Guardians of Rhea (2 page)

“I’m already trembling,” Arthur
snickered.

“Have we ever tried to have an open dialog,
or some kind of treaty with the Rheans?”

Arthur thought for several seconds. “You know
what? Your sister was given that assignment! There have been a few
exchanges here and there, but nothing significant.”

“And why is that?”

“I don't know. What’s your point?”

“We should try to learn as much as we can
about them. Know your enemy, right?” Sara said, as she and Arthur
stopped at one of the dormitory halls.

“Get dressed,” Arthur said, continuing down
the hall.

Sara entered her dorm room. After bathing and
dressing up in a clean uniform, she stepped back into the hall.

Arthur was several doors down heading toward
her. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“There’s one thing you should know before we
move on,” Arthur said. “The Consular won’t be able to make it, so
an Elite will knight you.”

Sara’s mouth and shoulders dropped like
anchors.

“I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to
be.”

Sara’s head and arms reeled back. “No! It’s
bad enough I don’t get a ceremony, and now I have to be knighted by
an Elite.”

Arthur grabbed Sara by the shoulder. “What
are you saying? You are getting a ceremony, and an Elite replaces
the Consular if anything ever happens to him.”

Sara could no longer hold her head up. “I
thought the reason I was graduating alone was because I did so
well.”

“You have done well,
very
well,”
Arthur assured her. “I’ve taught you everything I know and you’ve
passed all the tests.”

Sara didn’t feel any better. Her ceremony
seemed to be getting cheaper by the minute.

Arthur rubbed her back. “Sara, don’t worry,
okay. Trust me. Just because you’re being knighted differently
doesn’t make you any less of a Guardian.”

Sara grunted in anger.

“Alright?” Arthur asked, lightly pushing Sara
on the shoulders.

“Alright.”

They left the hall through a stairwell and
entered a much bigger hall. Two Guardians escorted them to a large
set of double doors decorated with ebony and ivory trim.

Guardians called the next room the Chamber of
Ascension.

Standing before Sara halfway through the room
was an Elite, Thomas.

Elites were Guardians who only took orders
from the Consular. Sara slowly approached Thomas and knelt before
him. She could feel her heart pounding.

Arthur and the escorts stood to the side and
watched.

Thomas pulled an odd-looking weapon, a halo,
from his holster. It was similar to a chakram. This one was a foot
in diameter. Most of the ring was sectioned off with razor-sharp
blades. Only three sections between the blades were safe to hold.
If an untrained person tried using this weapon, he would most
likely end up hurting himself rather than his opponent.

Holding the halo above Sara’s head, Thomas
spoke. “You’ve trained long and hard to reach this point. The road
ahead is filled with great danger. But with your knowledge and your
skills you can overcome them. Always remember that you are never
alone. From here on, you are now part of a special order. Rise, and
go forth as a Guardian Ranger.”

Sara stood, maintaining a stoic look as she
watched Thomas turn and leave through a door at the back of the
room.

Arthur approached behind her. “Now before you
start complaining, that’s about as long as the regular ceremony. We
like to keep it short and sweet.”

Sara stood motionless, now almost in shock,
but managed to crack a smile. “That’s it?”

“Be proud, Sara. Not everyone makes it this
far.”

Sara wished it were that easy. She had gone
through hundreds of painful sparring sessions and long hours of
studying to become a Guardian. There
was
a sense of
accomplishment, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was
just…cheap.

Arthur flicked his finger close to her ear to
snap her back to reality. “We’ll see the Marshal today. He’ll give
you your very first assignment. You have some time, so you can go
ahead and tell all your friends.”

Sara looked at Arthur in disbelief. “Tell
them what? That I graduated by myself in a ceremony that lasted ten
seconds?”

Arthur shook his head. “You’re not the only
person who’s ever graduated alone. Granted, there are very few who
do, but I told you, being knighted differently makes you no less a
Guardian.”

Sara let out a long sigh. “I guess so.”

CHAPTER THREE

New Haven had many spots where people liked
to hang out. For Sara and her friends, Juli and Marian, it was a
particular spot, a clearing, partially surrounded by trees.

