Ophelia's Reach Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Silver's POV

The day I was taken to the Order was not exactly the happiest. I was four and the woman who had been taking care of me had to give me up. I don't even know what her name was. I called her… wow I don't even remember what I called her. I just remember feeling sad when I was handed over to Arena. But I was only four, a flexible mind, and adjusting didn't take long. Arena's quarters were minimalist, and I slept on a cushion close to the floor. Since they didn't let me bring anything of my own, there was really no need for storage or shelves. There weren't toys like normal kids grew up with, but there were records and scrolls and logs and script to read once I was able, and Arena taught me games that established the basics of water wielding. Some masters found models in the library

My formal training began within the year after I moved in. I was juggled from master to master within the Order and trained with their apprentices, an uncommon practice, but they wanted the daughter of the moon to be the best of them. I wondered if some got irritated they had to share their master with me, even if it was just for a lesson in scripting. I was also the youngest. Normally, you had to wait until you were at least ten to become apprenticed, and you had to prove you had the potential and discipline to be trained by a master, much less a master of the Order.

I became a prodigy. Weaving and seeing the magic in the water came so naturally, and I picked it up from Arena so quickly that she started having me train under Master Gargimber in celestial magic. He taught me about the stars and how to interact with them, how to wake them, and respect them. His apprentice was Ro, a tall, skinny guy with white hair and a kind of laid-back feel. For training with someone half his age, he was cool with me. Once, he pulled me aside. It was dark, and we were returning home from a training session in the grasslands.

"I hear Salamandstrom finally chose a kid,"

"Really? Who?" I was curious. Salamandstrom was one of the older masters who, according to customary practice, should've chosen an apprentice before I was even born.

"A golden boy from the equator," Ro shrugged. "some of the kids said they heard his magic isn't that strong,"

"I guess we'll see," I mused, trudging over tufts of feathery purple grass. To be honest, I didn't really care, but I think Ro was trying to be nice. It meant that I'd finally have someone close to my age to learn the close-combat Sal had been training me in. The next day, Master Sal arrived home with a stocky blonde boy. Master Arena welcomed him back to the complex and Sal, an older man with crow's feet by his eyes and a short auburn beard introduced us to his protégé.

"The others will be pleased to know I have settled on someone to train as my successor," he turned to his little companion. "introduce yourself, boy,"

The kid awkwardly shifted back and forth as other pairings of masters and their apprentices appeared in the courtyard. "Hey – I'm Sorren,"

Arena pursed her thin lips and spoke sharply. "Young man, you are now an apprentice of the Order – you will act and speak as such. Poise yourself. Try again."

Typical Arena. I watched him look up at my master. I thought he might cry because her face was so cold, but in an instant, his shyness seemed to fall off him, and a new resolve took its place.

"Salutations," he said firmly and bowed over his rounded tummy. "my name is Sorren Xiliagold,"

"Much better," Arena's mouth broke into a satisfied smile. "I am Master Arena Mayali,"

She somehow had that effect on people, challenging them in such a way that you were terrifically scared and motivated at the same time. I was fortunate to have her as my master, but I know some of the others were a bit nervous around her. You never really knew if she was going to reprimand you or praise you. I just figured it was safe to assume she'd reprimand me all the time, so when I got congratulated for something, it would feel that much more rewarding.

Normally, Masters introduce themselves first, and then their student introduces themselves second, so I took the end of her words as my cue to step forward.

"Silver Mayali," I said shortly, following a bow. We were nearly the same height, in fact, I might have been a little taller.

"Pleased to meet you," he smiled.

I blinked. "Likewise,"

"You will be training together," Salamandstrom interjected. "no special treatment toward either of you. Silver, just because you're Guardian doesn't' mean I'll go any harder or easier,"

"Understood, master," I had seen that coming. When I arrived, that was one of the things that were made very clear to me: no special treatment. But of course, there were always a couple of masters who put a little extra effort into me rather than their apprentices because of my mom. Ophelia was revered by all, but some more than others. This caused resentment from some of the apprentices, and I unintentionally made enemies.

"Guardian…" little Sorren did a double-take on me. "you're the daughter of Ophelia?"

I nodded. I thought it was common knowledge that Master Arena was training the spawn of parent power, but apparently not.

