The End of Innocence: Book 3 of the Kinstone series

I keep running around the field, dodging and ducking from every attempt by the trio to grab me. It had long since ceased being about trying to capture and tease me to death, and simply turning into a game of “let's chase someone”.

I grin, flipping out of the way and even leapfrogging over the girls. We all laugh heavily, acting more like little children.

I lost track of where I was going as Heather and Jenn each block my path. During one spin move, I close my eyes and quickly slam into someone, falling to the ground. In that moment, all three leap onto me, pinning me to the ground.

“We got you now Aria,” announced Mandy in her “evil villain” voice, even throwing in a maniacal laugh, “there is no hope of escape from our grasp.” Mandy also loves to act, being lead in many of her school’s drama productions.

Heather playfully sits me up and puts me into a hold, keeping me in place, “Never gonna let you go.” Jenn then crawls over to me, sitting on her knees, “We should punish her for her transgressions. What say you ladies?” The other two nod, keeping me in place.

A hand then slaps on her head, reeling it back, “Care to tell me why I had someone run into me?”

I look up and grin, “Hey Marron.”

She turns to me and smiles, “Hey there Baby Ahri. Needing to be rescued again, as always?”

I groan, rolling my eyes, “Oh shut up.”

She chuckles, moving the girls away from me, and pulling me into her chest. “Oh God I’ve missed you sweetie.”

I cling to my sister, burying my face into her chest, “Missed you too.” The trio of girls smile. I peer up at her, “As to why, well…for one thing, I was the one who ran into you.”

She twists her knuckle into my temple, “That I gathered. Only someone like you can fly through the air like that. I should call you little Miss Freight Train.”

I pout at her, “I’m not fat. Hell I haven’t gained so much as a single pound at all.”

She grins, “Never said anything about your weight sweetie. I know that if you transform into a dragon you can pretty much burn off anything you eat in minutes. No you just hit hard, that’s all.” I stick out my tongue at her. She laughs.

The girls all sit back down and once more pull me into a group hug.

Marron smiles to me, cupping my cheek and stroking it, “You doing all right sweetie?”

I lean my head into her hand, smiling, “As well as can be expected.”

Her thumb gently smooths over my cheek, “I’m glad to hear that. Word is that you came along with some new people.”

Heather tickles under my chin, “Yeah, her knights.”

Marron leans back slightly, “Knights you say?”

Mandy pokes my cheek, “They even referred to her as ‘Her Highness’.”

The woman grins, poking my nose, “Well she always has been a bit of a princess.”

I roll my eyes. Well to be fair, I’m known as the “Fox Princess of Colburn” in certain circles.

She shakes her head, “I think someone’s been holding out on us, wouldn’t you agree girls?” The trio nods.

My head drops and then smiles, “Didn’t expect to have the Spanish Inquisition pour down onto me the moment I arrived.”

She grins, “Sweetie, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.”

I burst into laughter, leaving my friends a bit confused. I looked to them, “You need to watch Monty Python. Some of the best comedy ever.” Again they looked at me dumbfounded.

I shake my head, “Never mind,” staring back up at Marron, “did you just get here too?”

She leans back, resting her arms on the ground behind her, “No, I’ve been here in Dallas since yesterday getting things set up for everyone. That includes the tournament.”

I feel arms tightening around me, staring up at my friends. “No one is going to let you go easy or slack off this time Aria,” says Heather, with the distinct look of fire in her eyes, “everyone wants to see how much you’ve improved. Plus there’s a few who want to see what you learned while in Japan.”

I smirk, “Can’t back out, can I?”

Mandy lands a chop onto my head, “Nope, and no one is going to let you.” I smirk again, staring back at her.

Last year I intentionally gave up during the final match, wanting to not appear that just because I was Rachel’s daughter that I was expected to win. This ended up backfiring on me as calls soon rang out for me to not give up during the next gathering.

I know everyone has been training hard and it shows. The magical power I could sense from my friends is indeed far greater than it was a year ago. Then again…they didn’t have the privilege of being personally tutored by a sphinx or by a pair of daiyokai.

I grin, feeling my ego swelling only to have a dark tail sweep in and swat my face. I look up to see Fenris staring at me. “Do not allow pride to blind your path little Aria.”