Juli, a fair woman with fire-red hair, spun
into the clearing. “I can’t believe William asked me to the
ball.”

Marian teased. “Of course he did! There was
no one else left for him to ask.” She and Sara laughed.

Juli pouted. “Don’t be so mean, Marian.
Besides, it’s not true. He just had to make sure I wasn’t already
going with someone.”

“I know, I know,” Marian snickered. “All the
girls he asked already had someone to go with.”

Juli clinched her teeth. “Marian!” she
grunted and quickly took off, trying to catch her antagonist.

“Careful!” Sara hollered as she watched her
friends dart past the large rocks.

It didn’t take long for Juli to tackle Marian
to the ground.

Marian tried to wrestle back but was laughing
too hard. “Ow! You’re always playing so rough.”

“Say sorry,” Juli said, holding Marian’s arms
down.

“Ok, sorry,” Marian said with a laugh.

Juli let go, but not throwing a handful of
grass at Marian.

Sara helped Marian back to her feet. “Don’t
be upset, Juli. At least the both of you have someone to go with.
Nobody’s asked me.”

“No one has to ask you. You’re a Guardian,
you have to go,” Juli said.

Sara shrugged. “Just because the Guardians
are hosting it doesn’t mean I have to go.”

“But you are going, right?” said Marian. “You
have to go. It won’t be fun unless we’re all there.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there.”

Juli sat on one of the rocks. Marian leaned
against another and Sara stood staring off into the distance past
the cliff nearby. The view was incredible. They could see all of
the docks along the shore. Dozens of large ships were coming and
going.

Juli looked up and sighed. “Sky’s starting to
clear up. At least the weather here is just like back home. I can’t
wait for winter to come.”

“I hate the cold,” Marian said,
disgusted.

“Sara, why don’t you ask someone?” Juli
asked.

“The boy is supposed to ask.”

Marian looked sharply at Sara. “You know,
there is one Guardian all of the girls dream of going to the ball
with.”

Sara had a curious look on her face. “Really?
I haven’t had any dreams like that.”

“Sure you haven’t,” Juli said with a spark of
sarcasm.

Marian playfully punched Sara on the arm.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know who I’m talking about.”

Sara put her hand on her chin, acting as if
she were trying to think of who her friends could possibly be
speaking of.

Juli rolled her eyes. “Please, Sara. He’s
only the strongest, bravest and most gorgeous Guardian to ever
grace the earth.”

A devilish smile crossed Sara’s face. “Arthur
may be strong and brave, but I definitely wouldn’t say he’s
gorgeous.”

“Your teacher,” Juli said baffled. “Eww!”

“You know you want
Richard
just as
much as any of us!” Marian said, lightly pushing Sara.

“Oh, Richard? I thought he was already spoken
for.”

Juli pouted her lips in disgust. “It would be
a crime if ever that man didn’t have a girlfriend.”

Sara shrugged. “Why should I care about
someone I can’t have?”

“What Juli meant by ‘girlfriend’ was friends
that are girls,” Marian explained. “They don’t mean anything to
him.”

“How would you know?”

Marian suddenly became coy. “I’ve talked to
Richard, too.”

Sara, still smiling, folded her arms across
her chest. “Oh, really. And what did he say to the likes of
you?”

“You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?”

Sara leaned against a huge boulder “You make
it sound like I want to marry him.”

“And what if he asked you to?”

“Of course not! I don’t know him
that
well.”

Juli hopped off the rock, landing between
Marian and Sara. “I saw you talking to him the other day, and you
expect us to believe you don’t know anything.”

“I said I didn’t know him
that
well,”
Sara repeated.

Marian grabbed Sara by the wrists and pulled.
“Sara, I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you talk. Don’t tell
me you don’t see it.”

Frustrated, Sara pulled away. “I didn’t come
here to find a husband! I came here to join the Guardians and be a
Ranger like my sister. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted
to be like her. When I was young, she would tell me stories…”

“Cameron got married, didn’t she?” Marian
asked.

“She did, to another Guardian. And look at
her now. She’s back in Gaia with her kids. I’m not ready to become
a wife and mother. I would die if I just stayed at home doing
nothing.”