"Is that why your eyes are so pretty?" he asked me. I was taken aback. Most people I passed called the shades of my irises odd, weird, scary, but never pretty. I heard a couple giggles from some girls behind me and I hoped my cheeks weren't turning red. I kept a straight face and prayed for someone else to speak up. Arena rescued me from the pause and asked Sal if there were any new developments of the rumored band of devils in the southern grasslands. Sal reported he'd found not one band, but three, and all were connected to the disappearance of local girls.

"They're more slippery than most," Sal huffed. "the little buggers… but I have enough information for a meeting to decide how best to go about it. If we act recklessly and storm in without swords brandished and fists blazing, they'll either kill the girls or burn the grasslands."

"Do you wish to address this with the full circle?" Arena contemplated.

"Perhaps that would be best… I had intended only discussing this with a select few but," he teetered his head side to side in consideration. "twenty-five heads are better than one."

I politely excused myself and left them for this conversation. I didn't really know where I was going but I located Ro leaning against a pillar in the shade of the awning and approached him. He had a smirk on his face.

"Golden boy has got a thing for you," he jeered.

I irritably stared up at him. "I'm ten,"

"Yeah, you're right, kid," he sighed, pushing off the pillar. "too young for love… at least for right now,"

"Ew," I rolled my eyes. "you know what the masters decided last week, right?"

"You're not allowed union or children – which I understand their decision, but it shouldn't be theirs to make,"

"I'm fine with it. I have no interest in union,"

Ro laughed. "You're ten, kid, just wait till you hit the teen years. You don't even know what union is yet,"

"Master Arena explained it to me last week after the ruling," I shuddered. "it's so gross. Why would anyone even think of doing that,"

Ro froze and looked at me in shock, then shook it off. "You know what, I'm not even surprised,"

Yes, Arena had been the one to give me 'the talk' and she was very clear. Any other ten-year-old would have been squeamish, and maybe had a couple bad dreams about it, but seeing as it had been decided for me that I would NOT be taking part in this in the future, it was much easier to absorb. I felt so relieved that I would not be re-living Arena's graphic description of what happens to form a union. I was in the clear.

"I'm just saying, kid, you'll change your mind when you get older and you'll start second-guessing their decisions,"

"I don't think so," I said.

Ro chuckled as he walked away to the library. "Whatever you say,"

I trained with Salamandstrom and Sorren once or twice a week, but I saw Sorren throughout the complex often. He was friendly and likable. He got along easy with everyone, something I was a little jealous of. But what I was not jealous of was his lack in magic wielding. When he first arrived, he could barely keep a flame alive in his palm, and with very little control. I rudely wondered what Sal saw in him to make him an apprentice, and I soon got my answer.

Salamandstrom worked with us in hand-to-hand combat, close-quarter's fighting combined with strategy and observation. Though Sorren's magic was weak, his resourcefulness and wit evened us out as opponents. I've had sand thrown into my eyes, my sash ripped off, my shoe-laces tied, my weight thrown using my own momentum – this kid just wouldn't give up and he always had a new trick up his sleeve. He worked harder than any other apprentice and was constantly reading. I came across him in the Complex's library once. He was hunched down next to a shelf with a large blue volume I recognized.

"Why are you reading on water magic?" I asked.

"To beat you I gotta know what your methods are," he grinned. "every water steward has to read this, right?"

"But you're not a water steward,"

"Right, but you are – I gotta know how my opponent thinks if I'm going to beat you next week," he smirked.

I had a new annoyance from him after that, but also new respect. His work paid off. He grew stronger in his magic and started to be the common winner of our matches. He once re-modeled one of my moves to fit his fighting style and fire – I ended up face down on the floor. I was so angry and fed-up with being beaten, I decided I would work as hard as him. I grabbed the volume for fire stewards and studied in a furious frenzy. I found a technique that I liked and tweaked it and added in a little ice. The next time we sparred, I used it and was successful. I was so proud of myself and didn't stop picking up techniques from other combat styles. Sorren and I became known through the Order as bipolar prodigies as our desire to beat each other pushed us to find new tactics and use different tools.

When I wasn't training, Sorren would find me in the ponds with the fish or with Ro, and usually asked if I wanted to go into town or pull a prank with him. If Arena had nothing left on my agenda or was too occupied with some official business, I said yes, and we'd take our cloaks and mozy about the city for an hour. Takesh was huge, and to ride a creature from the north wall to the south took a couple hours, so we didn't get very far walking around in just one, but it was nice to see what it was like to live normally. Sorren had somehow befriended the local bakers, and they gave him loopa-lof cake which he'd share with me. We'd chat through mouthfuls of the sweet, tangy fluff, talking about school and apprentices and what we thought the rest of the multiverse was like. He once snuck a book out of the Complex library to take into town. Yes, it's called a library and I know you're supposed to be able to borrow books from it, but this one wasn't supposed to leave. I felt guilty as an accomplice in his actions, and we got the punishment of a lifetime when we got back, including bathing all the heesomates and herbitimes of ALL the masters. Master Arena considered cutting me off Sal's training after that – said that Sorren was a 'bad influence' on me. That was the first time I actually resisted my master and spoke up for something I wanted. Before that, I simply did what I was told without question and let the elders make the decisions for me.

