Bound (The Guardians) (7 page)

I stare at the gold bracelet. I got it wrong last time, but maybe… I ask, ‘Are you the one who united with Successor Arin a week ago, the one from the newspaper?’

She nods. ‘Yes! Well, we actually united three weeks ago. But we kept it a secret. I didn’t want anyone to ruin my actual uniting day; you know terrorists or worse, paparazzi. In case you’re out of the loop, which I assume you might be, I’m Anrella Montarus.’

‘You’ll always be Anrella Baxton to me,’ the guy says. ‘Oh and I’m Demmi Hopps. Before you ask – yes, I
am aware
I have a feminine name. I’m the youngest of eight. All my siblings are girls, and I think my parents just expected me to be a girl too. So they named me Demmi anyway.’

‘To make it worse…he’s Demmi Hopps the…’ Anrella starts giggling.

Demmi frowns and sighs. He says to me, ‘I’m Demmi Hopps, the “male bride” with a girl’s name. Life hates me, okay? The public already taunt me enough, not to mention my old high school friends who… I now no longer speak to because they won’t let me.’

‘Yeah the Guardians do that,’ Anrella says with a nod. ‘And I didn’t mean to laugh, I’m sorry.’ She gives him a quick, almost fake hug. I can see they’re quite close, despite their ages.

I smile and laugh gently. The two turn their attention towards me. I say, ‘It’s nice, and strange, to finally meet some normal people. I was starting to think everyone in this place is warped.’

‘They are,’ says Anrella. ‘Members of the Tower live in their own little worlds.’ The pretty young woman slides closer on the bed, placing her hands under her chin. ‘So…Leo finally picked himself a bride. I want to hear all the details! You two have only recently met, right? How did you convince him so easily? He’s a tough nut to crack.’

‘I didn’t convince him.
He
decided this on his own,’ I reply strongly.

‘That’s so strange,’ Demmi says, turning his head towards Anrella. ‘After all those meetings and dates...’

Anrella rolls her eyes. ‘Honestly, it’s no wonder he didn’t pick any of them. All the girls that he’s been “matched” with were self-centred rich bitches. I can see why none of them appealed to him. They all fawn over his status as a Successor, kissing his butt. But I don’t think any of them really gave two shits about the
person
Leo.’

The two imitate the actions of what happens when fans clamber around them. It’s funny, but it makes me think maybe that’s why Leo did this. Not that it changes my mind in any way.

Anrella turns to me once more, asking for details about our meeting. The two sit staring at me as I begin recounting the story. They listen quietly and seem genuinely interested. I guess they know better than anyone that the Guardians always get their way, no matter what.

Anrella frowns. ‘It’s sad to hear that you and Leo have been forced together on such harsh terms. Plus the fact that your father hates them makes it worse.’

I nod. ‘If you don’t mind me asking, how did you come to meet a Successor? You both seem pretty normal. I mean you’re not really from rich families, are you?’ I ask.

Anrella smiles and says, ‘Well not rich per say. My family has always had connections. My father is a successful business man who owns a lot of buildings in Poridos. A year ago we got invited to a posh event here in the Tower. It was honouring a Sentry officer who had been a member of the team for over 40 years, in some way or another. The event was lovely, lots of food and drinks, but I was so bored! There was no one my age and everyone was talking about their own importance. So I took stroll out into the gardens for some air. It was night and everything was gorgeous, lights in the trees and really peaceful. That’s when I found Arin. He was sitting by the large centrepiece fountain. I scooted over and sat near him, I didn’t want to miss a chance to talk to an actual Successor. But he was clearly depressed and totally drunk. When I started talking to him, he admitted to me that his life wasn’t as good as everyone thinks. I sat by him for hours and we swapped stories. I made a joke that he wouldn’t hold up well under torture if a few beverages were to blame for his sudden lecture. And well…’

I stare intently, focused on her romantic story.

She laughs loudly. ‘The next thing I know, I’m waking up in his bedroom and he’s all “unite with me!”’

My jaw drops. Demmi turns to her, ‘You told me he asked you over dinner!’

‘Yeah I lied, okay?’

Demmi folds his arms, ‘I can’t believe you sealed the deal with sex…for shame, Anrella.’

