Chapter 2

I've been sitting here for hours. When the healers told her to relax she followed it to the letter. She hasn't waken or so much as moved in hours. I need to get some fresh air. I open the door to let the cool wind relax me, but then the girl finally moved; she was shivering. Closing the door I made my way toward her. I crouched down so that I could see her face a little clearer.

Isn't it weird how a woman can destroy a man's dignity? Looking upon her, I wonder what a woman does to lure them out of their honor and pride. Her face is soft; her hair just glowing with beauty, even her nose is petite and sharp.

I feel odd. I try to avoid women because of this feeling. It distracts me from my job as guardian. I cannot protect if my eyes are fixated on this succubus. Yet something doesn't feel right.

She looks so calm and serene, why? Why does it look like she hasn't a care in the world, why? Why do I think she looks pretty? Why am I still this close to her? If I don't move soon I won't be able to pull myself away later.

As I get up I notice her eyes begin to open. Once again, I am transfixed on them. She notices I am here, standing next to her. She smiles at me.

"Oh, hello there." She says to me. I just stand there frozen. I don't know what to do. I'll just ignore her and walk over to the door.

"Are you okay mister?" She asks me. I might as well respond. If I don't Gard will have me training new recruits again, by all that is sacred, nothing is more straining than that.

"I am fine." I say. She sits up and hugs her knees lightly. She's smiling again; I wish she would stop that, I getting to be very uncomfortable.

"My name's Forsythia, what's yours?"

"…Vern." I say in a low voice.

"Bern? That's a funny name." She giggles under her breath.

"It's Vern." I say louder.

"Oh, Vern is it? I apologize. Where am I?" She asks. I take a moment to answer and say, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." She went 'eep' and looked scared. Good, now she fears me and will ask someone else to escort her.

Uh oh, she's starting to cry; now Gard will really kill me. What do I do?

"Don't cry." I say sternly. She's getting even more scared. Great, now what do I do; wait what did my mom did when I was sad or scared;…she'd rubbed my back…warm my hand with hers…and sing my song…it's worth a try.

I got up and walked over to her. She startled and backed away from me a bit. This is going to be hard than I thought. I sit down next to her, she still is acting frightened.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you. But if I don't help you relax I'm going to get in trouble." I gently grab her hands and place my hands around them. Her hands are already plenty warm, I should rub her back now. I keep my right hand with her hands and place my left hand on her back and rubbed gently. She started to relax. Now all I have to do is sing. I close my eyes and tried to hum the tune my mom hummed to me.

After a second or two, she asked what I was doing.

"I'm…uh…singing." I answered. She then started giggling.

"What? What's so funny?" I asked, starting to get mad again.

"That's really (giggle) bad sing(giggle)ing." She finally blurted. I can't take this anymore. I got up off the floor and made my way toward the door. I grabbed the handle, and then the girl spoke.

"Wait! Please, I don't like to be alone." I turned and saw she was off the floor. Tears were forming in her eyes again. Uh, I hate this so much. I released my grip off the door and sat down in my corner.

The girl walked over to me and kneeled beside me.

"Why are you so mad? Did I do something?" Forsythia asked.

"Just…go back to sleep. I'll be taking you somewhere safe tomorrow. Forsythia obeyed and lay back down on her mat. Sleep over took her within minutes. Just then, one of my companions appeared outside the window. It was Jarem. I walked over and opened the window.

"Hey Vern, how you holding up so far?" Jarem asked.

"I'm going to go insane; is Gard still awake?"

"Nah, he went to sleep as soon as he left. Why, can't handle your assignment?"

"You know me and women can't ever mix."

"I don't see your problem Vern."

"No one can." I answered coldly.

"Ya, ya, as you said before. But it's going to come out one day and you'll regret it." Jarem replied. With that he left me alone with the girl.

A mist was coming in; at least I can keep myself preoccupied. With my water-bending skills, I force some of the mist to form into two ice balls, both small enough to fit into my hand. I don't know why I made two ice balls, so I just returned one, and played with this one.

After awhile sleep was pulling me away from my mortal realm into the realm of dreams.