"Master Arena, please let me continue with Master Salamandstrom," I pleaded. "I promise I won't do anything else,"

"This boy is distracting you," she declared sternly. "you have to stay focused on your path ahead – you know who you are, Silver, the responsibilities you have,"

"I know master," I shrunk standing before her. "I'll work harder…"

Arena glared down at me. It was nearly impossible to change her mind. In this pause, we heard a knock at the doorframe, and the curtain of blue vines parted for Master Salamandstrom himself. He was shaking his head at Arena.

My master turned up her nose and sniffed at his entry. "Sal, I suggest you tend to your student and I will tend to mine – it's become evident discipline is waning in some of her lessons and I can assure you, it's not in mine,"

"Arena," again, the man shook his head in disapproval. "they're kids – only thirteen – they meant no harm,"

"They stole a Sentient book from the library,"

"They brought it back," he added. "I think cleaning the creatures is enough of a punishment. They have been advancing better together than on their own in lessons – the guardian would benefit from having a rival in training – a rival her own age,"

"She's my student, I will do what I see fit,"

"Silver," Master Salamandstrom turned to me. "you may go,"

My master huffed as I slinked away. Sal winked at me discreetly as I slid past them and out the door. What was Sal going to say? What was going to happen? Was I going to lose my favorite time of the week with my friend? Almost immediately I bumped into Sorren who'd been waiting where we couldn't see. With his cheeky smile, he grabbed my wrist without a word and pulled me to the sparring ring all the way in the opposite wing of the compound.

"What are we doing here," I sighed.

"Practicing to show Arena we can be serious too," he declared. "we just have to show her that we can focus together and stay out of trouble, right?"

"She's not going to change her mind," I said dejectedly. "you know how she is,"

"Sal will get through to her," he assured me confidently.

"What if he can't?"

"Then I'd like to kick your butt one last time," he grinned, whipping off his cloak and reaching for the sparring wraps. I rolled my eyes and swiped them away, a smile spreading across my face.

"You mean you'd like to kiss the floor? I can arrange that," I teased, swiftly prepping my hands. We stepped into the ring together. I took the first swing, blocked one of his, then tried a couple swift jabs to his middle. We were just getting warmed up without magic like usual, but then he tried something I'd never seen before. He dropped low, scooped around my knees, and pulled them together, narrowing my center of gravity. I felt like I was going to fall forward, so I went with it and jumped, bending over and pushing my hands into his back, but I didn't get very far and just flopped to the ground next to him.

"What the heck was that?!" I looked over at him in disbelief. "If I had a weapon, you left your back wide open to be staked to the ground,"

Sorren laughed and sat back. "Sorry, just wanted to see your reaction,"

"If Arena saw that we'd be screwed," I arched an eyebrow. "I thought we were going to be serious,"

"Don't worry," he said, helping me back to my feet. "Salamandstrom will convince her to let us train together and we'll stay friends – heck, even if we couldn't train together anymore, I'd still come to see you,"

"Arena might slit your throat,"

"Eh, forget about that old hag," he waved my comment off. "do something for you for once. I get that you're Guardian, but you're still you and you have your own life, and you can make your own choices. It's ridiculous that the masters decide so much for you,"

"I don't know, Sorren,"

"Listen, we're staying friends, got it? No number of masters can change that," he playfully punched my shoulder."

"Ok," I smiled. "Got it,"

Sure enough, Arena relented and allowed me to continue my training with Sorren and Salamandstrom. It was a happy relief and I made sure to work extra hard to disprove her earlier statements. This was when I started to learn prism magic from Master Cerese with her apprentice Miahrose. Miah was new and about the same age as Sorren and me, so we were able to start together and learn at the same pace, but Cerese honestly wasn't the greatest teacher. It was clear she knew what she was doing but her instruction was confusing. Prism magic takes extra special care and attention to detail because you can mess with other dimensions and the space-time continuum. But on the basic level, we learned illusions and how to store and hide small things. With mirrors, we learned how to establish a communication route, so Miah could be on one end of the complex and I could talk to her from the other end. The catch with this though is that both stewards have to have prism magic for the connection to be established. It's like picking up the phone. One steward sends out a line through a mirror, and the other has to be a prism steward as well to answer the call through the nearest mirror or reflective surface. Any other steward would otherwise have no idea that the call was being made.