‘You’re one to talk,’ she shouts. ‘If Lord Neros finds out what you’ve been doing to his daughter you are so dead!’

Demmi cries innocently, ‘B-but she came on to me! You know how aggressive she is!’

My door fiercely bursts open. A young woman, no older than fifteen, stands there. She has long blonde hair pulled up into two piggy tails. She’s wearing a short, light pink dress with a grey jacket over the top. She’s so beautiful, but her face is twisted with anger.

She cries, ‘Demmi!’

‘Soren!’ He jumps and leans backwards into Anrella. ‘Spirits in the night’s sky, tell me she didn’t hear me!’ 

Soren marches over, walking right up to the bed, standing over him. She grabs him by the shirt. ‘You were supposed to wait for me before you picked up the new sheet music. To make it worse you practised it already. Do not deny it; I saw it on the piano!’ Soren unexpectedly lets go. She grabs her heart and collapses dramatically to her knees. Facing away from us, she covers her face with her hands.

The look on my face must be strange and prompts Demmi to explain what I’ve seen. ‘Mellea this is Successor Soren, third child and only daughter of Lord Neros and Lady Lethia. Aka, Leo’s little sister. As for why she is on the floor, she is upset because we take lessons at Bendoc Chamber of Arts together and I picked up the new piano recital music while she was away.’

I reply, ‘My friend Blade goes there. He’s my age so that’s amazing you two go there. Aren’t you a little young to be taking classes at university?’

‘It’s only music lessons. Before this I was a normal student at Absotras Upper. But there was no way they were going to let a
future bride
go to a highly underfunded public high school
.
So now I have classes here in the Tower with Soren and a tutor. Twice a week we go and enjoy a bit of musical education. It takes up most of our time here. Soren isn’t really on Successor duties yet. She—’

Soren cuts him off with a long, high pitched weeping sound. She remains perched in the exact same floor position with her hands over her face. She doesn’t want to talk, she wants to be noticed.

Demmi rolls his eyes and slides off the bed. He stands behind her, bending over to look at her upside down. Soren moves her hands away from her face when he calls her name.

He smiles. ‘Listen, I picked up the music and that’s it. I swear these fingers never touched a single key while you were gone.’ He moves in and bumps noses with her, making her smile. Demmi walks around in front and reaches out. ‘Come on, I will play it with you now.’ Soren gets up and puts her hand in his. Demmi says goodbye and waves at us before shutting the door behind them both.

I laugh. ‘Wow…spoilt isn’t she?’

Anrella giggles. ‘That’s an understatement! But deep down they’re totally in love, so I guess that makes it all right somehow.’

‘How did those two even end up together?’ I ask. He seems like a simple high school boy from what he’d said.

‘I actually don’t know much more than what he’s said,’ Anrella admits, sliding off the bed. ‘I think he’s in the same boat as us two, just a strange twist of fate. Come to think of it, have you noticed how this generation’s brides are all… normal? That’s never happened before.’

Maybe this particular group of Montarus Successors have some sick desire for those who stand up to them or something. I don’t know.

Anrella yawns and stretches over her head. ‘Well, I’d better be heading off too. Arin is getting home tomorrow from a project, so I should get my work done before he gets back.’

As the door shuts behind her, I sit back on my bed and close my eyes. Both Anrella and Demmi are lucky. They seem to love their Successor partners. With Leo and I… that’s never going to happen.

CHAPTER ten

‘Rise and shine, little bride,’ calls a voice in my room.

It’s early morning and the bright light hitting my sleepy eyes blinds me. I roll in the bed to see chief-of-staff Elentia standing near me again. Thankfully this time not too close to my face. Poppy and Teri are walking around my room fixing things up.

I start freaking out. I’d been sleeping so deeply that I didn’t even hear them enter. I mean, how long had they been in there?

I watch Teri place thick books on the table with a thump and I turn my head to Elentia for answers. ‘Come on. Get up,’ she says.

I rub my eyes. ‘What’s going on?’

‘It’s time to begin your studies of course!’

I slowly slip out of bed and pull my hair over my shoulder. Elentia tells me to get dressed. ‘After breakfast you will begin reading these books and then there is going to be a test.’

