My Tale
By Dampen Magic
Chapter 1
Kate gently brushed her long tangled blonde hair in the mirror.
'It always gets like this in the morning. Every time I wake up!' she thought to herself scowling, it wasn't a pretty sight. She hated being late, the last one to get ready out of all the family. Even her adolescent brother, Thomas, who never shifted from his bed in the mornings, still manages to finish his morning ritual before Kate had the chance to brush her hair. Kate wondered how he does it but never came to a logical reason behind this. The only other reason she came up with was because she was a girl, the only girl of four younger siblings who were all boys - her being the oldest of the lot. She couldn't help but smile at that fact, being able to boss them around and tell them off when mother was busy cooking dinner. Of course, the oldest sibling shouldered the responsibility of looking after them most of the time. Kate was no exception. Tilting her head to brush out a hard bit of tangled hair, memories of her and her brothers came flooding back: The animals being let loose on the crops, coming back from the river covered in muck and cuts, sneaking out at night, and Jonathan setting fire to a hay bale using his weak fire magic. Each time they caused trouble, it ended up with her being red in the face with anger and lecturing them on how stupid they were. They always pointed the finger on the youngest brother, Finnegan who we call Fin for short (which he was, short and sweet). Kate knew full well it was either the eldest, Thomas, or one of the younger two, Nathan and Jonathan. They never learned there lesson after it, and Kate thought they were just doing it to see her mad again. She didn't really care about that. What she did care about was their safety an awful lot, and couldn't bear the sight of her mother and father being upset to find one them with a dangling limb dragging on the floor or worse: dead! With the way they were going she wouldn't be surprised at all.
'Are you finished yet, Kate?' Ask her mother, Samantha, peering around the corner of the door frame leading to Kate's room. Kate jumped a little as she was so lost in thought. 'Oh my, you look fantastic!' Kate looked at her mother, now standing in the room beside her. If there was anything she took away from her mother, it was her looks and sharp brown eyes. In her youth, Samantha was a very pretty woman, Kate admitted to herself remembering the old portrait of her downstairs. It was no wonder father had chosen her, not for looks alone, but for her loving and caring personality. Now she was getting old and those features were withering away, but the outlines were still visible. Her hair was short, about shoulder length and tucked behind her ears, brunette as well. Compared to Kate's hair, which was now straight, mid-back length, and nicely brushed, it was fairly thin while Kate's was quite thick just like her fathers.
'Thank you, mother.' said Kate smiling at her compliment. She quickly turned her head to the mirror, checking that everything was all in order - her appearance that is. Fringe covering forehead but not covering the eyebrows, check! Hair covering ears and trailing down to shoulders, check! Skin without a single pore - 'Stop worrying about your appearance, you look beautiful Kate.' her mother interrupted. She didn't like getting interrupted, though she took her mother's word for it. Peering into the mirror her face lightened up with a smile showing her white well-arranged teeth. She felt proud of herself for a moment.
'Are you ready yet, or do we have to wait for the crops to grow?!' called a voice from outside, Kate made her way to the window. It was Thomas calling from below, his head tilted upwards smiling at her with his roughed up face and short brown hair blowing in the gently breeze.
'Coming!' She replied, her arms leaning against the wooden window-sill and gazing over yonder. It was a remarkably sunny day in Elwynn Forest, the sun coating the small cosy farm with a yellow tint. The crops were slowly making their way up the shoots as the days passed by. Accompanied by the tweets of birds and Samantha moving out of the room and down the stairs, it was a sight to behold. Kate was surprised by the scene; it had been miserably raining for days until now. Peering across the field, she caught a glimpse of a man moving towards the farm, following the rough path battered by the years of carts and farm animals crossing it. Kate's breath hitched as he moved closer and closer the farm. By the light, she couldn't believe it!
'Is that…Terry?!' she thought to herself, mouth wide open in shock. Soon enough, Kate found out 'It is!' she couldn't believe it.
