He saw the murderous fury in her slate grey eyes as she approached him, and he would have tried to get away but he was hurt too badly. All he could do was just lay there impassively until she reached down, grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt and once again picked him up against the wall. He felt himself losing consciousness as she moved her face very close to his. With their noses a hairs breadth apart, and her smoldering grey eyes starring pitilessly in to his, he could feel her breath on his lips as she spoke.

"If you ever," she began with a tone that would have frozen molten iron instantly, "do that again, they will be prying your bones out of this wall, because that will be all that is left of you to send home to Mommy for your burial. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

by Lisa Caitlin Grey

---

 
Ok, here it is, ladies and gentlemen...my second attempt at writing fiction. I don't feel that this story contains the same emotional depth of my previous story, but of course we are all our own worst critics, yes? It is significant to me as it is my first attempt at a completely original work. I guess I will rely on my readers to give me feedback on what they think. I don't plan to be a prolific writer as my muse is fickle. I am, however, ambitious enough to hope that when I do manage to complete a story, readers will say, "Oh goodie! Another Lisa Grey story."
 

 

 
Chapter 10
 
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Keelor came to in a warm comfortable bed. He felt like he had been crushed by a huge slab of stone. He was getting really tired of waking up this way. The last thing he remembered was hearing the bell ring at the Judgment.

He heard voices approaching, and he wasn't quite ready to deal with anyone yet so he feigned unconsciousness. The voices belonged to his companions and seemed to be in some sort of heated debate, so he listened.

"How can we be sure that is him," Falcon was saying.

"It's him," Ashrod said firmly, adding, "Think about it, it makes sense."

"Not in my book it doesn't," Falcon maintained stubbornly.

"Guys, please," Natalia said, "I know its him."

"How can you be so sure," Falcon demanded.

There was a pause before Natalia said, "The tattoo. It is still there."

"What tattoo," the men chorused.

"Exactly," Natalia said as if winning the point.

"What," Falcon yelled in exasperation.

"My point is, you all have been with him longer than I have and none of you have noticed the tattoo. I discovered it during our...um...exertions the night before we went to the temple," Natalia explained.

Keelor felt the covers being pulled back gently. He could tell he was still naked due to the cool air on his bare skin.

"See it," Natalia said triumphantly, "The diamond transposed over the crossed swords, just below the navel."

"Ok, ok, I believe you," Falcon accepted. "Now cover him up. It gives me the creeps looking at him like this. It doesn't look anything like him, that's for sure, and, anyway, I am sure Keelor wouldn't want us all gawking at his naked body."

Keelor didn't know what to make of all this. He must have been changed into some hideous monster, if his body was giving Falcon the creeps. What did that mean? He felt the cover go back over him, as he was coming to the conclusion the Skyla had rejected him. After all she was the goddess of beauty. She would not have made him a hideous monster if she had approved of him. He must have groaned out loud, because Natalia spoke quickly.

"Shhh, everyone. He is coming around. Remember don't let on until we know he can handle it."

He felt someone sit on the side of the bed and a hand stroke his hair.

"Keelor, sweetie, how do you feel," Natalia asked.

"Dead," he croaked, further convincing himself he was a hideous monster.

Cautiously, his eyes fluttered open. The pain he had expected was not there, so he looked up at Natalia, who was leaning over, looking at him with her eyes full of compassion. He thought about attempting a reassuring smile for her but wasn't too sure that it wouldn't look like something horrible in his present state. Instead, he looked around the dimly lit room. Noting that each of his companions was here. They all seemed to be wearing a cautious, but sad look.

"I take it from the looks you all have, Skyla rejected me by way of transforming me into a hideous monster," Keelor remarked, trying to at least put his friends at easy about how he would take his new appearance.

"Quite the contrary," Ashrod said with an amused look. "You are now a Guardian, and are surpassingly beautiful."

"Yeah right," Keelor said, smiling weakly at Ashrod's attempt to lighten the mood.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure on how to proceed. Keelor put his hand to his face to rub a tickle on his cheek. He felt a tuft of hair that seemed quite a bit longer than it used to be. He took hold of the offending tuft and pulled it around where he could look at it. The first thing he noticed was that it was jet black. The second thing he noticed was it was indeed quite a bit longer than it used to be. Next he noticed his hand. It was smallish and had slender delicate fingers, but definitely not hideous.

It was then that all the clues he had been ignoring fell into place. The sound of his voice, his hair, his delicate hand, the odd sensations of his body, they all made perfect sense.

"Oh my god," Keelor said in understanding. He sat bolt upright in the bed, casting aside the covers, and began laughing hysterically. His laugh wasn't a pleasant warm laugh, but that of someone who had gone stark raving mad.

Natalia threw the covers around him while the men turned from his nakedness, causing Keelor to laugh harder. Natalia put her arms around him and held him tightly, until the maniacal laughter began to subside into tears.

"It's ok, Sweetheart, we are here for you. We will help you get through this," Natalia told him soothingly.

"I was thinking," Keelor said between giggles and sniffles, "that I had become a hideous beast. Now, I don't know which would have been worse."

"Hey," Natalia said, "Half the population bears up under this, are you telling me a big strong warrior like you can't?"

"But I am not a big strong warrior any more, am I?" Keelor choked through the tears. "I am a woman." He then began laughing again, as if he had just made a joke. In truth it was a sort of joke that Skyla had played on him. She had made him a Guardian, but at the price of being a woman.
 
 
Chapter 11
 
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Keelor discovered that he had been out for two days following the Judgment. A member of the local gentry that was a devout worshipper of the temple had given the party the use of a large manor house outside of town. This was done to afford them some privacy. People had heard that a Guardian now walked among them and had thronged the temple to see. The companions had to smuggle Keelor out of the temple so that he would have a chance to recover quietly.

Talynnda had accompanied them to the manor. She had told them she had been instructed to accompany them when they were prepared to resume their journeys. She was quite polite if somewhat distant. She appeared to be a competent cleric, and that would be a great benefit to the party.

Keelor slowly recovered his...umm...her strength. She was in her room sulking, looking down between her breasts at the sapphire pendant the hung there. It too had changed. It was now set in a ring of diamonds, reflecting her new Guardian status.

She heard a gentle knock at her door.

"What is it," she said sourly.

"May I come in," Falcon asked poking his head in the door.

"Would it make any difference if I said no," Keelor said acidly.

"Of course it would. A gentleman does not enter a lady's bed chamber without an invitation," Falcon said with a straight face, but he could not keep from laughing when Keelor cast him a look that would have killed him instantly, if looks could kill that is.

Falcon entered the room since she had not told him to bugger off. She had gone back to staring out the window. She was sitting in a chair by the window with her knees pulled up to her breasts, one elbow propped up on her knee with her head in her hand. The other arm was hugged around her knees. Her raven hair contrasted with the white robes she wore and the paleness of her skin. She was the very picture of feminine beauty as the bright sunlight backlit her profile. Falcon thought of telling her so, before he remembered who she was and thought better of it, having no desire to have her dagger between his ribs today.

Falcon moved over and sat on the bed. He looked at her for a few moments longer.

"Keelor, you have almost recovered your strength. You need to get out of this room, maybe go outside and get some air. How about we go outside and spar for a bit," Falcon asked.

Keelor's face lit up at the suggestion, but then turned sour again.

"What a lovely suggestion, sir, but I haven't a thing to wear," Keelor said sarcastically plucking at the silken feminine robes she wore. "This is hardly appropriate for sparring, is it?"

"I will make you a deal," Falcon bargained. "If I find you something more appropriate to wear do I have your word you will come down and work out with me?"

"I guess so," Keelor said without enthusiasm.

"Great," Falcon said happily heading for the door. "I will send Natalia up with the stuff. See you down in the courtyard." It was then that Keelor realized she had been played.

"Falcon," she called to him.

"Yes," Falcon paused, barely stopping himself for saying "dear" or "honey".

"Bring my sword. I am gonna kick your tail!"

Falcon just smiled and disappeared.
 
 
Chapter 12
 
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Soon Natalia was knocking at Keelor's door. She entered without waiting for a reply carrying a big bundle of clothes.

"Good morning, Love," she said brightly. Keelor ignored her.

"Keelor," she said coming over to her and taking her hands. "I know this is hard for you, but you must get over it. People need you. The longer we sit here doing nothing the more people lose everything to Anderpaul and his murderers."

"Easy for you to say," Keelor snapped. "You are not the one that has been stripped of everything you once were and dropped into a weak defenseless body in which you are expected to do battle with the one of the strongest warriors alive. No, Natalia, you don't know squat."

"Oh, so that's how it is huh?" Natalia needled. "You are now a poor defenseless little girl, fit only for looking pretty and warming her man's bed. Is that it? Ok, well if that's the way you feel then start acting like it."

Natalia gathered up the clothes she had deposited on the bed.

"I will go see if I can find you some skirts and corsets, so you can begin your life as a delicate flower. Then we will see about getting you married off to some man, so you can begin squeezing out his children."

"Natalia, wait," Keelor said.

"Unless of course," Natalia said pausing. "There still beats the heart of a warrior under those prefect pretty breasts of yours. You are disgusting, you know that? Anyone would love to be as beautiful and desirable as you are, yet all you do is feel sorry for yourself about it."

"Enough!" Keelor screamed. "Put the damn clothes down! You are right for gods' sakes! Now quit being a drama queen and help me get dressed."

Natalie's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Did Keelor just call her a drama queen? The irony of it caused her to double over in laughter. Keelor, the very picture of a drama queen had just called her one.

When Natalia quit laughing, which was sometime since every time she thought she had it under control, she would look at the dark expression on Keelor's face and round of guffaws would over take her, Keelor was standing there tapping her tiny foot with her arms crossed under her breasts, looking at her imperiously, she began to instruct the new girl how to dress.

"This will hold your breasts tightly and keep them from getting in your way so much. It will also keep them from bouncing around, which, trust me, can be painful by the end of the day," Natalia explained to her as she handed Keelor a leather halter with padded silk lined breast cups.

Keelor stood there holding the contraption with a look of confusion. Natalia saw the look of confusion and instructed her on how to put it on.

"You just stick your arms through here and it laces up the front," Natalia explained.

Keelor felt her breasts being mashed firmly against her chest as she laced up the halter. It did feel better not to have them jiggling and bobbing around every time she moved. She didn't feel so alien anymore. The halter was a must if one had to have breasts, she decided.

"I saw how much you liked that outfit I had on when we met, so guess what," Natalia said mischievously.

"You didn't," Keelor said in horror.

"Well not exactly," Natalia laughed. "I got you a pair of breeches along the same lines."

Natalia tossed Keelor a pair of black leather breeches. After Keelor pulled them up over her hips and got them buttoned, Natalia showed her how to lace them up the sides. As the laces were pulled tight the leather seemed to form fit to Keelor's new curves.

"One thing Natalia," Keelor said perplexed, "my...um...bottom is still bare."

