?”

Tina half wondered what her grandma was going on about and half worried that the old lady finally gone around the bin, but she commented, “Yes, grandma, I do feel better.” Her eyes drifted from the form of her grandma to the hardwood floor. “Is there any leftovers?” she stood in the doorway.

“Yes, there is, sweetheart,” her grandma said, stood up and walked over to the fridge, “I think we still have some of that ‘getti from the other night.” She opened the fridge and peered inside, “We also have meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn.” She hummed as she bent over, looking deeper into the fridge.

Tina blinked and slowly moved toward the table. She grabbed the back of a chair and pulled it out before she sat down in it. She glanced at the nearest pile of papers and her eyes ran over what appeared to be a letter. She glanced up at her grandma who still had her back to Tina. “Mashed potatoes sounds fine, grandma,” she replied. She hoped she could stomach the food, “My stomach is still upset.”

“Your emotions are effecting you physically, dear,” her grandma explained, “I was the same way when I left your grandfather, and your mother was that way too when she left your father.”

Tina’s eyes widened. Her head snapped up. Her lips parted. She knew something had happen between her parents. She barely remembered, but she knew there was an argument - a major one - and as a result, her mother had left, taking Tina with her. She frowned. Her eyes lowed to the table top. She had thought she had brothers, but she couldn’t see their faces.

Tina focused back to the topic. She could ask what had happened between her parents. There was a possible her grandma, would explained what happen. However, she asked herself, did she really want to know what happen?

“Bardock! She’s your daughter!” her mother screamed, “she can’t do that! She is not even 5!”

Her mother’s voice drifted up from a long ago memory. Tina couldn’t shake the feeling the argument had to deal with her and something she had done. Tears welled up in her ears. She sniffed, trying to hold them back. She tilted her head, staring at the ceiling. The tears spread over her eyes, retreating. She dimly noticed the fan, twisting lazily need to be dusted.

She shifted in her chair, uneasily. She knew her grandma wanted her to ask what happen, but at the same time, she didn’t want to know. Her emotions were too raw for her handle. She was ready to cry one second then the next she was numb before a spark of the anger flared then died out as the cycle repeated. She couldn’t find a middle ground for her uncontrollable emotions. It had been nearly 30 days since the relationship had ended. She needed to pull herself together. She needed to piece her broken heart back into one piece and reshaped her shattered dreams. It will be a take. At the end of this, she will become stronger. She just needed to think of this like Aunt Nami’s training. She wanted to snort as a smile twitched at the corners of her lips. If her Aunt Nami saw her saw, the old hag would kick her ass and throw her to the nearest patrol to the Demon World, telling her not to come back until she felt better.

“It will take time to heal,” her grandma went on as she pulled a container of the mashed potatoes the small family had the other night, “Right now, it hurts like a bitch. It means you are alive, that you have survived the pain of a heart breaking, and a love ending.” Tina flickered her eyes toward her grandma, watching as she put the container in the microwave to heat up and the older woman turned to Tina. “In time, you will find someone else to love, but right now, it has to be about you - healing, coming to terms with what happen, and how you will move on.”

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Tina, sadly, blinked t her grandma. She looked at the table. Her grandma was right. She couldn’t spend any more time questioning what happen. It had happened. She had to accept it and move on. However, it did bring up the question. Was there something wrong with her? That was her first relationship. She had thought it would be her last one as well because it was supposed to a last a lifetime, not 6 years.

She didn’t want to think about it anymore. Her gaze flickered back to the pile of letters sitting on the table. She slowly reached up and grabbed the letter on top with a couple of her fingers before she pulled it to her. She peered down at it, a hint of curiosity coming through the rolling ocean of emotions.

My dearest Annja,

I wish I could be there for our precious Valentina. She should have not gone through that. I have informed our boys of what is ailing their sister. They are chomping at the bit to come over and show that boy how to treat their sister. It is amazing how how Genesis remembers her while Vincent and Victor barely remember her. I have no doubt once they meet Valentina and Natasha, they will be protective of them as they are of Natalie.

Things here in Camelot are different. The King has fallen ill and refuses to visit Merlin or Morgana about it. He keeps saying that their magic is nothing more then just fancy parlor tricks. However, Queen Kalliope believes otherwise and keep praises Morgana’s skills with the various potions she had been given from the she-mage.

I fear there is a change coming to Camelot, soon, my dear. There have been rumors of the Old Alliances of the Death Mage gathering again. I have been approach several times by agents of the Whirlpool Village, requesting your presences. I have been claiming that I have no idea where you are at, but I don’t know how much long I will be able to throw them off of your tail. The agents are getting highly creative about gaining a clue on your whereabouts. The boys have inform me that they even have been approached by the agents. I don’t know if there will be any agents from the other villages will approach us or not. I will try to keep them off of your trail, my love, but I don’t know how it will work.

I do fear that my mother may try something. She has been trying to create matches for all of her grandchildren. A few of them already got trapped in marriage contracts against their wills. I fear she will try one for Valentina, Victor, and Vincent, soon. Some of the women my mother has contacted for a marriage contract for Genesis has denied him. I never thought I would be thankful for his reputation as a short tempered General.