'It looks like your boyfriend is here.' Thomas teased from below the window snickering, Kate ignored. Terry, the young boy who used to get picked on for being small, all grown up staring at the window Kate was looking out of. He gave an arms wave at her, approaching ever closer to the house. Turning her back towards the window, closing her eyes, deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, she made her way out of her room. She took a moment to have one last glance around the house. The shared room where her brothers slept (untidy as always), her parents room with that huge king-sized bed fitting the whole family in, and the upstairs landing where all the books were kept on a large crooked bookshelf. Approaching the bookshelf, she glided her fingers across the untidily placed books on the middle shelf, remember the times she kept pulling a book out and reading one for hours on end. Her lips stretched to the side of her face thinking about it.
'I've read all of these.' There was nothing much else to on the farm, being a girl an all. She wasn't as strong as the boys were, so to pass the time she just read a book. It wasn't untilshe became older that she was allowed, reluctantly, by her father to do some basic things on the fields and milk the old cow Bessie. But for the time being, she just read books and it became a growing hobby of hers. Funny thing was she wasn't tall enough to reach the upper shelves. It was only when she was about twelve that she managed to get a hold of one of the books on those shelves…and quickly stopped by her mother. She told her that those books were not for children, waggling her fingering in Kate's face. She was allowed to read a couple of them last year, when she turned eighteen. It wasn't as bad as her mother hyped it up to be just some factual books on the body of a human and other races of Azeroth, and a collection of medical books with some very explicit diagrams of different effects of diseases and infections on the human body. It was a good read, and it actually taught her how to bandage and brew up antidotes to some basic poisons. It wasn't long before she made her way downstairs to the living area connected to the kitchen. Ah yes the kitchen, where Kate's mother settled in most of the time, and most importantly where she was taught to cook properly. She turned her head towards the wide open front door and casually walked to open field, being engulfed by the sun's rays.
Terry was standing outside the front door, leaning against the fence and looking around the farm curiously. Thomas had lucky moved away from the front door and was now in the fields playing with his younger brothers.
'Terry!' Kate called out. Terry jerked his head around to look at her. He too was surprised at how much Kate had grown, and he thought she looked stunning! As Kate approached him, his cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he couldn't take his eye off of her.
'Kate, it's been a long time!' He blustered out confidently. A gently smile erected across his soft face.
'I know!' It had been a long time since Kate laid eyes upon him; the last time was when he only a small boy in her class at the schoolhouse near the logging camp. His family moved up towards Redridge Mountains to the east of here. The farm was located to the south-west of the East-vale Logging Camp, hidden in the dense forest. It must have been quite the walk for him to get here. Kate was still awed by how much he'd change, no longer was he a small and frail freckle faced boy, but a man. He had grown his red hair and put it into a long fox-tail with bangs touching his shoulders. If he let his hair lose, it would be as long as Kate's. She studies his face, taking note of those sad looking eyes and perfectly straight nose. His facial hair, like his hair, had also grown presenting a neat looking goatee.
'So, how have you been?' He finally asked. Kate's eyes were now searching across his body. She saw he was wearing a full set of simple steel plate armour that shone against the sun's touch, a tabard of Stormwind, a belt with lots of different pouches for storage, and a long silver sword with a shield that was strapped behind his back.
'You're very tall…' She wasn't meant to say that, lucky the other thought of him being fairly handsome didn't also accidentally blurt out. He stood about a head above Kate. His eyebrows raised in surprise. Her eyes met his '…I mean, I and the family have been good, what about you?' She asked in return, with a small giggle and a slight blush on her cheeks.
'Not bad myself.' He smiled at her; Kate smiled back and started to play with her hands, which were neatly placed behind her back. 'Well we should best be off. It's getting late. We don't want to be walking in the pitch black.' The smile on both of their faces dropped. Kate nodded in agreement. He motioned her to follow him, and she did. They made their way towards the barn house near the field to where Kate's family were waiting for her.
'We can catch up on our lives as we walk.' He looked back at Kate smiling, and Kate weakly smiled back. This was the moment she was dreading the most about this day. Leaving her family to go looking for a new life was what she dreamed of doing when she was a young girl, and that wish was about to be fulfilled today, on her nineteenth birthday. It was a landmark occasion for her family who hadn't gone as far as Goldshire when they arrived in Elwynn Forest and set up the farm. Of course they stepped out of the farm to get supplies from the logging camp to the north-east. Her destination was Stormwind, the current Human capital city on the far north-west corner of Elwynn Forest. She spent hours preparing how she looked in hopes of landing a good first impression on one of landowners there, probably landing a small job and working her way up into something, she hoped. The trouble is she doesn't know what she wants to do when she gets there; it isn't planned out. Exciting for Kate as she's never been to Stormwind, but at the same time sad to leave her family. The family who raised her from the ground up and the place she used to know so well.
