To Serve and Protect
Summary: When Sofia decides to pass off her Protector duties to her girls, they go through training (along with a few familiar faces) to become official Junior Protectors of the Ever Realm.
Disclaimer: I own Corban, Serena, Ira, Sapphire, Davina, and Avius. Nana and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X. Everyone/everything else belongs to Craig Gerber.
A/N: The beginning of this chapter covers a bit of what has transpired in the training so far, and the rest of it deals with Ira and Sapphire forming a very unique bond. Also, I know I've used Ira as the name of the strange cellmate a few years ago, but I like the name and figure that just like in real life, there would be multiple people with the same name. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Trainer and the Prodigy
Early April had already arrived. Nearly daily, Ira had been training each of the girls in their quest to become Junior Protectors. And like Sofia had done, they'd each had to earn their own Enchantlet.
Tanya's was a white-gold cuff with amethyst gems scattered throughout the surface, an onyx gem in the middle, and complete with some black trim along the edges. Nana's was pink with an emerald gem in the center, some of the swirling inlays the same color. Sapphire's Enchantlet was pure silver with both sapphire and diamond gems lined along the surface, meeting up with a Swiss blue topaz gemstone in the center. Last but not least, Davina's was lilac with small pink hearts along the edge and a smooth moonstone in the center.
Each girl's Enchantlet very much reflected her rather well, and they were all slowly but surely learning how to use the devices to their advantage. Nana's was more inclined to obey nonverbal commands (of course), so she relied on willpower and physicality. The others depended on a mix of both strategies as well as verbal commands.
Interestingly, one day, while the rest of the girls were continuing their training with Chrysta, Ira pulled Sapphire aside to speak with her privately.
"Y-You want me to go on a mission with you?" she asked in disbelief, her heart thumping against her chest as she stared up at her trainer (and now friend) with adoring eyes. "Really, Ira?"
He chuckled, nodding, as he folded his arms. "You've been working really hard, Sapphire," he told her kindly. "Not that the other girls haven't, of course, but I kind of wanted to talk with you too, without the others around. I have a question for you."
'What could he possibly have to ask me?' she wondered quietly before nodding with a gentle smile. "I'd…love to go with you. Let me just grab my bag, and I'll be ready!" She hopped off the chair in Ira's small home (similar to Chrysta's) and hurried near the door, scooping her backpack up and onto her shoulders. "Okay! I'm ready to go!"
Ira laughed. "I see that. All right, follow me."
They located a couple of alicorns and took off on their mission, which Sapphire soon discovered was stopping a slew of temperamental water sprites from flooding a village several miles away from her own home in Helvetica. However, on their way, they started a conversation that she couldn't have predicted if she'd tried.
"There's something different about you, Sapphire."
The light-haired girl blinked upon hearing that and turned to look at Ira, a confused expression on her face. "What do you mean?"
"You and the other girls do have a heavy magical aura around you, which stands to reason, considering your lineage. But…" He quirked a little smile, chuckling as she blushed a bit and tucked some hair behind her ear. "What's your story?"
She giggled, her hands gripping the mane of the alicorn she had been paired with. "I'm… I don't know how to explain it. I was born with very powerful magic: so powerful that I was causing chaos and trouble for my parents before I was even a toddler."
Ira smiled. Somehow, given what he'd seen with their training, he could believe that. Not that she was a troublesome trainee, but rather… Her magic had definitely proved to be extremely potent.
"I have always been able to do teleportation, telekinesis, and all that kind of stuff. With Davina, Nana, and Tanya, I've even helped save our realm before. Kids at school both thought I was awesome but scary at the same time." She shrugged as she tucked her hands into the alicorn's mane, almost like she was trying to hide them. She glanced over toward Ira. "I've made some mistakes with magic, and some people have gotten hurt. And…" She sighed. "I guess that's why I don't have that many friends."
The smile slowly fell from the trainer's face as he cleared his throat. For someone as sweet as Sapphire to declare she didn't have a lot of friends, and for something she couldn't control… That broke his heart to hear. It truly wasn't fair. He glanced downward, noticing that they'd arrived at their destination, and he swiftly guided both alicorns toward the ground before unmounting. He walked over to the other alicorn and opened his arms, chuckling as Sapphire dived into his embrace, hugging him.
Sapphire could swear he could feel her heart beating… It was so embarrassing being this close to her crush like this. And the private things she'd spoken of… What if he couldn't understand? What if he called her a big baby?
"I get it."
She blinked as he placed her to the ground, a hand resting on her shoulder. "Y-You do?"
"Let me guess… With your powers as strong as they are, you have a lot of expectations on you, right?" Seeing her nod, he sighed. "And you're held to a higher standard, even as a young sorceress, and you don't want to fail."
"Have you felt this way, Ira?" She reached up and touched his arm, her eyes filled with both warmth and sympathy for her trainer and friend.
"Every day of my life." He withdrew his hand from her shoulder and held both hands palm up to the sky, releasing a blast of powerful Light Magic into the air. Hearing her gasp, he smiled calmly at her. "Top of my class. Most powerful teenager in my realm. And a huge number of responsibilities on my shoulders… It got to be so much that I ended up leaving home last year, and I haven't looked back. The Protectors heard my story and allowed me to stay and train with them."
"Don't you miss your parents?"
"Never had any…" He shrugged. "I lived with my grandparents. Last I heard, they…weren't around anymore." He frowned as she gasped softly. "So, you know, the Protectors kind of became my family. Vega is totally a mom, and Orion is definitely a dad." He chuckled. "And Chrysta is like that annoying, know-it-all big sister."
Sapphire giggled softly at that sentiment. "I can see that…" She shyly tucked her hands behind her back and smiled pleasantly up at him. "You know… If you ever wanted to share a family, mine is pretty nice. But w-we couldn't be brother and sister." She shook her head, mentally berating herself for even suggesting such a thing.
Ira smiled in amusement as he watched the girl appearing to go through some sort of productive struggle with herself. "Why not? Afraid I'd be a bad big brother?"
"Afraid you'd be a good one…" She'd muttered that so softly that she was sure he hadn't heard it, but the mildly surprised look on his face suggested he had. "Eh, n-never mind, Ira… I just… I prefer you as a f-friend…rather than family."
A look of realization seemed to pass over his features and he chuckled. "I see. Well, as your friend, let me tell you… You're doing great, Sapphire. You're going to be a wonderful Junior Protector, and one day, a regular Protector as well, if you want it." He reached out to her, waiting for her to take his hand, which she hesitantly did. He gently squeezed her hand. "Ready to complete our quest?"
She nodded enthusiastically, her cheeks still a bit warm from the light blush that had lingered. "Oh, yeah! Let's go handle these water sprites." She paused for a moment before smiling up at him. "Thanks, Ira."
He raised his eyebrows curiously as he focused his attention on her. "For what?"
"For believing in me…" She released his hand and hugged him, to his mild surprise. She smiled as she felt him returning the hug. "You're the best. You're so sweet and helpful."
"Well, I don't show my 'sweet' side to just anyone, you know." He laughed softly as he tugged at her ponytail, getting her attention. "Must be the company I keep."
Sapphire giggled before following him as he led her toward their destination.
To be continued…
Next Chapter: The Next Generation