I dreamed part of this story a couple weeks ago, and found that the dream was bugging me- so I had to write it out. I added some parts, but mostly it was from my dream.
(After I read bits and sections of V.K. so there might be some similarities I'll have to get rid off.)
Some parts I actually dreamed through first person, so the story was told by Akia's point of view.
Names came later.
I might draw a scene from this exerpt too xD
Background Info
Characters
1) Akia: the daughter of a prestigious lineage of nobles.
Her parents were Guardians, and made a deal with Ashekiru long before she was born
2) Ashekiru: Akia's future mentor, after she was accepted as a Guardian Trainee.
He's the leader of the current Guardians;
3) Eleanor: one of the famous trackers under Ashekiru's command.
Killed by the 'enemies' in an attempt to bring her information to Ashekiru.
Setting
1) In Lerondelle. Everything I write ends up in Lerondelle (the world I created when I was in elementary)
2) So far, the only setting is the infirmatory room.
Prologue
Accepted
“Let me help,” I said, looking at nowhere but the dark silouette of his back. “Please.” The pain in my left leg had diminished until it was naught but a bothersome numb. I tossed and turned and, settling down to a comfortable spot, I returned my piercing gaze onto him.
Faint glows of moonlight outlined his form. Those same rays of light brought out the bed sheet and intensified the shadows of the infirmatory room. He was almost blended in with the shadows, and as still as a statue, though I knew he was far from that state. He was, unusually, trained to be as silent as night, and as daring as a fox. No one knew his origin, yet no one questioned his being the leader of the elite group. He himself outmatched any of us, even his partners, with his enhanced physical abilities. These attributes all formed together to create the unique him- the fact that he was quick to anger and first to see reason.
Neither of us talked and I waited for his response. I knew what it was going to be before he said it, as he had repeated to me countless of times. I wasn’t ready for the kind of danger he was familiar with, and I’d always feel useless like I wasn’t part of the whole ‘existing to protect’ motto. Neither was I borne a higher status, nor did my age fit the requirement. I didn’t have the proper training prior the ordeal: my being the last member of my prestigious lineage forced me to accept the reality that I had to abandon the sword and my dreams, and become a hermit that lived in a seluded area which only the guardians knew existed.Living with nothing but the larks, sun, and my dreams, I endured my isolation.
Everytime I felt homesick, I had to remind myself that it was the most logical thing I could do. By shielding me away from the mainland, the guardians and the world have a higher possibility to render our enemies useless. And as I am a human caught between their feud, necessary for either’s victory, I had become a pawn in a war without an end in sight.
“Stop thinking about it.” He, the leader, said just then, jolting me out of my reverie.
“Stay out of my head, then.”
“How can I, with you revisiting every moment of your existence so vividly, Akia?”
“Is there a problem with that, Ashekiru-sama?” I retorted softly. “Am I not allowed to remember now? Am I supposed to live my life in darkness just to give you and your team a chance?”
“There was a chance-” Ashekiru said with caution, wording his sentence carefully –“Before you stole it and turned the tide again. My team was about to be victorious, yet you ruined our advantage and brought death unto Eleanor.”
My confusion must have showned on my face, for Ashekiru sighed in fustration. I warily watched him in case he unleashed his contained fury. Instead he pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed, his calloused fingers tracing the lines on my too-delicate hands.
“Eleanor.”
He studied my nails, then looked at me directly in the eye. I tried to turn away. No one other than his team would look at him in the eye, as it was a sign of respect. Gently, Ashekiru cupped my chin with his free hand and pulled me to about his eye level. His purple-red eyes seemed to stare into the depths of my soul, reading my darkest secrets and desires as a children’s book. I stared intently back into his own, and we locked gazes for a few unnerving moments, studying each other with an intensity I’d never known. I knew I was easy to read, though I had difficulty to duplicate his actions when he was still tracing the lines.
“Ashekiru-sama, I don’t understand. Why was she important?”
He was the first to bl
ink, the first to break contact. I hid my face, overly embarr*censored*eded. Ashekiru held my hands together, his was larger and made my own dainty hands seem tiny in comparison. Our faces were still close together, and I could feel spikes of his black hair brush my cheeks. I waited for him to begin his explanation.
“Eleanor... was...our most highly skilled tracker; a status hard to achieve. Each scent and evidence a tracker stores in their mind are different to those other trackers. What she had discovered could not be replaced by another, unless they were of the same level. The reception and result of each piece of evidence she had got us closer to the location of them. “You must know that each tracker’s physic level depends on their cl*censored*, Akia. Cl*censored* is essential to our-”
“-society. Yes, I understand, Ashekiru-sama.Please do go on.”
“Now that she is no longer with us, we have absolutely no lead what-so-ever. Moreover, we have to retrace our finds to the very beginning, fifteen years ago. Time is of the essence, and with her death, everything we have done are lost. Your fifteen years of solitude were... for nothing.”
I knew that was what he was going to say. Not only did I caused the death of our tracker, I wasted all our efforts to keep the enemies at bay. Guilt and remorse stabbed at my heart for I knew I’ve done a sinful deed to all my companions who were only trying to do good. Ashekiru avoided looking at me, and faced the open window instead, its curtains merging into the still dark sky.
“Ashekiru-sama...”
“Yes, Akia?”
His voice was soft now, aware of the fact that I could collapse into tears.
“I suspect a spy in your team.”
He suddenly gripped my hands tightly, turning back to face me.
“Spies, Akia?”
“No, a spy. I’ve only seen one.”
“And you think I do not know by heart who my faithful followers are, Akia?” Ashekiru snapped.
That was what I meant; he could change from sanity to rage in a matter of moments. “They have followed me to the near end before, I have tested their loyalty and theirs were like nothing I’ve seen with my previous team, and I have seen their determination to do battle against our enemies. If one, pray Akia, is a spy, won’t he have backed out of the team a long time ago or did something that we could determine that he wasn’t one of us?”
He had a point there, but I would not admit it. I was so sure, so sure, that there were someone that could not be trusted in his team. Instead, I said as calmy as I could:
“Ashekiru-sama, please keep it in mind. Just a word of caution.”
No reply.
“Ashekiru-sama.... I believe this isn’t a good time to ask if I could be of help to your team?” I pressed on, determined to get an answer no matter what this time.
“As you said: time is of the essence, and if time’s running out, you need all the help you could get.”
“The council accepts people into positions, not me, Akia.”
A brief pause.
“Though I must say I agree. With Eleanor’s untimely death and the advance of them... I will see to it that more people are put into open positions, Akia.”
I turned around on my pillow and closed my eyes. Letting go of my hands Ashekiru pushed back the chair. Closing the windows and blinds, the room sank into utter darkness once again, but this time, it was peaceful. I heard footsteps and a voice next to my ear: “be prepared to fight for your acceptance, Akia. I will give my all, but you yourself have to prove your worth to the team.”
The footsteps retreated a bit, but I did not hear Ashekiru lock the infirmatory doors.
“Ashekiru-sama?” I whispered.
“Yes, Akia?”
“Thank you.”
I could sense him smiling in the real world. Tiredness washed over me and the last thing I remembered was Ashekiru’s hands brushing my cheeks and my collarbone, and his presence that made me feel at peace.
Tomorrow, I will prove my worth to him, his team, and the council.
Tomorrow, my life will begin anew with Ashekiru at my side.
