**Hey, guys! This is the start of my short story series. Some short stories will be of actual characters, and some of characters I make up on my own, such as this one. Just as an FYI, these stories are related to The Time for Ten, my main story, so if anything seems odd or you get a reference, that's probably why. I hope you enjoy! :D

Character Pronunciation (just in case):

Janot: jane-it

Haale: hail

Altienna: all-tee-en-ah

Sagnos: sag-noose

Chlorie: klor-ee

Karra: car-ah

Braiy: braeh

Short Story 1 - Jaime

Setråkus Ra is now holding the sword to my throat.

This is it, I've made it so far. I hope what I've done will help the Garde, I think to myself. As the sword pierces my throat, my life flashes before my eyes.

The first thing I see are my parents. They are smiling down at me from above my crib. A mobile is spinning above me and singing a Loric folk-song. My parents are softly singing along as they tuck me in for a good night's sleep.

The next scene is me as a seven year old. I am out in my front lawn with my Chimaera named Frankie. I am wearing a flowered pink skirt and a white tee-shirt.

"Janot, time for dinner!" My mom calls from the kitchen.

I sigh and rise to my feet. Frankie follows as I go inside. When I turn the corner to the kitchen, my face lights up into delight to see my favorite meal, sachford! It tastes just like the human's bacon, except even better. As I sit down at my seat, a new scene appears.

I am now a few years older, probably around ten, and I am walking home from school with my best friend, Haale. We are talking about what we learned that day in school, about legacies and how we could possibly develop them. Haale was ranting on about how she wants to be able to fly. She wants to soar above the planet and see its beauty in a large scale. I personally had always wanted to control the planet's elements, as in dirt and plants and all.

The scene shifts yet again, and now Haale and I are standing next to each other, jumping up and down screaming the lyrics as our favorite pop-singer, Devektra, is dancing around the stage. I remember that concert, Haale and I were fifteen. It was also the day we learned that we were Garde, so we were going to develop legacies. It was an amazing day.

This time the scene shows a seventeen year old Haale and me training in my backyard, along with our recently hired Cepan, Altienna. In the two years after that concert, I had developed telekinesis, hydrokinesis, and invisibility. Haale had developed telekinesis, healing, and flight. The day she learned to fly was amazing for her, it's what she always had wanted. As Altienna chucks knives and rocks at me and I deflect them, she has Haale fly through certain obstacles and hoops to practice controlling her legacies.

The scene shifts to a very memorable day. About three weeks before the invasion, nine of the ten elders decided to go to Earth to help them out with technology. Loridas decided to stay behind, but they needed to send some Loric to take her place. She chose ten Garde and nine Cepans to go instead of herself. Two of the Garde chosen were Haale and I, and another two were our schoolmates Sagnos and Chlorie. One of the Cepan chosen was Altienna, along with Karra and Braiy, Sagnos and Chlorie's Cepans. As we are about to board the ship taking the nine elders, nine Cepan, and ten Garde, Loridas stops us.

"What I am doing next is not an actual charm, but just a pre-prediction of what could be coming." She starts. She continues on to tell us the story of the ten Garde in prophecy who are going to be saving Lorien, and that we need to find and help them as soon as possible when they are on Earth.

She then continues on to crown us with numbers, in which we are supposed to pretend to be the next in line. Loridas told us that ten Garde, Numbers One through Ten, will be sent to Earth later. We are being crowned Gardes Eleven through Twenty. Sagnos is first, and is named Number Eleven. Next is Chlorie as Number Twelve. Some Garde who I don't know is named Number Thirteen, and then I am up. I feel a tingling as Loridas touches my head.

"You are hereby named Number Fourteen. Please proceed for further instruction." She says and I do so.

Haale is next, and she is smiling as wide as her mouth can go when Loridas touches her head and says, "Number Fifteen," and gives her the same directions.

Haale catches up to me and we squeal in excitement. We are going to Earth.

Another scene comes into view of Haale and I sitting in a bed talking about boys.

"When we get closer to Earth, I am so asking out Sagnos." Haale says.

"Really? I never thought of you two together... I guess he's kind of hot." I respond.

Before Haale and I got into the gushy stuff, the scene changes again. The door to the ship is opening, and in pours the light. There is a small flock of humans outside, and the first Loric to step onto the planet is Pittacus Lore. He says a few things to the humans, and then he groups one human to each group. Luckily, Altienna, Haale and I stay together. Sadly though, Sagnos and Chlorie have been separated with their Garde to another human. I wave goodbye, and James blows a kiss to Haale. They did finally ask each other out. Then we turn to the human.