I introduced Miah to Sorren and it was a new dynamic. Miah was sweet and a bit more assertive than me, but she was also very thoughtful. She snuck me her dessert once when I had been grounded due to losing my control training with Arena. I flooded the quarters of Master Ardelle, a light wielder, and busted a hole through his wall. He was a pissed, senile man peering through his new window when I realized what I had done.

As I got older, Arena got more intense with me, more strict, and kept me on a tight schedule. I barely got to see Miah or Sorren, except for my few classes with them. Sometimes, they would visit at night when everyone else was asleep, but their visits got less and less frequent. I started to get a little jealous of all the time they spent together, but it couldn't be helped. I had three magic fields to master. They started to have their own inside jokes shared memories while I would be memorizing a script for installing magic in relics or a technique to turn water into steam. The swifter I learned to execute my will and commands, the better, but it was so time-consuming and I felt like I was drifting out of our little group.

I think I subconsciously decided I had to emotionally detach myself from them to focus, otherwise, I'd be down and have trouble keeping my mind on the task in front of me. Master Arena started to take me on small fieldwork tasks in Takesh undermining black market traders and stopping basic thieves. I was finally able to put my training to real work and I loved the adrenaline rush that came with each mission. These distracted me and kept my mind off my friends and what they might be doing at that moment. But they noticed this shift in me, especially Sorren. When I got back from my missions I noticed he'd be present almost every time to say hello and ask how it went. I wanted to tell him and Miahrose everything I'd been doing, what the dark domain stewards were like, how Arena and I worked together, but I wouldn't get very far into my story before Arena called me to clean up and begin a reflective meditation on the past events. I'd shrug apologetically to Sorren, tell him I'd see him later, and followed my master.

I think when I was sixteen, Arena and I stopped a caravan of merchants carrying dark-infused creatures. They had gotten the spell off the black market and the creatures were supposed to sell for double their regular price due to their enhanced abilities. But the side effect was that their life-span was cut in half, and their mental health declined with age. After their resistance and a bit of a fight, we bound up the merchants and brought them to the Order to be tried and sentenced, and the creatures were put in the care of Emile and Whisp, stewards of Faven's creature magic. Hopefully, the spell could be reversed, but as of that night, I went to bed with uncertainty.

In the middle of the night, when the moon was high in the sky, I heard a rustle in the vines around my window. I watched and waited, thinking it might just be a Sicca creature crawling under the leaves to get shade from the moonlight. A hand popped out and the tiniest flicker of a flame danced around, spreading and spelling out the words 'it's me' in the air. I looked to my door where Arena might emerge, but the snoring from the next room confirmed she was still asleep. I grinned as Sorren crawled in past the foliage that framed my window. He'd gotten better at creeping about at night, undetected. Of course, there were some instances in the past where he was caught and scolded for his behavior, but they never found out it was me he was sneaking out to see. They always thought he wanted something from the kitchen since it was conveniently the floor beneath my room, making it the perfect cover story.

"Hey," I whispered.

Soren put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence. Then he made a motion to follow him. I checked the door again before clipping on my cloak and following him back out the window, hoping Arena wouldn't wake up and see my empty bed. Without a word, he led me to the outer wall of the complex, dodging behind trees and shrubs, and avoiding the plants that wake with bioluminescence when you brush by them. The wall was about as tall as the tops of our heads and we climbed over it with ease. On this side was open grassland with a small forest on its far edge, but this is as far as we would go. The two of us hunkered down in the earth and I looked over at my friend, moonlight basking his light hair.

"Sooooooo what now," I asked, catching my breath.

"It's been a while since we've been able to just talk without Arena breathing down your neck," he grinned. "how have you been? I've missed you – Miah misses you too. She would've come but she has a scripting test in the morning…"

"I've missed you guys too," I sighed. "I don't know – it's been one thing after another, but it's nice to get out there and use what they're teaching me. How about you?"

Sorren shrugged. "It's cool, Sal has been talking about getting me out for fieldwork soon. I think he misses it… the last time he was out there was when he found me,"

"Wow that was… what – six years ago?"

