Like I said in the previous chapter this chapter, and the next 4 chapters, will be in first person. I will clarify who's POV it is at the beginning of each chapter.
Wes' POV
"No!" I jolted awake but quickly gripped my head at the sudden pain that shot through it. "Ugh!" I last thing I remembered was pushing Dawn towards Isaac then the two hooded individuals showed up out of nowhere, creating these black holes things, and then Dawn screaming my name as I got covered in black. What is going on?
Slowly lifting my head, I took in my surroundings. I was sitting on a king size bed covered in pale green silk sheets with the smell of the forest all around me. But I guess the smell had to do with the room being wrapped in vines with a plethora of beautiful colored flowers scattered along them and the giant opening leading to a balcony straight ahead of me. Everything had a calm earth feel to it. And it was definitely not what I was expecting. I was expecting a place surrounded by darkness, death and nothingness.
"Where am I?" I thought aloud, not really asking for an answer.
"You are on Serine." The strong, yet soft, voice startled me into letting out a yelp.
I turned to the voice to find a boy, maybe a year older than me, standing at the stone door, trying to hold back his chuckle. The boy had light brown hair that stood perfectly in the front to showcase his forest green eyes. For some reason he looked strangely familiar. As for his outfit, well it looked to be fitted for some type of modern royal guard. He had on faded black pants, that looked a lot like moto skinny jeans, black combat boots and a dark tan jacket zipped up to show just his inner collarbones.
"Why am I here? How did I get here? And who are you?" I pulled the sheets father up my body, thinking it would give me some kind of protection.
The boy remained where he was with his hand clasped behind his back. "Funny, I was going to ask you the same questions. For the why and how, I have no idea why nor how you are here."
I huffed at his tone. "And for the who?"
"As for the who... my name is Chance Hale, Prince of Serine and the next in line to become King." Chance gestured to me. I just raised an eyebrow in question as I let the information sink in. "And you are?"
"Oh... Wes, my name is Wes, just Wes."
"Well, Wes, you must be someone special since my mother did not throw you in the dungeon or kill you when you were brought here."
How? How in the world did this happen? I end up on some random world, where I'm lucky enough not to be imprison or killed and to meet a handsome, but cocky, Prince.
SHIT! The others! What happen to them? Are they with me? Or in some other dimensions? The Heart! My mind was going into panic mode.
I yanked the sheets off and stood rather quickly, almost losing my balance. I whipped my head around looking for any place the Heart could be at since I didn't feel it around my neck. My eyes caught the glimpse of purple on the nightstand next to the bed. I let out the breath, I didn't know I was holding, when it was indeed the Heart. "Were four other girls with me?"
The boy must have sense something was wrong since his facial expression changed. "No, no one was with you."
"No, where could they have gone?"
"Look, I don't know who you are talking about but my mother may have some answers."
My own crystal blues met his. Our eyes stayed connected as we tried figuring one another out. But then something clicked within my mind. "Wait...Mother? As in the Queen?"
"Yes, that is how the royal system goes."
"I could do without the sass," I huffed, crossing my arms.
Chance rolled his eyes. "I suggest you change into the clothes that are at the end of the bed. Unless you want to wear that."
I looked down to see I was still wearing my Homecoming dress but it had dirt and slashes in it. "I think that's a good idea."
"I will be just outside the door, waiting."
I watched him until the door shut, then I went over to the small pile of clothes in the corner of the bed. The outfit was simple, just the way I liked it. There was a tight white long sleeve, black skinny jeans and knee-high boots.
As I pulled the shirt over my head, I turned towards the door, finding a black thin looking hooded cloak hanging on a coat stand. Without another thought I grabbed the piece of fabric on my way out.
I was clipping the cloak around my neck when I heard Chance talking with someone. By the looks of it he must be a servant and they looked to be talking about something serious.
"The Rebels made it to Silverden but," the servant's head fell. "But some were killed in the process."
I saw Chance's fist clench at his side. "What of Wally and his family?"
"They are a bit shaken but safe."
"Good." Chance sensed my presence. "Keep me updated."
"I will." He bowed his head and left.
Chance made his way over with a blank expression on his face.
"Who are the Rebels?"
"No one you need to be concern with."
The tone of his voice made me drop the subject as he led me through the castle, which made me soon forget about it. Much like the bedroom, the castle had vines and flowers running along the walls. We walked in silence for a while.
"Why does this place look like the castle grew around the vines and not the other way around?" I asked still gawking at the beauty.
I could tell Chance had an eyebrow raised at my choice of words but I was to mesmerized by what I was seeing to care.
"This was all my mother's doing," Chance smiled, running his fingers across one of the vines. I watched as his picked a pure white rose off, then walked over to me.
"Won't your m-mother be m-mad?" I stuttered, frozen in place.
"No." With the flower Chance tucked my hair back behind my ear. "The white and black clash beautifully together."
Without losing eye contact, I could feel my cheek heating up. We were both unaware of our hands being pulled towards one another, until a surge of electricity jerked us apart.
"What was that?"
I lifted my hand to see little waves of electricity shooting between my fingers. "My powers."
Chance's eyes widen. "We need to see my mother."
The Prince led me through more halls, in silence, but instead of being focused on the walls my thoughts were filled with so many questions about the power flowing through me. I was too lost in my thoughts to notice Chance stopped, making me run into his back. I caught myself before falling on my butt and looked around at the new room. Smack dab in the middle of the room was a large, well-built willow tree, that shined with a golden light. The roots, not only grounded themselves but some also popped out across the room but quickly flowed back into the ground.
