The Guardian
Chapter 2: Leo
(A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with chapter two! I apologize for the formatting error in chapter one. Apparently when I uploaded the story, underlined the entire thing. Not sure why... Anyway, sorry 'bout that! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!)
It all began with Leo, I suppose. He was the first of my fellow Guardians that I ever actually spoke to.
When I left the room with the table (walking, too, seemed to come natuarally), a stony-faced man in a white robe approached me. He motioned for me to follow him, and he soundlessly led me out the doors across the room.
I stepped outside and was met with a very strange sight. We were standing on a flat, paved surface that I knew was called a road, and surrounded by other things that I had never seen, but knew the names of: fields of grass, trees bursting with leaves, and all sorts of small, one-roomed buildings. Flowers of every colour dotted the grass, and pebbles lined the edge of the road.
"The Council strives to make the Upper World resemble the human world as closely as possible," said the man beside me. "They do this so that the Guardians will be more comfortable with it when they are assigned their charges."
The man took me to one of the small buildings nearby. It was a tiny thing, made entirely of stone, all in different hues of gray and brown. The roof was made of some sort of black stone, and it glinted in the light. The door was wooden, with a small circular window near the top.
We entered the little place, and the objects inside were strange to me.
"That," said the man, pointing to the thing in the far right corner of the room, "is called a bed. You will undergo a sleeping cycle for exactly seven hours every time the light outside dims. During this cycle you will lie in the bed, and become unconcious. You will have no recollection of this time when you awake." When I gave him a questioning look he simply said, "It is the way of the humans."
I accepted that answer and looked to the near left-hand corner of the room. "What is that?" I asked, pointing to the thing there.
"It is called an 'armchair'," said the man. "Humans sit in them when they are tired, but not yet ready to sleep. It is a place of rest, but not unconciousness."
I blinked once, twice. "Humans sound... complicated." The man nodded once, and I turned away and crossed the room. I sat down in the armchair when a thought occurred to me. I had been told that I appeared sixteen, but nothing further than that.
"What do I look like?" I asked the man.
"Go and stand in front of that," he said, pointing to another object near the door. "It is called a mirror. Humans use them to see reflections of themselves. They are rather self-concious, and spend a seemingly unreasonable amount of time looking in mirrors, making sure that their image satisfies the standards of society."
"I do not understand humans," I said, rising from my armchair and crossing the room to stand in front of the mirror.
I studied myself for a moment. I had smooth, pale skin, too perfect to be human. My eyes were green like the leaves on the trees outside, with just a hint of gray. My hair was golden-brown, and it fell to the top of my legs.
The man in the white robe came to stand near me. My body was rather small next to his. I was clothed in a simple white dress, and my feet were bare.
"If you do not like your clothing," said the man, as though he had read my thoughts, "then you may change it. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Think about what you would like to look like. When you reopen your eyes, they will be different."
I did as I was told, and then inspected my new outfit. I smiled. Much better.
"I must go," said the man. "Be well." I blinked, and he was gone. I looked around the room once more, and was startled to see a boy in my armchair.
"Who are you?" I asked, trying not to sound fearful. "Are you a Guardian?"
The boy nodded. "I am Guardian number 13,043,249. My name is Leo."
"Leo," I said, repeating it softly. I looked at him for a long moment. His hair was very dark, like the colour of the stone on my roof, and it fell into his warm, chocolate brown eyes a bit. He was as pale as me, and just as inhumanly perfect.
"I was created not long ago," said Leo. "About a month in the human timeline. I stay in the residence next to yours. What are you called?"
"I am Guardian number 13,043,261," I said. "My name is Delaine."
"Delaine," said Leo. "I like that."
"Leo?"
"Hm?"
I moved to sit on the bed. "Lady Superbia said that I am permitted to forge acquaintanceships with other Guardians, so as to make good use of their knowledge and experience. May I do so with you?"
"Of course, Delaine," said Leo. "And you don't need to be so uptight about it. I know that you're a new Guardian and all, and the only thing you can feel right now is the desire to protect. It happens to everyone, but it'll calm down soon."
"It will?"
"Yes. For now you just need to relax until the Council summons you for duty. Don't think about protecting, it'll only make you unwell. Just enjoy the time of rest while you can."
I nodded. "I will do so. So, Leo, are we acquaintances?"
Leo laughed a bit. It was a deep, smooth laugh. "I believe the humans call it 'being friends'. I like that term better. It's not nearly so uptight."
I tilted my head to the side. "You are very adamant about this 'uptight' business," I said. Leo simply nodded.
"Leo," I piped up after a moment of silence. "May I ask you a question?"
"Sure, Delaine."
"What...what are humans like?" I spoke more quickly, looking straight into Leo's eyes. "I am...very afraid that I will fail as a Guardian, and that I will displease the Council."
Leo rose from his seat and walked over to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, a gesture that I assumed 'friends' did.
"Delaine," he said, "you will not fail. You were created to protect, and you will succeed. You'll be above reproach." He removed his hand and walked back to the armchair before continuing. "As for the humans, I know only what I've been told by the Council and other Guardians. I haven't yet been assigned my first charge."
