It was going on 1200 hours when Louise decided she wanted to go for a walk again. Like before Richie let her go but just as he was pulling on his boots the front door opened and Adam and Joe entered.
"Hey Richie… Where's Louise?" Joe asked noticing Richie rising from his seat.
"She's gone for a walk again… I was just going to follow her again make sure she's ok"
"I'll come with you Richie… Joe you stay here in case she comes back…" Adam said walking towards the back door with Richie hot on his heals.
"Sure… go right ahead leave me here all alone while you go chasing Louise…" Joe sighed knowing that neither of them heard him as they were both well on their way to finding where Louise had gone for a walk.
It wasn't long before Richie and Adam caught up with Louise, she was once again standing by the lake looking out over the picturesque view.
Almost as it happened before Kenver came out of the trees and Louise turned to greet him although he never said a word or alerted her of his presence. He didn't even seem to make a sound, which made Adam and Richie worried, Richie had a look on his face that plainly said 'see what I mean' while Adam's just held a puzzled expression.
"He's going to start getting suspicious if you keep coming out here by yourself you know Louise…"
"I think he already is… you saw the whole play with the sword fighting last night… it was all a test… I think he knows something's going on… but what he thinks is going on and what is actually going on are two different things…"
Adam glanced back towards Richie and mouthed 'swords', which Richie quickly mouthed back 'it was nothing'.
"You think he suspects something and yet you still come out here to come see me… what's wrong…"
"I needed to talk… I'm guessing you saw what happened after we fell…"
"Yes I saw… what do you want me to say… I'm not your father Louise… I can't tell you what to do with your life… if you want to continue with…"
He never got a chance to finish the sentence as Louise interrupted him… "God Kenver… I've got no idea what happened… after…" She stopped talking and tried to calm herself down before she continued. "After Malcolm I promised myself I would never get involved with another immortal it's just too much hassle… I can't go through that again…"
"You could always tell him before hand this time… from what I've seen of him he doesn't seem that bad…"
"Didn't you say that about Malcolm too… wasn't… no Kenver I've been down that road before and I can't take the risk… having one person out there after my head is enough for me… I don't know how I'd manage it if there was another…"
"Oh you won't have to worry about that for much longer Louise as I'll solve all your problems by taking your pretty little head…" A disembodied voice said from the trees, but it wasn't long before a male appeared from out of the trees to join the voice.
"Malcolm… how the hell did you find me?" Louise asked, instinctively standing behind Kenver.
"Oh… I had the greatest plan… I know the old softy wouldn't leave you unprotected if your life was in threat so I just sent your dear old friend Joe a note saying I was going to kill you before your twenty fifth birthday and set things in motion… Just as planned Kenver came to keep an eye on you, I followed him and therefore I found you… now are you going to accept the challenge and fight me… or are you going to hide behind Kenver again…"
"Kenver?"
"It's your decision Louise… I've taught you everything you need to know… and I'll be here after to take care of you…"
"You're going to have to take me back to the cabin and explain to Richie what's happening… tell him to contact Adam… but you have to promise me one thing…"
"Anything…"
"Don't leave my side until I'm awake again… I know they're friends of Joe's and all but they're still immortal and I don't know if I can trust them that much at the moment…"
"That will be no problem… just stay alive for me will you…"
"No problem there… I have no intention of loosing…" Louise started to move from behind Kenver when she remembered something
"Oh Kenver…"
"Yes Louise…"
"Could I have my sword please…"
"Of course…" Kenver smiled at her and removed a Katana from his coat and handed it over to Louise.
Adam and Richie looked on in shock, neither of them knowing what to do. "Adam… What does Kenver think he's doing?…" Richie hissed as quietly as possible.
"Your guess is as good as mine…" Adam whispered back as quietly as Richie had whispered.
"We have to stop this…" Richie started to rise but was stopped by Adam's hand on his arm. "Adam…"
"No Richie it's a challenge we can't interfere…"
"You've got to be kidding… she's not even immortal Adam… she's going to get herself killed."
"Please Richie… I think I may have an idea what's going on… just trust me."
Richie sighed knowing he wasn't going to win so he settled back down turning back to watch as Louise and Malcolm were all set to fight.