'I can always come back to them…can't I?' She couldn't bear the guilt of not seeing them after she had settled down in her new home. The feeling of not seeing them again would destroy Kate. They stopped in front of the rest of the family; Terry swept aside and leaned against the nearby fence to give the family their final moments together. They were all lined up in a horizontal line facing Kate, all looking gloom. She looked down the line; Fin was first, then Jonathan, Nathan, Thomas, and then her Mother, Samantha, in her matronly black and white dress. She wondered where her father was…ah, there he was. He swooped from the inside of the barn, most likely talking to his old War-Charger. She hadn't seen him all day until now. His eyes glanced over at her with an ear to ear smile across his face. His once thick mid-neck blonde hair, now grey, pattered across his sharp and worn out face. Kate noticed he had let his beard grow across, probably from being too concentrated on the fact his only daughter was leaving him. Her gaze looked down at Fin, her youngest brother. He was hanging his head, small sobs coming from him. Taking a deep breath, she knelt down to see his face and both their faces were level. His head titled upwards, those small blue innocent looking water-soaked eyes meeting Kate's brown ones. She gently moved apart his thick blonde hair that covered his eyes slightly, and cupped his tear-streaked face with her hand.
'Don't cry…' She whispered gently, loud enough for him to hear it.
'I don't want you to go. It won't be the same without you.' He sobbed another tear glazing down his cheek. 'Will you come back, Katie?' His sweet innocent voice touched her heart. She knew Fin would miss her the most, and knew he would be the most upset.
'Of course I will…' Trying not to cry herself, she embraced him. Her arms around his small torso and his arms around her neck. They had a brief moment of silence embracing each other. 'And that's a promise!' She said positively. Letting go of Fin, she rose up and smiled down at him. Still tear-streaks along his face, he looked up at her and grinned bravely. He took a lot from his father, and he might have also taken his talents of wielding the Light. She ruffled his hair lightly before taking out of her trouser pocket a small pendant that had a silver-cross attached to the chain. Fin's eyes grew in curiosity as he eyed up the pendant.
'What is it?' said Fin eagerly. His mouth opened in amazement as Kate plonked it into his cupped hands.
'It's a symbol of our faith. The Light.' She informed him. Fin was prodding it softly in his hands. Kate remembered when her father had given it to her when she was about Fin's age, seven to be exact. Father thought that she would follow in his footsteps of becoming a faith servant of the Light, but the Light never touched her. Though disappointed with this, he still loved her and will be proud of what she becomes in the future. Kate didn't really bother and quite frankly didn't care if she was or wasn't touched by the Light. Even if she was she would still always think of a logical reason behind something, and not a religious or magical reason. She wasn't unfaith though. Fin would probably have more use for it now, that is if he was going to be touched by the Light in the near future.
'Thanks you, big sister!' He yelped happily bouncing up and down on the spot. At least he wasn't crying anymore. She turned her attention to the next in line, Jonathan. He was slightly shorter than Kate, about a head or so shorter.
'I hope to see you in Dalaran in the near future.' She remarked. At a young age, Jonathan was showing signs of being a mage. Kate noted that fondly when she caught him showing the other brothers a new fire spell he'd manage to conjure. The sight of her startled him and he accidentally threw the tiny ball of fire at a stray hay bale. Thankfully it was outside of the farm and the fire vanished after the hay bale had been burnt to a crisp. Furious, she grabbed him by the ear and threw him into the kitchen explaining to mother and father what he had done. He did have his moments, however he turned out to be quite an intellectual individual, and Kate grew fond of him by discussing the books they read on the shelf. Throwing his brown curly hair to the side, he smirked at her.
'Actually, I was thinking more of the head of the Kirin Tor - ahead of Rhonin himself!' He snapped arrogantly. Kate knew he was joking, and chuckled lightly with him.
