United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 24 - Amy

Amy crossed her arms as she watched the stern, somewhat cold-hearted guardian melt into the embrace of the two teenagers, burying his face into the boy's hair. The sight before her was strange yet soft and heart-touching, and Amy's curiosity was the only thing keeping her from blurting out a teasing "Awww!" in their faces. She was more confused now that Shintaro had pulled them into a hug, which - judging by everyone else's shocked reaction - was not something he did often. 

How on earth did Shintaro know these kids, and why were they so important that he would drop everything and return to Ariel as fast as he could? 

And why on earth was Linda watching him with the smallest fraction of a smile on her face? That part of the scene was one of the more shocking ones - Linda hardly smiled genuinely at touching scenes, even if she was a part of them. She didn't look confused, but Amy could still see a bit of lingering impatience in her neutral blue eyes.

Amy looked around the room at everyone else that was watching to examine their expressions - the queen looked shocked and confused, but there was a soft smile on her lips; Aaron had his arms crossed and was leaning against the wall behind him, watching Shintaro with narrowed, curious eyes; Marcus was full-out, shamelessly staring at the guardian with furrowed eyebrows and a slightly open mouth; Falte's expression switched from shocked and confused to confused yet awed; Emily was watching with a curious tilt of her head, but she was smiling too; Rachel had her hands clasped in front of her, and although she looked confused, she looked more happy than eager to know what was going on; Gabriel's whole posture was almost identical to the former king's, and he even was leaning up against the wall behind him; and the doctor was watching from the side of the bed with raised eyebrows and a pinched mouth. 

"So, Shintaro," Amy said coolly as she realized that no one else was going to ask the question that was undoubtedly running through all of their minds. She waited until the guardian finally raised his head from the boy's hair and peered at her with narrowed eyes.

"I think you owe us an explanation," Amy said with a shrug and gesture at the two children that had peeked up curiously at her - though the boy's expression looked more annoyed and skeptical. 

The guardian stared at Amy for a few seconds, then eventually blew out a sigh and straightened slightly; but he didn't pull his arms away from the kids wrapped around him. "Indeed," he said slowly. "I apologize for my rush earlier, but I wanted to get them medial attention as quickly as possible." 

"Why's that?" Amy asked before anyone else could, though it looked like the queen was about to open her mouth to speak. 

Shintaro narrowed his eyes at Amy, as if he was annoyed that it was her asking all of the questions. "Because they needed it," he said shortly. "They've been mistreated for three years, and I'm going to make sure that it never happens again - starting today." 

"They were there for three years?" Falte exclaimed in shock, turning a forlorn look on the two teenagers.

Shintaro nodded solemnly, and Falte's expression shifted quickly to one of piteous anger. "Amy and I didn't find them the first time we arrived," the guardian said. "I happened to come across them when I got lost in the dark corridors." 

"You got lost?" Marcus asked teasingly with a tilt of his mouth, probably trying to lighten the mood at bit. 

"That's a shocker," Amy said with a matching smile. Though she didn't know Shintaro all that well, she'd guessed that it was odd for him to get lost or even seem wrong when she'd first met him. 

"My apologies, Shintaro," Ruby suddenly said reluctantly but in a queenly way, "but there has to be another reason for you to take them here so quickly. And..." She paused for a minute, then gestured awkwardly at the two kids that were locked in an embrace. "There's got to be a reason for your attachment to them."