"Hi! I'm Veronica. To start off, we need human names for you guys. Anything on this list appeal to you?" Veronica asks and shows us a piece of paper.

"Oh, I like Hayley." Haale says to Veronica.

"All right! You're officially Hayley Porprista. And you two?" Veronica asks again.

"I'll go with Melanie." Altienna says.

"Awesome, welcome to Earth, Melanie Porprista. How about you, sweetie? What's your name going to be?" Veronica asks, and everyone looks at me with happy eyes and a smile.

I look confidently down at the name I picked and then back into Veronica's hazel eyes.

"Jaime. I want to be Jaime Porprista."

xxxxx

The next scene is multiple years later, now Hayley and I are twenty-two. We had been training all day. In the past years, I developed elemental manipulation and externa. Hayley had developed earthquake generation and lumen. Melanie has gotten older very quickly, possibly because of the Earth's bad air. Compared to Lorien, Earth's air was like breathing through a plastic bag with hundreds of microscopic holes. We are sitting down for dinner when Melanie reveals it to be sachford.

"My favorite." I say with a smile and happily dig in.

We had been living in the outskirts of San Diego since the day we got to Earth when suddenly Mogs started to appear around the city. Melanie went up to one and asked why the Mogadorians were here as well as the Loric, and that's when she was killed. The Mog swung around and sliced her right in half, Hayley and I couldn't do anything to save her. We stand frozen in shock as the Mog walks slowly up to us. I produce a dagger from my back pocket just in time to keep the Mog from blasting us to pieces, and then Hayley and I are on the move.

The scene changes to three years later, and now we are twenty-five and living in Boston. Over the past years, I had deliberately saved Garde, possibly some of the ten of prophecy, from Mog caves, with the help of Hayley. One day, though, the Mogs found our location and surprise attacked us in the middle of the night. We didn't stand a chance. We were whisked away to some foreign Mog base, but it looked similar to D.C. to me. We had been held captive for a whole year before they brought us to a stone room with nothing but Hayley and I in it. The two of us planned out what we were going to do, and after about five minutes, a sliding door opened and out came Setråkus Ra himself. Hayley was immediately pulled aside by some Mogs we didn't even notice enter behind us, and I am pulled into the air by Ra's telekinesis.

"Foolish Garde, thinking you could outsmart us Mogadorians and save the weaker Garde forever." Ra starts.

"And it worked for a long time." I respond.

Ra glares at me, and then point to a wall which opens to reveal two girls, one in her late teens with black hair and calming eyes, and the other a younger girl, maybe eleven, with blond hair and blue eyes. They both seem weak and frightened, but they jump to attention when they see us.

"Meet Seven and Ten." Ra sneers to Hayley and I.

"Who are they?" The older girl says strongly.

"This is Fourteen here," Ra says and points to me, "and that's Fifteen." He says and points in Hayley's direction. "They've been saving Garde for a long time now, and it's time for one of them to die. Then maybe they'll spill on where your friends are." Ra spits at Seven and Ten, who stare back defiantly.

Ra turns back to me. "Time to die." He says ferociously and lifts his massive sword.

I quickly lift the tube I've been storing in my pocket for years out using telekinesis, and I breath into it. A blue mist goes swirling out of my mouth, and with my last bit of telekinesis, I toss it to the taller Girl in the cage.

"Don't lose that. Hayley will help you." I say strongly.

The girl picks it up and shoves it in her pocket.

Setråkus Ra is now holding the sword to my throat. My memories have gone by, an it's time for me to go. I look into Hayley's eyes and silently tell her how much I loved her as a friend, and to never forget our cause, no matter what. Her eyes almost seem to say 'I promise', and then the sword goes through my throat. Hayley is released as I fall to the ground.

She bends down and tries to heal me, but it's too late.

"Jaime... Please, don't go. Jaime, Jaime!" She begins to say more loud. She sniffs and a tear falls to the ground.

She looks me straight in the eyes. "I promise." She says, and then my vision goes black, and all I hear is silence.

**Did that get emotional in the end? I hope so, that's what I wanted. :) Anyway, this story directly links to where The Time for Ten: Part One ended. Do you like the introduction to Hayley's character? How about Sagnos and Chlorie, do they seem familiar? Please review and see you soon!

-Chase