Bebo

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	Chapter 3 - Young and Faithful
	Keitaro walked into the room and bowed to the man who’d been sent by the king, which felt rather strange considering it was inside his own home. “Please, there is no need for that, Master Keitaro” “Master Keitaro?” repeated Keitaro. It wasn’t often that someone addressed you as Master in Karamune. Master was a term that many wouldn’t even use for their employers. “Yes, Master Keitaro. I have been sent here by King Karamune himself with orders to escort you to the palace immediately, and treat you with the utmost respect as I do so.” “Really sir, you don’t need to call me master, just Keitaro will do” “Thank you sir.” Mr Avalon said, with a smile passing his face. “I really must apologize once again for Keitaro’s lateness. If you’d have said earlier that it was that urgent I’d have gone into the forest and dragged him out myself.” Interrupted Keitaro’s mother. “Oh no madam, it’s quite alright. Your tea is lovely” “Would you like some more?” “Yes please, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble” Mr Avalon turned to Keitaro’s father as his mother left the room. “Would it be alright if you go and fetch my jacket from the coat racket by your door? There is something in the pocket I need now.” “Of course sir” said his father as he left the room. Mr Avalon looked around the room cautiously, and then beckoned to Keitaro. Keitaro walked over and the man withdrew something from the pocket of his trousers, which was about the size of a small stone and wrapped completely in velvet. Once Keitaro was close enough, he slipped the package into Keitaro’s own trouser pocket, and whispered, “Keep that a secret, look at it only when you are sure that you’re alone, and show it no-one” The handle of the kitchen door turned as his mother brought in the tea. “Not even those you trust the most” The door opened fully, and Keitaro’s mother walked in with a teacup, almost exactly as his father came in through the other door with Mr Avalon’s jacket. Show it no-one… But what was it? Keitaro’s father passed Mr Avalon his jacket, and he withdrew a piece of paper from the pocket, passing it to Keitaro. It was an envelope. No, it wasn’t just any envelope; it had the Karamune crest in the top corner. It still shocked him that the king wanted him, but if there were any fears that it may just be a practical joke, they had all just evaporated. It was illegal for anyone except the king himself to create anything with the Karamune seal on it, unless the king had given his consent to it. “Open it” he said, sipping a cup of tea. Keitaro carefully opened the envelope, making sure not to tear it too much. The letter inside bore the same crest as the envelope, and it was handwritten. “To Master Keitaro, As you are no doubt aware, one of our legendary defenders of Karamune, Prince Yokatu, has recently passed away while heroically defending the kingdom from an Earth elemental with Princess Lupato. “This means that we have only 3 defenders at the current moment in time, which brings me to the main reason for this letter. “According to our mages, you are the wind element’s new master, and we would be thoroughly honoured if you would help us to defend Karamune.” There was more, but Keitaro didn’t want to read on. He couldn’t defend Karamune. The defenders were the highest level sorcerers in all of Karamune, including the daughter of King Karamune. Keitaro was only a low level magician; he couldn’t possibly work alongside the defenders. “What does it say Keitaro?” asked his father. “It-i-it says that, that I’m a defender.” “A defender!” Exclaimed Keitaro’s mother. “My son, a defender!” “No, I’m not.” Keitaro replied coldly. “I can’t” "Wha- Of course you can son” Keitaro’s father always encouraged him, but this time it wouldn’t work. “You can do anything, I mean, just by being selected shows you must have some immense magical power hidden somewhere” “No, dad they’ve made a mistake. It says here that I’m the new master of the wind element.” “Oh. I see.” The excited tone had dropped from his voice. “Is there a problem Master Keitaro?” asked Mr Avalon, who had been sitting very quietly, drinking his tea. “I can’t be the Master of wind element.” “And why would that be?” he asked calmly. “We are Faith magicians” Keitaro’s father answered for him. “All our family have been Faith magicians.” “I’m sorry, I still don’t see the problem.” Said Mr Avalon. “I can’t be the wind element’s master, it’s a hope spell.” Keitaro told him. “Ahh, but you did it. Somehow, Master Keitaro, you used the wind element.” “But I didn’t” “Yes. You did. Not far from an hour ago.” “No, that wasn’t wind. I don’t know what it was, I couldn’t see it b-” “Exactly!” he interrupted. “You can’t see wind, can you?” “Wait- th- that means- I- I really am?” “Yes, Master Keitaro. You are the wind element’s master.” “But surely I’m not the only one to cast the spell, there are high sorcerers who can cast it too, right?” “Master Keitaro, why are you so insistent that you aren’t the master of wind? OK then, yes there are high sorcerers who can cast the elemental spells, but they have undergone years of training, and even still they can only cast it, they cannot use it. Only the master can control it as you did” “Bu-” “Master Keitaro” Interrupted Mr Avalon “How many years have you been training to use the wind spell” “I haven-” “Then I think it’s quite obvious that it has chosen you for some apparent reason.” Keitaro wanted to argue back. He didn’t know why but he just did. It was no use though; there was nothing else he could think of. He just hung his head and started thinking. “You haven’t finished the letter Master Keitaro. I cannot escort you to the palace until you’ve finished it.” He was right; the letter was still in Keitaro’s hand. “We are in understanding that you are currently a low level Faith Magician. Please do not let this put you off. When my own daughter began defending the kingdom, she had the very same doubts. As a low