Welcome to the world, little one.
The child opened her eyes.
From the beginning she did not know darkness. Even behind her eyelids the lights glowed, bright and fierce, wrapping her in their warmth. They continued to sing in her mind as she looked upon the world for the first time. The night cast the room in shadow, but with the lights glowing at her back, red and blue and green and purple and yellow and orange and white, she was not afraid.
She was, however, curious. Where am I?
Safe, they said in a reassuring chorus. Their voices were clearer and more familiar to her than any of the strange shapes her eyes were struggling to make sense of.
The child nodded and sat back on the floor, neatly tucking her legs beneath herself and folding her hands in her lap, taking up a pose that lay in the back of her mind with other memories not her own. She was not entirely unfamiliar with the world, and the more she looked around the more she began to feel a sense of recognition. Like finally seeing a place she had been told stories about all her life.
She soon grew restless, waiting in the quiet room, but she knew she was waiting for something, someone, and she was determined to make a good impression. She occupied herself watching the littler lights fluttering to-and-fro in the garden, the braver ones coming to play around her hands.
Fairies, one of the lights told her; the white one, she thought.
The child nodded, then giggled softly as one of the Fairies brushed her hand. It sent a tingle of warm energy through her, but that was a candle compared to the bonfire of the lights.
Something moved in the room, and the child jumped, startling the Fairies and sending them flitting back into the grass. The child quickly straightened, folding her hands in her lap as she peered anxiously into the shadows.
Don't be afraid, the blue light told her.
If the lights weren't afraid, the child didn't need to be, either. She exhaled softly and watched as a silhouette rose in front of the window across the room. She pricked her ears at the soft pad of paws across the floor. Bleary green eyes flashed in the light as the figure shuffled forward. Then they froze, their eyes growing clearer and sharper as they locked on the child. The child sat up even straighter, returning the stare calmly even as internally she burned with nervous excitement.
"{What's this?}" The figure drew nearer, and the light revealed a tall, slender black cat, clothed in purple. She looked familiar in the same story-come-true way as the shrine.
The guardian, the purple light told the child, sending her a wave of confidence. This person could be trusted. This person was safe.
"{Hello there, little one.}" The guardian knelt before the child and cocked her head curiously. The child imitated the gesture, and the guardian smiled. "{Where did you come from?}"
The child knew the answer to that question. "{The lights brought me,}" she said, pointing at the seven beacons still hovering behind her.
The guardian looked up at the lights. "{Did they?}" She asked, and they chimed affirmation. The guardian looked back down at the child before her. "{Where did they bring you from?}"
The child shrugged.
"{Hmm.}" The guardian looked at the lights again, then stood. "{I suppose we'll have to do something with you.}" She offered her hand, and the child happily took it, clambering to her feet. She didn't release it once she was standing, smiling brightly up at the guardian.
The guardian smiled back, though she still looked confused. "{I suppose I should get you something to eat?}"
"{Yes, please,}" the child said as demurely as she could manage, but her efforts were undermined by the excited swish of her tail. Had she had food before? Whatever it was, it sounded nice.
The guardian's smile became warmer, fond. "{Very well then.}" She led the way to the door, and the child followed, still holding the guardian's hand. Her brow wrinkled as she studied the guardian's walk carefully, trying her best to mimic it. The guardian looked amused at her effort.
"{Do you have a name, little one?}" she asked as they stepped out the door.
"{Not yet,}" the child said brightly, looking around her new surroundings with interest.
"{Then we'll have to find you one.}"
"{What's your name? Maybe I can have that one.}"
The guardian chuckled, a warm and rumbling sound. "{I think you'll want to have your own name, don't you?}" The child frowned, then nodded reluctantly. The guardian laughed again. "{But if you have to know…}" She released the child's hand to perform a quick, elegant bow. "{I am Dwi Sariputri, guardian of the Sol Emeralds and princess of the Empire of Sol.}" She took the child's hand again. Through the far window the sun broke over the horizon, casting the guardian in pink and gold as she looked down at her new charge. She smiled, bright and warm and fierce. "{But you can call me Ebony.}"