"That is so that the men can have easy access," Natalia said in a deadpan tone. She kept a straight face for a whole two minutes through sheer act of will, and the fact she wasn't looking at Keelor while the girl stood there looking horrified. Then she looked at Keelor's expression and burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry Keelor, I could not resist," she said finally. "These breeches were made for the adventuring woman. That flap of leather hanging there in the front with the long laces hanging from the lower edge, you pull it up between your legs and bring the laces back around in front of you and tie them off. There you see. Now if you need to answer nature's call you just untie the laces and pull the flap up and all the appropriate equipment is exposed and ready for action. When the flap in position it conceals everything. See not a patch of skin showing."

"Fascinating," Keelor said, "I was thinking that by the time I got all this rigging loose and taken down I would have wet myself. Handy!"

"Now for your top," Natalia handed her a loose white shirt.

Keelor put it on and was absolutely swimming in it.

"Where did you get this thing? It's huge," she griped.

"You don't recognize it?" Natalia asked, surprised. "It was the one you were wearing the night we met. Here this will help."

She wrapped a belt around Keelor's waist. Keelor noticed her dagger was already on the belt. She adjusted it over to her left hip where she normally wore it. Then Natalia helped her lace up the cuffs of the shirt. They came three quarters of the way up her forearms. Keelor knew she was smaller than before but she didn't think she was that much smaller. She mentioned it and Natalia told her that they had altered the cuffs as the sleeves were much too long anyway. She explained that the new cuffs had boning in them holding them snuggly in place while the sleeves were loose and flowing from the elbows up allowing for freedom of movement while not interfering with her weapons.

"Now for the coup de gras," Natalia said handing Keelor a pair of cotton socks and a pair of new black leather boots, which Keelor needed no help to put on for a change. The boots fit perfectly and came up to her mid calf.

Natalia pulled her over to the full-length mirror that Keelor had been avoiding thus far. Natalia stood her in front of it and Keelor looked at herself in awe. The breeches fit to her legs like a second skin displaying her well-formed legs to perfection. The belt sucked the loose shirt in displaying her tiny waist and the flare of her hips. The bottom of the shirt hung down to a little above her mid thigh kind of like a skirt. The v-neck of the shirt teasingly displayed the top of her halter and the generous cleavage it formed with her firmly held breasts. The pendant hung just above the cleavage from its silver chain. Her raven hair spilled across her shoulders completing the vision of beauty.

"You know," Keelor said, "A week ago I would have been falling all over myself to possess this woman. Well, I guess I got her now, don't I?"

"Yes," Natalia agreed, "Skyla is not the goddess of beauty for nothing, I suppose."

"One thing though," Keelor said thoughtfully, "The hair has to go. I can't fight if I have to keep pushing it out of my face."

"You will not touch those beautiful raven tresses with a blade!" Natalia said horrified. "Do you know how long it takes to grow hair like that?"

"Natalia, I don't care how long it takes to grow it. It's my hair and it won't be growing at all if I am dead."

"You're right. It is your hair, but let me show you something first before you do anything rash. If you don't think this works, then we'll see about shortening it," Natalia coaxed. "Come sit on the bed."

The girls sat on the bed and Natalia began to fuss with Keelor's hair. As she worked she explained what she was doing. She also brought up something else too.

"You know," Natalia began carefully, "Keelor is not really a proper name for a woman."

Keelor stiffened. She knew this was coming sooner or later.

"Well what do you suggest," Keelor said, "You name me. I want you to have the honor since you are teaching me all the things a mother would have."

"You are sure you want me to do that," Natalia asked.

"You might as well, if you don't mind," Keelor confirmed.

Natalia fell silent as she worked. She finally finished braiding the raven hair, and showed it to Keelor. It was beautiful. Natalia had woven a thick length of snow white silk into the braid, accenting the black hair marvelously. Keelor was impressed as she tossed her head from side to side noting that no hair got in her eyes. She smiled happily for perhaps the first time since she had awoke after her judgment.

"I've got it," Natalia said after seeing her smile.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense. Who am I to be known as now?" Keelor said expectantly.

"You will be called Keelicia," Natalia said with mock formality, "But your friends will call you Keeli. Come on. Falcon is waiting and he is probably gonna tease you about how long it takes women to get dressed."

Keeli smiled at her new name and the girls headed down stairs to join Falcon in the courtyard.
 
 
Chapter 13
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
When they arrived at the door to the courtyard they saw that the other two companions and Talynnda had joined Falcon. Natalia grinned mischievously.

"Wait here. I will announce you with your new name," she said still grinning.

Natalia entered the courtyard stopping at the bottom of the short flight of steps, and clearing her throat.

"Presenting," she called loudly, "Lady Keelicia, Guardian Warrior of Beautiful Justice, formerly High Master Warrior Keelor." Natalia's voice dropped down to a normal level, "But her friends just call her Keeli."

"Well it’s about time," Falcon began, " I swear you women take forever to get duh..."

His voice died on his lips as Keeli left the darkness of the building and entered the courtyard. She walked confidently with her head held high, looking very regal. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked at the companions as if surveying her subjects.

"Natalia, dear, what was that scruffy little man over there saying," Keeli ask in a haughty tone.

"I have no idea, Mi'lady, your beauty seems to have struck him dumb," Natalia said half seriously.

"I see," Keeli said in the same haughty tone as she approached Falcon. She stood before him with one arm crossed below her breasts and a slender finger on her chin. She pursed her lips, head still inclined regally, as if studying a complex object that just wasn't quite right.

"Well, my beauty must indeed be miraculous to strike such a cretin dumb. He looks the sort that has something to say about everything," Keeli said adding a small smile when the others guffawed.

"I believe I saw a pitcher of juice over there by the others, and I find I am a bit thirsty," Keeli continued playing the haughty regal role to the hilt. "Please join us, Falcon, dear, when you find your tongue. I believe if you look down you will find it lying there on the ground at your feet." Keeli then turned and glided regally over to the others before breaking down giggling herself.

Falcon just stood there for a minute, his jaw working but the connection between his brain and vocal cords still preventing him from making a comeback. Finally he just shrugged and joined the others where they all were hugging Keeli.

"Cretin, huh," Jarrith said eyeing Falcon, while Keeli sipped her juice.

"Well, he deserved it after the way he tricked me this morning," Keeli said with a smile.

"Hey, that was for your own good," Falcon said, having found his voice. "Look at you. You are smiling and joking now where as this morning you were a reclusive sour puss."

"Well in truth I do feel almost human again after Natalia finished trussing me up. Gods, I am trussed up everywhere, my hair, my legs, my arms, my...well...you know," Keeli finished with a blush.

"Well we are all glad to see our old friend is starting to return even if in a different form now," Ashrod said sincerely. "We were getting quite worried about you, you know."

Keeli looked down ashamed. "I know," she said, "I am sorry, I was being selfish and feeling sorry for myself. Natalia made me realize that."

"Well, new body or not, we still love you, Keeli," Natalia said.

"Besides," Falcon chimed in from where he was sitting examining Keelor's huge bastard sword, "she is much nicer to look at than Keelor was."

"We'll see how nice I am to look at with your eyes swollen shut, Cretin," Keeli said darkly, then brightened, "Hey, my sword! May I?"

"I was thinking," Falcon began carefully, "I think you should get a new sword. This thing is just too big for you now."

"Nonsense," Keeli dismissed. "Let me see it."

Falcon offered her the sword hilt first, holding the scabbard. Keeli reached out and grasped the hilt pulling it smoothly from the scabbard with one hand. She had intended to do a showy flourish, but when it cleared the sheath, the tip dropped immediately to the stone pavers of the courtyard with a clank. She grasped the hilt with both hands, looking around sheepishly. With both hands, she heaved the great sword up holding it out in front of her. The tip bobbed and weaved unsteadily. After making a few experimental slashes, it was obvious to Keeli and everyone else that the sword was controlling her far more than she was controlling the sword.

"I will let you borrow one of mine if you want, Keeli," Natalia offered.

"Actually I think we should start with something simpler," Falcon suggested.

"What did you have in mind?" Keeli inquired.

"How about we start with a little hand to hand," said Falcon.

"You're on, cretin! Prepare to be soundly trounced by a girl! Hope your ego can take it," Keeli said rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"We'll see who gets pounded, little girl. I hope your ego can take it!" Falcon said with a feral grin.

The other companions winced at Falcon's retort, though Keeli just returned his feral grin as they squared off against one another. She fully intended to pound the tar out of him, taking out a little angst about her condition. Falcon for his part didn't know quite what to expect. He knew Keelor was a high master warrior, which meant he was highly skilled in unarmed combat, so Falcon was wary. On the other hand, Keeli was about 3 inches shorter than him and he had at least fifty pounds on her. Add to that Falcon was quite skilled in unarmed combat, and he would normally not have considered someone Keeli's size a threat.

It turned out it was a mixture. She was very fast, even without using her super speed, and she could almost land a blow at will. The trouble was, while some of her blows had hurt (he was going to have a black eye to prove it) they lacked the power to do any real damage. On the other side, she was very hard to hit. Her blocks combined with her speed kept him from doing any real damage to her. Grappling though was a different story. He dominated her when they grappled. It was after the fifth of these grapples that she landed skidding on her butt. She pounded the stones and screamed in frustration.

"Let's take a break," he told her, offering her a hand up.

She looked up at him, sweat running down her face, and narrowed her slate grey eyes, the one feature she had retained from her former body. She slapped his hand away and levered herself up and stalked off toward the table. He smiled at her toughness as he watched her for a moment before following.

"Would you like some advice," Falcon asked her.

She looked at him for a moment, studying his face for any trace of patronizing then, not seeing any, said, "Sure, I guess I could use some."

"Two things I noticed. One, you attack like you expect to have more power. You seem to forget you have lost, what, 70 or 80 pounds of muscle. You are simply not as physically powerful anymore. You simply can't grapple with me and expect to overpower me. Two, your technique is horrible. No offense, but, in short, you hit like a girl. This is not really surprising, since I have been watching you for some time, and you seem to have a lot of female mannerisms that came along with the body. You need to go back to the beginning and practice your technique. Do you remember the forms?"

"Yeah sure. I was an instructor too," Keeli said.

"Good," Falcon continued, "You seem to have the knowledge but the body doesn't know how to use it. Maybe we can all learn from you as you teach yourself."

"Hey that's a great idea," Jarrith interjected.

"I am in," Natalia agreed, as did Talynnda.

"A couple of points of interest," Falcon said. "You are very fast. Faster, I think, than you were before. Also, I suspect you are more flexible than you were, maybe even more acrobatic, you know, like handstands and flips, though you didn't seem to use it."
 
 
Chapter 14
 
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After lunch, Ashrod asked Keeli if they might go for a walk. Keeli agreed, feeling a bit cooped up in spite of the manor house's size. So it was that Ashrod and Keeli toured the grounds of the manor. They looked for all the world like a grandfather out for a stroll with his beautiful young granddaughter. This wasn't lost on Keeli, but she was enjoying the brisk autumn air too much to let it bother her.

