Guardians: A FairyTopia Fanfiction

Prologue

Azura was waiting patiently with the Enchantress for her fellow Guardians to arrive. She knew some of them would get to the Crystal Palace later than others, because they were flying in from across all seven regions of FairyTopia. The week before, the Enchantress had sent a message to all the Guardians requesting a meeting. There was a matter of great importance that they needed to discuss, and it could not be delayed any longer.

The news came to her in a letter delivered by Larkspur, a courier who – like Azura – resided in Fairy Town. "Good morning, Azura. I've got something I'm supposed to deliver – your hands only," he had said, handing her the scroll, "Looks like a letter from the Enchantress. Anyway, I've got to go."

"Thank you, Larkspur," she had responded before watching him fly away.

Topaz was the first to arrive at the Palace as her journey from the Magic Meadow had only taken two days' time. She looked somewhat wary, as she and the others had no idea what this meeting could be about. Azura was not certain herself, but it did not seem to her like this was an emergency of any kind. Her eyes flickered curiously to the ring resting on Topaz' left hand. She made no comment, however, as she had a feeling it would be discussed later.

Tourmaline arrived next, taking his usual seat beside Topaz. Azura was not surprised to see that his features remained calm – it took a lot to unnerve him. "Hello, everyone," he greeted.

"Good afternoon, Tourmaline," the Enchantress politely returned his greeting.

Ruby and Amethyst came in just then, laughing together at a joke one of them had just told. The former took his seat on Tourmaline's right while the latter sat near Azura, making sure to leave one open seat in between them. It was at least fifteen more minutes before Sapphire made her appearance, settling between Azura and Amethyst and giving each of them a friendly smile in greeting. "Emerald will be here soon," she informed the Enchantress.

"Thank you, Sapphire," she replied. Sure enough, Emerald appeared five minutes later looking a bit out of breath. She had clearly been flying very quickly; Azura's guess was that she had lost track of time.

The Enchantress, who was seated between Amethyst and Ruby, called for their attention. All conversation ceased as the seven of them turned to face her. "I imagine you're all wondering why I called this meeting," she began, "I'd like to start by allowing Topaz to speak, as she and Tourmaline have some exciting news for us."

Topaz's eyes lit up at once. "Thank you, your Highness!" She then held up the hand containing the ring. "Tourmaline and I recently got engaged."

This announcement was met with positive reactions from everyone.

"Congratulations, you guys!" exclaimed Emerald, while Ruby teased, "About time you popped the question, Tourmaline!"

"Thank you, Emerald," said Tourmaline, ignoring Ruby's comment entirely.

Once the excitement had died down again, the Enchantress continued. "Now then, the reason I've called all of you here is to discuss the continuation of your apprentices' training."

"What further training do they need?" Amethyst raised his eyebrows. "They've already proved themselves capable of protecting FairyTopia, and of performing the Flight of Spring."

"Yes, but they still need to complete their training in order to be fully qualified for our positions," Azura told him.

"They've graduated the first and most important stage, Amethyst, you're not wrong," added the Enchantress, "but Azura is also correct. They still have much to learn in order to become full-fledged Guardians. I'm sure you remember what it was like for all of you when you were in their shoes?"

Amethyst said nothing, only nodded. She was right, of course; it had just been so long since they had been apprentices themselves that he had forgotten what the process was normally like. For one thing, he recalled, the circumstances back then had not required them to perform the Flight themselves upon learning it; they'd only had to observe it at first. And for another, the Flight was not the only responsibility each of the Guardians held.

"That said," she continued, "I think it would be wise to invite all of them to return to the Palace as soon as possible."

A/N: I just want to warn everyone in advance that I will likely be slow to update this story at times, but that this story will be updated as I continue writing it. 

Hope you all enjoy!

--ouatfan