"Yeah, it's been a while for him,"

I nodded. I didn't really know what to say or how to talk. I didn't want to know what he and Miah had been doing together. I was happy to see him, but I was bummed with the way things were. I wish we had recent memories to share or laugh about.

"You gonna tell me about how you stopped the merchants? That was awesome when you and Arena came in with four carts of creatures and the guys strung up like logs,"

"I don't really feel like it," I smiled a little.

"Did Miah tell you about…"

"No,"

"You didn't even let me finish," he chuckled.

"Miah and I haven't really talked in a while. I'm with her and Cerese twice a week but I leave for my scripting lesson right afterward,"

"Oh… are you two still cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool,"

"So then what's up?"

"Nothing's wrong," I lied, avoiding eye contact.

Sorren peered at me intently and I felt that I had to meet his eyes, otherwise it would have been too obvious I was hiding something. Were his eyes always so deep and dark? And his jaw… I didn't remember it being that square. He'd grown out his hair a little too… come to think of it – his voice seemed different as well.

"Sil," he said seriously. "I can tell when something is wrong. What's going on?"

"I told you, nothing is wrong," I faked a small laugh, but he wasn't having it. He kept staring at me, this time arching an eyebrow. With a sigh, I dropped my act. "I… I miss you guys… a lot. I miss hanging out and going into town. It's not the same anymore and I wish it was… but I'm Guardian… and Arena constantly reminds me of my position and responsibilities – why can't I just be normal like everyone else?"

He listened and never took his eyes off me.

I continued, wrapping my arms around my knees. "The best part of my week is the two lessons I have with you, honestly. At least Sal lets us mess around a little… and the lessons with Miah are going well, but I feel like she's hiding something from me. Nothing important, but like there's something in the back of her mind she won't talk about – but of course I'm not going to approach her about it. I feel like I don't have the right to ask because I've been gone so much – and the same thing goes for you where I feel like I've been a bad friend by being distant so I don't really have the right to ask anything about you or what you've been up to… what bothers you, what excites you, what…"

This is where he stopped me. "Sil, it's ok," he put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "no matter how long it's been, or whatever's been keeping you, we're still friends. Nothing changes that. Just because I can't see you as often doesn't mean I want to pull back. If anything, I want to hear more and I want to tell you all about what's been going on. No amount of lessons or missions can change that, and no amount of time either,"

I suppressed the wide smile pulling at my lips. "How'd you get so good with words?"

"Part of Sal's lessons involve extensive poetry and literature," he chuckled. "I might've picked up a couple things from it. So – no more being distant?"

"No more being distant," I repeated happily. "Thanks, Sorren,"

"Anytime, Sil," he grinned.

We spent the next two, maybe three hours catching up. It was a miracle no one noticed we were gone. I was the happiest I had been in a while. Arena noticed my mood the next day that though I was clearly sleep-deprived, I was chipper.

"You seem… different," she commented at breakfast. "something happen?"

I slurped up a string of firi. "No, nothing happened. It's just that the soup is especially good today,"

Arena arched an eyebrow but didn't press the matter. "On another note, we've gotten intel on the traders for the black magic spell that altered the creatures we rescued. Salamandstrom and I have been asked to pursue them. We'll be heading east toward Crotalloa – leaving tonight,"

I nearly choked on my breakfast. Sorren and I on a mission? Together? This was perfect! But I had to admit, I couldn't understand why my stomach felt all fluttery about it. Also, did he know that this was going to happen? And if so, why didn't he tell me last night?

We packed up everything again and left with Master Salamandstrom and Sorren. It was going to be his first experience in the field, and it was no small task either. Miahrose met us to say goodbye and wish us luck. I noticed she seemed more focused on Sorren. With a worried look, she grabbed his hand, telling him to come back safely. I looked away. After a minute, Sorren came back to his heesomate, redness in his cheeks. He didn't say anything about it, and I didn't feel obliged to ask. I was starting to realize how his features matured handsomely. I figured that while I was busy, Miah must've grown attracted to him and fond of his company… perhaps more than friends even. She also had matured, her breasts had grown, her face slimmed a little, and she started to look less like a girl and more like a beautiful young woman. The two of them just made sense together. Maybe this was what she was hiding in the back of her mind.

I wondered why Sorren didn't tell me about his and Miah's closeness the night before, but then again, what right did I have to know about their personal lives? He did tell me though that he wanted to share about his life after not really connecting for a while. Maybe he'd elaborate later? I pushed it out of my thoughts and resolved to act professionally as Arena would. Trivial matters could be discussed once the mission was complete. I was Guardian and I had to act like one in front of the people. I had a job to do.