"How do you feel, Keeli?" Ashrod asked.

"Like I got the crap beat out of me," Keeli replied smiling and unconsciously rubbing her sore butt.

"That will pass," Ashrod said, chuckling, "but that is not what I meant."

"I know, Ashrod. Ok, you want to know how I feel, fine. I feel overwhelmed. I feel weak and ineffective. I feel like the butt of a joke, perpetrated by Skyla. I feel like time is running out, and I am nowhere near ready to face Anderpaul again. Yet the longer we linger, the more people are hurt by him."

"Physically, I feel better than I ever have. I no longer hurt from old injuries when I get up in the morning. I tend to notice finer details more, like the texture of cloth and colors. I suppose that's part of being female, but it goes beyond that. Before, I was very aware of my environment. Now I feel in tune with it, if you understand what I mean. Before I could sense things, objects, men, animals, and so forth. Now it seems I can sense their energy too. I can also read their affiliations. For instance, your energy is purple meaning you are affiliated with Arcana, god of magic. Falcon's energy was green for Gianna, goddess of nature."

"Also that is why he had such a hard time hitting me. I could see his energy build up in his arm or leg right before he launched an attack. I might very well be faster than I was, but the reason he couldn't hit me was I could see it coming before it ever started."

"Those are all passive aspects of your Guardian powers," Ashrod explained. "Have you discovered any of the active aspects yet?"

"Active aspects?" Keeli asked perplexed.

"Yes, for instance, according to my research, Guardians had the ability to move objects without touching them. Try moving that pine cone over there," Ashrod suggested.

"How," Keeli asked.

"Focus your energy, then reach out with it. Envelope the pinecone within it, then picture what you want the pinecone to do."

Keeli gathered her energy, focusing it. It was, she noticed, much more plentiful and intense than it was before. She raised her hand toward the pinecone, extending her energy toward it. Slowly, the energy began to stretch forth. It extended about a foot from her hand and stopped.

"I can't," Keeli said after a minute.

"Nonsense. Concentrate," Ashrod coached.

Keeli redoubled her efforts. The tendril of energy extended out to about a foot and a half and again stalled. It was no use. She couldn't get it any further than it was.

"I can't," she said the frustration evident in her voice.

"It's ok," Ashrod said, "It will come with practice. How about we try something that you might feel is more useful. Might even make you feel better about yourself."

"And what might that be," Keeli asked.

"Well, your enhanced speed, can you still do that?" Ashrod asked.

Keeli blurred and disappeared, reappearing on the other side of Ashrod.

"I guess so," She said causing Ashrod to start and wheel about. "So what?"

"Well, in the same way you focused your energy to amplify your speed, you can use it to amplify your strength," Ashrod explained and Keeli's face lit up.

She walked of and picked up a stick about one inch in diameter. She tried as hard as she could to break it normally, but to no avail. Then she focused her energy and slowly began putting pressure on the stick. Soon it gave with a snap.

Keeli jumped up and down excitedly, saying, "Yes, yes, yes!" She looked around for a bigger stick. She found one about as big around as her wrist. It snapped as easily as the smaller one had.

"Look out, Falcon! My blows won't be so ineffective now!" she said.

"Be careful," Ashrod cautioned, "you could really hurt him badly with that."
 
 
Chapter 15
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
Keeli spent her mornings training in combat with Falcon, Natalia, Jarrith, and Talynnda. Her afternoons she spent exploring her Guardian powers with Ashrod. She made progress with extending her energy but could only get it out to about three feet so far. Her combat training was a different matter though.

Keeli had perfected her technique. It wasn't up to its former level yet but this body learned fast. They had taken to sparring again. Keeli decided she would surprise Falcon, having not told anyone of her newfound ability to boost her strength.

She and Falcon squared off, as the others, less skilled than Falcon and herself, sparred amongst themselves. Keeli began, not using her power, letting Falcon think he was up against more of the same, him having a very difficult time hitting her and her landing blows almost at will, but lacking the power to do any damage. They did this for a while until he grew tired of striking air and went to grab her to grapple. She caught his hands and their fingers interlocked. He smiled at her as they began to play mercy. She let him force her wrists back, letting him think he had the upper hand, for a minute. Her face contorted in real pain.

"Do you yield," he asked her.

"You wish," she told him through her grimace of pain.

He continued to apply force until he heard her wrists creak. He didn't want to break her wrists, and he wondered if she was stubborn enough to allow them to be broken. Yes, he thought, she just might be. He decided to change tactics. He hooked his leg around hers and pushed, trying to put her down.

She knew what he was doing and focused her energy. He might as well have tried to push over a tree. A look of surprise crossed his face as he tried to push harder to no avail. Keeli then began to slowly straighten her wrists. Again a surprised look appeared on his face. As their wrists straightened, beads of sweat began popping out on his forehead. She continued, bending his wrists back. She smiled at him, as his face became a mask of pain.

"Do you yield," She asked him.

He said nothing, redoubling his efforts. Soon she felt his wrists creak, stressed to the maximum. Still he said nothing so she used the same maneuver he had tried on her. She easily pushed him off balance and eased him gently to the ground, before she released his hands. He laid there a minute rubbing his wrists, and she offered him a hand up.

He smiled at her and slapped her hand away, jumping up and assuming a combat stance. Falcon kicked at her head but she side stepped outside of it and landed a crushing blow to his kidney. She was rewarded with an 'unnfff' of pain from him, but he recovered quickly, spinning around with a powerful punch. Which she also stepped outside of leaving his mid section wide open for the blow she landed in his belly. He 'whuffed' and doubled over falling to the ground. At first she was afraid she had hit him too hard but it turned out she had just knocked the wind out of him. Nevertheless he had had enough for the day.

"Gods, you got strong all of a sudden. What gives," he demanded.

"So how does it feel to be pounded by a little girl," Keeli razzed him. "Maybe I am not getting stronger, maybe you are turning into a weak little girl yourself."

"I will show you a weak little girl," he said and grabbed her and kissed her full on the lips.

He felt her hands move up to his chest and in the next instant he felt himself slam into the wall thirty feet away from where Keeli was standing. Falcon watched Keeli stalk over to where he had landed in a heap at the base of the wall. He saw the murderous fury in her slate grey eyes as she approached him, and he would have tried to get away but he was hurt too badly. All he could do was just lay there impassively until she reached down, grabbed a handful of the front of his shirt and once again picked him up against the wall. He felt himself losing consciousness as she moved her face very close to his. With their noses a hairs breadth apart, and her smoldering grey eyes staring pitilessly into his, he could feel her breath on his lips as she spoke.

"If you ever," she began with a tone that would have frozen molten iron instantly, "do that again, they will be prying your bones out of this wall, because that will be all that is left of you to send home to Mommy for your burial!! Am I making myself perfectly clear?" Without waiting for an answer she dropped him back into a heap and wheeled on her heel and left the courtyard. As he once again slumped to the ground, he passed out.

When Keeli had began move to Falcon after he had slammed into the wall, Jarrith and Talynnda had moved to stop her fearing she would kill him out right. Natalia stepped in front of them and told them, "Don't!"

They had all looked on as the last bit took place. After they watched her go, they rushed over to Falcon. He was in bad shape. He had several broken ribs and a broken collarbone. One of his lungs was punctured and he had fractured his skull when he hit the wall. He was dying. It was fortunate that Talynnda was there. She set to work patching him up. She quickly exhausted all of her healing spells to stabilize him. He still had the broken ribs and collarbone that would have to wait for Talynnda to rest and her healing powers recharged before they could be healed, but he would live.

Just as Jarrith was going to go find a litter to carry Falcon inside with, Ashrod burst into the courtyard.

"What in the name of Arcana is going on here?" He demanded. "I just passed Keeli in the hall and she told me to get out of her way unless I wanted to end up like Falcon." About then he saw Falcon lying on the ground unmoving. "What happened?"

"I don't know, Ash," Natalia said. "I mean I know what started it. He kissed her. They had just finished sparring and she had got the best of him displaying that new strength of hers. They were razzing each other and he all of a sudden grabbed her and kissed her. I am not sure what happened next. She just put her hands on his chest while he kissed her and suddenly he was flying through the air and slammed into the wall thirty feet away, but it wasn't like she threw him. She hardly moved, but she damn near killed him. We thought she was going to finish the job but she picked him up, said something to him, dropped him and left."

"Damn," said Ashrod, wincing.

"Look," said Natalia, "You all get Falcon up stairs. I will go find her."
 
 
Chapter 16
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
Natalia found Keeli kneeling by a tree. She had one arm on the tree for support as she retched and cried. She didn't seem to take note of Natalia's presence. Natalia just stood there for a while until Keeli was doing more crying than retching and then she spoke.

"You killed him, you know," Natalia said conversationally.

Keeli jumped, and then said, "The bastard deserved it! He...kissed me!" She said that as if she were saying, "He rubbed my face in dog feces."

"Yes, he did! However, if every time a man kissed a woman she killed him, our species would quickly become extinct," Natalia remarked.

"I am not a woman!!!," Keeli turned and screamed at her.

"The hell you aren't!" Natalia retorted. "Look at yourself! I don't just mean the way you look. Look at the way you act, your mannerisms and even the way you speak. I don't care what you were last month, you are every bit a woman now. Speaking of which, you are due for the real treat of femininity here real soon. I wanna see you argue with me about whether you are a woman or not once the cramps and bleeding start."

Keeli's eyes got round and she gasped. It was apparent she had never thought of that. She put her face in her hands and started sobbing again. Natalia came over to her and knelt down before Keeli and hugged the sobbing girl to her. Natalia just held her and let her sob it out. When the sobbing subsided to sniffles, Natalia spoke again.

"He is going to live, in case you are interested. He was hurt very bad but Talynnda stabilized him. He is going to be hurting for a while though. At least until Talynnda's healing powers are restored," Natalia said softly, feeling Keeli nod against her chest.

"Come. Let's go back," Natalia said pulling out a handkerchief and cleaning up Keeli's face. "I am sure everyone is dying to know how you slammed a 200 pound man in to a wall thirty feet away without seeming to move."

Natalia helped Keeli up and steered her toward the house, with her arm around Keeli's waist.

"So was he a good kisser," Natalia asked as they walked to the house.

Keeli glared at her.

"Ok! Ok! Gods you can be so ill-humored sometimes," Natalia groused.

They walked the rest of the way to the house in silence. Right before they entered, Keeli said quietly, "yes," with a little half smile.

It took Natalia a moment to make the connection, but then she rolled her eyes and smiled as they entered the house.
 
 
Chapter 17
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
The girls found their three uninjured companions in the common room. When Keeli entered, she saw disappointment, disgust, and fear pass over their faces. She lowered her eyes in shame. Natalia steered her toward the couch, and sat down beside her.

"How is he?" Keeli asked softly.

"He'll live," Ashrod said after a pregnant pause.