‘Why am I doing this?’ I ask.

Elentia impatiently sighs. ‘Do you think that a bride to a Successor sits around here all day looking pretty? Dancing carelessly through the fields, with your hair flying in the breeze, whilst waiting for your beloved to return?’

I say with squinted eyes, ‘No…but you sure paint quite a picture there, Elentia.’

She loudly says, ‘No indeed! A bride will one day walk beside the future Lord Guardian as Lady Guardian. You must know about politics, etiquette, social rank and the various regions of Selestia. You must be well educated, poised and beautiful.’

She really gets into this… and that description sounds like the exact opposite of me.

As Elentia straightens the books on the desk, I approach her.

‘You know, I wasn’t kidding when I said that can’t do this. I really can’t. And I don’t understand why I have to study anyway. I’m
not
going to unite with Leo. And even
if
I did, and that’s a big
if
, he’s the middle child. Arin is next in line to be Lord Guardian. Chances are I will never be Lady Guardian.’

The moment I throw the idea of me and being Lady Guardian together in a sentence, I feel sick.

‘That is true,’ Elentia replies twisting on her high heeled feet. ‘But that doesn’t mean you can simply get out of studying by that logic. You will still be in the public eye and seen as member of the Montarus family. You need to present yourself as someone who would be worthy of the title Lady Guardian, if ever given it.’

I say, ‘But “the public” will never know I exist! I’m going to be locked up in this stupid room all the time.’

Elentia tidies her dark brown bun. ‘Once you prove your commitment through studying and hard work, your probationary period will end. Then you will be allowed to leave the Tower.’

I excitedly reply, ‘Really?’

‘With escort of course,’ Elentia adds. I feel my smile drop. ‘It is for your own safety. As a future bride you are a target for those who oppose the Guardians. You would not be the first Successor bride-to-be that was killed before your uniting day.’

‘Oh, well great,’ I say sarcastically.

‘Enough chitchat. It is time to get on with the day. I will return later this afternoon to check your progress.’

Elentia and the maids soon depart. I eat my prepared breakfast and change into another green dress provided for me. I think I’ve owned all of two dresses my entire life. I miss pants.

I sit at the table, staring at the mountain of work before me. There are so many books on topics I haven’t even heard of. I pick up one and open the first page.

‘The history of the Guardians dates back to the Laprion era… when the first islanders of the west made their way to the mainland and discovered the crystal conglomerate that would be later hollowed and constructed into the Guardians Tower…’ I stop reading and moan loudly. The writing in the book is way too small and went on to use big words that confuse me.

I flick through the books until I see one that is brightly coloured. It’s small with only few pages. The title is called, “The first Guardians
”
… Wait, this is a children’s book! What, does she think I’m stupid or something?

I go to put the book down and then pull it back up. I slowly move my hands around it and open the cover.

A long, long time ago there was a brave warrior from the Island of Fields to the south. His small home was under attack from a large island to its west. The fighting started over who should be the first to claim the Centreland and be the new leader of Selestia. One day after a battle at sea, the warrior’s ship crashed onto the mainland. Seeking answers and wanting peace, he journeyed with his men across many lands. They walked for seven days before finally reaching a big crystal tower in the middle of nowhere… I stop reading for a moment to admire the artwork. The characters are cute and brightly coloured. I continue.

The man, tired and lost, was feeling scared. His people were becoming weak. They needed somewhere stable to rest. The man, all alone and desperate started to carve into the crystal tower. All of sudden, the fragile core collapsed and a light shined before him. He had unearthed a trapped deity who was waiting for The Pure One.

I turn the page gently.

The spirits of the other world saw his determination and decided that he was The Pure One they had been waiting for. He was the one who would lead Selestia and maintain peace. They then bestowed the man with great powers. The gift came on the condition that he and his family, for all time, must protect the peoples of Selestia. He accepted the great honour, and burden, and on that day became the very first Lord Guardian of Selestia.

I shut the book.

As ridiculous as it sounds, even adults true to the faith of Livolism believe that story. They believe that the spirits put a woman in a giant block of crystal, and the one person pure enough to set her free was the one they would intrust to be the mortal embodiment of their divine will.