We reached Talloa without difficulty, but Sorren had already exercised his skills in action when it came to tracking the black-market traders. He knew how to find information in the towns, what to look for when it came to clues of their presence, and how to use his sixth sense to detect traces of dark magic. I was impressed and Salamandstrom was enjoying himself immensely. Sorren still hadn't told me whether he knew about the mission together or anything about Miah. He only mentioned her once, and that was in a remark that he wanted to prank her when we got back with some nasty smelling fruit he found in a forest. I rolled my eyes.

Our party set up camp on the shores of Talloa, not far from the town Crotalloa. I'd been there a couple times before and had fond memories of the people, especially the kids there, but Sal and Arena left us to grab supplies. We were tasked with the care of our rides. It was a quick chore of bathing them and checking for wounds. Once we were done, the masters still had not returned, so we went for a swim. This was when I discovered the power in my stone.

It just… happened. I felt a pull of magic and initiated it, and then I was in my second form. I was a mermaid. I stared down at my body, the dark scales and new tendrils that had grown from my hips, a tail where my toes should have been. I freaked out. Was it some sort of illusion? How was I breathing water? Was there anyone around? I heard a splashing above me and looked up to see a pair of shorts and white legs kicking around. I cautiously surfaced next to my friend.

"Silver?" he looked at me, confused. "that's probably the best prism illusion I've seen you make – what are you?"

"It's not an illusion," I said quietly.

"C'mon Sil," he rolled his eyes with a smile. "cut it out. You can't trick me that easily,"

"Sorren, I'm serious," I said. When he still didn't look convinced, I peeked my tail up out of the water. He reached out a hand and pet the sleek scales down to the feathery fluke.

His face fell. "What the hell happened? Are you ok? You look like a Vivian fish,"

A Vivian fish, by the way, is known for its ability to save itself from predators by spitting a disgusting yellowish-green fluid into the water. It smokes up the area around it and initiates the gag reflex. Sorren started to secretly call me 'Silvian' to tease me. It was annoying at first (I hate that disgusting creature), but later it became a name of endearment.

I told him about my pendant. Sorren didn't know what to do, and neither did I. There was nothing on Faven with power like it. After a moment of freaking out, I figured out how to transform back, and we decided to keep it a secret. I didn't want the Order to take this away from me for examining, seeing as they didn't let me keep anything else in the first place. This discovery brought up questions about my mother, the moon, and why I could never contact her. It felt like her magic in my stone, but I could never hear from her as the oracles could. Sorren was so kind and sweet, and tried to help as best he can by suggesting things and talking them through.

I don't know why I thought this was a good idea, but after we had exhausted our thoughts on the matter, I took his hand as we laid in the sand. I held it, and he didn't pull away. I thought the feeling in my stomach was fluttering so much it'd make me nauseous.

"Thank you…" I managed to say.

"Of course, I'm here for you – always will be," he looked over at me and smiled, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. What was this? Guy friends don't normally hold a hand of a girl friend for this long, right? And they don't normally say stuff like that… do they? Always will be… I didn't get it – why it made me so happy to hear him say that, why my chest and face felt warm.

Just then, I heard a twinge of magic from my knapsack. I regretfully let go of his hand and ruffled through it, pulling out a mini mirror. Where did this come from? I didn't remember packing it. Someone was trying to contact me. I answered it. It was Miahrose.

"Hey!" she greeted with a broad smile. "Surprise!"

"Miah," I definitely was surprised. "hey! How are you? Did you put this in my pack?"

She giggled. "Yeah, sorry, I hope you don't mind,"

"No not at all," I grinned. "It's a great idea to stay in touch – can't believe the masters didn't think of it,"

"How has the mission been going?"

"Good – we've just made it to Talloa and Arena and Sal are in town. They should be back soon… actually, they should've been back a while ago…"

"Is Sorren there?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh… uh, yeah he's here,"

Sorren popped his head up over my shoulder so it was in view of the mirror. "Hey Miah! Good to hear from you,"

I put a magic lock on it for about twenty minutes and handed it over to him. "Here, there's a lock on it so you guys can talk,"

"Wait, Sil…" he tried to catch my hand as I left.