"No thanks to you," Jarrith said bitterly. "I hope you are not planning on finishing the job."

Keeli stiffened at this remark, and a little of the fire returned.

"As long as he keeps his lecherous paws off me, he has nothing to fear from me," she said icily.

"Look," Keeli said more calmly after a moment, "I feel bad about what happened. I apologize to you all. That was no way to treat a friend. He caught me off guard. I never expected or wanted him to do what he did. I was a man for the love of Sabri! How did he think I was gonna take it?! Surely he didn't expect me to like it! Maybe I overreacted, but he had no right to do what he did!"

They sat in silence for a while longer, before Ashrod finally spoke.

"So how did you do it?" he asked.

"I am not sure. I intended just to focus my energy to push him away. I was just thinking 'get away from me'. Somehow the energy did something else. It just sort of burst forth and carried him with it," Keeli explained.

"I see," said Ashrod. "Could you do it again?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Keeli said picking up a cup off the table.

She looked at the cup intently. Suddenly it flew from her hand, across the room shattering against the back of the fireplace. Ashrod smiled and everyone else looked at one another.

"That was amazing!" Talynnda said.

"Yes, well, while you people are down here entertaining yourselves with her parlor tricks, I am going to check on Falcon," Jarrith said in disgust.

Everyone just sat looking at each other in surprised silence for a moment as Jarrith stalked out of the room.

"Gods, it seems I have really upset him," Keeli said perplexed.

"Well," Natalia commented, "I think he might be 'that way', if you understand my meaning."

Keeli looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened in understanding.

"You mean..." she said her voice trailing off.

"Yes," Talynnda said. "It seems we have quite a little ring of unrequited love going on here. Jarrith wants Falcon, Falcon wants you, Keeli, and you want Natalia."

Keeli blushed but did not deny it. Natalia looked at her in mild surprise.

"Unrequited hell," Natalia laughed, throwing her arms around Keeli and hugging her possessively.

"I thought I gave him the creeps," Keeli said referring to Falcon's comments after the Judgment.

"You heard that, huh?" Natalia said surprised. "You little sneak."

"I don't think it was you that was giving him the creeps," Talynnda explained. "I think it was his attraction to you as a woman. He was having trouble reconciling the attraction with who you were before. He has put that behind him for some time now. He is quite taken with you, you know."

"Really?" Keeli drawled. "Ya think? But seriously, I had no idea until he...um...did what he did."

"You mean you haven't seen him looking at you. When you are around he barely notices anything else," Natalia said. "I really thought he would have more self control though."

"I saw him watching me. I thought he was just waiting for me to sprout a third arm or a second head or something," Keeli told them.

"The boy wants you very badly," Talynnda observed.

"Isn't that just too bad?" Natalia said. "She is all mine. Do you hear? Mine."

They all started laughing.
 
 
Chapter 18
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
When Falcon came to, he saw that Jarrith and Talynnda were in the room with him. His internal injuries and collarbone and fractured skull had been healed but his ribs where still broken. When he groaned the companions took notice of his consciousness.

"How do you feel?" Talynnda asked him.

"I feel like I have been trampled by a herd of wild horses," Falcon groaned.

"Here. Drink this. It tastes bad but it will deaden the pain," Talynnda instructed him.

"That witch really did a number on you," Jarrith commented. He had seen the massive bruising as the covers had fallen back when he and Talynnda helped the injured Falcon to sit up

"How is she?" Falcon asked quietly.

"She is chained in the cellar, in case she takes a notion to finish you," Jarrith said.

Falcon's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"Stop it, Jarrith!" Talynnda admonished him, then turned to Falcon. "We've done nothing of the sort to her. She feels bad about what happened."

"Well we should have," Jarrith quipped, "And she doesn't feel half bad enough."

"At any rate," Talynnda remarked, "I doubt that would stop her anyway, if she really wanted to beat on our ranger friend here some more."

"Hey, lay off her, Jarrith!" Falcon told him. "It was totally my fault, and I deserved it."

Jarrith threw up his hands in exasperation saying, "Why is everyone babying her so?"

"Because that's what she is right now!" Talynnda explained. "She may look all grown up, and she may have an adult mind, but it's a male adult mind. She knows nothing of the role Skyla has put her in. She is learning now what all girls learn over a period of years. Unfortunately, she must learn very fast, because she knows that the longer it takes, the more people are hurt. So she is pushing herself, pushing very hard, and there will be times when she will lose control."

"We must be there to bolster her and help her through those times. She has a lot of pressure on her small shoulders. We need to not lose sight of that."

"She chose this though," Jarrith retorted.

"Did she really?" Falcon asked. "Or did the gods thrust her into this position. Sure Keelor chose to undergo the Judgment, but keep in mind that he could well have ended up dead or worse had Skyla not approved. All that aside, do you think for one moment, Keelor, the very masculine High Master Warrior would have chosen to be a tiny delicate girl? With respect to Talynnda, that was a cruel price Skyla exacted for giving him the abilities he needed to stop Anderpaul. He has never done any of this for himself. He has only done it because fate has thrust him into a position of being the only one to stop the suffering. Besides all this, I owe him my life. If she sees fit to take it, then it is hers."

"You know," Jarrith said thoughtfully, "I had forgotten all that. I just saw her running around here like a little princess, everybody kowtowing to her, falling all over themselves to fulfill her every whim. I just didn't think about the strain she is under. It still doesn't excuse her nearly killing you, but if you are not going to hold it against her, I don't see how I can."

"Just keep in mind what she is going through," Falcon said, "and consider cutting her some slack."

"Words of wisdom, Falcon," Talynnda said. "You may want to heed them yourself the next time you get the urge to kiss her. So tell me, was the kiss worth it?"

Falcon leaned back and closed his eyes remembering the feeling of Keeli's perfect body pressed against his, and her wonderful woman scent as he pressed his lips to her warm soft ones. He smiled distantly as he relived the moment, holding it in his mind, trying to memorize every detail.

"Absolutely!" he said finally. "That and then some."

Jarrith rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in exasperation again, muttering something about lovesick fools. Talynnda just laughed amusedly.
 
 
Chapter 19
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
Keeli padded softly toward the kitchen. If was dark in the house and most everyone had gone to bed. She was dressed in her nightgown and was going to bed herself when she decided she was thirsty. She noticed that the light was still burning in the kitchen, thankfully.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw Jarrith. She paused for a moment, then seemed to make up her mind and walked on in.

"Hi," She said tentatively, testing the waters, as she poured herself some juice.

"Hi," He said in the same tone.

"Look, I know you have a thing for Falcon," she began, watching as his back stiffened. "I know how frustrating it must be for you that he has the foolish thing for me."

She stopped because she saw his shoulders shaking. She thought he was crying, but soon it became apparent he was laughing when he turned to her. She looked at him questioningly.

"It's ridiculous, isn't it?" he explained. "I want someone that could never want me, and that someone wants someone who could never want him. How pathetic are we, wanting what we can't have? The trouble is, I am the only one that knows it. I think he believes he will have you eventually, but you have Natalia. She loves you and you seem to love her too. You and Natalia..."

"Let me tell you a little secret," Keeli smiled. "There is no 'Me and Natalia', at least not since that first night. Sure I love her, and I think she loves me too, but I don't think she is entirely comfortable with the idea of being with a woman, no matter what brave face she puts on it. So right now we are like best friends or sisters. Maybe it will become more, maybe it won't. Time will tell."

"About what happened..."

"You don't owe me an explanation," Jarrith said.

"Your right, I don't, but I know you are angry with me about it, and I just want you to understand," Keeli told him. "All my life I have been a warrior, even as a child I knew that is what I was meant to be. So my life was spent honing my instincts and reactions to that of a warrior's. I was good at it. I was strong and powerful. I could intimidate people into making way for me just by my presence alone. Add to that I was a man and I found the idea of being with a man repugnant. I don't judge anyone for that, it's just not my way."

"Suddenly, I find myself playing for the other team. Instead of being a big strong intimidating man, I am this frail tiny girl. Men think they can take liberties with me now that they would have never thought of trying with Keelor, because I am no longer big and intimidating. And in truth, until I learned to amplify my strength, they could have, and I could do nothing about it. Do you understand how humiliating this could be? Well, that is just what Falcon did to me. He took advantage of me, thinking I am a frail little girl, and would just accept what he did because I was supposed to! I reacted to that the way any warrior would, aggressively! I never intended to do what I did! Gods! I didn't even know I could, but once it happened I was too angry and humiliated to regret it right away. I had to calm down before I fully realized what I had done."

"I don't expect you to fully understand this because you are neither a warrior trained to respond aggressively, or a man who has been forced suddenly and completely into the body of a woman. All I can ask of you is that you at least try. Fair enough?"

"I think I understand more than you know," Jarrith said with a distant sadness in his eyes. "Keeli, for what it's worth, I'm sorry I have been so harsh with you. I've been acting like a fool. I still don't think what you did was right or justified, but I suppose we are all allowed our mistakes. You, more so than any of us. I can only imagine the pressure you must feel and we should make allowances. It seems I am the only one who hasn't. I am sorry for that."

"Think nothing of it," Keeli said. "We are all under a strain here. So how is Falcon?"

"He hurts," Jarrith told her. "He is worried about you, if you can believe it. He is beating himself up about crossing the line with you. He says he deserved what you did to him and then some. I don't think he could bear it if you didn't forgive him."

"You know," Jarrith said getting an idea, "I was going to take this juice and tea up to him. The tea will help him sleep. Would you like to take it up to him?"

"Sure," Keeli said, taking the tray.

She paused at the kitchen door looking over her shoulder.

"Jarrith, just between you and me, I'll let you in on a little secret," she said, "You know what the scariest part about the whole incident was?" He looked in askance. "It was the kiss...I think I...I think I liked it," she said and quickly left the room without looking at him.

Jarrith found himself alone, smiling and shaking his head. "Keelor," he thought out loud, "this person you have become is truly an enigma."
 
 
Chapter 20
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
Keeli padded up to Falcon's room. The door was open and he was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. She balanced the tray on her hand and used the other to knock softly on the doorframe.

"Can I come in?" she asked as if afraid he would tell her to bugger off.

Those fears were dispelled when his face brightened at the sight of her.

"Please do," he told her smiling broadly.

"I brought you some juice...and this horrible smelling tea that is supposed to help you sleep," she told him brightly.

"You're a lifesaver," he told her accepting the tea.

"My god!" she said looking at his bruises, "Can you ever forgive me for this?"

"Forgive you?" He asked incredulously. "I am the one who should be asking forgiveness. I deserved everything I received."

"Nonsense," Keeli dismissed. "What you did was stupid and impertinent, but it certainly didn't warrant the response I had. They told me if it had not been for Talynnda, you would have died from the injuries I caused you."

"What I did was humiliate and degrade a beloved friend. What I did, under the circumstances, was the same as rape," he told her, "I deserved whatever response you desired. I violated your person and your trust. I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me."