My head slumps, letting out a sigh, “Thanks Papa Wolf.”

My bonded sat down and plops his head onto mine, “Never lose sight of who you are.”

I smile, “I promise I won’t.”

He is right and I know it. I have always maintained a modest approach to my new life ever since I first arrived at the Estate and moving forward after my adoption. But I was competitive by nature, wanting to always win. No…succeed. Then again, I was a hard worker, striving to better myself.

I hated the notion of allowing myself to slip into the idea that I was superior to everyone around me given who I was now. “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It’s a motto I hard-wired into my brain right after I began my magical training, and it would go on to apply to every aspect of my life.

Then there’s another motto that was also a source of wisdom for me, “Don’t do dumb stuff.” I giggled, knowing that this was a memento from my dad, something that I always took to heart, and tried to keep in practice.

The girls quickly let go of me then surround the wolf, all hugging him tightly and petting his fur. I laugh as he quickly falls to the ground and starts to enjoy the massive amount of attention.

“Behold the fearsome predator, brought low by teenage girls,” grinning at him. His tail then swats the back of my head, only causing me to laugh even louder.

Last year, he earned the reputation of acting as a babysitter for the youngest of the children, always playing with them and chasing them around. He instantly became popular with all of the girls and some of the boys, especially when they saw him in his full form.

I found myself being pulled into Marron’s lap, with her wrapping her arms around me, still listening to the girls pamper the wolf.

“It really is good to see you Baby Ahri. Been way too long since I last got to hold you like this,” she says holding me.

I lean my head into her, my hands clinging to her arms, “I’ve missed you too big sister.”

She smiles, hugging me even tighter, “There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think of you, praying that one day that I will be able to be closer, which might be coming soon.”

I look back up to her, eyes agape, “Is…is it really happening, when?”

She grins, placing a finger over her lips, “All I can say is soon,” then kissing my cheek, “but soon we’ll be able to be together again like we used to.”

My heart leaps in my chest. Soon…soon I’ll have my big sister with me again. I can already picture spending the night at her house, us going out shopping, and even having her use me as her model again. It’s been a dream that the both of us had shared since our reunion, for her to come back Texas and be close by. Now that dream is about to come true and I can’t wait.

“Is Miss Anabelle going to be ok with you leaving her?”

Her hand strokes the top of my head, “She’ll be fine. I actually finished completing my training under her and am ready to truly be on my own.”

My mouth drops, “Congrats Marron.”

She grins, “Why thank you sweetie. Speaking of which, she does want to see you.” I giggle.

Marron’s now former mistress, Anabelle Sullivan, had accidentally recalled her a full month earlier than was intended from watching over me. She and I soon became friends after meeting her after my first winter festival.

She also is like mother to Marron when she took her in as a young girl back in the late nineties, raising her pretty much as her own daughter. But for some weird reason, Anabelle never formally adopted Marron. It became a bit of mystery to everyone in the Coven to why she didn’t.

I lean back more into her chest, feeling her heart beating against me. “Hey,” I whisper, “think I could spend the night with you?”

She lays her head onto the top of mine, “Don’t see why not. But you will have to ask your mother.”

I grin, “I think she’ll be ok with it.”

She smiles, kissing my cheek, “You are simply the cutest baby sister anyone could ever ask for. You know that?”

I giggle, “Yep.”

While not sharing blood, Marron and I have always been close, if not closer than real sisters. When my birth family was killed, I quickly turned to her for stability, along with Rachel and soon after Fenris. My three pillars, as everyone came to refer to the trio, a moniker that I took a great deal of pride in.

Oh sure, we would often fight with each other, shouting insults and sometimes not speaking to one another for a span of time. But that’s what family does. We’d then make up and move on.

Our last major fight was actually shortly before I went on my trip, and wouldn’t you know it, it was over boys. Looking back on it, I realized it was a rather stupid fight. Then of course a month later I would enjoy my first kiss from a boy.

The sounds of more people entering the park grow louder and louder, along with the laughter of children. The five of us knew that our time of quiet was quickly coming to an end as the gathering was about to start.

Jenn looks up to me as Fenris rolled back onto his feet, “Ready Aria?”

