Kendra

Fantasy mirrors desire.

Imagination reshapes it.

Peace. Something I had finally gotten after stopping the Demons from escaping Zzyzx. Now, along with my parents and younger brother Seth, we permanently moved in at Fablehaven.

Although, I missed my old friends and leading a normal life, I had to admit that I loved every second of being with the people I loved. Vanessa and Warren had finally started dating and things were going surprisingly well between the two, other than the occasional argument. Bracken visited whenever he got the chance and usually stayed for a couple of days. Seth had been hanging out at Newel and Doren's to watch T.V. He practically spent every chance he got over there, until he met Liam.

Grandpa Sorenson had decided that Seth and I needed to be properly trained on how to handle and use many different weapons. While Warren, Vanessa or Bracken would have been suitable, they were all off doing something for the Knights of the Dawn, so they had called in Liam.

He seemed to be around the age of 19 with reddish-brown hair. Standing at 6"3, Liam had made quite the impression. When I had first met him, it had been quite awkward for me because he was extremely handsome and when I shook his hand, I was reminded of the kiss I had given to Warren when he was a mute albino.

Everyone took to Liam quite well. He had a good sense of humor and was rapidly becoming a trusted friend, but there was something a bit off about him. When he was talking to people he would be upbeat and friendly, but there were times when he wasn't talking and had this depressed look in his eyes. At times like this, he seemed to be broken on the inside, as though he had experienced some sort of physical trauma that had scarred him for life.

There were times when I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he always noticed and quickly started a conversation with Seth or Grandpa as though he was determined to keep the topic off of him.

'Kendra! Time for practice!' yelled Seth, jolting me out of my thoughts. I had been sitting at the table in the kitchen, absentmindedly drumming my fingers on that table as I watched Grandma Larsen and Grandma Sorenson both scuttle around the kitchen, preparing dinner.

I stood up, suppressing a yawn and grabbed my coat before heading out to meet Liam and Seth for our training session.

Crossing the yard to where Seth and Liam stood I noticed the pile of Armour at their feet and the 2 twin blades that Liam was holding. Even from far away I noticed them because of the way they caught the sunlight and reflected it into my eyes.

As I approached them, I noticed that they both wore Bronze Armour over their clothes. Liam seemed like he didn't mind, but Seth looked like he was ready to pass out even though he'd been standing in one spot. I figured that it probably weighed a ton. Not wanting to keep them both waiting, I broke into a run.

'Hey! I'm ready to start.' I said as I skidded to a stop next to them both.

'Excellent, we'll just be doing a quick stretch and then I'll be teaching you a new tactic because your Grandma wants us back in time for dinner' said Liam. He picked up a breastplate and helped me do up the straps. Along with Seth, I was given a silver sword that had a leather hilt. Now I knew why Seth looked so worn out, these things probably weighed more than a brick of concrete!

'When facing a larger opponent you need stay light on your feet and move quickly.' he explained after we finished stretching. (which was not easy). 'You need to use their body mass against them. Anticipate where they will attack, block the strike and use their momentum to flip them over. Let's try it out. Come at me Seth.'

I watched as Seth swung his sword, aiming for Liam's abdomen, but he blocked the strike and pushed on Seth's sword, causing him to flip over and slam into the grass. 'You okay?' asked Liam.

Groaning, Seth got to his feet muttering 'I'm fine.'

'Alright, since Seth is smaller than me, it required more effort for me to flip him over since he's so light.' he explained. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall. After you flip them over, you go in for a quick strike and then step back because they might be able to swipe at you from the ground. Also, if you know that they're much more skilled with their weapon than you are, your best bet would be to taunt them because they'll most likely get frustrated and do something stupid. Then you take advantage of that.'

We spent the rest of the time practicing. Seth and I would try to flip each other over and Liam would give us tips and supervise so that we didn't get slammed down too hard. Time flew by and my head was pounding slightly after being slammed repeatedly onto the ground. It wasn't long before Grandma was calling us in for dinner. I undid the straps on my Armour and gave my sword back to Liam but told us to keep it.

'You'll be needing it pretty soon.'

After I changed my clothes and washed up, I headed downstairs to the kitchen where I found everybody already seated. For some reason the adults kept exchanging nervous glances as they "discreetly" watched Liam and Bracken, who were both staring at each other with irritated expressions evident on their faces.

I also noticed that Vanessa and Warren were there as well as my parents who were back from shopping. Making my way over to an empty chair, I sat down next to Bracken and tried to ignore the butterflies that erupted in my stomach when he gripped my hand tightly underneath the table.

It was quite awkward because no one was talking. I glanced at Bracken, hoping that he could tell me what was wrong, but he was too busy giving Liam a dirty look, completely oblivious to me. I looked over at Seth, but he seemed as confused as I was. The atmosphere around the table was tense and (thank god) finally ended when Grandma Sorenson placed a tray of food on the table with a loud Bang!

Grandma Larsen joined us at the table as Grandma Sorenson sat down. I removed my hand from Bracken's tight grip and began placing food onto my plate. It was quite an awkward dinner. Liam's words kept repeating themselves in my head. 'You'll be needing it pretty soon.' Did that mean that we had another problem? Surely the Knights of the Dawn would be able to handle it. The Society was not a threat anymore now that the Sphinx had changed sides. He was now an eternal and under Agad's constant watch. Could he have slipped away? Was he thinking of opening Zzyzx again?

All these thoughts ran through my head, making me impatient. Surely if something was wrong, Grandpa would know about it as the Leader of the Knights of the Dawn. and surely he would tell us about it. Wouldn't he?

I glanced around the table attempting to make eye contact with one of the adults; hoping that they would assure me that nothing was wrong. But as soon as I looked up, I regretted it. Scanning the faces of Vanessa and Warren, I noticed the small injuries they had that were not noticeable unless you were close to them. Both of them had small cuts and scrapes on their cheeks and neck. Warren had a cut on his forehead that was fading. There was a stitch running from Vanessa's chin and along her jaw line.

Then there was Liam.

He seemed worn out, even though he'd only been watching us practice and not doing anything himself, aside from the quick demo he did on Seth at the beginning of the lesson. His hands were clenched tightly around his fork, but he wasn't eating. Instead, he was staring at Bracken while grinding his teeth. Something about the way he was looking at Bracken made me uneasy. Was it the fire in his eyes as he studied his every move?

Pushing my plate away, I slouched in my chair, feeling impatient. I wanted answers!

A new Fablehaven story! This one takes place after the Keys to the Demon Prison and centers around a new problem that has occurred, throwing the whole gang back into hot waters. I really like this story and worked really hard on this long chapter.

I'll also be updating a new chapter for my other Fablehaven story that will be as long or maybe even longer than this one as an apology for the long wait.

Tell me what you think!