'Don't be too cocky, remember what I told you about what happens to arrogant mages?!' She poked her long slick finger into his shoulder.
'Oww…' He moaned. Kate withdrew her finger and drew a devilish smile at him. She then proceeded to hug him and told him that she'd miss their debates of logical verses magical reasoning. Father hated how heated that debate got, and sometimes joined in telling them they were both wrong about their opinions and nattered on about the Light.
'Control that magic, ok! I don't want to return to a house full of sheep, or the farm on fire thank you very much!' He rubbed the back of his head and snickered at her. She then laid her eyes on Nathan, who had his eyes laid on her as well. When she was stood next to him, he stood about the same height as Kate. His brown long hair plastered his face and reached his shoulders.
'I hope I don't see you sneaking around Stormwind!' She said, playfully. Nathan was an odd boy; he didn't talk too much and was strangely shy - a bit of rogue. He was the culprit behind letting the animals free out of the barn that one night. Kate still remembers his whimpering voice as he tried to explain to her and their parents how it happened. He wanted to see father's old War-Charger and "accidentally" let the animals lose. Kate was sure Thomas got into his head and convinced him to do it as a dare. Father and mother wondered where he managed to get those lock picking skills from, probably from school. Little did they know that Kate herself showed him how to do it. It was when they were younger, she read it somewhere in a book and wanted to try it herself on father's old chest in his room. Nathan threatened to tell father and mother but was quickly silenced by a slap to the face. She regretted it, but it had to be done. He started to cry then, and to make up for it she showed him how to open a lock with a hairpin. They managed to open one of the locks on the chest, but heard a noise downstairs and scurried out the room as if their lives depended on it. Since then, they practiced together in secret on the barn door, the front door, and some of the windows in their rooms. They both got quite good at it with Nathan being the better of them both. Kate knew he had extra practice on the locked window in the boys room, his bed was right underneath it!
'Ye…' He said, gloomily. Just like Fin, he too would miss Kate the most. His eyes were fixated on his shoes. Kate lifted his chin up with two fingers of her right hand.
'Listen. Once you come of age, come find me in Stormwind…Or I will come and find you!' His Breath hitched at that moment, a small strand of sweat coming down his face. Kate then smiled happily and they both hugged each other, tightly. 'I will always come back, don't worry. You have Fin's word as well.' She let go of him and took a step back. Slowly his mouth curled in a smile. 'Now there's a smile…' she added. Her attention turned towards Thomas, who was smirking at her.
'What are you smirking at?' Kate acknowledged as she strode towards him, planting herself in front him. He was taller than Kate, about half a head taller, close to Terry's height. Unlike the others, his hair was short like a soldier's hair cut. 'Now that I'm gone, you'll have to take my place. And that position is very important, and stressful!'
'I won't be as strict as you; in fact the place wouldn't be as tense!' Kate scowled at that, he just had to do this even when she was leaving. Unlike the other brothers, Thomas was the most mischievous by far. Most of the events that happened on the farm were mainly caused by him. He loved to create scenes and entertain the other brothers, and annoy Kate. A real joker he was. Kate wouldn't be at all surprised if he ended up as the ring leader of the Darkmoon Faire circus. Despite this, Thomas will definitely be the highlight of Kate's memories on the farm, and in turn the one she will miss the most.
'I'll miss you…' Admitted Kate. They both, like with all the other brothers, embraced. She stepped back after their moment. 'Please, take care of the farm, especially mother…and Fin. Father doesn't have much time left…' she said as quietly as possible for Thomas to hear. Everyone, except Fin, knew that father's time was running short, he was old and getting weaker by the day. It would be devastating for Fin, and Kate wouldn't be there to comfort him. She was already prepared for that day, "remain vigilant" as the ancient Draenei race said (she read that in a book) and most of all focused on maintaining the family spirit.
'You have my word, Kate' Thomas stated. Even though he was an absolute clown sometimes, he does remain true to his words. She learned that from when he told father that he'd get all the animals back to where they were, after the animal stampede barn incident. Father didn't think he would do it, but he managed to in an hour. All the animals placed back to where they were original without a hint of evidence of there ever being an animal stampede. Kate sighed in relief, knowing that there was actually light at the end of the tunnel for him. She cared an awful lot for her brothers, and wanted them to turn out as well respected members of their race.
