“Wh-what’s going to be in there” Nat cries.

Her father brushes a strand of hair behind the young girls ear and pulls her in to a hug.

“I don’t know my love. All I know is it will be your worst fear.”

That causes Nat to shudder. Her twig like body can not fight off monsters, no matter how much training she had. Her father looks down at the girls almond eyes with great sadness.

“All warriors do this at thirteen. I did it, your brother did it, your grandma-“ before he can finish, Nat slaps his hand away from her face.

“And what about Sisa. She never came back” she cries, remembering her long gone sister.

Her father bends down and grabs both of her hands. “You are a warrior. You come from a long line of the greatest warriors there are. You will not disappointed me. You know I love you, and whatever happens In there, I’ll be the proudest father there is.”

That causes a small smile to creep up on Nat’s face, along with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. ‘Would my father rather me die, than disappoint him?’ She wonders.

Her father never really got mad at her. Except for the times she asked not to be a warrior, and let down the family. Once he locked her in a dark room for hours she recalls. But that was just fatherly love. That was the love she was always given.

With one last kiss on the forehead, and a hug from her grandma, Nat grabs onto the dagger and places it in her emerald coat.

“Oh dear” she mumbles, staring into the dark abyss of the cave.

Carefully and gently, she tiptoes in the cave, clutching the dagger until her palms bleed.

The cave is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s dark, but Nat’s eyes adjust. It’s cold, with a breeze coming from an unknown source. And the only sound is Nat’s racing heartbeat.

“Hello?” She says, surprising herself on how much her voice trembles.

“I-is there anyone he-here?”

A chuckle emerges from the darkness, and she instinctively points the dagger to it.

“What do I have here” an all to familiar voice says.

“Dad?” Nat whispers.

The figure continues to chuckle until she could fully see her dad in view.

“Y-your not real!” Nat yells, inching closer with the dagger.

“Does it matter if I’m real” he says. “I am real enough that you fear me.”

Nat changes the foot she leans on, never breaking eye contact.

“I don’t fear you” Nat states, with little security in her voice.

The man that looks like her father inches closer and closer until his chest is right at the dagger.

“Really?” He says with a grin. “What about all the nights you spent crying because you never wanted to become a warrior. All the times you have been locked up in the ‘time out closet’ for mentioning your dear sister.”

Tears start to form in in her eyes, threatening to fall out. “Stop!” She sobs.

But he doesn’t. “Your sister died because I made her come here, and she was too weak. Now I will discard of you to.”

“Stop! Please, stop” she continues to sob, pressing the dagger closer to his chest.

“Did I ever tell you what happened to your mother? Well, let’s just say she brought shame to the family in battle. And I am willing to do the same thing to you that I did to her!”

He lets out a horrendous laugh and that sends her to the edge.

“I SAID STOOOOOOP!” She screams, tears dripping down her face.

When she opens her eyes she gasps at what she has just done.

The dagger once in her hand, is now plunged into what looked like her fathers stomach.

With a twisted smile, he coughs out blood and says, “c-congratulations. Your just like your father. A merciless killer.”

He collapses to the floor, and soon disappears in the darkness.

No no no.

I’m not bad she thinks. Dad is not bad. He’s just tough. But as she looks back on things, she begins to grow disgusted at the realizations she’s made.

And then, she grows disgusted at herself. Because she enjoyed the moment the knife entered his body. She enjoyed the power she felt over the person she once felt so vulnerable to. And she didn’t want to let go of that feeling ever.