'Is it really okay to leave her by herself?' Lloyd paused to look back at Rana, who Lyfa refused to help. They found Rana unconscious, lying beside the road a few days ago when they were going back home. It seems that, Rana was so hungry that she actually lost conscious.

'Of course it's okay.' Lyfa, Lloyds's cousin, shot him a glare, 'She was nearly starved to death when we found her. But—this isn't something we can avoid. I mean, we can't keep her forever! Our parents almost threw a fit when we brought her back, what will they say if we ask her to stay?'

'Hi mom! Hi dad! Can we let this girl we found on the street stay with us?' She put on her most innocent face and said angelically, then, switching to a grouchy face and yelled, 'No! No pets allowed in the house!'

Lloyd couldn't resist laughing. Lyfa has an incredible talent in acting. Like his mother, she is a red-head with green eyes. Including the spray of freckles across her face, she is quite pretty. However, it's still a good thing that his classmates know that they're related, if not, rumors would already be flying in the past 3 months.

Still, Lloyd doubted if Lyfa really thinks of him as her cousin. Lyfa had shown her true feelings once when she was drunk, 'Why are we related…' She had said when Lloyd was carrying her back home. Also, while Rana was staying with them and got a little too close to Lloyd, she pulled them apart, saying, 'Oh no you don't.'

As Lloyd was buried in his thoughts, Lyfa sighed. She didn't exactly understand what's happening to her lately. Whenever she saw Lloyd close to another girl, she would feel all angry and scared. She knew very well that Lloyd is simply being nice to everyone he meets but still! Lyfa had to resist the urge to scream. She had tried so hard to hide her feelings, but why…

Rana blinked her icy blue eyes, finding herself in the midst of the two's thoughts and emotions. She could see Lloyd's memories as clearly as he can and felt Lyfa's jumbled emotions. She bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out her visions.

'Let me out of this! Please!' A silent scream tore from her lips.

Suddenly, all three of them were standing in front of a slab of solid stone. All of them blinked at the sudden change of surroundings.

'What…?' It was Lyfa who spoke first.

'The gates of the "Mystic Guardians" ' Rana answered her, 'the gates that lead through heaven and hell, guarded by the four legendary creatures—''Unicorn, dragon, phoenix and fairy.' Lloyd finished.

'Fairy?' Lyfa rolled her eyes, 'how do you expect me to believe that?'

'I don't.' A melodic voice answered her. They turned around, finding themselves face-to-face with a tall, elegant lady. She's beautiful, with long curly red hair and bright, crystal blue eyes. She was dressed in a simple flame-colored dress made off light fabric that shimmered with colors of yellow, red, orange and more, which makes it look like real, dancing flames. But what surprised them were the wings on her back. Large and red in color like her hair, they were like those of a bird, made of blood red feathers.

Both Lloyd and Lyfa stared. Who would've expected someone that shouldn't exist appear? Luckily, Rana saved the situation.

'Who are you?' Rana tilted her head slightly to the left.

'If you're asking my name, well, people called me Azriel back then.' She smiled warmly, giving off a warm and cozy atmosphere.

'Are you the fairy?' Lloyd could finally regain some sense by the time Rana and Azriel were talking like old buddies.

'What makes you think so?' Azriel raised an eyebrow.

'Well, I…I mean, l-look at t-those w…wings.' He's stammering like crazy now, blushing, 'D-doesn't f-fairies h…have w…wings…?'

Azriel looked perfectly horrified, 'Me? A fairy, with wings like these? Of Course not!'

Lyfa could hold back no longer, 'Then what exactly are you?'

Azriel glanced at her, 'I'm a phoenix, of course. What else could I be?'

The two cousins dropped their jaws. 'But that can't be…' Even Rana couldn't believe right away, 'Y-you're not a bird or anything! You can't be a phoenix!' Azriel knitted her eyebrows, 'Why not?' Rana was more puzzled than ever, 'You have wings but that doesn't make you a phoenix…!'

Just then, someone else appeared beside Azriel, 'Stop confusing them.' The new comer looked exactly the same as Azriel. Except for red hair and cloths, she had short green hair and flowing robes of emerald green. Half-expectedly, she has wings as well. However, unlike Azriel's, hers were green in color like her hair and lined with hard scales.

'This isn't her true form, you see.' The new comer said breezily, 'By the way, I'm Azriel.'

'Azriel and Azriel? That simply doesn't make sense!' This time, Lyfa was the one that spoke.

'She just loves to copy me, don't you?' The lady in green shot the other a glare, directing the last part of her sentence to "Azriel". She tried to pretend innocent by looking away and whistling. Azriel continue to stare daggers at her and after a second or two, she gave up.

'My real name is Sylvania, guardian of the gates of heavenly flames.' "Azriel" sighed.

With that, she burst into flames. Lloyd, Lyfa and Rana jumped back in surprise. When all the smoke and ash cleared, a huge, majestic bird bathed in flames came into sight. It blinked its huge triangular eyes, its red pupils startling bright.

'Don't be a show-off.' Azriel smiled, 'My turn.'

With that, she started to change. Her wings stretched out and grew longer and wider. They wrapped around her tightly like a cocoon. When they unwrapped, a magnificent, green-scaled dragon stood in place of the women. It reared back, flapping its wings. Immediately, a strong gust of wind swept towards them, carrying Azriel's flames.

'Whoa!' Lloyd jumped back.

'Watch it!' Lyfa yelped as she batted at the flames that caught her clothes, 'this is my favorite outfit!'

'Oops!' Azriel smiled mischievously. 'My gate is the gates of divine wind.'

A young man materialized beside them, his eyebrows knitted.

'Just what you think you're doing?' His blue eyes blazing, he glared at the two guardians in their true forms. He was quite handsome with crystal blue eyes and short hair of the same color. However, there were no wings on his back.

'How can you leave me out of the fun like that?!'

…That was unexpected.

He changed too. A spiral of water shot from the ground and wrapped around him. He was blocked from view for a second or so and then, he dropped from the sphere of water. He had changed into a beautiful, snow white unicorn with a horn of silver white on the middle of its forehead. The water vanished as well.

'I am Zeventis, the guardian of the gate of sacred water.' He explained elegantly.

'He hates the name of his gate.' Azriel gossiped with Lyfa.

'Why?'Lyfa asked.

'Don't you think Sacred "Water" sounds weird?' Azriel asked Lyfa instead.

'Oh, I get it now.' Lyfa nodded, ignoring an extremely angry Zeventis.

'Welcome, our dear guests.' The last guardian appeared. She was a lady as well, with flowing silver hair tumbling down her shoulders and unlike the others, tight, slim-cut silver robes. On her back was a pair of pale silver butterfly wings, lined with different colors of thread-like patterns.

'I am Solara, the fairy of the gates of Eternal Light.' She smiled warmly.

The three waited.

She continued to smile.

They continued to wait.

Finally, Lyfa asked, 'Aren't you going to change like the rest of them?'

'Change? I'm a perfect fairy right now, how do you expect me to change?' Solara looked at her in astonishment.

…Were guardians supposed to be like this?

Well, another separate first chapter of a completely new story. This one, for once, I might continue writing.

-Li