"Go ahead," I smiled weakly. "catch up with her. I'm going to find Arena and Sal,"

"Let her go, Renny," Miah's voice cooed. "In the meantime, there's so much I have to tell you,"

Renny? Ew… what a weird nickname. I stepped out onto the ocean and a wave carried me to the fishermen's port. I wondered what they were talking about, and then I thought about his hand in mine. I thought about his brown eyes, his cute, messy blonde hair shaking out the sand from the shore, the way he looked taking off his shirt for a swim… argh… snap out of it. I needed to get a grip. Sorren and Miah will fall in love and happily have five kids, and I will live my own life as Guardian and I'll be happy rescuing creatures and people and stopping the dark arts. Suddenly, what Ro told me when I was ten was starting to make a bit more sense. I hated that. I had to convince myself that Sorren and I were just friends… maybe brother and sister. Having the brother and sister mindset made it a bit easier to tolerate. Still… sisters don't fantasize about their brothers taking off their shirt… or holding their hand.

It only took a short search until I found the masters negotiating for feed for our heesomates. I didn't understand why it was taking so long, but at least I found them. I found these conversations beyond boring so I waited outside by the creature pens with walls too short for their sizes. They must've been trained to stay. I recognized a loughnesseri beast in the largest pen and decided to keep her company. Her large paddle-like legs shuffled the massive body over to me. She was friendly and lowered her head for some sniffing and nuzzling. Her eyes were deep and black, but it felt like she understood my thoughts somehow.

"What do I do, Nessy?" I chuckled, petting her scaly head. "I hate feelings… they're stupid and distracting… I wish they would go away…"

The beast snuffed a burst of hot air into my face and lowed from a voice in her belly.

"I'll just ignore them and feel back to normal eventually," I resolved with a smile. "I am the Guardian – I'll just have to get to the point where I don't need anyone, not even Arena one day,"

Nessy went back to her feed piled in the corner and I watched her much at some spongy things. Something tapped my shoulder as I was zoning out. It was Arena. They were finally ready to go.

Miah would call almost every day and always asked for Sorren. I figured she had given up on our friendship, which was fine. I was on a personal mission to detach from her and eventually everyone else anyway. Sorren started to notice I was acting distant again, and I felt bad, but I didn't feel like talking about the situation. I even put a longer-lasting magic lock (which drained more of my magic daily but thought it was worth it) whenever Miah called so that he'd have to talk for an hour or more with her. By the end of it, it would be time for bed, and he'd pass out emotionally and physically drained. I felt like I was doing both a service helping them stay connected. Arena thought it was unwise, but Sal didn't care and I just didn't want to ignore Miah's calls. A few times, I did feel irritated enough to break the damn little thing, but I re-evaluated my emotional position and reminded myself of my goal to be self-sufficient, and this seemed to be a way to do that.

The rest of the mission went smoothly, and we caught the black magic traders south of Crotalloa in a small mountain pass. Sorren was incredible again in the fight. His firepower had clearly gotten stronger, but he never flaunted it or was prideful about it – making him that much more attractive. It was almost irritating he was that good. Heading back to the compound was exciting to think about. I wondered what Miah and Sorren would be like. We'd been gone for almost a month, maybe their reunion would be teary-eyed with an enormous mushy hug. The thought disgusted me.

We sat around the fire three nights into the trek home. The mercenaries were in a spell-induced hibernation as we prepped for the night. The mirror in my pack hummed with noise only I could hear.

"It's time for your nightly recap, Sorren," I said with a little laugh, ruffling through my things.

"Can we not?" he asked, irritation edged his voice.

I paused, slightly surprised. "You want me to reject the call? She'll worry,"

"Tell her I'm not here," he sighed, leaning back on his ride. "or that I'm sleeping or something,"

"You want me to lie to Miah for you,"

"Yeah,"

"Why don't you just tell her you don't want to talk right now?"

"I don't want her to get upset,"

I looked at the little mirror in my hand, still humming. "I don't know Sorren,"

"Can I talk to you for once? I think I've heard her mention the 'latest women's sashes' and 'color-change spellbinds' at least fifty times now – I'll see her when we get back. I've been tempted to break that freaking mirror," he huffed. "especially when she never asked to talk to you – you're the one establishing the link and using your energy to lock it in,"

The humming stopped. I guess I didn't have to reject it. She must've given up.

"I'm going to sleep now," I feigned a yawn.

"Oh – ok," Sorren sat up, I could tell he was a little disappointed. "you don't want to talk?"

"About what?" as soon as I asked, I regretted it. I knew I had opened a door that I had been attempting to keep closed the whole trip.