level Hope magician, she felt that she wouldn’t be able to stand with the great and powerful defenders.” “Please, Keitaro, your skills with the wind element are extremely vital to the defence of our kingdom.” “Signed, King Mahalo Karamune” “Then I-” but Keitaro was interrupted once more. This time it was a knocking at the door. “I’ll go get it” Keitaro volunteered. He was closest to the door anyway, so he left the room into the front room and opened the door. He was taken back when he saw who was behind it. It was a girl, who was about 16 years of age. She had long blonde hair which reached roughly to her waist, and a rather cute face to go with it. She was wearing a normal, sleeveless, black dress which reached her knees, and had long white arm warmers on to make up for the lack of sleeves. “Oooh, you’re cute” she said, before giggling. Keitaro felt himself begin to blush. “Is my dad in here?” She asked when she recovered from her giggling fit. “I’m in here darling” called someone from the main room. It was Mr Avalon. So this was his daughter, thought Keitaro. “Come in, please” Keitaro’s mother called in from the main room. She walked in and Keitaro shut the door after her, then followed her into the main room. “Dad, how much longer will you be, its lonely out there.” Complained the girl. “It’s no matter Misa, I’m just waiting on Master Keitaro’s decision, and we can leave.” Misa turned to Keitaro’s father. “I apologise for sounding rude sir, but could you hurry up please?” “Misa, that’s not Master Keitaro.” “What? I’m sorry sir, I didn’t realise” “No, it’s quite alright Miss, errm, Misa, was it? No, I am Keitaro’s father, Hal” “Wait a minute” Misa turned now to Keitaro. “So you’re the Wind elements master?” “Yeah, that’s me.” Said Keitaro, finally glad for a chance to speak without being interrupted this time. Misa’s face changed. Instead of a dull, bored look, a huge smile spread across her face. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. “So you’re coming to the palace with us? Maybe it won’t be so boring there anymore.” She relinquished the hug, but still kept a hold of his arm. “Misa, please don’t pressure Master Keitaro into coming, it’s his own choice.” “No, I am coming sir, I was going to say so before Misa knocked on the door.” This time it was Misa’s turn to blush. “Sorry” she said. “It’s OK, but could you please let go of my arm, I want to have a talk with dad before I go, if it’s alright with you Mr Avalon.” “No, please go ahead; I believe I’ve already mentioned that I have no time limit to return to the palace.” Keitaro walked towards the stairs and his Father followed. As they walked up, Keitaro heard Mr Avalon say “Mrs Dagal, would you mind showing me how to make a cup of tea, I’d quite like to try some at the palace.” Keitaro and his Father walked into Keitaro’s room and closed the door behind them. “What’s wrong Keitaro?” asked his Father. “You were going to say something about my Staff.” “Ah, yes, homemade staffs have some amazing properties. I know that one thing that they can do is that they create more powerful potions.” “Wow, seriously?” asked Keitaro. “Yes, it’s an old legend among potion makers. I’d also be willing to bet that it’s not their only property. I think it’s a lucky thing that you’re going to the palace now.” “Why?” “Because there are some of Karamune’s greatest sorcerers there, you could ask any one of them and I’m sure they could give you the whole list of what that staff can do. Here, follow me, I want you to have something.” Said Keitaro’s father before leaving the room. Keitaro left his room to see his father go into his own room, and followed him in. When Keitaro entered, his father was standing at his chest of drawers, taking something out. It was a box. “Here son, this is something that has been in our family for generations. I was going to give it to you on the day you left home, and strangely enough, I think this will help you even more now that you have that staff.” He opened the box to reveal a glorious knife, complete with a leather holder for it. The knife was made of two different metals which Keitaro couldn’t identify. It was polished to a brilliant gleam, and the word on the handle could be clearly read ‘Sakura’ “Sakura? Is that a reference to Saint Sakura?” “Ahh, it’s much more than that! According to legends, that is the exact blade used by the Saint Sakura to vanquish the devil.” Keitaro’s eyes widened. Saint Sakura’s actual knife. And it was his. “I see your smile. Apparently I was like that when my dad gave this to me. I used to use that knife to cut the ingredients for the potions up, but recently, I’ve kept it in that box, polished to perfection.” “I think that if you use that to carve your staff, you’d be done in no time. In all the years since Saint Sakura left it on Earth, it hasn’t been sharpened once, but it’s still sharper than any I’ve ever seen.” Keitaro just looked at the knife in his hands, turning it over and over, examining every inch of it. There wasn’t a single scratch on it. He took the holder from out of the box and attached it to his belt, placing the knife inside with his left hand. “Thanks dad” was all Keitaro managed to say. The shock from the knife was just beginning to settle. He finally managed to clear his thoughts, and stepped towards the door. “I’d better go and pack my things then.” He said on the way out. “No, Keitaro, just take the basics in a small bag. Myself and your mom will bring the rest of your things to the palace tomorrow.” “Thanks again dad” said Keitaro, running into his room to pack his bag. When he’d finished, Keitaro ran downstairs to see that no-one was in the main room except for Misa, who was sitting on a chair drinking what looked like a cup of his mothers tea. When she saw Keitaro come down the stairs, she immediately put it down on the table and ran up to him. She hugged him so quickly that he flew back onto the bottom few steps. “The palace will be so much fun from now on.”
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