Guardian: Protectors of Light (25 page)

Violina escorted Thomas,
Antonio and Bella out of the room, leaving Samira and Queen Eloine
alone with James. The fixie returned shortly with a tunic and
trousers that were identical to the ones James was wearing, plus a
pair of fluffy grey socks and white underwear.

“
Just give me
his shoes, cape and gloves, and I’ll be out of here,” she said with
a broad smile, but it was obvious that she wasn’t truly
happy.

“
Just a
moment,” Queen Eloine said. She quickly made a circling motion over
James’s clothing and then pointed with that same flat hand toward
the clothes Violina was carrying.

The clothes glowed
shortly, and the next thing that happened, was that Violina now was
suddenly carrying James’s wet clothes, and James was dressed in the
new, dry clothes.

“
Simple
swapping spell,” Queen Eloine explained to Samira. “Avoids
embarrassing situations... if you know what I mean.”
This statement of the Queen caused Samira to laugh. “Works like a
charm,” she said.

But she knew that this
wasn’t the moment for goofing around. Her best friend and little
brother was dying, and the fate of his life was in her
hands.

Her clumsy, tiny hands. How was she supposed to save him?
Like she’d saved herself earlier that day? Samira didn’t even know
how she’d pulled
that
 off, so how
could she possibly repeat that?

It was as if Queen Eloine
possessed the power to read minds (which she probably did, but you
can never know for sure). She smiled warmly and comfortingly at
Samira, and laid a hand on the young girl’s
shoulder. 

“
Do not fret
about him, Samira,” she said. “He is in pain, but he will be all
right. All you have to do is believe he will; the first step of
using Magic.”

“
But- I don’t
know how to believe...” Samira mumbled. “In... something...
impossible. Except when...”

“
Except
when?”

“
Except
whenever it involved a plan of James’s,” Samira replied, and moved
her hand subconsciously toward James’s, to hold it.

It still felt as cold as
it did before.

“
He- even
when we were young, he was able to do the impossible. I wasn’t, and
I still am not. I- I’m nothing like him, I can’t do
this.”

“
Samira...
Believe,” the Queen said. “Just feel it in your heart. Will you try
it for me? If you won’t try it for me, then please try it for
James. He’s relying on you, Samira, and only you can save
him.

He’ll die either way if
you don’t try. You saw how devastated your friends are, and you can
feel your own devastation in your heart... So... Do it for him, do
it for your friends...”

This made Samira think
twice, and smiled at the Queen. “All right,” she said. “I promise I
will try to save you, James.”

Something like a little
squeeze in her hand came from James’s side and a little smile
appeared at the corner of his mouth, causing Samira’s heart to go
on a flutter.

She could do it, and he
was trying to encourage her. But- he was unconscious,
right?

“
Is- Is he
awake?”

“
He’s between
asleep and awake, currently,” Queen Eloine said. “I bet that he
heard your heartbreaking beg as well... It’s one of the first
effects of the second Stage. We must hurry.”

“
Let’s begin,
then,” Samira said. “Where do I have to place the bowl with the
flowers?”

“
One at a
time, Samira,” Queen Eloine said. “We have to make a potion out of
the flowers and mix that with your healing powers.”

“
How do we
make the right potion?” Samira asked.

“
Like this,”
Queen Eloine said, taking one of the flowers out of the bowl Samira
was holding, and crunching it in her fist.

A golden, smooth liquid
poured out of the flower; all that remained was a yellow powder,
which Queen Eloine allowed to fall back into the bowl. The other
flower remained intact.

“
It’s easier
if he drinks this,” Queen Eloine said. “That way, it’ll stay in his
system longer. But we’ll have to use the second flower as well
tomorrow.

Now, it’s up to
you.”

Queen Eloine handed the
bowl to Samira, who carefully accepted it. She stared at the golden
liquid that looked smooth and as if it was actually liquid gold;
but of course it couldn’t be.

“
What should
I do?” Samira said. “Just- use my powers while helping James drink
this?”

Queen Eloine gave her an
elegant nod. “Exactly.”

Samira looked at the
Queen, feeling overwhelmed and not sure what to do. “...How do I
use my powers?”

“
Concentrate,” Queen Eloine said encouragingly. “Each magical
being has their own way of activating their Magic. When do you feel
the strongest? As in a feeling like you can take on the whole
world.”

Samira didn’t hesitate.
“When I’m singing,” she said. “Singing gives me
confidence.”

Queen Eloine smiled
warmly. “Then I’d suggest you choose a song that has a deep meaning
to you and your brother, and sing it to him while helping him
drink, if he’s able,” she said. “Even if nothing happens
magical-wise, you’ll be able to communicate with your brother’s
sub-consciousness.”

Samira nodded at the
Queen; the smile that appeared on her face reflected faith and
confidence. She was slightly hesitant at first, but started to sing
the lullaby their parents used to sing to them when they were
younger, while Queen Eloine propped up James’s head with care and
opened his mouth. The song had been written by their father; before
each of their births, he’d written a lullaby that was meant just
for them. Their mother continued to sing the lullabies after he’d
passed away.

“
Little boy, don’t you fear,

Know that
I’ll always be here with you,

Keep you
close in my heart,

Where you’ve
been from the start

Close your
eyes, go to sleep

Let your
worries fade away

Let them
fall, let them go

Like the clouds on a rainy day
”

She carefully started to
pour the liquid into her brother’s mouth; he was swallowing it, and
this encouraged Samira to keep singing.