Malcolm attacked first, an evil glare took over his features, but Louise easily blocked the attack then moved to attack herself. She managed to get through his defences and caught his left side causing him to screech in pain as a good sized gash appeared, staining his shirt with his own blood as it flowed freely from the wound.
His hand now clutching his injured side Malcolm backed off slightly trying to get his bearing again but Louise didn't let him. She moved in once again and attacked again, this time her sword managed to pierce into his defences on the right hand side and she plunged the sword in.
The scream that Malcolm was going to let out as he fell to the ground was cut off before it could even take form as Louise brought her sword back around, this time bringing the final blow. Malcolm's head fell to the ground with a dull thud and Louise fell to the floor awaiting the quickening that she knew was going to come.
When it came it was more powerful than she remembered they could be and she screamed in pain. The pain seemed to last forever and a day but when it finally receded she closed her eyes and gave in to the blackness that she knew would hold peace for at least a few hours.
Kenver was at her side in an instance stopping her from hitting the ground as he caught her in his strong arms. "It's ok Louise you're safe now… I'll talk to you when you're awake…" He had no idea if she heard his words as her body slumped against his, the heat of a fever already racing through her blood.
Kenver felt the presence of two immortals then and he twisted his head to see Richie and another of the immortals he'd seen with Louise the other day approach from the tree line.
"We must get her back to the cabin and into bed so she can rest…" Kenver stated calmly, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"What the hell happened to her?" Richie asked unable to cover up the concern that was now showing in his voice.
"Richie… just wait we'll talk when we get back to the cabin… Like I said before I think I know what happened…" Adam spoke up as Kenver picked Louise up into his arms and turned towards them.
"Shall we…"
Joe had seen the lightning of the quickerning and was just about ready to storm off through the woods to make sure his friends were safe when they emerged from the tree line. Richie was carrying a Katana that clearly wasn't his and Louise was being carried by another man he'd never seen before while Adam quietly followed with a concerned look on his face.
"What happened?" Joe couldn't help the question that sprang from his mouth in concern for Louise.
"And you must be Joe the watcher?" Kenver stated. Joe finally noticed for the first time that he didn't seem worried even though he was the one carrying the unconscious form of Louise.
"That's me… now do you mind telling me what the hell happened to Louise.
"Louise will be fine… her body is fighting the effects of the quickening as we speak… She will wake up within the hour…"
"Quickening… How can she take a quickening… she not immortal"
"I was wrong Joe… she's immortal… lets get her settled on the sofa at least and then we'll talk…" Adam said moving past Joe and into the cabin with Kenver closely following him
Kenver gently placed Louise down on the sofa and perched himself on the edge of the seat so he could keep contact with her. He knew that she would feel that he was by her side even though she was unconscious and would be more at peace for it.
Joe came back into the cabin and walked straight over to Adam and grabbed his arm. "What the hell's going on Adam?…"
"I believe that it would be best if I explained what has transpired here…" Kenver looked over to Joe and tried to relate to what the other man must be going through.
"Then you better have one hell of an explanation… for starters who the hell are you…"
"My name is Kenver and I am Louise's teacher…"
"Teacher… just how long has she… well how long has she been immortal?"
"Louise's first death occurred just after her twenty second birthday. It was an accident… she walked down an alleyway just as I was being challenged. My opponent didn't appreciate being interrupted so he killed her… after I won the battle I went to her side to see if there was anything I could do to help her… but I was too late she had already died… I took her back to my apartment and waited until she revived… When she did I explained about immortals and the game… I was surprised to find that she was already somewhat aware of us. I believe she stated that she used to hear you and her father discussing immortals when you were together… I took her as a student as I believed she could become a tool for good in the world…"
"So she's immortal… and you're her teacher?" Richie was still finding it hard to get his head around the fact that he thought she was only pre immortal when in fact she was really immortal. It just didn't make any sense to him. "But how come she only felt like she was only pre immortal?…"
"That will have to wait until Louise has woken up as it would be easier to show you… so to speak rather than me trying to explain it to you."
"Ok… so what can you tell us while she's unconscious?"
"I'm afraid that that's as much as I can tell you at the moment… the rest is up to Louise to tell…"