"Oh, stop being so melodramatic!" she laughed. "You succumbed to your feelings is all, as did I, with my response. We both had a lapse in judgment and followed our emotions. I tell you what. If you can forgive me, I am pretty sure I can find it in my heart to forgive you. What do you say?"

"Done," he said. "Well, I guess the cat is rather dramatically out of the bag that I find you irresistible. How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know," she answered. "A large part of me finds it repulsive. A smaller part is telling me it's natural. That part seems to be growing as time goes by, but I am nowhere near ready to say I find men attractive. I suppose all of me finds it flattering, but don't take that as any kind of encouragement. I guess what I am trying to say is we are friends, let's keep it that way. If that part of me ever takes over completely, you will be the first to know, but don't hold your breath."

"Fair enough," he said.

"Finish your tea and drink your juice," she told him. "It's time for sleep. You realize, of course, that I am going to tease you to distraction, right?"

"You couldn't!" he said. "You wouldn't?"

He was noticing the mischievous glint in her gray eyes. Then she stood and leaned over him, and giving him a nice view of her cleavage, she kissed him on the forehead.

"Good night, Falcon," she said sweetly, and then smiled seductively.

"Pleasant dreams," she purred.

"She can and she did," Falcon muttered to himself. "Where the hell did she learn how to do that?"

Back in her bedroom, Keeli laid down in her bed after putting out the candles, leaving the room lit by the soft flickering light from the fireplace. She was almost asleep when she heard her door quietly open and a figure padded across the room. She knew it was Natalia from her scent. The smaller woman crawled into bed with Keeli, snuggling up to her. She put an arm around Keeli and their hands found each other and linked fingers. Keeli drifted off to sleep with a small happy smile on her face.
 
 
Chapter 21
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
Keeli awoke to a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. The two girls were still lying in the spoon position they had fallen asleep in. She purred for a moment, before turning her head to look at Natalia in the predawn light. Natalia picked her head up and kissed Keeli on the tip of her nose.

"Get up sleepy head," Natalia whispered and threw the covers back.

Keeli made a noise of protest and tried to pull the covers back up, but Natalia was having none of it. She began to tickle Keeli. Keeli squealed and tried to fend her off, but Natalia was relentless. Soon Keeli, giggling, had to jump out of bed to get away from Natalia's onslaught.

"Good, now that you are up, my raven haired beauty, would you be good enough to throw a log on the fire and get it stoked up," Natalia said as she stretched languidly on the bed.

"Hmmph," Keeli complained. "I'll stoke your fire alright."

She went over to the fireplace and poked the fire back to life then added more wood. Moving back to the bed, Keeli crawled sensuously up the bed from the foot, straddling Natalia's stretched out body. She stopped when her face was directly above Natalia's. Slate grey eyes stared into emerald green ones.

"Love, you always stoke my fire," Natalia purred, and then smiled teasingly. "Even if you don't have a log to throw anymore."

With that, Keeli sat down abruptly, pinning the smaller girl to the bed and began tickling her. Natalia squealed and laughed as she tried to buck her assailant off of her, finally managing it when she launched a counter assault. Keeli rolled off of her to get away, but Natalia stayed with her until she was on top looking into Keeli's eyes. She dipped her head down and kissed the raven-haired girl. The kiss became more passionate and intense than either of them had intended. Natalia who was still between Keeli's thighs began to grind her pelvis against Keeli's. Then she opened a second front as she began kneading Keeli's breasts through her nightgown. The hem of both girls' nightgowns had ridden up allowing skin-to-skin contact.

Keeli felt her nipples respond to Natalia's touch and become erect, even while the smaller girl's pubic hair was causing electric sensations as it slid over hers. She instinctively pulled her legs up wrapped them around her lover as she felt the pleasure build up inside her. Abruptly, Natalia began to shake, her back arching as she pressed her pubic mound firmly against Keeli's.

"Amazing," Natalia gasped in disbelief as she relaxed and rolled off the dark haired girl. She looked over at Keeli and saw that she had one hand on her breast and the other had found its way down to her mound.

Natalia shooed the hand away from Keeli's pubic area and replaced it with her own. She gently traced the outer folds of Keeli's opening with teasing fingers. She moved her hand up and placed it flat on Keeli's belly over the tattoo there, then moved it down pressing firmly on the furry mound. Keeli pulled her knees up spreading her thighs wide to provide Natalia better access as her fingers cupped over the Keeli's mound. Natalia's middle finger dipped into the warm wetness as it split between Keeli's tender folds. The finger began a return journey back up the slit until it came to rest on the hard little knot located at the top. Keeli twitched when the finger brushed against her pleasure center. Natalia repositioned herself and slowly eased a finger in to Keeli's slick opening. Using her other hand she began to rub the little nub with her thumb. She began to slide her finger in and out of Keeli while the thumb on the other hand rubbed the knot. Soon she had two fingers in side Keeli and began to move faster.

Keeli, who had been fondling her own breasts, felt the pleasure build inside her once again. She started to moan and squirm as Natalia's wonderful hand brought her to a crescendo. She pulled a pillow over her face and screamed a muffled scream as her first orgasm ripped through her. As her arched back collapsed back down on the bed, Natalia's hands stopped and she moved back up beside Keeli. She removed the pillow from over Keeli's face and looked at the warm flush on the angelic face she found there. Keeli's grey eyes fluttered open and she smiled a content smile. Her arms snaked up around Natalia's neck and the smaller girl's head dipped down kissing her.

"Good morning!" Keeli said as they broke the kiss. "Can you wake me up like this every morning?"

Natalia laughed and got up off the bed.

"Come on let's get cleaned up and dressed. I have something I want us to do," Natalia said.
 
 
Chapter 22
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
"Hey, you’re getting pretty good at that," said Natalia displaying her voyeuristic streak as she watched Keeli get dressed.

"I had a good teacher," Keeli replied hamming it up subtly for her audience.

When she finished dressing, Natalia told her to go down and get them a pitcher of juice and a pair of cups and meet her on the sunrise balcony. She nodded her acknowledgement and headed down stairs to the kitchen. Nobody else seemed to be up yet.

She arrived on the balcony with the tray containing the pitcher of juice and cups. It was still a little dark but she didn't bother lighting the torches in the wall sconces since the sun would clear the horizon shortly.

Keeli had just sat down and poured herself a cup of juice when Natalia arrived carrying her twin katanas and some other gear. She glided over to the table putting the stuff down and pouring a glass of juice for herself. Natalia drank her cup down quickly and began strapping some sort of apparatus to her wrists.

"What's up?" Keeli asked.

"I thought we would do a little exercising," Natalia said handing Keeli one of the katanas.

"Great," Keeli said, "Do I get a set of those?"

She was talking about the weighted bracers that she had finally realized was what Natalia had put on her wrists.

"Not quite yet," Natalia said. "I know you have that super strength and all but I want you to do this without using any of that stuff, ok?"

"Umm, sure ok," Keeli agreed.

"Let's stretch out a bit first," Natalia suggested.

As the girls stretched, Keeli noticed she was indeed much more flexible than she used to be. She could now stand with her feet together and touch her forehead to her shins. When they finished their stretching, Natalia asked Keeli if she was familiar with the slow sword forms. Keeli told her she had seen them but had never been impressed enough with it as an exercise to try it. She had thought it was beautiful to watch though it was more a form of dance than a combat exercise. Natalia chuckled at this and told her that she was due for a shock.

"Ok, let's begin. Try to follow my movements," Natalia instructed.

Keeli positioned herself where she could watch Natalia as they moved. At first she was clumsy and halting with the forms, but as they worked she began to be more and more gracefully. By the time they finished the first set of forms Keeli was sweating. She and Natalia continued until Keeli began to get shaky from her exhausted muscles. It was about three hours after they had started and the sun had risen well above the horizon. Both girls were perspiring freely in spite of the cool temperature.

"So what did you think," Natalia asked Keeli with a smile.

"Wow, I didn't think it would be that intense, but every muscle in my body is on fire," Keeli said quaffing down juice.

"Every morning from now on, we will do this as the sun rises," Natalia told her. "The forms we did are called the Sunrise Forms. This evening we will meet on the other balcony and I will teach you the Sunset Forms. We will do those every sunset."

"As long as you wake me up every morning like you did today," Keeli said grinning.

"We'll see about that, you raven haired pervert," Natalia said affectionately.

They picked up their stuff and went in the house to clean up. When they arrived at the dining room for breakfast, the others, less Falcon, were gathered at the table completing their meal.

"Hey! There you two are," said Jarrith. "We were just about to eat everything and not save you any."

"That," Natalia said sweetly, "would have been a bad idea, my friend"

It was half convincing since Natalia had worn her katanas today, a hilt sticking up above each shoulder. And the way Keeli was eyeing the pancakes with sweet butter and fresh fruit said there would have been hell to pay if they hadn't saved her any. Ashrod had the most amazing culinary abilities.

"How do you do it, Ash," Keeli asked between mouthfuls of the exquisite fruit pancakes, "I have been with you for some time and I can't figure out how you get all these fresh ingredients, even when they are out of season."

"A mage never reveals his secrets," Ashrod said mysteriously and smiled.

"So Talynnda, when were you planning on completing Falcon's healing?" Natalia asked.

"Sometime this morning. Whenever he gets up. Why?" she asked.

"I was thinking. We need to make a run into town and maybe get Keeli here a new sword. I thought he might like to go with us," Natalia explained.

"I could do it now, if you like, and you could ask him after you finish eating," Talynnda offered. "Besides I need to go to the temple for a bit to check up on some things."

"Great," Natalia said, adding, "You're a peach!"
 
 
Chapter 23
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
Once the clerical magic had done its job, Falcon couldn't wait to get out of the house. He didn't particularly care for towns being a ranger and all, but everyone suspected he would happily go into a pit of vipers if he were following Keeli. Jarrith decided to stay at the house with Ashrod. Everyone suspected this was because his poets heart couldn't take seeing Falcon following Keeli like a lovesick puppy.

So it was that the four of them, Keeli, Natalia, Falcon, and Talynnda set out for town. It was a brisk two-hour walk, and Talynnda parted ways with them at the temple road. They had made arrangements with her to meet up on the way back later on, and the rest headed into town.

Their first stop was the weapons shop, where there was a surprise waiting for Keeli. They had sent her chain mail shirt in right after the judgment to have it altered. She tried it on. It fit perfectly, though it was more of a chain mail dress coming down to just above her mid thigh.

Keeli was browsing the swords, rejecting most everything Falcon or Natalia pointed out to her. Then she saw it. It was beautiful. It appeared to be some sort of hybrid, a katana except slightly less curved, with a conventional cross bar, and it had a matching wakizashi (a shorter cousin of the katana, often used with it in two bladed styles) of the same design. The scabbards were lacquered a glossy slate grey color that looked ten feet deep. Falcon said later it looked just like her eyes. The hilts were done in some sort of smooth leathery skin dyed the same color grey as the scabbard, and were wrapped in a vivid blue thread in the pattern of a standard katana. It departed again from the standard katana by having a round ball of metal instead of a tassel. The crossbar was the same brushed finished metal as the pommel and oval shaped toward the hilt but tapered into a round blunt point of sorts about four inches either side of the hilt. It was also enchanted. She could see a glow of energy around it.

