Disclaimer: I still own nothing except Melody, Ava, the Guardians, and the wolf hunter.

Note: Samonios is the Celtic month of October/November. Since one of the summer months in Narnia is called Greenroof (and none of the other months are mentioned), I decided that October seemed too modern and mundane. So this is supposed to be during late October.

Song for this chapter: Stand my Ground by Within Temptation

Reviews please!

Chapter 3: Guardians' Scroll

Every hunter throughout Narnia and Archenland was hired to track down the murderer of the talking wolves. Unfortunately, the weather conditions only continued to worsen, making it difficult for them to find anything.

Ava went out regularly to inspect the areas where wolves had been found dead. She managed to find some footprints, which were reasonably large and humanoid, though not large enough for a giant, but nothing else; the heavy rains washed away any evidence that may have been left.

As if that wasn't enough, other strange things were beginning to happen. The days were supposed to be getting shorter, it was autumn—the month of Samonios—but instead, they were all mixed up. Sometimes the sun would be bright and long-lasting; other times, the moon reigned longer. The temperatures were erratic—changing from freezing cold to sweltering hot and back in unpredictable patterns. More "earthquakes" had occurred, each one longer and more severe than the one before.

Every time Ava went out with a group of hunters, she noticed changes in the foliage as well. Some plants were dying from no apparent cause, while others were taking over the forest and choking out the trees.

One night, Ava was having trouble sleeping, so she decided to make her way to the palace library to find something boring that would make her sleepy. She got out of bed, threw on her lilac robe over her chemise, lit an oil lamp, and pattered out of her room, all the way to the library.

The library was its own tower in the palace. The room was circular-shaped, with one side being nothing but stained-glassed windows, and the rest being rows and rows of books, with a diamond dome for a ceiling. The room was tastefully decorated with dark red and tawny gold velvet chairs, divans for comfortable reading, cherry wood tables, and display podiums.

Ava walked up and down the rows, in search of something incredibly boring. She tried a few books on Economics and Government, but now that she was wide awake, nothing was making her tired. With a sigh, she returned another book to its space on a shelf and decided to search for something more engaging to read.

Up and down the aisles she walked. When she found nothing interesting, or new to her, on the first level, she climbed the stairs to the second level and continued her search. Level after level she went, but she found nothing that would satisfy her. She didn't know why.

At last, she was on the very top level of the library, and avoiding the edge of the railing at all cost—heights made her very anxious. She had no clue why she'd even decided to venture this far up—surely there would be nothing of interest to her up here—the books had gone so long without being touched that they were all covered in a thick layer of dust; there were even a few scrolls lying about—no one used scrolls anymore!

She felt herself drawn to a specific section of scrolls. Curiosity got the better of her and she removed one from the shelf, gently blowing the dust off of it. She made her way down to the first level and placed it on a long table. Carefully, she untied the silk ribbon that kept it shut and was surprised when the tightly coiled paper quickly unwound until the end of it nearly touched the floor.

She grabbed a magnifying glass, and began reading. At first, she was only half-paying attention, but it didn't take her long to realize that she was reading about the Guardians of Narnia.

She sat up straighter on the divan she had wandered to and leaned over the paper intently. According to the writing there should always be two Guardians in power, each with a different element; there were five elements—earth, air, fire, water, and light. There were other roles that they must play as well—the Warrior, the Heart (nicknamed the Bard), the Knight (nicknamed the Judge), the Wraith, and the last—the Shepherd.

The Warrior was the Guardian of warfare and battle strategy, in charge of protecting the land. The Heart was the Guardian of emotions, bringing happiness, love, and joy to Narnia. The Knight was the Guardian of heroic endeavor, honor, loyalty, and chivalry; he or she made sure that the scales of justice remained balanced. The Wraith (also called the Reaper or the Angel by some) was the Guardian of life and death; it was his/her job to keep the circle of life going. The Wraith would guide souls into the light and ensure that life and death came at their appointed times.

Last, the Shepherd was the Guardian of Guardians; the one to awaken the power in the others. Other Guardians would be drawn to the Shepherd; their powers would slowly manifest once they were in the Shepherd's presence.

Ava was not entirely sure what the last part meant, but she kept reading. Apparently, there had never been a known Shepherd before—there never seemed to be a need for one—and there were debates as to whether or not he or she was even a Guardian at all.

All Guardians were Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve imbued with special powers, given to them by Aslan. Every time a set of Guardians ended their reign, new Guardians, of a different element and title, would be chosen to take their places. This would ensure that balance was kept. For instance, a Warrior Guardian would never reign twice in a row. Guardians also changed elements from time to time. Any Guardian could rule over earth, air, fire, water, or light; it was all dependent upon the person and what the world needed.

There had been much speculation over what would happen should the scales tip and the balance be upset. Scholars and clerics alike agreed on one thing: Narnia would die. The elements would turn on each other, ripping the world apart. Which is why, every time a set of Guardians gave up their position the next ones appeared almost immediately. The last time Narnia had been without Guardians, the White Witch had plunged the world into a century of winter.

Ava gasped and stood up abruptly, the scroll dropping from her lap to the floor. This explained the strange weather and the earthquakes! If there hadn't been Guardians since Queen Elizabeth and King Tyler's reign the world would have gone for centuries without protection and balance! How it had even lasted this long, Ava was unsure of. She needed to tell Caspian at once!

She hurriedly rolled up the scroll and exited the library, nearly sprinting through the castle towards the king's suite. As she was passing some windows, something caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned her attention to the large snowflakes that were falling from the sky. She pattered to a small door that lead out onto the palace grounds, pulled back the bolt that kept it locked at night, and proceeded to step outside to see the snow more clearly.

As she padded onto the stone steps, snow soaking through her slippers, she tripped over something and fell in a heap in the snow that had already accumulated on the ground. She winced, the heels of her hands were scraped, she was cold, and her ankle smarted. She turned her gaze to see what she had tripped over, and felt her eyes widen in shock. There, at her feet, was a wounded man.

He was wearing leather armor, dyed blue, with black fabric underneath, and a cloak of animal fur, which was currently covered in blood. The armor accented his physic very well; he had broad shoulders, well-built arms, and large hands. He was probably quite strong. He appeared to be quite tall, but Ava could not be sure while he was lying down. She shifted so she could get a closer look at his face. His skin appeared to have been fair at one point, but was now weathered and lightly tanned—possibly from fighting in the sun? He had a long, thin scar going across his neck. She wondered how he got it and gulped reflexively. His hair was cut short and stood straight up. The man could not have been past his early thirties, but his light brown hair had small traces of silver in it. Perhaps he had seen too much battle in his lifetime.

Going into medic-mode, she began searching the man's body for his wounds. She saw bite marks in the leather that covered the lower right side of his torso. Carefully, she lifted up the mangled armor, and then peeled away the black fabric underneath. What she saw made her hiss, imagining the pain—his side had been all but ripped out by an animal. She looked back to the man's face; he was unconscious, but his features were contorted with pain. She felt a strong urge to caress this man's face; he looked like he was in so much agony. Just one little brush of her fingertips wouldn't hurt, right?

She tentatively reached out with her left hand to touch his cheek…

Suddenly, he awoke with a gasp of pain, and grabbed her wrist with his left hand. Ava squealed in surprise and found herself staring into a pair of striking, icy blue eyes. The man opened his mouth to say something, when Ava noticed that, on his bare, left bicep, was a blue tattoo of a tribal wolf; the same tribal wolf on the spear that Bane had brought to her. Her lips parted in a small "O" shape. Now she knew what kind of animal the cloak had been made from—a talking wolf.

This was the man she had been hunting.