Juli placed her hand against Sara’s forehead.
“The good news is that you’re not sick. Bad news is that you’re
crazy. How could you not want a man like Richard to care for you as
you lie in the sun?”

“Easy. I don’t think about it,” Sara said,
looking up.

Marian and Juli stared at their friend like a
lost cause.

“It’s not like I’ll be single forever. I’m
still young.” Marian’s eyes shot wide open. “Being a Guardian is
your idea of fun?”

It was right then that Sara seemed as if she
weren’t too sure of herself. “Maybe it’s the danger, or something.
I don’t know.”

“I’ve heard some of the stories,” Juli said.
“If I ever saw one of those monsters, I think I would die
screaming.”

Marian held Sara by the arm. “Sara, we know
that you trained very hard to be a Guardian, and no one doubts you.
But I’ve heard some of the stories, too. What if another war breaks
out? They say that some assignments are just plain suicidal.”

She responded rather like a Guardian
recruiter giving a pitch might. “That’s not true. Guardians are
trained to easily handle any situation. We are also highly trained
to fight and overcome any adversary.”

“Real funny, Sara. Have you ever even seen a
Vesuvian, or Fenrir, or whatever they’re called?”

“Don’t worry!” Sara said. “Believe me when I
say that I know enough about them. If the Guardians didn’t think I
was ready, they wouldn’t be giving me my first assignment
tonight.”

“Tonight!” Juli said.

“What about the ceremony and all that stuff?”
Marian asked.

Sara gave a small shrug. If she weren’t so
ashamed of it, she might not have exaggerated the truth. “They
usually have a big ceremony. My teacher said I did very well…so I
guess that’s why I graduated alone.”

“Still, you could have told us you were
graduating,” Juli said.

“Hey, it was a private ceremony for some
reason. Believe me, I didn’t like it, and I would have felt
horrible telling you guys you couldn’t go!”

The worried look on Juli and Marian’s face
was clear.

“What’s going to happen? Where will they send
you?” Juli asked.

“I don’t know, but the Marshal will give me
my assignment in a few hours.

Marian appeared as if she were going to cry.
“You’re joking, aren’t you?”

Sara shook her head. “Don’t get mushy. It’s
not like we’re never going to see each other again. Hopefully I’ll
stay here in New Haven, but if not, I promise to try and stay in
touch.”

Marian and Juli wrapped their arms around
Sara for a group hug and began to cry, which made Sara feel
awkward.

“You’d better,” Marian said.

Sara did her best to remain stoic. “C’mon,
you two,” she said, but after several moments she found herself on
the brink of tears. “Both of you are just weird.”

CHAPTER FOUR

It was late in the evening. Arthur waited
impatiently just outside the Citadel. “Where is that girl?” he
said, leaning on the wall and folding his arms across his
chest.

The grounds were now empty of commoners. Only
a few patrols walked about. A Guardian in the Citadel set a torch
against a small reservoir of oil that fed into all of the lamps in
the ground outside.

Arthur stared off into the surrounding city.
The light from the buildings gave them a subtle silhouette. It was
actually quite calming. Just as he was about go off into a
daydream, Sara came running into view.

“It’s about time!” Arthur said.

Sara was back in uniform, mostly. She
struggled to place one of her armbands on as she made her way to
the Citadel. “Excuse me!” she said, almost plowing through several
Guardians who barely managed to get out of her way.

Arthur opened the door as if he were
expecting Sara to keep going. She was going so fast he was
surprised that she managed to stop before reaching the door.

“Sorry,” Sara said, “My friends and I were at
the pub. They wanted to give me a good sendoff.”

“You better not be tipsy!” Arthur said.

“I drank one little glass.”

Arthur sniffed the air and thought he picked
up a slight whiff of alcohol. He shook his head in disappointment.
“You haven’t been a Guardian even a day and you’re already pushing
it.”

“It was one glass,” Sara said, placing her
hands on her hips.

Arthur waved his hand for Sara to go inside.
“Let’s go. The Marshal is waiting in the Great Hall.”