"Excuse me," Keeli called to the shop proprietor.

"How may I help you miss?" he asked as he trundled up.

"I would like to see that blue handled one with the grey scabbard," Keeli said sweetly.

"The lady has fine taste," the shopkeeper said as he turned and reached for the weapon.

"What are you doing?" Natalia hissed at her. "If we all put our money together, we still could not afford that sword. Hell! We could put you out on the street turning tricks and it would take even you a month to earn that much."

"Quiet!" Keeli commanded. "Watch and learn."

"You know," the shopkeeper said as he returned with both of the swords, "I have had this set in here for about five years, since the sword smith that created them sold them to me. I paid a pretty penny for them too. Many have tried to buy them but they didn't want to pay even half of what they were worth so I held on to them."

Natalia groaned. Keeli had picked up the larger katana. It felt magnificent in her hand. She slowly withdrew it from its scabbard, feeling for any catches or binding. There were none. It felt as if it just flowed out of the scabbard. She examined the blade, starting from its point moving toward the hilt. It was flawless perfection right down to the fine wavy pattern in the metal that was formed from folding it hundreds of times. Keeli lightly ran her thumb down the edge a couple of inches. It parted her skin painlessly and effortlessly, yet when she bounced it on her hand with no lateral movement, it didn't even crease her skin. The balance of it was perfect she noticed as she continued examining the blade. When she got down toward the hilt she noticed an inscription on the blade.

She almost dropped the sword when she read the flowing script that had been etched into it. As it was, she gasped out loud.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Natalia demanded.

Keeli handed her the blade, smiling. She picked up the wakizashi and pulled it from the scabbard. It too seemed to flow from its casing. She had no doubt it was as perfect as its bigger counterpart, so she looked and sure enough, it was inscribed too. Keeli read the inscription and laughed out loud. Natalia looked up in askance.

"Read the inscription," Keeli told her.

"By the gods," Natalia exclaimed, "What the bloody hell...this is too weird. Falcon, look at this. Falcon?"

"Falcon," Natalia yelled and Keeli giggled.

"What is so funny! Where is Falcon?" Natalia demanded.

"He'll be alright," Keeli said nonchalantly. "He snuck out about ten minutes ago when we weren't looking."

"Ok, I will take your word for it," Natalia said in exasperation setting the katana down on the display case.

"If you think that is weird, look at this one," Keeli said handing the wakizashi to her.

Natalia gasped as she read it. She hastily put it down too. Keeli grinned a huge grin. The swords were meant for her. Somehow, five years ago, an unknown but very talented sword smith inscribed the katana with the words "Beautiful Justice" and the wakizashi was inscribed with the words "Raven Justice".

"How much?" Keeli asked the shopkeeper.

"Well, I will only sell them as a set, you understand," the shopkeeper said apologetically.

"I will only buy them as a set," Keeli dismissed. "How much?"

"6000 gold," the shopkeeper said.

"Galloping green gumdrops," Natalia exclaimed slapping herself on the forehead, "let's go Keeli."

"Natalia relax, please," Keeli told her, and then said, "Falcon, may I please have my sword."

Keeli was holding out her hand without looking behind her. Natalia had thought the strain must have finally become too great for her, and she went mad. So it was a great surprise when the huge bastard sword was placed in Keeli's out stretched hand. It was all Natalia could do to keep from screaming. As it was she jumped as if somebody had goosed her.

Keeli handed the huge sword to the shopkeeper and told him to examine it. While he was looking at it, she took off her hooded cloak and handed it to Falcon.

"So what do you think of that?" Keeli asked the shopkeeper.

"It is the bastard sword of a High Master Warrior, and a chosen of Kale. How, may I ask did you get it?" the shopkeeper asked.

Keeli leaned over and smiled sweetly at him, seemingly oblivious to the fact she was giving him a great view down her cleavage and also the diamond and sapphire pendant. She spoke in a conspiratorial tone.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked him.

"Why sure, miss," he told her, probably more to keep his view of her cleavage than because he could.

"I was that warrior in another life," she told him with a winning smile.

He looked at her then at the sword and then back at her. He started to chuckle as if he thought she was making a joke. Then it all clicked into place for him. The sapphire and diamond pendant. The sword of the Chosen High Master Warrior of Kale. The rumors he had heard concerning the happenings at the temple. His eyes grew very wide.

"It's you," He said in awe, "You are the Guardian that everyone has been taking about. By the gods! It is an honor to have you in my humble shop, mi'lady."

"It is a pleasure to be here," she said standing back up right.

It must have reminded him of what he had been looking at because he blushed a deep crimson, causing Keeli to grin even broader.

"Now about those swords," she said, " you are holding a highly collectable and rare item in your hand there. I propose that I trade you 500 gold pieces and the bastard sword for these fine weapons. Before you answer read the inscriptions on them to me again."

The shopkeeper set down the bastard sword and picked up the katana and read the inscription out loud.

"It says 'Beautiful Justice'," he read then his eyes snapped back to her.

She was idly fingering the pendant hanging around her neck. Falcon, who had not been around for that discovery, gasped.

"Go on, read the other one," Keeli prompted him.

"No need, Mi'lady, I know it by heart. It says 'Raven Justice', and both match you perfectly," the shopkeeper said in awe.

"By the gods,' Falcon exclaimed.

Keeli was positively beaming. The shopkeeper, however, could not give in to her first offer without at least trying to wrangle a better price.

"1000 gold pieces and the bastard sword," he rejoined.

"Look, my friend," Keeli said still smiling sweetly at him, "you and I both know you would have taken the first 5000 gold pieces someone had offered you for those swords. I am giving you a rare collectable sword that belonged to the first Guardian to walk the earth in a hundred years. I will even give you a signed document of authenticity and witnessed by a priestess of Skyla. For that, you can name your price and someone will pay it, and I bet it doesn't take five years either."

The shopkeeper appeared to be thinking about it. Keeli smelled blood and went for the kill.

"Going once," she said.

He looked at her, then the bastard sword, then the katana, still thinking.

"Going twice," she said.

He picked up the bastard sword and appeared to examine it.

"Gone," Keeli said reaching for the bastard sword he held.

"No wait please," the shop keeper said slumping in defeat, "It's a deal. The swords are yours. By the way the set of them together is called 'Beautiful Raven Justice'. That is what the creator told me. He said someday their namesake would come for them. I thought he meant one of his people. I see now that beautiful raven justice has come for them."

Keeli blushed as she counted out five of her hundred gold piece bars.

"You are too kind, sir," she told him as she picked up the katana and slide it back into its scabbard.

"Sometimes I suspect I am," he told her as she ran her thumb lightly down the edge of the wakizashi, again painlessly drawing blood before sliding it back into its scabbard. "But in this case, I state only the simple truth, Mi'lady. Well bargained."

"Thank you very much, good sir," Keeli acknowledged. "If you go to the temple this evening, the high priestess will have your document of authenticity."

"Very good, Mi'lady," the shopkeeper smiled.

"Oh, and by the way, please keep my presence here to yourself," Keeli said.

"As you wish, Mi'lady," he said.
 
 
Chapter 24
 
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"Is everybody finished shopping?" Keeli asked.

"I am," Natalia said. "That experience at the weapons shop wore me out."

"I am too," Falcon said. "I got everything I came here to get."

"Very well, let's hightail it to the temple then, and maybe we can catch Talynnda before she leaves."

"Falcon, dear, may I have a word?" Keeli asked.

"Of course," he said, and they dropped back a few paces behind Natalia.

"Falcon," Keeli said in a low tone, "I just saw something I want to buy. You two go on ahead and I will catch up with you before the edge of town. Be careful with Natalia, she seems awfully skittish today. I don't think she will willingly let me out of her sight and I don't want the company, if you know what I mean."

"By your command," Falcon said with a smile. She smiled back at him and then blurred and disappeared.

Falcon caught back up to Natalia. She looked around and didn't see Keeli.

"Oh shit, where is Keeli?" she asked, the tension naked in her voice.

"Relax, Natalia, she had to buy one more thing. She said she would catch up to us at the edge of town," Falcon told her calmly.

"And you let her go? By herself?" Natalia asked like they were talking about a 6 year old.

"Natalia, please! Calm down. It's not as if she can't take care of herself," Falcon reasoned with her.

"Yes, but what if she gets attacked. She is not that good with those swords yet. She is a beautiful young woman and has no clue about the dangers she faces alone on the street. All sorts of criminals target girls like her. You know, pretty rich young women who are foolish enough to travel the streets alone with their fat purses hanging out for all to see. She is ten times more likely to get attacked than you are. A hundred times more likely to get attacked than she would have been in her old body. And she probably doesn't even realize it," Natalia said working herself up into a state.

"Natalia, calm down!" Falcon said firmly. "In case you forgot, we are talking about someone who damn near killed me without even moving."

"Exactly my point, you moron," Natalia told him, "If she uses that ability on a ruffian, that story is going to spread like wild fire. We'll be lucky if Anderpaul himself doesn't come looking for her."

"Enough!" Falcon said. "Nothing is going to happen."

"How can you be so flippant about this?" Natalia said. "This could turn into a real disaster."

"What could turn into a real disaster," asked a voice from behind her.

Natalia wheeled a found the girl in question standing nonchalantly behind her holding a package.

"Oh thank the gods!" Natalia said and threw her arms around Keeli, hugging her tight. "Don't you ever go off like that by yourself again!!"

"Yes mother," Keeli said sweetly.

"You people are gonna drive me mad!" Natalia told them. "Let's just go."

They did, indeed, make it to the temple before Talynnda left. Keeli asked to speak to the high priestess and was escorted to her office. She explained what she needed and the high priestess had one of her scribes write up the document, which Keeli signed and the high priestess witnessed. She promised to make sure the shopkeeper got the document.

"I am glad to see you doing so well," the high priestess told her. "Talynnda tells me you are having a rough time, but you seem to be dealing with it well."

"I try. I am taking it one day at a time and working very hard to adjust and be prepared for what I must do," Keeli said.

"That is good," the high priestess said. "I must say you are taking to your new role very well. If I didn't know any better I would think you had been a woman all your life."

"Thank you," Keeli said blushing. "Well, we must be going. Thanks for your assistance."

"Think nothing of it," the high priestess said. "Skyla be with you, and farewell."

The four companions left the temple and the remainder of the journey was uneventful, except a small talk that Falcon had with Keeli. It went something like this...

"If you ever leave me to run interference with your mother-hen-of-a-girlfriend again, I'll..."
 
