Author's note: In terms of pairings, it will be mostly Cedric/Elyon, and as of now I'm not sure what about the others. There are some OCs in here, but they serve they purpose and their angst is limited to reasonable extent. Oh, and I don't own anything.

Chapter 1

Brisk footsteps echoed in halls filled with blinding brightness. Wavering whispers filled the crystal walls, disrupting peace of the Everlasting Fortress. A drop of uncertainty mingled with the source of omnipotence.

"This time making a choice is unavoidable, Oracle. Everyone expects you to make a declaration concerning the new Guardians", said a bearded man clad in a white robe.

"Don't you think we could just wait for these notions to cease? It was a wise decision six years ago and I don't see a reason it should be different this time."

The voice of a surprisingly young man, who's just been called "the Oracle", seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"Yan Lin gathered a strong fraction willing to support her outlook on things. Of course, your omnipotence, you can as well dismiss it, but it may be seen as an insult to the Council. More and more of our honourable brothers and sisters consider the Veil too weak to be left unsupervised nowadays. They think it needs its Guardians and we are taking too long to appoint them."

"If it concerns them so, they shall wait no longer. They will have their Guardians appointed in no time."

"Who will deliver the message to the girls, Oracle? Should it be Yan Lin?"

"This would only cause an unnecessary ruckus, as Yan Lin is retired and no longer belongs to this world. I say we shall send Claire. She still has a debt of gratitude for the asylum we granted her, and it so happens we sent her to Heatherfield."

The look of surprise on the elder's face didn't go unnoticed.

"Do not fear, Tibor, for nothing can go wrong."

That day everything went wrong for Claire. She suspected she couldn't get in much more trouble – she thought being forcefully evicted from Kandrakar on a false pretence of granting her a totally unnecessary "political asylum" was kind of over the top, even for her – but it never occurred to the girl that getting a decent job on the Earth was even more of a big deal. And when she finally got it – she got it five times already – her fate always, cruelly and with a premeditation decided to remind her that her luck has run out long ago. She cursed under her breath when the mobile rang yet again.

"Yes, Mrs. Collins, I'm halfway done printing it!", she shouted into the receiver, finished the call before the goddamn woman could utter a word of reprimand and got back to kicking and - in general - getting overly physical with a printer in a local library. People stared.

I'm losing it, she thought, when the sheets of paper stuck in the machine, instead of falling out, got kind of devoured even more. I'm losing it here and I don't even have a place I could miss, or anyone I could blame but me. What have I come to, self-blame and self-pity? Seriously, I must be losing it.

The phone rang again. She exhaled, wiped sweat off her forehead and composed herself as much as possible.

"Mrs. Collins, I have to apologize, but I can't print the documents. It's the fifth printer that just decided to TURN ITS BACK ON ME and the fifth job I'll probably lose, but I still ask you to have some consideration for my…"

"Listen closely, Claire. The Great Council asks for a token of your gratitude", a soft, decisive voice interrupted her. Despite being soft and decisive it gave her the chills. Seriously, you can never know if they are smiling or watching you with a murderous intent, she thought briefly. "We seldom ask for repayment, and we won't ask anymore of you in the future. Just heed my words this time, and you will be free. The right moment has come and you shall inform the Guardians of the Veil of their new duties. Do not be afraid, for you will surely find them in the right time and place. Do not forget about your debt."

"Hey, wait, how in the world am I supposed to break the news to five human girls? Especially since I don't know them? It won't work, I assure you, nothing works with me, and if you want me to do you a favour, ask me to never ever come near them, that will make the chances of their screw-up just a tad smaller! Hey, you up there, don't you dare hang up on me!", she exclaimed. To her annoyance and amusement of the few passers-by who gathered to watch a madwoman screaming at electronic appliances, the phone vibrated and turned itself off. Claire couldn't force herself to believe that the batteries have run out just by accident.

Contrary to what she expected, it wasn't that hard to get back in touch after those six years. It took just a few phone calls and a bit of chit-chat on the net. Will studied the newest exchange on her mail account with a tight knot in her stomach. She wasn't sure it was such a great idea. She never made good friends with the girls, and always felt kind of out of place. Well, she had her reasons. When she came to Heatherfield she was already fifteen. She left a life behind her, a life full of different places and people she wouldn't miss as much as she said she did, but nevertheless, in her heart there was much less free ground for new friendships to grow. And they – it was always her and THEM – had known each other since childhood. She left Heatherfield after three years and the connection with her friends wasn't strong enough to withstand. They drifted apart.

She left Heatherfield with some extra family members. Her mom married Dean Collins, the former history teacher (who recently got a PhD and started lecturing at the nearby university), and gave birth to a baby boy, William. Susan' and Dean's relationship was almost disgustingly happy, an exact opposite of Will's love life, but the girl was well aware her mother deserved it after all she went through. So Will just accepted the new family order, got caught up in her duties and the memory of her five distant friends from Heatherfield just faded slowly in the background. Apparently they thought about her much more than she had thought, and this made her slightly uneasy.

She took a sip of cold coffee from a frog-shaped mug and gathered the courage to click on the bold text at the top of the mailbox. It seemed they made most of the decisions without her.

Well, what did I expect. I didn't talk to them for ages, that's why I'm excluded. Time to get over your tendency to avoid people who like you, Will.

Let's meet at the entrance to Sheffield Institute on Halloween at 2 P.M. You won't believe it, Knickerbocker is still the headmistress! My dad had a talk with her about Liliann recently and he says the old witch didn't change one bit. Guess she won't be happy to see you, Irma!
- Cornelia Hale

We've got to drop by the Silver Dragon, Hay Hey's working late on Halloween, but then the evening's ours! :D
Don't talk about the old hag, thanks to her Chris has to resit the math exam and he's even more of a pain in the ass than usual :/
- Irma

For real? I thought they'd sack her when she made Uriah repeat same year thrice. Hay Lin works at her parents' place now?
- Tara

you'll have to wait till halloween, i hate when somebody spoils the surprises! ;) i've got some too:)
knickerbocker? i always said she's a monster from another world trying to spy on us!
- elly

and what about you will? join us, it'll be totally spacious! ^_^ we can go to the cinema and then stop for a pizza at corny's, she has her own flat now!
- hay hey

Will took a deep breath.
It cannot be that bad. The worst case scenario is they won't have fun and then I'll just go home and everything will be back to normal.

OK, see ya :)
I can't wait to see how's it going for you!
- Will