Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with the Ronin Warriors. All rights to them and anything related from the manga or show are property of the writers. I do, however, own this storyline and any made up characters, powers, ECT…
Filia di Virtus
It took four and a half hours of bickering, chasing, nagging and hysterical laughter, but the house was sparkling from top to bottom and the two large guest suites were supplied with fresh linens, towels and other female necessities Mia had thought to provide the four strange women. Though she assumed one would feel disturbed by an impending visit from four strange women that had announced their coming by way of dream, Mia was comforted at the thought of gaining answers to disturbing questions.
She was still a little shaken about where her part played in all this. She didn't really believe that she had any undiscovered powers. That she held some vital information or a source of information she didn't remember or know about seemed closer to the truth.
"Hey, you still with us?" Sage asked. He said it jokingly, but Mia detected a hint of worry in his voice. In fact, she'd also notice that no matter what chore she was doing, she always had a helper. They guys never left her on her own. She smiled inwardly at the incident where she'd needed to use the bathroom and Rowen had actually followed her in. She'd raised her eyebrow and asked him to leave so he could pee and Rowen's face had gone scarlet in less than a second. He'd run out muttering apologies. But he'd waited a respectful distance from the door for her.
"Yes, sorry. Just thinking." She smiled at the Ronin in re-assurance. "Besides, I think when it happens, I go unconscious." Sage nodded in agreement.
As Mia and Sage came downstairs, there was a frantic ringing of Mia's doorbell. Sharing a startled look with Sage, she rushed to the door. That woman had said they were a day away still. The other Ronin's got to the door before her and formed a wall to protect Mia, just in case. Kento opened the door.
"Please, let us in. She's sick." It was the voiced of the woman who'd spoken to Mia in her dream.
Mia pushed her way through to see. They were all clothed now and the speaker, Korrin, and the woman she'd identified as Leila were holding up Korrin's sister, Trisara, who was unconscious. The other woman, Ayanna, stood just behind, looking frantic.
"Let them through. They're the women from my dream. They mean us no harm; move!" Mia commanded and ushered the women into the living room where they lay Trisara out on the couch.
"I'm sorry. We wanted to come as fast as possible, so Trisara used her magic to get us here faster. I think she might have almost drained herself; four people are too many for her when she hasn't had enough rest." Korrin explained.
"Will she be alright?" Mia asked.
"I hope so." Korrin replied. Sage pushed through the onlookers and knelt beside Trisara. She was a slight woman, slender and only 5'4", Sage judged. But oh how lovely she was. Even ashen and sleeping, her skin was milky and smooth. Her nose was dainty and her lips were cupids bow shaped and the short brown and copper hair framed her face, making it pixie-like.
"What are you doing?" Leila demanded, stepping forward. Korrin stopped her.
"Sage is the Ronin Warrior of Wisdom. He has some healing abilities." Mia explained.
Sage had gone into a meditative state, blocking out all of the others. He centered his thoughts and found the bright, soothing light that was his power. Pulling from that light within, he touched Trisara's face. He stayed like that, allowing the cool light to wrap itself around her exhausted aura and feed energy slowly to it.
Trisara's wide green eyes fluttered open slowly. They focused on the face of the man whose light she'd followed out of the darkness. His hair was gold and his eyes were amethysts. His face was sharp and defined; beautiful. He was looking at her as if she was the only woman in the entire universe. Trisara sincerely hoped he was on their side, because she would hate herself for being uncontrollably attracted to this man. Going with her gut, she smiled up at him, cupped his face in her hands and brought his lips down to hers. Her lips barely brushed the corner of his mouth in thanks, but her body responded as if he'd struck her with lightening. "Blessed be." She whispered. Then she became aware of her sister and others watching.
"Tris, are you feeling better?" Korrin's voice was amused. Tris blushed and looked to her sister.
"Now that she's feeling better, I think introductions are in order. And I believe there are some questions we would like answered." Rowen gestured for everyone to sit. Tris sat up slowly to make room for her sister, Leila and Ayanna on the couch. Mia sat in the overstuffed armchair with Ryo standing behind her. The other guys scattered themselves comfortably.
"I'm sorry if we alarmed you. My name is Korrin and this is my sister, Trisara. My two other companions are Leila and Ayanna. Mia, I have known who and what you are for some time now. We gathered and waited for you to contact one of us, but you never did. That was four months ago. Then I began to realize you did not know what you were or the gifts you possessed. We traveled here from Brittan."
"We were here for two days, trying to figure out how to reach you when I felt you go under," Ayanna took over, "We tried a group spiritual transport, but to enter his domain is to loose some power over one's self. As you know, he can strip our celestial bodies of material protection, in essence, leaving us and our souls bare to him." Her voice was soft with a faint Irish lilt.
"I don't understand. You're saying that I have some kind of…magic? And who is he? I felt the evil of him; it was like he wanted to…" Mia couldn't say it, not in front of the guys. It was embarrassing. Leila nodded in sympathy.
"Like he wanted to caress your body. It's disgusting, but that's exactly what he wants. He is known to mortals by so many names. We call him Pavrus. Pavrus is the essence of evil. There will always be evil in the world; without it, good would mean nothing. But he is the embodiment of evil and because of his lust to control the desires and lusts of mortals, he is confined to his domain by the Great Gods." Leila said, eyes focused on Mia.
"What does any of this have to do with Mia?" Ryo asked, his hand on Mia's tense shoulder.
"Mia, when you were a child, did your looks get more attention than the average child?" Tris asked.
