A dagger

Inside the box was a dagger, currently sheathed in hard leather. It's short handle was wrapped with red cord to provide extra grip. On the butt end of the hilt was a large red gem, the size of one of Katarina's fingernails it shone despite the limited light in the room it must of cost a fortune. to have such a large cut gemstone. She pulled the leather sheath away and it revealed a gleaming blade, similar to her elven spearhead. The blade was about one and a half handspans long, it started wider at the hilt and tapered to a tip with a rounded shape. The dagger fit into her hand perfectly and she could tell that the balance point was just a touch below the crossguard, on the actual blade itself. This would keep it pointing down when worn in the sheath and also give her perfect control over the blade. A ridge ran along the middle of the blade making it lighter but still maintaining a sturdy structure. It was the finest blade she had seen, and it had just been sitting in her father's chest.

Putting the blade back in its sheathe she looked at the box. Sitting underneath the dagger was an old bit of parchment filled with her father's scratchy handwriting.

"My Dear Kitten

If you are reading this then I am likely to have passed into the stars already. Your mother had a difficult birth and we had to seek the help of the witch in the woods. If it weren't for her, neither you or your mother would be alive.

The witch fainted just after you were born and your mother and I had no idea what to do. However she woke shortly afterwards and told us that she had premonitions of you and what you would go on to do. She did not tell us much other than that you would leave the village after my **** and that you would need a red gemstone that she gave us.

I didn't really see what a gemstone could possibly do so when an elvish trader came through the village, I bought some of their famous metal and made the dagger with the gem set into the hilt. It took me months of experimentation before I could get a fire hot enough to shape the blasted stuff. You'll likely not have to sharpen it ever but don't lose it, its one of a kind.

Now, I'm not sure what you are going to be doing out there, and I do so hope that your mother is alive for the witch did not mention anything about her. Just know that I'll always be watching.

Dad"

It took her much too long to read the short message and the parchment was wet by the time she had finished with it. She re-read it again and again, her father was always a man to get straight to the point but she wished he had written more than what was there. Eventually she just sat there, clutching the parchment in both hands and staring at the page, not really reading it but taking in the spidery script.

At some point, Eobard had gotten up and went to help her mother move her father's body.