June

I want to strangle my best friend. I should have expected Tess to pull a stunt like inviting my long lost love to my birthday celebration. As we enjoy our meal I send her death glares and her only response is slinking lower into her seat and hiding her smile behind her wine glass. My heart is beating rapidly and all I want to do is get up and go back home and snuggle with Kody. Day returning is extremely overwhelming, and now that we've already met so early on in his return I'm sure that things must look a little suspicious. It's been over ten years now since he came out of his coma and all memories of me were forgotten. I'm sure that now there wouldn't be any issues with him blaming me for anything and I could explain how things used to be so different between the two of us. But how would he be able to trust me when I know everything and he doesn't? Would I really be able to tell him everything, even the things that I'm not proud of? That could destroy everything, and I've barely given him a proper introduction.

A loud knock at the door snaps me out of my thoughts and all conversation at the table stops. I turn to Tess and frown. "Who else did you invite tonight?"

"No one," she says, slowly rising from her seat, "at least not that I know of."

She goes and gets the door and everyone stops eating, straining to hear what Tess and the guest are discussing. I look across the table at Day again, who seems to be oblivious to the visitor but instead content on cutting his salad into microscopic pieces. I look down, smiling. He never did like to eat lettuce. It's nice to know that some things haven't changed. I turn in my seat as Tess returns and by the way she's looking at me, I can tell that she's angry. "June," she says dully, "there is someone who says that he needs to talk to you. He mentioned that Anden sent him?"

I don't recall Anden ever saying that he'd be sending someone to meet me, but I guess that seeing whatever it is that they need couldn't hurt. I get up from my seat, the wooden chair making an earsplitting screech against the oak flooring. I stride over and standing outside on the other side of the doorway is someone that I don't think that I've ever seen before.

It's a man who looks to be around my age. He's wearing an all-black uniform, which are normally only assigned to higher ranks in the military. His cape stops just above the ground, not a single crease or mark. He has jet black hair that's gelled up and away from his forehead. All of his features are very prominent. His muscular arms are crossed and his expression is nearly blank, but there are creases in his forehead giving the impression that he's frowning. I wonder if something is wrong. But his hazel eyes are hard and determined, making me feel mixed emotions about my assumption.

"June Iparis?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.

I nod and his salutes. I return the gesture. "Is something wrong? Why did Anden send you to see me?"

"I am Jonah Trainer. I've been working as a personal body guard for the Elector for the past twelve years. As of recent events, I have been assigned to be your guard instead. Now if you have-"

I cut him off. "Recent events?"

My question seems to take him off guard and stop of whatever he was rehearsing a moment before. "Well, I was sure that you had already been told," Jonah says. "An hour ago your apartment went up in flames. Neighbors in the area smelt the smoke and called for help immediately. We arrived fourteen minutes after it began but there is still a serious amount of damage that was done."

My pulse feels dead and I can feel a huge migraine coming on as thousands of worries crashes on me like a tidal wave. "Kody, my dog-"

Jonah nods. "Your dog is fine, if not a little shaken up. He was rescued and is currently getting checked over at the hospital for any injuries he might have sustained. Our main concern at the moment, Ms. Iparis, is that it has been made clear that the fire was intentional. We have reason to believe that someone may be trying to harm you." I open my mouth to ask a question but before I can he adds, "I am not allowed to share any information regarding the start of the fire, but the Elector would like to discuss the matter with you himself. It was then he asked me to be your guard full time until it seems that you will be safe on your own."

Annoyance takes just a moment to set in. Anden can be so overprotective of me sometimes, but it also bothers me that I wasn't told about the fire right after it happened. Anden knew exactly where I was going to be tonight, but it still took him an hour to send me news. I take a deep breath before calmly saying, "I can protect myself. I've been in plenty of dangerous situations before. I might be twenty-seven now but that doesn't mean I can't still kick ass when necessary. Heck, I've got one of the highest ranks in the military!"

"The Elector said that you might retaliate against his decision. You should know that I was assigned to keep you safe June, and you are expected to oblige to the Elector's commands and wishes if you wish to keep your rank."

I roll my eyes at Jonah. "Anden would never lower my rank because he cares about my feelings too much. But, while I see no point in me having a 'body guard,'" I say, dragging out my words to make my emotion towards the situation obvious, "I guess I don't have much of a choice. If you don't mind me asking, where will I be staying?"

"The Elector chose an apartment on the far side of the Ruby Sector that I will escort you to later. I must warn you that you are not allowed to tell anyone, even your friends about your new location. It's best that everything stays a secret for now. The belongings that you have left have already been transferred into your new apartment and new uniforms will be arriving sometime tomorrow. It was requested that you leave as soon a possible, since the Elector would like to speak to you about his plans for you from here on out. So, Ms. Iparis, are you finished up here?"

I turn around to look back inside. Everyone is sitting at the table except for Tess who is clearing away plates and letting out sighs of dissatisfaction. Eden is talking to Tyler and Pasco about something which he is obviously passionate about. My gaze finally falls upon Day who has chin resting on his hand and is looking back at me. Feelings of confusion and longing and love shoot through me like a bullet and I see that I need time. I need space. I turn back to Jonah and pull the front door shut.

"Okay," I say with a sigh of relief and worry. "I'm ready to go."

. . .

AN: So this chapter took me like an hour and a half to write, goodness, but I've finally started to develop a plot for this fanfiction so that's good! My friend has been pestering me to update so I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and I'm planning on the next chapter being in June's POV as well. So remember to share this story with your friends!

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