'Don't forget about me.' Her mother called, she was next in line. Relieved to hear her voice again, Kate ran over to her and hugged her. 'Now, now, don't get too hasty…remember what I said…' "Rushing only leads to idiotic actions and imperfection!" She shouted at Kate when she was learning to cook from her. Strangely, she couldn't really remember why she shouted at her. Most likely from whisking the eggs too fast and making a mess in the kitchen, and leaving hardly a scrap of yoke in the bowl. Kate loved her mother other than anything else, she taught her an exceeding large amount about life, and she'd never forget what she taught her about cooking. Her mother was easily the best cook, she know almost every recipe off by heart from those battered cook books. Oddly enough, she didn't allow anyone to peer into those books, not even Kate, said they hold ancient long forgotten recipes including old troll alchemy recipes! Kate had none of it and thought it was flat out ridiculous…until she was allowed one day by her mother to look into it. She couldn't believe it, she was right all along, and the book did contain an old recipe of Troll Mojo. Her mother didn't dare brew it up. It would most likely anger the Loa, the ancient troll spirits that Kate read somewhere in a book. She didn't even think it was possible to brew "Mojo" and still has suspicions of it just being a silly joke.
'My young Kate, all grown up and wanting to leave us…' Kate sensed a slight tremble in her voice.
'Don't worry, I'll be fine mother!' Kate said trying to rectify the situation, trying to make it less upsetting than it actually is for her family.
'I have a present for you.' She said to Kate who was surprised by her words. She reached behind her and grabbed an old battered book from the workbench outside the barn door, handing it to Kate. By the Light, she had given her one of her ancient recipe books. Kate quickly flicked the pages to find it, and there it was on page 94: Recipe - Troll Mojo. She looked up at her mother in tears and embraced her for one last time.
'Thank you…' Kate trembled as tears poured down her face gently. This was a special gift, no an heirloom of the family. Finally, she could now see where she got those amazing recipes from. Kate couldn't wait to try them out, thinking of all the delightful things that could happen. She could open up the best food stall in Stormwind with this book. She released from her mother's grasp, and held onto the book with her left-hand.
'Do you want me to carry that book for you, Kate?' Terry asked. It was polite of him to do so, but she wanted to keep hold of it for now. She shook her head at him, Terry nodding and retreating back to his original position. With a small nod her mother's way, she gazed over at the last man in line: her father. She made her way towards him and stood dead still in front him, silence broke between them. She couldn't help but notice he was looking pale faced, and slightly struggling to hold himself up on that walking stick of his. Kate looked at the man that stood before her, now only a shade of his past. Knight-Lieutenant Charles Montidale, member of the Knights of the Silver Hand. He didn't reveal his past much; only giving hints that he used to work for them in the Cathedral of Stormwind. It was hard to believe such a person can frail and weaken, resulting in him hiding away on a farm in the middle of nowhere. He made sure that the Order didn't contact him, to his surprise it actually worked. Kate didn't mind the idea of a handsome paladin coming to stay at the farm for training. She didn't seem to understand why he gave up on a prestigious position, feeble or not the Cathedral surely would have allowed him to stay. She wondered what her life would have been like if he did stay in Stormwind, and being one of those rich aristocrat women who are more worried about what they wear than how much they actually contribute to society- she read that one in a book. Actually, no, she'd hate being one of them, shuddering at the thought of it. And there he was, Charles Montidale, smiling at his daughter with open arms.