"What is this place?" I asked, in awe.
"This is Serine's tree of life." The light voice answered. I turned to see a woman with pure blonde hair that cascaded down her back in a single braid with a crown made from thin branches and leaves that were woven beautifully together.
"Mother." Chance smiled as he walked over to the what I guessed was the Queen. He embraced her in a loving way before turning back to me. "Mother, this is Wes."
Stumbling forward, I quickly bowed my head. I didn't look up until I heard a soft laugh.
"You don't have to bow to me, guardian."
My eyes widen and my mouth drop. "How-how did you know?"
The Queen raised an eyebrow. "Can you not sense the connection between us? The bond that forms between past and present Guardians."
Things started clicking with each word spoken. It is true that I felt some kind of power from her but I thought it was just because she was a Queen.
"You were a guardian?"
"Yes, the former Earth Guardian to be specific."
Once again, my mouth fell ajar as questions started flooding my mind but none of them were voiced.
"I know you must have a lot of questions," The Queen smiled. "And I will answer them, that is if you can voice them." She giggled at my flushed expression.
Taking a deep breath, I asked my first question. "Why are you on Serine and not Earth? I mean aren't all Guardians from Earth?"
"That's a good question to start with," the Queen looked away from me and to Chance. "Yes, we are but after the final battle that my generation's Guardians faced, we choose to go our separate ways in order to keep peace among the dimensions."
I had a feeling there was more behind the separation but I didn't push it since I figured it was hard to talk about. "Do you still have your Guardian powers?"
"Yes, however, they are not as strong as yours due to the fact the Heart was passed down to you."
I couldn't help but feel guilty. She and other previous Guardians lost part of their powers because of me. I felt a hand rest softly on my shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Do not feel bad." The Queen's eyes smiled just a brightly as her mouth. "We had a choice to step down. My answer was easier then the rest's since I had my little family and a dimension to look after but none the less, we all agreed to step down and hand over the powers to the next generation. You will be faced with the same choice when the time comes."
"And when will that be?"
"That is something I cannot tell you but you will know when that time has come."
I nodded not because of understanding the comment but because I didn't know what else to said.
"Can you tell me about the final battle?"
The Queen motioned to a stone bench on the side of the room. Following her over, I sat with my hands clasped in my lap.
Then she began, "A little over 17 years ago the battle amongst good and evil erupted. Myself, along with the four other Guardians of my time and the rebel forces were prepared for this. The battle felt like it would never end; many lives were lost, homes were destroyed and spirits were slowly breaking. All seemed lost until Will, the former Guardian of the Heart and leader of us, united more dimensions to help aid in the fight, along side us, against the one of the most feared enemies in all the dimensions." The Queen fell silent, taking a deep breath. "Although this enemy is not dead, like we had hoped, I do know that she will be defeated... by you and the new Guardians."
My eyes shot open. She sounded so confident in us. "Who is this enemy?"
"Serilda." At the mention of her name the room began to shake.
"Mother?" Chance quickly ran to the Queen's side. The shaking ceased the moment Chance's hands found his mother's.
"I'm sorry," I stood, looking down at my feet. "I shouldn't have asked that."
"There is no need to be sorry, Guardian." With the help of her son, the Queen stood as well. "You need to know the past to understand and protect the future."
I allowed my eyes to meet hers, understanding the saying. "Can you teach me how to enhance my powers? With my powers I can lead the Guardians into becoming a stronger, better team and Guardians."
The Queen agreed to help, to the best of her ability. I was led, once again, through the halls. Servants and guards bowed as the Queen and Crowned Prince walked by. But instead of just walking with their eyes straight forward, the royal mother and son bowed their heads back and even said a few caring words to some of the servants.
It took some time, a week to be specific, but with the help of the Queen and Chance I was able to harness my elemental power.
The whole time my thoughts were filled with worries about the others. I didn't know how they were doing or where they were at and that's what scared me the most. I couldn't help but feel guilty that somehow this whole separation situation was my fault. If only I did a better job at bringing us together then maybe none of this would have happened.
"Wes?" The voice, I've come to adore, brought me out of my head. I turned to Chance, who was standing at the bedroom door. "You're thinking about them again, aren't you?"
I nodded my head, facing back out the balcony, just as Chance stood beside me. "I just can't help but wonder if they're in trouble or worst."
"If they are as strong as you then I believe they will be okay."
"I hope so," I whispered. "If only there was a way to find them." Oh you got of be kidding me! I mentally and physically face palmed. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
"Think of what?" Chance followed back into the room, with a confused look.
"In order to get the Guardians to Meridian, Hay-Lin taught me a trick into finding them." I pulled the Heart off over my head. "I feel so stupid that I didn't think of this sooner."
Taking a deep breath, I focused on each of the Guardians. Four images each formed within a cloudy frame. Wow that was earlier then the first time. I am getting stronger. "Do you recognize any of these places?"
Chance took a closer look. He then pointed to the cloud with Ingrid in it. By the looks of it she was at some kind of worn down tavern. "I know that tavern, it's located in Wally's home dimension."
I looked up at him, waiting for him to continue but he didn't. "Which is?"
"Oh Silverden," Chance scratched his neck in embarrassment.
"Then that's where we're going first." I said confidently.
Sorry for the long chapter but the next 4 are gonna be the same way. Also sorry for not updating in a while.
Anyway... hope you liked this chapter. I promise the next chapter won't take as long as this one did to write!
Thank you! And don't forget to comment/vote!