I grin, “Ready to lose?”

She smirks, “Not this time you sneaky little fox.” I giggle. The six of us this rise off of the ground and start making our way over to where rest of the Coven was.

When we arrived, I immediately was assailed by nearly every adult, each asking how I was doing and if I was all right. I smiled, telling them that I was fine and was happy to have that first week over with. They didn’t seem to care about the news of the dozens of suitors showing up at my doorstep, each vying for my hand.

A few of the women did ask if the rumors were true about me finally finding a boyfriend. My face went beet red, not sure how to respond. Some of other girls present also asked me the same.

I felt like slinking back out the crowd, only to be rescued by Marron and my trio of friends, telling them to back off. I then saw several other members talking to my knights, who appeared to relax the more they spoke to everyone. I almost thought about asking Miriam if they could somehow join the Coven. I know they’d be great additions.

I then hear a few people asking me if another rumor is true about my shrine performance. Apparently not everyone had seen the video of me dancing. I look over to see what appears to be a screen being put up. “Those who haven’t seen our little Aria’s performance shall have the opportunity to do so tonight,” shouts Miriam.

I giggle, seeing her smiling back at me. The matriarch was soon surrounded by dozens of little children as they dashed towards her, all wanting to see their grandmother. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watch her snatch up several into tight hugs.

Fenris wasn’t immune to having little kids charging towards him either. My bonded quickly and playfully dodges the first few kids and then runs off, having them follow him. The coven has never been short of chaperones, and many of the adults were grateful to have Fenris around, offering an extra set of watchful eyes for the children.

Richard and Melanie, Jenn’s parents both came up to me, with the latter pulling me into a tight hug, “You can’t imagine how relieved we are to see you Aria. When word got out that you had been nearly killed, we couldn’t help but worry about you.”

I smiled, gazing up at her, “Thanks Mrs. Bigsby. I’m grateful that my knights showed up when they did.”

She strokes my hair, looking to me, “Your mother introduced us to them. Quite the pair if you ask me.”

I glance over to them, watching as more people speak with them. Both Orga and Kateryna again are at first a bit uptight, which quickly is replaced with a more relaxed and jovial manner. I can tell that they’re beginning to enjoy themselves the more they are around the rest of the Coven. I turn my attention back to couple before me.

Richard, holding their son Stuart, gives me a smile, “So tell us, would you like to come visit us in St. Louis again this year? You know that we would be more than happy to have you.”

I bob my head, “I know and it’d be great to do so. I’m just not sure at the moment. I’d have to talk it over with my mom.”

He nods, “I understand. Know that Jenn would love nothing more than to have you there as well.”

I giggle, “Yep.”

Melanie then taps my nose, “Heard you had a wonderful time in Japan.”

I chuckle nervously, “I did,” then smiles sullenly, “made lots of good memories there and friends.” I lower my head, clenching the bottom of my jacket, “Lots…of friends.”

She cups my chin, lifting it up, “I’m sure they are missing you just as much as you are them. So please don’t feel sad.”

I smile to her, giggling, “They told me that they wanted to come visit here and meet all of you.”

She grins, “I think everyone here would feel the same way.”

I lean my head into her chest.

She smiles, stroking my hair, “I know you’re also thinking of someone else as well.” My heart shudders for a moment, but didn’t lift up my head. She leans into my ear, “I overheard you and the girls talking about him last week. From what I’ve heard, he seems to me a rather nice young man.”

I bob my head against her chest, “He is.”

Richard’s hand rests onto my shoulder, “Any young man able to capture your heart must truly be special.”

I smile, turning my head up at him, “I just hope to one day tell him how I feel.”

His smile softens, “You will. We have all the confidence in the world for you.”

I giggle nervously, “Thank you sir.”

He then looks over to where a few of the other fathers were gathered, turning back to his wife. She smirks, taking their son from him, “Go ahead dear.”

He leans in and kisses her, smiling to me, “Remember. Have confidence in yourself.”

I give a short chuckle, “Yes sir.”

He then turns and walks off. She in turn leans in and places a kiss onto the top of my head, “I’ll see you later honey.” I wave to her as she too turns and walks off.