'Come here…give your old man a hug.' His old croaky voice called out to her. Before she knew it, she was in her father's arms for one last time. 'I don't know what we would do without you, Kate. After all you are the back-bone of the family.' Come to think of it, she actually was. Mother and father were both getting old and couldn't muster up the strength to work on the fields, nor take care of the younger siblings. It was Kate who took the orders from her father. She was always willing to carry them out and do anything to help, and most of all keep the farm running. It had been like this ever since Fin was born; father was getting exhausted after he'd done a hard day's work on the field. They were far from wealthy and couldn't afford to pay the wages of a farmhand, despite their pay being abysmally minimum. Mother took over for a while until the boys were mature enough to start managing the fields. Kate still remembers ordering her brothers to feed the animals in the barn, plant the seeds of crops and harvest them manually when they were fully grown, and most of all taking care of her father. Being in his presence the majority of the time wasn't so bad.She was tasked with simple things like helping him up and down the stairs, filling up the bath tub for when he needed a wash, and of course delivering messages from the small post box hanging on the side of the barn house. At least he wasn't completely useless on the farm, as he still managed the business and financial side of things - when he means business, he means business. He would sometimes get visitors ranging from food suppliers arranging deliveries to and from the farm, and high-class clerks from Stormwind who collected tax. Father hated them, said they were nothing but money scoundrels and had no real business on the farm. Kate was allowed to sit next to him in the living area when he did these meetings; father said it would be up to her to conduct these meetings after he'd pass away, so it was best to start learning young. One time she even managed to swoon one of the young inexperienced food suppliers to give the farm a couple of gold knocked off the price they were offering for them. Father wasn't pleased, and later bluntly said it was only because he wanted to bed her. Oh yes, Charles was definitely protective over Kate. He didn't allow her to bring any boys home when she was younger. Kate still wondered if it's still true; it most likely is. They both let go of each other after a couple of minutes.
'Well, we've all had our moments together; it's time to get down to business.' He looked behind Kate and using his free hand, raised it in the air, and curled his fingers towards him signalling Terry to come over. The rest of the family cleared off, Samantha hurried to the kitchen in case the dinner burnt, and the brothers moving to their own tasks on the farm. Kate, Terry, and Charles surrounded the work bench where there was a tattered-stained coloured map of Elwynn Forest spread across the area of the workbench surface. Tiny red trails of ink covered a specific path on the map, leading to a big 'X' on their destination, Stormwind.
'First of all, I'd like to thank you for coming on short-notice, Terry. You are doing a huge favour for me and my daughter.' Praised Charles. Terry nodded his head in acknowledgement. Charles's bony finger pointed to where they were on the map, and started to trail his finger along the ink-stridden path. 'This is the path you'd be taking. I took the liberty of planning out the route for you both, finding the safest route to take. Thankfully, the safest path is the most simplest. You may have some problems trying to find your way out of here and onto the main path, but surely it's nothing both of you can't handle.' His head tilted upwards watching them both waiting for a response, and was finally met with nodding heads from both Kate and Terry. Kate felt nervous about this, which she shouldn't be as she was going to be protected by an escort. It felt as though she had accidentally stumbled into an Alliance war meeting. Her eyes fell on Terry, who didn't seem at all shook by Charles's dramatic plan. He returned her stare with a small, but reassuring, smile as though he was saying "Don't worry Kate; I'll be by your side." Kate was thankful for his reassurance and felt a little bit better, still feeling butterflies in her stomach though.
'Apologies for interrupting,' Terry said boldly, his eyes fixed on Charles. He had a questioning look on his face as Terry spoke. 'I wanted to ask something…why did you want me to escort Kate? Surely there are others available nearby.' Terry noticed the raised eyebrow on Charles's wrinkly face, promoting him to elaborate.
'You're not having second thoughts are you?' Ask Charles with a stern voice. Kate and Terry noticed the annoyance in his voice. Kate sighed, she knew how easy it was to anger father and hoped that Terry didn't just get on his bad side.
'Oh no, no!' Terry replied hastily, stammering a little as he added 'I w-would be happy to escort you Kate! No questions asked!' Terry exhaled in relief as Charles's eyebrows dropped and his face lighten up. Now that the tension calmed between them, Terry spoke again. Kate wished he would just shut his mouth and leave together for Stormwind already before father could cancel the entire journey all together. 'It's just…well…maybe some of the other boys near the logging camp could have escorted her. I'm just wondering why you chose me, that is all.'