I miss you, my love, my heart, and I can’t wait until the day comes where I can hold you in my arms, again. Give the girls my love.

Love you always,

Your faithful Knight

Bardock

Seriously? Tina frowned. Whoever this Bardock fella was - he knew of her and Natasha, but he was also claiming to be from Camelot. She ranked her memory. Maybe there was a town or city named Camelot somewhere because the only place she knew of belong in myth and legend. She let out a sigh, remembering the tales of Courtly love, the stories of the Knights of the Round Table, and the fable of Merlin and Morgana’s magic.

When she was younger, she loved hearing the various stories about the Knights of the Round Table and how they would triumph over evil, save the princess, and return to Camelot, to serve the Legendary King himself, Arthur Pendragon. Now, she knew better, thanks for doing research for literature class and Europe History. Those were just stories written by a French author during the Middle Ages while he was stuck in prison. There was no historical evidence of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, or even the Castle itself of Camelot. If it did exist, it was lost to time and the evidence was hidden through the various events that happen during the beginning of the Dark Arts. Either way, she had mixed feelings about the legendary Kingdom.

Tina set the letter aside, back upon the pile of the others. The microwave beeped. She blinked, redirecting her gaze up at her grandma who turned away from her as she removed the container of mashed potatoes. Tina looked at the table as her grandma set the container with a spoon and the tub of better in front of her. Tina raised her voice loud enough to said, “Thank you, grandma.”

“Your welcome,” Grandma replied, “So,” the old lady took a seat across the table from Tina and stared at her, “What do you think about the letter?”

Tina’s eyes flickered up at her grandma, trying to figure out why she was asking. She shrugged as she reached for the salt and pepper before she said, “It seems to be an update sort of letter mixed with a slight love letter.” She grabbed the tub of better and picked up the spoon. “It seems weird this Bardock fella knows about Tasha and me.” She scooped out a spoonful of better and added it to the mashed potatoes. She went on, “The fact he is claiming that the town —”

“Kingdom,” her grandma interrupted with a strange tone. “Camelot is a kingdom.”

Tina wanted to shake her head. She knew her grandma believed that Camelot existed. Tina didn’t think the same. According to the various history classes on the subject, Camelot and King Arthur didn’t exists. If they did, there were some water down version of the Great Kingdom, led by a Great Warrior that managed to unit the English countryside under one banner against the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people from the mainland of Europe, and the Northmen, better known as Vikings.

“The only Camelot I know of has faded into myth and legend,” Tina replied in a strange tone, her eyes meeting her grandma’s. She felt anger that her grandma interrupted her when she was the one who asked her thoughts about the letters, but importantly, she felt like she was being attacked. Her gaze turned blurry and she blinked. A hot tear slipped down her left cheek and she moved away from her grandma’s. She fell silent as she started to eat the first solid meal in a couple weeks.

They didn’t talk as Tina ate. Her grandmother let out a sigh and grabbed the piles of letters. Tina stood up and gathered her dirty dishes before she sat them in the dishwasher. She grabbed the tub of better and snapped the lid back on. She returned it the fridge.

She didn’t looked over her shoulder as she left the kitchen and slowly climbed the stairs. She thought about what to do next. She knew she needed to put away her books. Also her clean clothes from the boxes and hang them up and put them away in the dresser. She questioned herself on how she felt about putting her items away. She reached the stop of the stairs and shuffled to her bedroom door. She stood there in the door way. Her gaze drifted to the widow as she slowly walked over it, peering out of it.

The sky behind the widow was a cloudless blue. The full trees blew in the wind. The patio below extended from the house to the edge of the tree line where Natasha’s bike, laying on its side. There was the patio furniture that her mom obviously dragged out of storage sometime during the last few days Tina knew they were not there when she returned home.

She didn’t know what caused her to look toward the back of the house where a target stood as a silent reminder of her hobby, but she did. The sunlight glittered off something in the trees, catching her eyes. She crept to the side of the widow, trying to peer at the object. She knew it was not an animal. The height of the metal object was too high for any animal. It sat up nearly two feet off the tree branch. She frowned. The object moved forward then faded into the shadow of the tree and disappeared.

What the hell was that? Tina wondered as she looked for the object. She gazed over the tree line and even thought about opening up the widow, trying to peer up onto the roof. She shook her head. She was being silly. There was no object in the trees. She stepped away from the window and turned to her bedroom door. She walked over to the door and shut it.

Tina sighed as she turned back to her bed. She yawned, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, there was something sitting on her bed. A scroll laid on top of her pillow, held close by a thin, small ribbon. She frowned as she walked over to the bed and grabbed the scroll. She held it in her right hand as she turned it over. It reminded her of a Japanese scroll, plain faded yellowish paper wrapped around a stick with two knobs at either end of the stick.

She blinked. She set the scroll on the night stand beside her bed. She allowed her knees to fold out from under her and she flopped onto her messy bed. She reached over for her plush blankets, throwing them over her form, and snuggled down into them before she grabbed one of her pillows and covered the upper half of her face, closing her eyes.