"How you're doing and stuff," he shrugged. "you've been doing it again since Miah started calling,"

"Doing what exactly?"

"Being weirdly quiet and distant… you promised you wouldn't do that anymore,"

Well, crap, what was I supposed to say? That I was trying to stay out of their relationship and not get in Miah's way because I was secretly attracted to my best friend but can't do anything about it because the Guardian isn't allowed a union and Miah is?

"Miah misses you and you two have gotten close," I laid on the ground next to the fire. "I didn't want to get in the way,"

"Maybe – but you don't have to put a magic lock on it for a whole two hours,"

"Is that how long it was?" I asked innocently. "Sorry – I must've gotten lazy on my locks,"

"Whatever," he huffed and rolled over onto his side. "goodnight. Talk to you later I guess,"

Ouch. That hurt. I deserved it though. The rest of the trip back, there was a slight unspoken tension between us, but I tried to not let it bother me. Once we arrived home, Miah ran up to Sorren and threw her arms around him in that mushy, teary-eyed embrace I had been gagging over in my mind. I ignored them and took my mercenary to a cell below ground where the keepers handled the rest. After taking my heesomate to a pen and removing all her baggage, I gave her a quick bath and shouldered the supplies to be stored with everything else the Order shared. Sorren and Miahrose were nowhere around, much to my relief, and I never passed them in the halls on my way to my quarters with Arena. That was it.

We were barely home for three days before Salamandstrom was sent on a mission north to the equator. Master and apprentice packed their rides and Miah and I solemnly said our goodbyes. I didn't particularly want to, but I felt I owed him after how distant I had been. I was present but kept off to the side. He had to know I still was a friend I just didn't want to get in his way. Miah was clearly upset, and even more now that she wouldn't have a way to contact him daily. Sorren gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before breaking away from her and walking to me.

"Good luck out there," I said from under my hood.

Sorren smiled half-heartedly. "We'll catch up when I get back – there was some stuff I wanted to talk about, but it'll have to wait now. Take care, Sil… don't work too hard,"

My friend disappeared out the gates and I turned to return to training. Immediately, I bumped into Ro with his long white hair tied into a braid that draped down his shoulder (he'd been growing it out for the last couple of years). I muttered an apology with my head to the ground and continued past him, but he grabbed my hood and forcefully pulled me back.

"Ow," I yelped. "what the heck – I didn't forget to turn in my celle-tunnel research to Gargimber this time,"

"No, it's not the research," he chuckled. "I just felt like messing with you in your depressed mood,"

"Why don't you mess with Miah? She could use your unique sense of humor,"

"She's not as depressed as you are,"

"I'm not depressed," I arched an eyebrow. "also, that's kinda harsh,"

"For being so in touch with everyone else's emotions, you are very ignorant about your own,"

I looked at him with irritation. "Is there anything else you wanted besides this conversation that you seem to find so amusing?"

He laughed. "I'm actually worried about you, kid – it's like you're forcing yourself to not care,"

"Whatever you think, it's none of your business,"

"I'm pretty close to making it my business,"

"I'd prefer you not," I walked away. "see you later."

Sorren and Salamandstrom were gone for a year. During that year, many others left the compound and our numbers dwindled down to 15 masters and 14 apprentices. Their absence left a strange sense of nearing misfortune. I could feel that they were keeping something from me, but I had no idea what it was. My days through the following year were spent away from Miahrose, in the grasslands, the library, the training ring, avoiding Ro, even asking Arena for more topics to study. Then it turned into a year and a month and no one had heard back from anyone who'd left. I appeared… apathetic. I had trained my mind to prepare to be alone when I became a master. I convinced myself that the masters' absences were good for me. I think I even convinced myself that I was prepared to never see my friend again. Yeah… I know now that I was taking the self-sufficient mentality to an extreme. My mind had locked down.

A total of one and half years later, I was almost 19 years old when Sorren finally returned. I actually had no idea until Ro came out to find me. It was night, I was meditating in the grasslands. When Ro gave me the news, I didn't know what to do. I had prepared for the opposite of this scenario.

"You're not coming to meet him?" the celestial apprentice asked.

"I will once I'm done here," I stated, still sitting calmly in my comfy patch of ferns.

"Sil," Ro shifted uneasily. "Salamandstrom didn't return with him…"

[ Author note: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry this has taken so long! Writer's blocks have been a common issue while writing Silver's memories, but I hope you enjoy! Part 2 is already almost done. ]