“
Little boy, know that you

Will always
hold the key to my heart

I love you,
my little boy

You fill my
heart with joy

Close your
eyes, go to sleep

Know that I
will be here

By your side,
through night and day

To keep the monsters far away
”

Samira couldn’t describe
what happened as she sang; the pendant around her neck started to
glow, and seemed to add extra power to the golden liquid that she
was pouring down her brother’s throat.

He looked a bit better,
yet the blue marks were still there.

“
That was
beautiful, Samira,” Queen Eloine said, as she carefully laid
James’s head back down on the table. “We should let him rest for
tonight, and check back on his condition tomorrow morning. Then,
we’ll decide whether he’ll need another healing session or
not.

You and your friends
should rest as well. You need to regain strength.”

While the Queen and
Samira left the room, Samira looked back once more, at the boy who
laid there on the cold metal table, as silent as the
dead.

But she knew
he wasn’t. He was going to be okay, thanks to her; but despite
that, she knew it wasn’t just because of her. It was due to the
little smile and the hand-squeezing that Samira felt confident that
James would be strong enough to survive.

Fear Equals
Danger

When Queen Eloine entered
the temple’s main room, three heads turned her way. The teenagers
had made themselves comfortable, by undoing themselves of heavy
armour or other uncomfortable clothing. Queen Eloine had sent
Samira to go find Violina, who would have a clean dress – or
whatever else she’d picked out – ready for her to wear.

“
Is he all
right?” was the first question asked. “Can we see him?” was the
next.
Thomas spoke on such a high pitch while talking, that he sounded
like a little kid.
An anxious and worried little kid. But, of course, nobody blamed
him. Everyone was
“He will be all right, Thomas, don’t fret,” Queen Eloine said with
a calming voice. “We’ll perform another Healing Session tomorrow to
remove the last remains of the Flu.”

Suddenly, a figure
appeared in the doorway, and Thomas realised it was Samira, along
with Violina.

Samira’s purple,
double-layer dress had been replaced for a soft, lavender-coloured
dress that flowed around her like a fluffy cloud. Her dirty clothes
had been hung up outside to dry, along with James’s. Her hair was
down, and had been washed and dried; Thomas felt as if he was
looking at a princess. And a princess she was.

“
James is
going to be fine,” she happily proclaimed. “But... I would like to
go visit him again.”

“
Then I’ll go
with you,” Thomas said, as he rose to his feet. He looked very
determined, but also showed Samira a loving smile as he walked over
to her and placed a hand over her shoulder. “You don’t have to do
this alone, remember?”

“
We’ll come
with you too,” Bella said, as she stood up; Antonio followed
her.

Samira smiled at her
friends. “You should all come and say something to him,” she said.
“He might not be able to respond... but he would like to know that
we’re there for him.”

And so they went to the
infirmary, where James was still lying on the cold
table.

“
We should
put him in bed,” Thomas said, looking at James with a tilted head.
“He might end up getting hypothermic if he stays out here like
this.”

The others agreed with
him; Thomas and Antonio cooperated to lift up the sixteen-year-old.
Thomas lifted him up by the shoulders, Antonio by his feet.
Together, they walked over to the bed with the boy and put him down
carefully. “There,” Thomas said. “Buddy, we’re here for you. We’re
waiting for you to come back to us.”

“
Please do so
soon,” Bella joined in. “It’s been a dull affair without you
around. No offense,” she said, meaning her friends.

“
Nah, I get
what she means,” Antonio said with a teasing grin. “We’re missing
our bit of redhead-sparkle. Wake up soon, Jamey. We need
you.”

Samira nodded. “Indeed...
we need you, James. And we’re not leaving you behind.

Ever.”

The four friends stood
beside each other, shoulder to shoulder. Samira was right. They
were a Bond; a union. They couldn’t go on without James. After all,
they’d been warned many times to never split up.

They stood beside James’
bed for a while, until Thomas decided it was time to go to sleep.
Everyone agreed; Bella and Antonio left the room quite quickly, and
so wanted Thomas, but as he looked back to see if Samira was
coming, he decided he would stay a little.

“
Hey, you’re
going to be okay, you hear me?” he said, as he placed a hand on
Samira’s shoulder. “He’s going to be okay. He’s still fighting;
he’s fighting so he can come back to you. To us.” He turned Samira
around, just to show her the encouraging smile on his lips. “Your
brother isn’t one to give up quickly.”

“
I know,”
Samira said; she sniffled a bit. “I should... have faith in him.
That’s the only right thing to do.”

“
Exactly,”
Thomas said; to his surprise, Samira leaned forward, locking her
arms tightly around his torso. She looked up at him as if she was
about to kiss him for a brief moment; but she didn’t. She just
buried her face into his chest, as he accepted her hug, holding her
tight.

“
Take as much
time as you need, and then just follow the sound of my breathing,
so you’ll know where we’re sleeping,” he whispered. Of course the
last part had been a joke; the both of them let out a small
chuckle. “Stay here as long as you want. We’ll come find you in the
morning.”

Samira watched as Thomas
left. As he walked across the hallway, he noticed the candles on
the walls and on the chandeliers that hung on the ceiling
extinguished themselves one by one.
The house went to sleep as its owners did.

Only one candle remained
lit; one simple, candle, in the middle of the wall of the infirmary
where James and Samira were.

It was either meaning to
say that James was still awake, or it was still lit just because
Samira was there. Samira sat down and stared at her little brother
with worried eyes, trying to find the courage to grab his hand
again; maybe he would squeeze it again to let her know he was aware
of her presence.

And eventually, she did
take his hand, because whether he was awake or not, there was
something she needed to get off her chest. Something her friends
had no need of hearing.