'Because you are the only one I trust to escort Kate safely.' Charles finally answered. Terry's face was filled with surprise, he wasn't expecting that answer. Kate, however, was expecting that. She knew that the other boys near the logging camp were always after her, the girls also being jealous, and father didn't want her or any of the family to have anything to do with them, not even their families. It was probably because he didn't exactly know them too well, or they somehow had a huge fall out when they moved to Elwynn Forest. Thinking about it, she remembered that none of the families of the other boys and girls who attended the same school, and lived nearby, never once stepped onto the farm - not even a simple greeting. Terry's family was quite different, before they moved away. They used to pop by every once in a while, and sometimes used to stay over for dinner. Father was good friends with Terry's father, Malcolm, the local tailor, said they both used to go out fishing near the river opposite the farm. He managed to get their new address in Redridge and write to them every now and then. It was no wonder he trusted Terry, being the only child of one of his best friends.
'I'm honoured to be of service.' He stated gently with a hint of surprise in his voice. He was going to bow but was quickly stopped with a hand to the shoulder by Charles.
'Now for the equipment…' Charles reached for the already opened large-black satchel on top of a small barrel of seeds nearby. He held it up on the table and carelessly poured the contents of the satchel across the map, hearing the sound of various different objects dropping on the workbench. Kate was shocked by what fell out of the bag: a pocket sized metal compass, a tiny linen cloth bag (which could possible contain some gold), small scrolls neatly wrapped up, a belt with an extraordinarily huge array of pockets, and a pair of what looked to be daggers sheathed in a leather covers. Kate immediately reached for one of the daggers, pulling the sheath off. It was a steel dagger, the blade glistening in the sun, pointy, and extremely sharp. Kate grabbed hold of the handle and noticed it was easy to guide the dagger in the air with good precise blows.
'Careful. You don't want to unintentionally poke someone's eye out.' Charles remarked sharply. Kate put the dagger back into its sheath, her moment of giddiness passing. 'You can keep the bag, by the way.' I wouldn't hurt to have more carrying space for all the things she'll collect in the near future.
'I'll keep hold of it for you.' Terry offered. This time, Kate accepted and he strapped the empty satchel onto his already cluttered belt. Meanwhile, Kate was rummaging through the contents of the small pouch, which did contain gold as she predicted. It contained about five gold, ten silver, and a copper coin. 'A copper for good luck' She thought to herself. This was too generous of her father, and Kate felt a bit bad for taking money off of her already poor family. The guilt was starting to show on her face.
'Don't spend all of that in one night. I don't want you coming back tomorrow asking for more!' chuckled Charles, trying to lighten the mood. After satisfying her curiosities with the items in front of her, she turned to her father who was blankly smiling at her.
'This is all too much…You didn't have to any of this…' She said, guiltily.
'Stop it. Don't worry about our finances, Kate. To tell you the truth, I've been saving that gold up for this very day.' Admitted Charles. Kate trembled at his words.
'Thank you so much, I'll never forget this.' With tears rushing down her face, she wrapped her arms around her father, gently kissing his cheek. Charles returned the hug with his daughter sobbing in his shoulder. Terry, trying his best to keep a hardened face, couldn't help wipe his watering eyes.
'Now now, what would everyone think of my strong daughter if they saw her crying…' He gently comforted her for a moment, closing his eyes and patting the back of her hair covered neck. Shortly, that moment passed. He wiped the tears off her face and grinned as she moved towards Terry. 'You'd better get going. Take your things.' He blandly reminded them. Terry was stood beside Kate as she threaded the belt through her black-tinted trousers, snaking around her waist. She placed the pouch of gold in one her front pockets of the belt, the daggers buckled in the belt parallel to each other on each side of Kate's waist (in case she need them), the compass in one of her back pouches. She grabbed the scrolls from the workbench while Terry folded up the map which showed their route, and stationed it in one of his front belt pockets to refer to quickly.
'I'll take those...And that book too. Don't want to be carrying that thing around in all day, do you?' Terry ordered, teasing her. Kate gave him the scrolls and her mother's old cook book. He shoved the scrolls into the satchel given to him by Charles, and carefully slid the ancient book into it as well. They both looked at each and other, both well prepared for the journey and ready to go.
'Oh, I almost forgot!' Charles disappeared into the barn out of sight and a second late he came back, placing something into Kate's hand. Kate took a moment to take what just happened in, it happened in a flash. She gazed down at what was in her hand. 'A rose…' It was a single rose, thorn-less, and it had fully bloomed. Kate thought this was a strange gift. Roses were quite common to find around the forest, heck there were a few patches of them around farm. She looked up at her father with a confused face.