"I don't really know. I was always told how lovely I was when I was little. But I was awkward and homely as a teenager." She replied. Ayanna smiled fondly and nodded.
"Yes, we all were. Apart from our gifts, the awkwardness of that transition from girl to woman is usually not pretty. But you are a very beautiful woman now. And if I'm not mistaken, you are stronger than the average damsel in distress." Ayanna said. Mia shook her head.
"If you mean my companionship with the Ronin's during the fight against Tulpa; well, who else had as much knowledge as me about the legend? I was just a source of information and every once in a while I got in the way." The guys protested loudly that she was as much a part of the team as any. Mia smiled lovingly at them. Korrin smiled inwardly; they were Mia's family. That was very obvious now.
"On the contrary; Mia, you were there for nearly all their battles as a constant support. You protected a young boy while the Warriors did battle. You were taken several time by the enemy and tortured and used as bait to lure your friends into fights and traps. And you survived it all while keeping the love and kindness of your soul intact. You didn't let your experiences change what was dominant in your heart. That is a gift." Tris said and smiled warmly at Mia.
"I'm sorry. I just don't understand. What are Demis? You said you were my…sisters? And my powers; I've never been aware of any before." Mia looked skeptical.
"I'm sorry. Mia, we aren't your sisters by blood. We are your sisters by power. You see, every once in a very great while, Pavrus gains enough power through the misdeeds of humankind to break out of his domain. This hasn't happened in 2,000 years. But the Goddess Moraine could foresee Parvus's possible break out and so came to Earth and chose four pregnant mortal women and bestowed the gift of Immortal Power on their unborn daughters. She returned once more, a year after our births, and bestowed the Power on my unborn sister. I suppose she thought we would need all the help we could get, and Tris has a talent for magic. She instructed our mothers on what to teach and tell their daughters as we grew. The five of us share a very strong magical bond, Mia. It is as thick and important as a blood bond and it makes us sisters. We are Demi-goddesses." Korrin explained. The room lapsed into a shocked silence. Mia was a Demi-goddess? That made no sense! Why hadn't she been able to defend herself against those attacks during the war then?
"You have the wrong woman. I can't have any power. My mother never said anything like that to me." Mia shook her head fervently.
"It's true, Mia. You are our sister. Your mother died when you were young; she didn't have time to tell you." Ayanna said gently.
"Then why wasn't I able to help them in the war against Tulpa? What good was my power when my friends were fighting evil?" Mia was shaking her head in denial.
"It wasn't you fight, Mia. The Ronin Warriors always had the power to defeat Tulpa. They only needed to find it within themselves." Leila said.
"I assure you, you can do magic, Mia. We will teach you. There is time still. Pavrus hasn't got the power to come against us yet. I know this is a lot to hurl at you, but it really is life or death. I know you don't know us and you have no reason to trust us. But look into your heart. You know, in the deepest part of your soul, that we're telling you the truth." Tris knelt in front of Mia and took Mia's hand in hers. Mia stared at the younger woman, and then looked to her friends fro guidance.
"Mia, this is a real shock to us too. But…I think you're just as capable of wielding power as we are. You're one of the strongest people I know. You took us in, cared for us, and helped us fight Tulpa in your own way. If that doesn't make you a Demi-goddess, then I don't know what does." Kento said heatedly.
"Yeah, Mia. You put up with a lot of stuff and you never complained." Rowen added.
"You followed me to find Kento, even though I treated you like a child and told you to stay put. You were willing to risk yourself to help us." Sage agreed.
"You've always been there. All we had to do was fight. And when the day was done, you healed us and fed us and listened to us when we needed to talk." Cye said. Mia was stunned. They had never told her this before. Oh, she'd known they cared about her in their own ways and they were grateful for all the help she'd provided. But she hadn't ever realized how much they loved her. She opened her mouth, but sound wouldn't come out. She swallowed the lump in her throat. And then Ryo was eye level with her.
"You are the bravest, strongest, most loving and giving person I know. We were blessed the day you come into our lives. I was blessed." His eyes swirled with deep emotion. It was all Mia could do not to kiss him. She tore her eyes away from his and glanced at the women who had stood and melted to the back of the room. There was a glow about them. They looked impressed by what the Ronins had said and they all wore proud smiles. Something about them pulled at Mia. She could feel the bond Korrin had spoken of. Her heart told her they were real. This was real. It would be hard, but she accepted it. And she wanted to accept them. She smiled radiantly at Kento, Rowen, Sage, Cye and Ryo and whispered "Thank you all." Then she turned to the women.
"I want to learn; teach me. And I've always wanted sisters. It looks like I have brothers." She smiled hesitantly. Then Ayanna squealed in delight and threw her arms around Mia.
"I knew you would say yes!" She whispered. Mia hugged the woman back hesitantly and then was surrounded by the other three. When they stepped back, all five women were glowing silver. These were the Filia di Virtus. The Daughters of Power.
Well, here is the second chapter then! Thank you to my reviewers! I'm flattered by your compliments and I hope I've delivered another chapter to your satisfaction. It really does inspire me to write when I know people are reading and especially when I know people love it. I know it takes me a few days to get chapters out and sometimes it may take longer. Partly it's because I go to college full time and work, but it's also because I like to take my time and not rush the story plot. Often I'll write a chapter then go back and read it and re-write it. When it feels right, I'll post. However, I promise to try not to let you hang for months at a time! Thank you again ad keep giving me feed back!
Sincerely A.K. Rose
