The Guardian
Chapter 6
(A/N: I know I haven't updated this story in forever, but don't lose faith just yet! I'm finally getting back into the swing of things, and updates will be coming a lot more quickly. Thank you all so much for your patience. Enjoy and review!)
I knew it was foolish to hide. Inevitably, they would find me.
Leo tried to talk to me, but I turned him away. I simply sat and waited for them; waited for the punishment I knew was to come.
They came.
All fourteen of them appeared simultaneously. Ladies Superbia and Patientia stood slightly ahead of the rest, their gazes as smooth and emotionless as ever. The former spoke first.
"We have sensed…a problem." I didn't bother to interject. "The Avatar is not dead, but he is emotionally and physically…unresponsive. What happened to him, Guardian?" It was the first time they had called me 'Guardian', and not 'Guardian Delaine' or 'Guardian 13,043,261'.
"My Lady," I said, almost in a whisper, "Aang is troubled. He is young, and as of yet uncomfortable with his identity as the Avatar. He was trying to run away, and I could not stop him. I followed him to keep him safe, but he nearly drowned. I was forced to freeze him and suspend him in hibernation, or he would be dead."
If the Council noticed that I had confirmed the rumors that Guardians could tap into the powers of their charges, they said nothing.
"Why," asked Lady Patientia, "did you not use the Ability of Influence? The Avatar is only a child, and an indecisive one at that. It almost certainly would have changed his mind." I hesitated. I had not mentioned the things Aang had said to me…how he had hurt me.
"I was…distracted," I said ashamedly. "The thought did not occur to me."
"Distracted by what?" asked Lady Superbia.
My heart sank. "Emotion." I felt as though I wanted to die. I had let my human feelings get the better of me. My stupidity and my inability to fulfill the very purpose of my life would not go unpunished.
It would cost me my soul.
"You are in acquaintanceship with Guardians Leo and Enzo," said Lady Patientia. It was not a question, but I nodded.
"One of them will be with you at all times until we have decided how to address this matter. You go nowhere and do nothing alone."
The Council did not possess souls. When they spoke, their voices held no emotion. Not even the slightest inflection. They sounded perfectly calm, and coldly detached. I would have preferred it if they had screamed at me.
I bowed low, and they were gone. Leo appeared in their place, and he wrapped his arms around me in a very affectionate, very human gesture. I leaned into him, grateful for the support.
"Leo," I whispered. "What's going to happen to me?"
He gave a shaky breath. So he was frightened as well. "I wish I knew, Delaine." I let him hold me until we both entered our sleeping cycle.
…...
For three days, just as my Lady promised, I was never alone. Sometimes I was with both Leo and Enzo, other times it was only one of them.
In the middle of the third day, they appeared. They wasted no time.
"We have decided," said Lady Superbia. "You will be forgiven. Your charge lives on, though his destiny has been delayed. He will emerge when the time is right, and until then it will be your duty to go to him every day. Maintain, at least, his physical well-being."
"Remember well, Guardian," said Lady Patientia, "that this is not to happen again. A Guardian must never allow their human emotions to control them. Else, you will be deemed not useful, and will be recycled."
I knelt and kissed the ground at their feet. Leo and Enzo, who stood on either side of me, simply bowed. The Ladies departed.
"Child," said Enzo, seeing the way my body trembled, "despair not. The Council has given you another chance. All will be as it should be. Hush, now."
"Delaine, you've been forgiven," said Leo, bending and taking my hands in his own. He helped me to my feet and looked into my eyes so fiercely that I felt the urge to look away, but found I could not.
I tried to speak, but coherent thoughts refused to form themselves in my mind. Forgiven…Aang…recycled…Council…failed…
They sat with me, both of their hands holding one of mine. I felt it on my cheeks then-something wet and hot.
Tears.
So I cried. They held me.
And I changed. This is where our story truly begins.