 
Chapter 25
 
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Keeli was like a kid with a new toy. She was running around showing everyone her new swords. Everyone was duly impressed, at least they were for the first five times they were shown them, particularly when she showed them the inscriptions. She wouldn't put the things down. She had gotten the scabbards fitted how she wanted them and ran all over the house practicing drawing them, and telling everyone who would hold still for three seconds more information that they ever wanted to know about sword smithing. By the time sunset was near, Keeli couldn't find anyone. They were all avoiding her. They had all grown tired of hearing about how the blade wouldn't cut unless it was moved along it's edge, and how the folded high carbon steel was so much stronger than ordinary steel and so on and so forth.

As sunset approached, Natalia had to grit her teeth and find Keeli. Keeli was in her room...playing with her swords. Natalia came in and Keeli's face brightened. Her mouth opened too, but before she could say anything Natalia cut her off at the pass.

"If I hear one more word about how that is such an unusual hilt design for a katana, I swear, I will beat you with those swords," Natalia said menacingly

"I was only going to say, I was about to come look for you because I wanted to give you something before our workout," Keeli said with a hurt look, "but if you are going to be mean to me, then maybe I shouldn't give it to you."

"Well, that would be entirely up to you," Natalia said feigning unconcern.

"I see. Well, if you don't want it maybe Talynnda would like it," Keeli said petulantly.

"Oh don't be ridiculous, girl! Of course I want it!" Natalia said in exasperation.

"I don't know...do you promise to be nice to me?" Keeli extorted.

"Yes, dammit! If you quit torturing me, I might even be real nice to you later on," Natalia extorted back.

"How nice is real nice?" Keeli asked.

Natalia groaned and threw her hands up.

"Ok, ok," Keeli relented going over to the side of the bed and tossing Natalia a sea foam green bundle tied with a white silk sash.

Natalia untied the sash and unrolled the gi.

"Oh my god! It’s beautiful Keeli," Natalia said going over and hugging the girl. "I love it."

"So does this mean you are going to be real nice to me?" Keeli inquired.

Natalia, by way of reply, kissed her deeply on the lips.

"Whoa there tiger!" Keeli said with a smile. "Let's not start anything we can't finish. We have a work out to do."

The girls separated. Keeli took off her swords and laid them reverently on the bed then began to get undressed. Natalia followed suit, trying to watch Keeli at the same time. Keeli reached down and picked up a white bundle with a vivid sapphire blue silk sash, which she unrolled and began to put it on. Soon the girls were dressed, geared up, and out on the sunset facing balcony.

They had lighted the wall sconces since they would be working into the dark this time, and by the time they had completed their stretching, the sun was just about to kiss the horizon. They got into position and began their slow dance with their blades as the sun touched the horizon.

As before, Natalia led Keeli in the forms and they were using only one sword like they did that morning. Keeli noticed that her new katana was about three inches longer than Natalia's. With the hilt design, and greater length and thickness, she had expected it to be heavier than the borrowed katana she used that morning. She was surprised at how light it felt. She had no trouble keeping up with Natalia and still keeping her movements precise. Like in the morning they worked for about three hours, and both girls where perspiring heavily at the end. As their dance grew to a close the girls straightened and bowed to the sun then turned toward each other and bowed to themselves.

It was then that the clapping started. The girls whipped around to see their companions had all pulled up chairs and were watching them. So intent had they been on their workout, they hadn't even noticed. The girls looked at each other and then bowed to their audience.

"That was possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Jarrith said with a tear in his eye.

"Oh yes, it was marvelous," agreed Talynnda.

"It was fantastic," Falcon said.

"Falcon, you think anything Keeli does is fantastic," Ashrod said, "but in this case I have to agree. Good show girls, but dinner has been getting cold for a half hour now, so let's get a move on."

The girls just toweled themselves off after everyone complained when they tried to go clean up before dinner. Dinner was, as usual, miraculous. Everyone was stuffed and had retired to the common room to sit by the warmth of the cheery fire going in the fireplace. They all sat in contented silence for awhile before Keeli opened her mouth to say something and everyone hit her with a throw pillow.

"Hey, what was that for?" she said finally, after everyone had run out of ammunition.

"Because we don't want to hear anymore about how smoothly your sword 'just sort of flows' in and out of the damn scabbard," Everyone said in unison.

"Well that's good, cause I wasn't gonna tell you about that. I was gonna tell you about something I noticed while working out," Keeli said brightly. "I noticed that even though it is physically bigger than Natalia's, my sword..."

The rest was lost in a chorus of groans.

"Hey, come on people! This is interesting stuff, my sword..."

"All right, everyone grab a leg or an arm and I will tickle her until she stops with the sword," Natalia called and every one jumped up and started closing in on Keeli.

They had her surrounded on three sides with a wall at her back and she was in imminent danger of being tickled when she turned, took three steps up the wall behind her and kicked off flipping over their heads and landing on the tea table in front of the couch. As they turned, she did a back flip off of the table, landing on her feet near the exit from the room. There she paused and stuck her tongue out at them, insolently.

"Let's get her," someone yelled and everyone took a step toward Keeli.

She was off like a shot, giggling like a little girl. As they heard her footsteps disappearing down the hallway, they all sat back down.

"Do any of us have enough energy to be amazed at that little display of gymnastics?" someone asked.

"Na," someone else said, "I am too busy wondering how long it’s gonna take her to realize nobody is chasing her."

Everybody chuckled about the last bit before falling silent again.

Later they found Keeli in her room, dressed for bed...polishing her swords. So they quit worrying about why she didn't return to the common room. It seems the joke was sort of on them. She knew none of them were chasing her but she used the opportunity to be the first in the tub.
 
 
Chapter 26
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
There was a knock at her open door. She looked up from her polishing and saw Falcon standing there.

"You know, you are gonna wear off all the metal off those things if you keep that up," he said. "May I come in?"

"Sure. You didn't come all the way over here just to tell me that did you?" Keeli asked.

"Nope. I came all the way to your room to give you this," he said holding out a small wooden box.

"What is it?" she asked looking at it warily.

"Open it and find out," he said.

She cautiously took the box, as if it might explode at any moment, and opened it. Inside were two earrings. One had a small diamond in a setting above a large sapphire. The other had a small sapphire set above a large diamond. They were exquisite, and most likely very expensive.

Keeli put her hand over her mouth. She looked at him and then at the box and it's precious contents, then back at him.

"Why are you giving me these?" she asked softly.

"Because you are my friend and I wanted to," he replied.

"I can't accept something this expensive," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You have to. I can't take them back. The man who sold them to me is leaving town first thing in the morning," he told her plainly.

"But my ears aren't even pierced," Keeli said, still trying to avoid the gift.

"Big deal," he said. "I am sure that at least one of us in this house knows how to pierce ears."

"I can pierce ears," Natalia said as she glided into the room. "Who needs their ears pierced?"

Keeli held out the box to Natalia looking away and blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. Natalia took the box and looked in it.

"O my!" she exclaimed. "Falcon, you wouldn't be trying to steal my woman away would you."

"I am trying my best but so far she's having none of it. Look. She won't even accept a gift from me in friendship because she is wrapped so tightly around your finger."

"Is that all it is? Friendship?" Natalia asked and Falcon nodded. "Keeli, you can accept this. I mean, it's not like it's an engagement ring or something."

"I don't know, it is just so extravagant," Keeli said, looking at the earrings again.

"I am going to get my needle. Nobody move," Natalia said rushing out of the room.

She returned an instant later with a needle. She pulled Keeli over to the dressing table where the light was better and held the needle in the flame of the candle there of a couple of seconds to sterilize it. She took one of the earrings and held it up to Keeli's ear lobe until she found a spot she liked. As she started to push the needle in Keeli spoke.

"You better be quick," she cautioned Natalia.

"Why? You're not afraid it will hurt are you?" Natalia asked as Falcon looked on.

"Oh, goodness no! I was talking about this," she said holding up her thumb.

"I don't see your point," Natalia said.

"Do you see any cuts on my thumb?" Keeli asked her.

"No, none at all," Natalia said examining the thumb.

"Exactly!" said Keeli. "I have been slicing that thumb open all day blooding the edge of the swords, but I have no cut there now. I think I heal really fast, so if you aren't really fast getting the earring in the hole you are about to make, it will heal up on you."

"Oh, I see. Well, I will try to be faster than that then!" Natalia said, driving the needle through Keeli's ear quickly when she wasn't expecting it.

Keeli twitched a little but that was all. Natalia picked up the earring and as she pulled the needle through and followed it immediately with the post of the earring. Soon the other one was done and both earrings were in. The gems' setting turned out to be attached to a fine little chain and the earrings hung down from her ears and bobbed and moved when Keeli moved her head. She looked in the mirror, pushing her raven hair back behind her ear to look at the earrings. They looked perfect.

Keeli went over and gave Falcon a hug. Then she remembered something.

"I have something for you too," she said going over beside the bed and picking up a reddish brown bundle tied with an emerald green silk sash and handed it to him. He unrolled his gi.

"Oh wow!" he said happily, "does this mean I am invited to workout with you girls?"

Natalia and Keeli looked at each other and then looked at Falcon and bursting out laughing.

"What is so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing, nothing, sorry," Keeli said. "Sure you are invited if you think you can handle it. You might have trouble with that long sword of yours, particularly when we start the two blade forms, tomorrow."

"Well, I don't think I will be as graceful as you two, but I would like to try. Anyway, I have a gouache, I can use that as a second blade," he said.

"Alright, be at the sunrise facing balcony before sunrise and be prepared to sweat," Natalia said. "That is, by the way, very early so we should be getting to bed."
 
 
Chapter 27
 
O++++{{=========>
 
 
It was quite chilly the next morning when Falcon found the girls on the Sunrise Balcony, as they had dubbed it. They had all made a concession to the cold by wearing socks with their gi's. The girls had managed to get up early enough that they had had time for a cup of hot tea. Poor Falcon had barely managed to get up at all, so had to suffer the chill until they warmed up with the forms.

The two blade forms, Falcon discovered were even more beautiful than the singles. Keeli found that they took much more coordination and concentration. She was familiar with the two blade fighting style from her Warrior training but it had never really been her thing. Now though, she was beginning to enjoy this new style. Through she respected the slow forms she was still a tad dubious as to how well it would translate into a fight.

She said as much when they were on their way down to breakfast after the work out. Falcon had given up about half way through because he was having trouble following the girls. He was shaky and awkward, so he preferred to just watch and get a feel for the routine, before trying them in earnest.

After breakfast the companions went to the courtyard to do some sparring. Falcon got fairly trounced, though Keeli managed not to hurt him too bad this time. He also restrained his romantic urges, so he managed not to end up in traction.

They were taking a break when Natalia returned to them carrying an armload of wicker swords and wearing a mischievous grin.

"So where did you get those," Keeli asked as Natalia passed them out.

"I bought them at the weapons shop while you were getting fitted with your chain mail. I had the shop keeper deliver them to the temple and they delivered them here, along with your mail," Natalia explained.

"Oh my!" Keeli exclaimed. "I forgot all about the mail when I started wheeling and dealing for the swords."