"But you are a month old," I said with confusion. "Does it always take so long?"
"It varies for every Guardian," replied Leo. "Some are assigned within a day, for others it takes years. The purpose of a Guardian is to protect mortal souls of great power. Every soul has to be matched to the correct Guardian, and sometimes it takes a bit of time to establish that connection."
I nodded slowly, trying to process all of this.
"I honestly don't mind," said Leo. "I would be perfectly content never having a charge. As soon as I'm assigned, I won't be free anymore. I'll have to watch constantly, and guide my charge, and all of that other stuff we're supposed to do."
"You're rather strange, Leo." I smiled at him and he returned my grin. "I'm glad you're my... 'friend'."
"Me too, Delaine. Me too."
Three human days later, I sat with Leo in my residence. We played the part of friends perfectly—talking about pointless things, laughing at things that didn't make sense, and just genuinely enjoying each other's company.
"Delaine," said Leo, "there's someone I want you to meet."
"Who?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.
"He's a Guardian," said Leo, "like us, but he appears as an old man in the human aging system. His name is Enzo. He's had one charge, so I think he could answer some of your questions about humans."
True, I had been full of questions about humans since Leo and I met three days ago. He hadn't been able to answer any of them, and I was far too afraid to go to Lady Superbia or Lady Patientia.
However, Leo had been able to tell me much about the Upper World. Every Guardian was assigned to a pair of women on the Council, based on the hour of the humans' day in which they were created. Leo was assigned to Lady Ira and Lady Benevolentia.
He also told me that when the Council had originally created Guardians, centuries ago, they were emotionless, empty vessels, and the Council members themselves were. However, since Guardians spent much of their existence in the company of humans, they began to develop feelings and thoughts like those they protected. That's why the Council began to tranform the Upper World to look like the human world. As the Guardians evolved, so did their surroundings.
Leo's voice pulled me away from my thoughts. "Are you ready to go see Enzo, Delaine?" he asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded and followed him out to the road. We walked for a bit until we came to a residence much different from my own. It was made entirely of marble, and the front had columns going down it. The doorway was open, with a thick red curtain hanging in front of it. There were no windows.
Leo took my hand and led me towards the place. He pulled back the curtain and prodded my back gently, signaling for me to keep walking. The inside of the residence shared many more qualities with mine. There was a bed, a mirror, and a small table. Instead of an armchair, there was a large wooden rocking chair with large pillows on the floor, surrounding it.
"Enzo!" called Leo. "Enzo, are you here?"
Suddenly the curtain opened behind us, and a tall, lanky old man entered. He had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen, and short white hair, with a moustache. He personified the words "frail" and "wise".
"Eh? Who's there?" He saw us and a large smile crossed his face. "Leo, my boy! It's about time you visited. How are you?"
"Very well, Enzo." Leo pushed me forward slightly. "This is Delaine, a new Guardian."
"Blessed be," said Enzo, inclining his head to me. I did the same, mumbling the greeting shyly.
"Come on, Laine, it's okay," said Leo. "Enzo is great. There's no need to be so shy."
Enzo smiled and spoke more softly. "And when were you created, my dear?"
"Three days ago," I said, a bit louder.
"Ah. I see."
"Yeah," Leo piped up. "She has a lot questions about humans. I wasn't able to answer them, so I thought you would be the best person to talk to."
Enzo grinned. "I'm very flattered, my boy. Alright then. Take a seat on some of those pillows over there, I'll sit in my chair." When they were settled, Enzo spoke again. "Yes, so what is it you want to know, my dear?"
"Well, how do humans usually accept Guardians?" I asked tentatively.
"That," said Enzo, "varies from human to human. My first charge, for example, named Gyatso, was very open to me. He was a young man when I first met him, and now he's quite old. We've become very close."
"I hope my first charge is like that... What is the Everlasting War? I heard some Guardians talking about it."
Enzo sighed. "The Everlasting War is our term for the constant human conflict of 'good' and 'evil'. They take sides in conflicts. Say you are a human. In your persepctive, your side of the conflict is 'good', while the opposing side is 'evil'. The party that is classified as good or evil depends on the human you ask. It's quite complicated."
"Do Guardians have to take the side of their charges?"
"No," said Enzo. "A Guardian is simply a bystander. We cannot take sides in the Everlasting War, and must only guide our charges to the choice that will keep them alive. We must remain neutral. It is the most basic rule of both the Guardians and the Council. Not good or evil. Simply neutral."
"Very correct, Guardian Enzo," said a smooth female voice behind us. I looked up calmly to see four of the Council standing there. It was Ladies Patientia, Superbia, Ira, and Benevolentia. Lady Superbia was the one who had spoken.
Enzo, Leo, and I stood and bowed low.
"Greetings, my Ladies," we said in unison. "Blessed be."
They nodded once. "Blessed be."
"Guardians Leo and Delaine," said Lady Patientia. "Please come with us. You are ready to be assinged your first charges."
