Chapter 2: Old Problems and New Problems

POV: Sage

Sage sat with Snapdragon in the little window alcove of the student lounge. It was their usual spot to sit and read or talk privately. Rose had left to go train with her sword, leaving Sage to listen to Snapdragon vent his feelings. The young witch could understand his frustrations. She knew he was going through a lot of changes in life right now. She knew he was looking for ways to… trial new things out. And having to keep postponing things was weighing heavy on him.

"Why not ask Professor Caraway to just have Rosemary do it alone? If anyone would understand, it would be him!" She suggested, trying to sound a little upbeat.

Snap only shook his head. "I would still be around them. I would still need to reflect a good impression for the academy's sake. What would an aristocratic diplomat think if he saw someone like me in girl's clothing?"

Sage chuckled, remembering the Fall Festival. "Well Cal certainly seemed to like it, so maybe this guy would too?!" She was obviously teasing him over the cringe memory.

A smile twitched at the corner of Snap's mouth but he fought it off. "Cal didn't know it was me when he tried to hit on me. He's made it pretty clear since then that I'm sick for being a boy that likes more effeminate clothing."

Sage groaned in exasperation. "Forget him! Cal's a creep anyway!" She put a hand on his shoulder, but Snapdragon just continued to sulk into his knees as he curled up to lean against the window. "Besides", Sage continued, "I doubt Caraway plans on reversing his transformation magic. So if a teacher is going to around being himself, then why can't a student!?"

The boy sniffled a little, but sat up straighter. He smiled at Sage. "I don't think I'm ready to commit fully to any kind of transformation magic. It's something I need to think about more…"

Sage nodded. "It's okay to take your time Snap. No one's rushing you. But we're going to be here for you no matter what you decide." She pulled her friend into a warm hug before smirking. "But you at least have to let me paint your nails before they arrive~ At the very least, the Magus ambassadors will just have to deal with how fabulous we are~" She showed off her own recently painted nails before laughing shyly.

The redhead nodded vigorously with a smile and let Sage pull him away towards her room to find some polish.

POV: Thyme

The elf sat in a cushy chair on the far end of the student lounge. She was pretending to read her book while she was really watching over her friends on the opposite side of the large room. She had been raised to be a protector. She had failed the fairy woods in that regard, but she would not fail her companions. Thyme watched as Snapdragon and Sage ran off, looking much happier than they had been a few minutes ago.

She closed her book, expressionless as always but with a fire of determination in her heart. It was good that Rosemary and Snapdragon had been chosen to get close to one of the ambassadors. Even if this 'student' from Mage Country was a mere youth like the rest of them, perhaps they could be helpful. She had her own reasons for wanting to meet the royal escorts.

The healing waters were proof that the Fairy Woods could be cured of the Rot. If the Mage Country ambassadors were coming here to negotiate financial assistance to the school, then maybe she could steal their ears to consider aiding her homeland as well…

She didn't know much about the far-off Mage Country, but she did know of their wealth and of their skill in technological advancements utilizing different magics. She'd heard about inventions such as bottomless trash facilities, enchanted so as to reduce landfills, and of carriages pulled by magical familiars, to nullify the use of fuel-powered buggies. Her father had even told her that the mages in the north had discovered through their research, reliable methods of teleportation. Maybe one day, with their advancements, there would be no needs for carriages or buggies at all.

Mage Country might be even further away then Witch Country, but it was a wealthy kingdom from which many past guardians had hailed. With just a small fraction of the King's money, she could launch an expedition to reach the trapped healing waters and bring the restorative substance back to the Fairy Woods. She just needed the funding…

Walking down the hall in thought, she bumped directly into Parsley.

"Woah there!" The chipper dwarf grinned up at her. "Got a lot on your mind, Thyme?" She smiled knowingly at her classmate. Parsley knew the lengths she was willing to go to protect her homeland. The two had even faced a demon last semester while trying to get a message back to her father in the Fairy Woods.

Thyme remained silent, only nodding once as a response. Parsley pat her arm comfortingly – it was the highest point she could really reach on the tall elf. "It's going to be okay Thyme. We know it's possible now."

Thyme's grip on her book tightened. "Every moment we stand around doing nothing, the Fairy Woods are dying." She fought back the tears. She isn't weak, she reminded herself. She won't cry. She needs to be strong to protect the things she cares about. That's what a guardian would do. "I sent so many messages over break to my father, but I never heard a response back! My mother keeps assuring me he's fine, but I don't know whether he's even getting my letters or if he's even taking them seriously!" The frustration had been building all break long to the point where Thyme didn't know if there was even a point in returning to school. Maybe she could be of more use to her homelands by dedicating herself full-time to retrieving the only known cure for the terrible Rot.

"I know it must be hard Thyme", Parsley hated seeing her friend in such pain. "Just know, we aren't going to stop until we find a way to cure the Fairy Woods. But as students we have a responsibility to this place too." Gesturing around at the hallway – signs of burn marks remained on the wallpaper and many of the once hanging paintings had been taken down because they were either ruined or needed repair. Signs of the attack still lingered everywhere.

Thyme relaxed slightly, taking in the solemn condition of their school. "I know. You're right. I just –"

Parsley shook her head. "It's not wrong to worry about your home. But this is your home too. We need to do our part by being good students and assuring the royal ambassadors that the school needs the funding. Once High Guardian academy is safe from whoever is targeting it, we can move our full attention to the Fairy Woods!"

Thyme let out a rare smile as she looked down at Parsley. At the beginning of last semester, she had felt so alone in her goals. But she wasn't alone anymore.

"Thank you, Parsley."