'It's special…' He vaguely explained with a smile on his face. Kate didn't understand what he meant. Of course it was special since it was a gift from her father. 'I've been experimenting with objects lately, living and un-living, injecting them some holy magic of the Light. The rose that you're holding was one my many tests, and astoundingly it worked!' Kate probed the rose softly, and found that the flower head never changed its position. No matter how hard she pressed, it would always return back to original state. Admittedly, Kate found this to be fascinating. The power of the Light works wonders. Finally she understood what it meant.
'It can never die…' finishing her father's sentence. Charles nodded in agreement.
'Ah, Kate. You are always ahead of me, I don't think I can keep up with you anymore…' He confessed, glumly. 'Don't tell your mother. She'd go mad!' He held out a hearty laugh. Kate chuckled with him lightly. He was right: she would go mad. If Kate wasn't leaving, she would be terribly concerned for his safety and health. Using his holy powers drained away the last remaining scraps of energy he had remaining, and that energy should be used for living as long as possible. 'I don't have much time left, I am aware of that. Instead of wailing away my time, I decided to make something special for you: a token. I won't be here for very long, but the rose will be…'
'You will always be by my side…' She fully understood now, why it was special. Bending the stem of the rose, she pushed the rose between her head and the top of her right ear, tucking it behind the gap there with her right hand checking it was in the right place. A scarlet rose poked out of her thick-long-blonde hair from the right side her face (from Kate's right). '…Thank you.' she finally said in almost a whisper.
'You'd best get going, I've been waffling on for a while now. When you reach Stormwind and you've settled, please write to us. If you run into trouble, find Veronica at the Cathedral.' Oh no. Veronica, the old bint who was the only paladin of the Knights of the Silver Hand who knew where father was staying. And the only one who came to visit every couples of months or so. Just the sound of her name made Kate quiver in disgust and leave a horrid scowl on her face. She was a right cow! Charging in on her war-charger barking at Kate to take it from her and led it into the barn house, making snide remarks at her mother's cooking as well as Kate. She remembered a particular one of her saying something along the lines of Kate not being touched by the Light - it didn't affect Kate, but it was still an insult! Her flat nose spread across her man-like face, she didn't have much of a bust either. Thomas said she looked like an Orc chewing a wasp…and Kate full heartily agreed. Her mother and her joked about her swinging the other way, and her short solider cut hair, they both busted out in laughter every time. Veronica disliked Kate out of all the family members, and oddly like Finnegan the most (probably because he looks like his father). She could never under why she hated her, most likely from disagreeing with her opinions on what she believed was the reasoning behind what drives peoples actions. Still, it was no reason for her to be excruciatingly unpleasant towards the family. She probably didn't like children.
'Look, I know you don't like her - and she can be sometimes hard to work with - but she's reliable and trustworthy. She'll look out for you…if you're in trouble that is.' Charles reassured after seeing the scowl on Kate's face. Kate nodded at her father's words. She never doubted her father's judgement, and there was no exception to his judgement on Veronica. She turned her head to Terry who was patiently waiting beside her, for a moment she had forgetting he was even standing there.
'Ok, let's get going.' She said to Terry. Exhaling deeply, he nodded and started towards the path which he came down from when he arrived. Kate followed, nodding at her father.
'Goodbye!' she said excitement in her voice, and rushing off with Terry.
'Goodbye, Kate.' Charles muttered under his breath, hoping that she heard his farewell. The brothers, with Samantha joining Charles, rushed to the end of the barn in hopes of getting a glimpse at their sister one last time. Kate gazed back, Terry besides her mimicking her actions, to see the family all waving her off. Young Finnegan jumping up and down, waving with joy, pouring all of his heart into flailing his arms into the air. Thomas lifting father's arm up into the air and supporting him from behind. Samantha, Nathan, and Jonathan all waving as well. Kate couldn't help but wave back at them with Terry joining in, turning slowly around to the path that awaited them. She kept her head turned when following the path until there were no sight them, or the farm. She twisted her head back around, hand clenched against her chest, Terry by her side with a humongous grin spread across his face. Her new life in Stormwind, her tale, was about to begin.