The wicker swords, it seemed, were perfectly matched to the companion's swords, even Keeli's, which perplexed her since she didn't even have her swords when Natalia bought them. Natalia explained to her that she had told the shopkeeper they wanted replicas of whatever Keeli chose.

"Why the wicker swords though?" Keeli asked. "I think we are all have enough control not to do any damage to one another."

"Think about it, Keeli! I originally thought of it as a way to keep our swords from getting dinged up and possibly broken while practicing, but I am fairly sure that while you wouldn't have to worry about that with your swords," Keeli beamed happily at the mention of the quality of her swords, "if any one of us sparred with you, we would very possibly end up with a sword that was cut in half."

"Why do you think that?" Falcon said.

"Because," Keeli explained, having caught on to Natalia's point, "My swords are enchanted. They are unbreakable, unless the enchantment is broken, they are permanently sharp and will probably cut through a good sized piece of steel."

"Good point," Falcon said.

"So who wants to get spanked by me first," Keeli said brightly.

Keeli proved she was indeed the best of them, though only because of her special abilities. Both Falcon and Natalia had fought her to a standstill before she used her speed and strength to overcome them. Jarrith, though skilled, wasn't even in their league.

The best match though was Falcon and Natalia's. They really went at it. Neither pulled any punches and at times they seemed vicious. It really seemed there was something personal going on, almost like they had a grudge against each other.

"Wow! They are really pounding the tar out of each other," Keeli remarked to Jarrith as they watched the two battle.

"Of course they are! They are fighting over you. They are, after all, rivals for your heart," Jarrith explained with a sigh.

Natalia had just caught an overhand attack by Falcon on her crossed swords. Falcon made it a contest of strength by slowly forcing her swords down with his. Natalia knew she was out matched in strength so she brought her knee up delivering a vicious blow to the crotch. Keeli winched as Falcon's knees turned to jelly and he went down on them.

"Had enough, nature boy?" Natalia taunted.

Falcon's head snapped up.

"You're gonna pay dearly for that, you stupid cow!" he said angrily.

Keeli was just about to step in and stop them before it got out of control when Falcon sprang up with murderous rage in his eyes. With a scream of fury, he attacked. He swept aside Natalia's guard with his sword and with his free hand he punched her dead in the nose. Natalia's nose exploded in a mass of blood. She fell back landing on her butt.

"Say your prayers, you horse's ass! You're dead meat!!" Natalia said getting up.

"Bring it on, slut!" Falcon said coldly.

"Enough!" Keeli screamed at them. "This has gone way too far! It stops now!"

"Awww, little Natalia has to be saved by her girlfriend," Falcon taunted.

"One more word, Falcon and you will be picking your teeth up off the ground!" Keeli told him menacingly. "Natalia, go have Talynnda see to your nose."

Natalia didn't move. She was staring at Falcon with fury in her eyes.

"Move it!" Keeli screamed at her.

Natalia threw down the wicker swords and stalked off in a huff. Falcon opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it when Keeli wheeled on him with her finger up, daring him to try her. He just shrugged.

"Now I don't know what all this is about, but if I ever hear about it happening again both of you will answer to me!" Keeli said in a tone that guaranteed that answering to her would be very painful.

"Well you just better keep your little bitch on her leash, or..." Falcon said.

"Or what, Falcon?" Keeli asked. "Are you that jealous and petty?"

"Keeli, what the hell are you talking about?" Falcon asked.

"Let's see, she has me and you want me...it doesn't take a genius to figure out you were taking out your frustrations on her," Keeli said.

"Oh, please, Keel!. It was nothing like that. She just went off on me," Falcon said.

"It was exactly like that, Falcon!" Jarrith interjected, "even I could see it."

"Fine," Falcon said. "The two of you just think whatever you want."

He walked off and Keeli sighed.

"Jarrith, I am gonna go check on Natalia. Would you be kind enough to pick all this stuff up?" Keeli asked.

"Sure, I'll take care of it," Jarrith told her.

"Thank you," Keeli said and left to find Natalia.
 
 
Chapter 28
 
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Keeli was sitting on a rock outcropping in the forest. She was picking up pinecones with her energy and throwing them at a tree some yards distant when Natalia found her. Natalia rushed up to her and threw her arms around Keeli.

"There you are," Natalia said her voice quavering. "I wish you wouldn't run off by yourself like this. Don't you know you could get set upon in these woods and nobody would be here to help you?"

"Natalia, I think I can take care of myself," Keeli said gently. "What is the problem? Falcon told me how you were freaking out in town, and you definitely seemed on edge. Now it is starting around here too. What's going on with you?"

"I just worry about you is all," Natalia said. "You have got a lot of pressure on you and this Anderpaul character could come looking for you at any time. I just think you need someone to watch your back."

"Natalia, give me a break! Look at how shook up you are! You need to tell me what is really bothering you," Keeli said.

"I love you and I just don't want anything to happen to you!" Natalia said.

"Try again, please. What's on your mind?" Keeli again questioned.

"Ok. I'll tell you but you will think I am crazy," Natalia gave in. "Ever since we went to town I have had this bad feeling that something was going to happen to you. I know it is silly but it has been getting stronger. I can't explain it."

"I feel it too," Keeli said softly.

"You do?" Natalia asked stunned.

"Yes. The longer we stay here the more chance there is of Anderpaul finding us. He surely knows a Guardian has been sent to stop him. It's only a matter of time before he comes for us," Keeli told her.

"What are you girls discussing," Ashrod asked as he strode up.

"We were thinking it might just be time to get back on the trail," Keeli informed him.

"I was thinking the same thing. You seem to have recovered most of your skills and you have mastered your guardian abilities for the most part. Yes, I agree it's time we get moving," Ashrod said.

That evening at an early dinner Ashrod informed everyone of the decision. It was greeted with a surprising amount of relief. Everybody seemed to be having those bad feelings. The only thing left to do was decide what the next step was.

After many ideas were put forth and it was decided they would first go back to Ashrod's residence. On the way there, they would try to gain some intelligence on the whereabouts of Anderpaul, and what they were up against. They would leave in the morning.

Natalia and Falcon were still frosty with each other but at least they were acting civil. Keeli was reasonably certain that this state of affairs was caused by the sense of foreboding that appeared to be rampant. She hoped once they were on the road things would settle down.

The girls then prepared for their sunset forms. When they arrived on the balcony they saw once again everyone had collected to watch. For obvious reasons Falcon did not choose to participate, but Jarrith had a surprise for them. As the girls began the forms, they found they had a musical accompaniment.

The music, they found out later Jarrith was playing off the cuff, brought the whole thing to a whole new level. To the performers it was more sensual, more immersing. To the spectators, it became enchantingly beautiful. The two-sword form made it possible to almost forget about the person and think of it as two swords slowly dancing with each other as the fading light of sunset played over the bright steel of the blades and was slowly surrendered to the flickering light of the torches.

The girls decided by unspoken agreement that they would face each other instead of the setting sun. The effect was captivating for the audience, and Keeli felt she was performing for her lover as she watched the smaller girl while mirroring her movements. When the girls completed their dance they bowed to one another as the last lonely wavering notes of music faded away. It was a fitting tribute to their last night of comfort and safety. Tomorrow night would find them sleeping in danger on the cold ground.
 
 
Chapter 29
 
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Tonight, Keeli and Natalia would spend in a nice warm comfortable bed and in each other's arms.

"Natalia," Keeli asked as they held each other, "isn't this weird for you?"

"How do you mean?" Natalia returned.

"Well I mean lying here in the arms of another woman. I know you had no interest in women before now," Keeli clarified.

"That is true, but...it's hard to explain. I guess I know who you were, and I loved the man. You are still that man, but in a different package. It would be like if you lost a limb. Would I love you any less if that had happened? Am I making any sense?" Natalia asked.

"I suppose, but how could you have loved me? We had only known each other for one night before this," Keeli said.

"When I first saw you, I knew there was something special about you," Natalia started to explain.

"Yeah," Keeli said grinning, "my fat purse."

"I will admit," Natalia said returning the smile, "I was attracted to that too, but then after being with you, and the way you had treated me, well, the purse seemed less important. Then when you caught me thinking about taking it and you didn't beat me, or throw me out, or worse, I ceased thinking about the purse all together. Instead, I thought only of the man. Then you told me what you were doing. You were going to risk everything to save common people from suffering, simply because you could and it was the just thing to do. I knew from that moment I loved you."

"Then we went to the temple, and you were changed. At first I was disappointed. I thought that this transformation was the end of us as a couple, but then I saw you hurting and lost. My heart was telling me this was the person I loved, and this person needs me. The fact that you are now a woman hasn't altered what my heart is telling me, and that is that we were meant to be together."

"I feel the same way," Keeli said. "I guess I just needed to hear it from you."

"Well, now you have. I love you unconditionally and you don't have to worry about me leaving you. You are all I want in any package you might appear in," Natalia said with conviction.

"That's good. I think all of us are going to need love and trust to face what lies before us," Keeli said thoughtfully.

"Keeli," Natalia asked softly, "How are you feeling? I mean about being a woman."

"Right now, I don't see that there is much I can do about it. Sitting around bemoaning my lost man hood is not going to get it back, nor will it stop Anderpaul. I guess what I am saying is that now is not the time to worry about it," Keeli explained.

"But do you want to go back if you could?" Natalia asked.

Keeli looked thoughtful for a few moments then said, "Sure, I think...maybe."

"Girl, that answer was all over the spectrum," Natalia laughed.

"Natalia, there is part of me in here now that is Keeli. She is female and always has been. She seems to be content for now just to run the body, taking cues from the male part. You know like mannerisms, speech, and such, but I can feel her presence more and more lately. Mostly as emotions, but I can see that one day soon, she will be the dominant side, that is, if we don't find a way to change me back. I am sure Keelor will always be in here, but his wants and needs are slowly becoming secondary to Keeli's. Don't worry, both aspects have the same values and morals, and both love you. The thing is though, the female side likes being female, so when you ask me if I want to change back, well, Keelor is screaming "YES", but Keeli is screaming "NO". And Keeli is getting louder, while Keelor is losing his voice."

"What of Falcon? He loves you. I think he even loved you as a man, but was too macho to feel it in any way but as brotherly love. Now he is free to express these feelings without your maleness getting in the way. Aren’t you curious about what it would be like? I would understand. I did say 'unconditional'," Natalia probed.

"I will admit that the longer I’m a woman, the more curious I grow. But even if I didn't love you, I am not ready for something like that," Keeli said.

"Well, if you ever get ready for it, I will understand and support you if you want to try it," Natalia said with sincerity.

"You'll be the first to know. I promise. Now hush and let's get some sleep. I have a feeling it might be hard to come by soon," Keeli said, settling farther into her lovers embrace.
 
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In part 3, Keeli and her companions gather allies and storm the Destroyer's lair. --LCG
 
I would like to thank those that helped me with the proofing and structure of the story. I would also love to hear any and all constructive feedback. --LCG