POV: Rosemary

Rosemary had taken the hint and made herself scarce when Sage had pulled Snapdragon aside to comfort him. It was a little hard, sharing her best friend with someone else. But she had to admit that Sage's 'niceness' was something really special! It deserved to be shared with the whole world! Anyway, she had sword training to do.

The guardian-in-training was out in the side courtyard where the teachers had set up some training dummies for the students.

"Yah!" She slashed Flowering Thorn against the enchanted dummy. It ripped open, spilling its stuffed, cotton, insides out onto the grass before magically repairing itself- ready for another blow.

Rose giggled to herself. Watching the doll repair over and over again was kind of satisfying and fun. Then her smile fell. She remembered the damage she'd taken in the cave of Vinca. She remembered the battle with Mandrake at the end of last semester. If only these kinds of mending enchantments could work on organic living creatures too. The thought of losing her friends to un-mendable wounds had her mind treading into dark places.

She pictured Mandrake in place of the dummy and ran forward for her next attack. The head of the dummy rolled off to the side before promptly floating back up and repairing the training doll once again. Rose sighed. She needed to get stronger to protect her friends. She'd already lost her mother… she didn't want to lose anyone else.

Each day it became harder and harder to hope that her mother, Lavender, was still alive. She had been so eager to believe that her mother lived, that she had let a mad man in disguise wonder into the school and manipulate her and her friends. It had almost resulted in the death of the entire student body and even the teachers. She couldn't afford to be so weak minded again. Maybe it was time to let go of the idea that her mother was just going to show up again one day. At the very least, she couldn't let someone use her mother as a way to trick her again.

Guardians need to be strong in body and in mind. Joking around and forcing a smile on her face had gotten her through the last few years of pain without her mom, but… but now she needed to finally get serious. She would keep smiling for her friends so that they wouldn't worry, but on the inside, she needed to keep focused. High Guardian Academy had enemies and they would definitely be back one day.

Rosemary took up her battle stance once again, facing the dummy, but it was then she noticed the gates of the academy opening in the front courtyard a short distance away.

Curious, she watched as Professor Caraway lead a group of knights into the school grounds. They wore golden armor, and all had the same purple sash. The color of Mage Country. This must be the escort for the king's ambassadors. Other students were curious now too, moving from the side yard to the main one to try to get a better look at the visitors. Rosemary sheathed her sword onto her back and joined the slow-forming crowd.

"So, what do you think?" Caraway asked a shorter figure, flanked by the knights. "First impressions?"

Rosemary moved to get a better look at the person Caraway was speaking to. Her movements must have been a bit too obvious though because Caraway noticed her in the crowd and waved.

"Rosemary. Come here a moment, won't you?"

Well, time to make a good impression! Rosemary hurried forward to Professor Caraway's side. She put on her brightest smile as she turned to face the escort party.

"Master Alex, this is Rosemary, wielder of Flowering Thorn. She's a first-year student of the warrior program and was crucial in repelling the attack on High Guardian Academy." Caraway smiled and nudged Rosemary forward toward their guests.

The pinkette took in the crowd. There were about a dozen knights in gold armor surrounding a small delegation of maybe half-a-dozen scholarly, uptight-looking men. But even the scholars seemed to be holding a formation around the smaller figure that Caraway was addressing.

Standing directly in front of Rosemary now, was a young man with a long yellow braid hanging over his shoulder and bright violet eyes. He seemed to be around her height and probably about her age too. It was difficult to tell; the boy had his face covered by the type of mask Rose had only seen used by stealth guardians. In fact, his whole outfit sort of gave the impression he was some type of covert rogue. He had a very slim frame and wore only light armor, skintight around the arms and legs with thin leather pads fitted to cover his shoulders and thighs. His torso and hips were wrapped with binding cloth, almost giving the impression that he was wearing a skirt of some kind. But Rosemary could see that hidden within the tight wrappings were a pair of daggers. He looked more like a ninja or a spy than a student. This made her paranoia spike up a little. She wasn't fond of the idea of spies ever since she'd learned that one of the grounds' cats was actually a witch in disguise.

"Rosemary", Caraway said, "This is Master Alex, head of the delegation from Mage Country. He is a student of the Archmage and trained in the art of stealth."

Well, that made sense given his clothing, Rosemary thought to herself.

"Master Alex has expressed an interest in sitting in on some of the warrior tract classes while he and his colleges are here to assess the school. Would you mind showing him around the dorms and be his guide to tomorrow's classes?"

Rosemary nodded with her usual enthusiasm, willing to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. What were the odds that the Mage Country wanted to spy on their school too, right?... Right?

Ignoring her misgivings, she welcomed the important guest. "Welcome to High Guardian Academy! I can show you around a little if you want?"

The young ambassador tilted his head and seemed to smile at her – still hard to tell with that mask on. "That would be perfect. The Archmage has entrusted me with determining the needs of the students while my companions discuss with your faculty the needs of the staff. What better way to get to know the student's needs than to meet a few?"

"Makes sense to me!" Rosemary grinned. She made a mental note to avoid Amaryllis or Cal's dorm rooms as she began to lead the rogue-ish boy into the Academy walls.

End Episode 2.

A little more from our characters and a little bit of new plot thrown in. Not sure how much I'll go into the plot revolving around the cliffhanger of season 1 of the show since maybe one day they'll continue the canon plot themselves. Who knows though if a real season 2 will ever be a thing? For now I plan to add some 'filler' plot to the main canon just as an excuse to have more fun with the characters.

Hope you enjoy, please leave a comment with any thoughts or suggestions! So curious to see what type of people come looking for HGS fanfictions, lol.